Jo Frost portion sizes.

[york0]

I am in shock that a quarter of a mini pizza is considered a portion size for a n 8 year old child. My 4 year could eat a whole one easily and is not overweight. Obv know pizza is a treat and doesn't have it all the time.

If you were diabetic you'd take advice from doctors and nurses even if they wernt diabetic themselves, just because your over weight doesn't mean you can't give reliable advice. Also I know plenty of alcoholics and drug addicts who are able to give advise on the effects of drugs/ alcohol and can argue against taking them extremely rationally, they just struggle to put their own advice into practice

I buy my lo the small pizza, tesco's own. I think its about 40p and its the same size as a plastic childs plate. He cant quite eat it all but for a treat for dinner its great.

Didnt see the program this week, was the pizza served with other things? A salad? Or a small bowl of nibbles?

Your being ridiculous drs and nurses can be fat, they can still be trained to give advice regarding healthy eating and of course people still suffering from addiction can give advice , I've worked in a detox unit bs half an hour listening to all the things they've been through and the ill effects their suffering is enough to make you think twice

What's unreliable about an addict saying look at me, I've lost my friends, family I've stolen to feed my habit , I've been to prison, have serious health problems, I've just had to take blood out my own groin because my veins are so bad the doctor can't get to them, I didn't think I would become addicted but I have and now I'm realy struggling to stop! So don't go down the same path as me

I know a nurse who is obese, she gives diatry advice all the time, she always ends by telling them that if they don't listen to the advice and change their eating habits they could end up like her, it works bloody well!

I would like to respond to Moomims comment. Only becasue it is EXTREMELY important to me at this precise moment in my life.
My Diabetic Consultant, who is the Worlds Leading Expert, admitted last week, that she was puzzled by my diabetes, and that all her years of experience couldn't explain the actual difficulties/ practicalities, of what I was dealing with on a day -to-day basis.
But then we can't have Diabetic Consultants with Diabetes, or Cancer Consultants who have cancer, can we ?
So I can't see any way round the issue.

but then you shouldn't feed your kids that anyway...

Italy is in big nutritional trouble if you shouldn't feed your kids pizza.

I mean whole proper sized ones, not a slice of a tiny one.

And pizza as a slice on the plate of a meal rather than the meal itself ?

That is WEIRD

TSC - I didn't put words in your mouth. Your views are perfectly clear from your posts.

Sorry to have to quote SittingInTheSun, But I had to respond to her post :
"But, we don't snack for the sake of it (children have fruit and cheese etc mid afternoon), don't eat processed food as a general rule and I simply don't have rubbish in the house."

Don't snack for the sake of it ? well actaully we do do that.
Don't eat Processed food ? well actaully we do do that.
I simply don't have rubbish in the house.well actaully we do do that.

We eat relatively healthily. I cook from scratch mostly. And batch cook spag bol mince etc.
We eat loads of salad and loads of veg.
But we aslo eat pizza, burgers.
And I have cupboards full of crisps, chocolate and chocolate biscuits. My kids are allowed to eat as much as they want. Of anything.
They snack all the time. on chocolates and cakes. Along with grapes, cheese and biscuits, youghurts and pate on toast etc.
I spend a fortune on food. My mum had this too, I had 2 older brothers who used to eat 6 slices of bread as sandwiches, with 3 pieces of fruit and crisps, youghurt and chocolate biscuits, when they went to sports summer camp days.
I am asuming/hoping that you lot don't survive on a celery stick per week !!

My ds (4) will eat a small mini pizza (a thin one) I wouldn't starve him, if he was having something else like pizza & chips / salad etc then 1/4 would be fine

Oblomov - you let your kids snack on as much cake/ crisps as they want? If I did this with my ds he'd fill up on cake and crap so I have to limit what he has. If he's hungry between meals I offer him fruit - he can always have fruit but only 1-2 treats a day

I think the point that is being missed over and over on this thread, is that this is not about "pizza" in general, but about 1 brand in particular - the Chicago Town mini pizzas. Of course a child could eat a whole one, the point is that it is so stuffed full of saturated fats and salt that they SHOULDN'T eat more than a quarter.

