To be concerned my daughters diet is very measured

[jecklandhyde]

She's slim but healthy weight at the moment.

She eats junk food. Today she had two mr kipling bakewell tarts and 2 chocolate digestive biscuits.

BUT, sweet food is the only junk food she has. She would NEVER tuck into a big bowl of lasagne, creamy mash, macaroni cheese, pizza for example. She wouldn't eat a take away.

All her main meals are low fat. For example for breakfast she will have overnight oats made with no fat yogurt, oats and fruit.

Lunch is something like a baked potato, beans and tuna

dinner is then wholemeal bread with soup.

She has snacks of wholemeal toast,ham, sometimes a small amount of cheese(2 babybel at most) inbetween meals.

I don't believe she has the recommended level of fat in her diet at all. Yes she has sweet treats but it's not in an enormous amount and wouldn't equal the recommended amount of fat from that.

She seems to eat very low fat meals so she can eat sweet treats and not go over calories but she isa hugely against eating any savoury foods that aren't low in fat.

She won't eat nuts or high fat meats as she says she would rather eat fat from cake!

Does this diet seem the right amount of recommended calories?

Would you be concerned or is this normal?

I know lots of people like to eat healthy but this is a bit restrictive. I don't overeat but I do eat fattening savoury meals at times.

Agree with some others. Sounds misinformed rather than disordered.

She's very misinformed about fat, but as far as most people's diet's go she's not doing so bad. Be a lot better if she could swap the sugary treats for some healthy fat, but some people would rather do anything than give up their daily sugary junk.

Maybe point out that (unless she's eating very small portions) her meals are all fairly heavy and carb based. Oats, potato, bread, and more bread for snacks. If she could swap out one of those for something lighter like a salad, then do you think she might be willing to replace those calories with some fat?

There isn't enough information to say if she's got a problem or not.

Look up orthorexia. It's the attitude to food that could be the issue here.

May not be the most ideal diet but sounds reasonably healthy and probably similar to many adult women. Not sure, calorie counting etc maybe worrying in a 16yo but wouldn't be at all worrying in an adult. Wouldn't expect a 16yo to be drinking full fat milk though and skimmed is an acceptable choice if over 5 years old I though - I would only have a skinny latte as well as it tastes the same so why waste the calories!

As someone who has had an eating disorder in the past, I think your daughter's behaviour could (and by no means definitely does) indicate the beginnings of an unhealthy relationship with food. The reason being that the "fatty" foods she is eating she will know the calories of by looking at the packet or from looking online. But, tucking in to homemade dinners she will have no idea of the calories she will be taking in, so is not in control of her calorie intake. I may be completely wrong but it rings true with me that I'd rather eat something less healthy that I know the calories of than something homemade and healthier where I don't know the calorie count.

when was lasagne a junk food?

It's not junk but done properly it's pretty unhealthy with all the cheese and saturated fat.

It's not unhealthy at all, don't be so ridiculous.

This is how my anorexia started. I fixated on fat in food equating to fat on my body. If a food was low fat i.e. Bread it was ok but I couldn't put butter on it.
Over time this advanced to Not eating anything I deemed unhealthy, then nothing with more than 100 calories by which time I was pretty much in the grip of anorexia.
The thing about not breaking her 'rules' in restaurants etc rings alarm bells. Yes following a 'healthy diet' is one thing but those with a healthy attitude to food are able to veer from that diet on special occasions.
I would say keep a very close eye on things she could be on a slippery slope.

Is she controlling what she eats because of the fat content?

Or is it just that she doesn't enjoy creamy, rich savoury food? (Has she always had an aversion to these foods even as a child)

Has she recently lost weight?

This was the "healthy" way of eating for years with the misinformation about fat, she thinks she's choosing healthy options. I wouldn't be concerned at this point, she's eating plenty, and even with the lack of fat she's still probably eating better than most other teens.

Does she eat any veg / fruit other than the fruit with breakfast ?

My friend at school was anorexic. Her lunch was two custard creams because in her head they had the same calorie and fat content as a real meal. She loved her sweet tooth so sacrificed balanced nutritious food instead.

That doesn't mean that OPs daughter has a problem, it may be misinformation rather than a more concerning mental health issue being expressed by food, but it is a sufficient signal for OP to be cautious and look at the big picture.

I would echo ginnystonic. Could it be that she just doesn't like some of the food you have mentioned? I don't like the heavy richness of cheese sauces, mash (depending on how made), macaroni cheese etc. I also don't generally eat takeaways as I don't do well with greasy food (and don't trust the hygienic for takeaways).

I haven't fallen for anything about saturated fat, Will. I won't eat low fat versions of anything as they're usually loaded with chemicals or extra sugar or salt to make them more palatable. I have butter on my toast for example. Make my own salad dressing with olive oil. Proper yoghurt, not low fat shite. But I'm sensible and we have oven chips as opposed to deep fat fryer version. Home made burgers are generally less fatty than supermarket ones. I'm simply saying that people tend to eat TOO MUCH saturated fat. I don't believe for one minute that they should avoid it at all costs. But no one can argue that a bought cheeseburger is a good source of fat compared with a fillet of salmon.

I have never dieted in my life. I believe diets, unless medically advised, are harmful with a lot of misinformation. If you live by the motto "everything in moderation" and don't over analyse and obsess about good or count calories, then I don't think most people can go far wrong.

I would be a bit concerned about that - it seems extremely controlled and there's nothing like enough veg in there.

I don't eat fruit particularly but I make up for I with lots of veg and it doesn't seem like there's enough vitamins and fibre in that, never mind fats.

Also a lot of people don't enjoy stodgy food in the summer. We don't need high calorie food to keep our bodies warm when the weather is hot. So some people are naturally turned off big roast dinners and things with creamy mash in the summer.

I do remember enjoying them in summer as a growing teenager though. I had a good breakfast and 2 big dinners a day. Keeping an eye on my calorie intake didn't even cross my mind, all I was bothered about was if it filled me up!

Your DAD is eating the perfect Slimming World diet. It jumped out at me immediately.

I agree with other posters who've said it's worrying that she's so rigid, and yes, she does need healthy fats.

Gah, DAD = DD.

Would she consider taking omega 3 supplements? I think a refusal to even supplement with fat will tell you a lot.

How tall is she and how much does she weigh?

I thought of slimming world too.

I don't think this is paricularly abnormal. Some people don't like high fat food. One of my sons is like this, there's no way he would eat lasagne or anything with cream in it. No one in our family likes full fat milk, just the thought of it makes me feel sick.
As for not eating takeaways, I see that as a good thing.

Try explaining to her the analogy of good fats are like fuel for an engine - if you don't have any it siezes up and the car won't run. My ds (huge dietary issues) stopped eating 99% of ALL fats for over a year and now has severe ibd. She has dreadful issues that will never improve due to the severe prolonged damage to the intestinal tract. Could you get her to take an omega 3 oil supplement perhaps? It's not ideal but may help ...

If she is eating tuna she will get some essential omega 3s from that. Maybe suggest adding some linseed into her morning oats.

Sounds ok but does she eat any veg?