It's like eating a MacDonalds (other burger chains are available ) - they have such little nutritional value that you feel hungry again a short time later, even though you've consumed the best part of 1,000 calories.

Yeah I do pinky, actually. Only becasue I have very hungry boys, who I believe are healthy, and who are very slim.

They start with cereal. Then 7 yr old can eat 3 slices of toast and a banana before school. He has fruit mid monring. a School lunch ( god knows how little he gets there !!) . They have a fruit snack in the afternoon. He could be picked up from school by after-school-club, where he will have crackers and cheese, youghurt and grapes. Then he comes home. says he's hungry. eats a main meal with us. say a huge portion of spag bol and 3 bits of garlic bread. then I might make upside pineapple cake with custard. An hour later, he's hungry. He has some crsips. Then I have to make him a sandwich and a glass of milk before he goes to bed.

And before anyone starts ribbing, his stodgy diet, this is not always typical. I was just trying to show that he eats alottta-lotta food. Tis tiring for me, and bloody expensive.

Please ignore my last post. I have started threads before, and got very good advice, on foods to feed my ravenous kids. And I don't want this threads to turn into one of those.
As you were.

I have naturally slim dc's too,it must be from there father i buy the right kinds of food and limited "junk" which i dont replace when its gone. Our main mel is always blanced and from scratch.
I have concluded over the years that they are thin because they self regulate.I see them stop when full and only eat if they are hungry (pretty much) Therefore i have never really had to limit them.
I wish i was the same.

anyone for a mel?

Actually Oblomov, I was thinking that whilst what your son eats sounds a lot, it actually sounds pretty balanced to me - fruit etc, carbs, protein, am I wrong in thinking there isn't anything terrible in there? I mean crisps are ok in moderation surely?

This thread has really made me think lots about how I will help my daughter to eat healthily, but also, more importantly have a positive attitude to food and portion control. Currently she is 16 months and eats 2 weetabix for breakfast, then a banana or something similar in the morning, lunch is whatever we have had the night before, do stews, pasta etc - sometimes fishfingers, or a sandwich - talking about 200grams I guess. Then she will snack on raisins, fruit, satsumas etc, maybe 2 handfuls a day of those, then an evening meal, usually meat and veg, again 200 grams ish. then lots of water, very little milk, but one bf a day. the occasional rich tea biscuit. and chocolate digestive when she manages to get them out of the cupboard herself when I'm not looking. I think this is a pretty healthy appetite, and she doesn't turn any food down, at least not yet!

So currently she self regulates, I think - some days she eats less, some days more - but we don't have to stop her or control it as such, we just all have to try to eat a balanced diet to that she does, as she eats the same as us minus the wine and chocolate.

But when does this stop? when will I have to start saying, no you cant have three packets of crisps, you have to have fruit? because I easily put on weight, DH doesn't, I don't have that self control, and have a horrible body image and constantly think about how much I weigh, how much I am eating, etc.

I really want her to not be like that - but how? I just don't know the answer to it really.

children do as you do. Not as you say.

So if you eat a normal diet, and have a normal attitude to food, then she will pick that up.

For me, the trick is to not have too many treats in the house, but always have plenty of fruits and yoghurts and nuts, also dried apricots, raisins, cheese, crackers, ...and a few choc bars too for balance.

Nobody can eat 3 bags of crisps if there aren't any crisps in the house!

According to Dr Winston people who are quite active are much better at self regulating food intake and seldom overeat, but when activity falls below a certain level that mechanism seems to break down.

As expected, lots of posters saying that their child eats loads but is thin. But in reality the number of overweight children in the UK is frighteningly high. And this includes very young children of 5 and 6. So lots of children are being given far too much food by their parents.

As a child I was fat. I fed a very very healthy diet, but just far too much of it.

spiderpig, that would make sense

And spider, I was also very very active. I have had to learn as an adult to stop eating before I feel full. Otherwise I put on weight. As a child I kept eating until I felt full and was fat as a result.

A quarter of a mini pizza? How big is a mini pizza? We don't have pizza often, but if we do, it tends to be a takeaway, and will last us a couple of days. Usually serve that with new potatoes and some chopped tomatoes and cucumber. xP used to get through a whole large pizza on his own.