How to help my son lose weight?

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Thought I would ask the wise mumsnetters. I know eat less and do more but it seems to be such a battle.
He is 9, 6 stone 4ft7

He’s lost half a stone and I’m hoping as he grows it will even out but feel guilty I’m not doing enough.
Not in school so doesn’t run around like other kids.
Is ALWAYS hungry. Has asd and dyspraxia, can’t ride a bike and doesn’t want to unfortunately.
What exercise can he do at home?
What can I do to distract him from being hungry constantly?

Smaller portions and find a physical activity he likes. Swimming, walking, both easy on his joints.

How about regular park visits? Playground, running around with friends / other children?
Join a sports club?
How does he spend his spare time? Maybe limit access to TV and video in favour of active pay in house and garden?
Have crazy dance moments ... with his favourite music?

He is 9.6 stone or he is 9 years old and 6 stone??

6 stone (i.e. 38kg) isn't overweight is it?

9 years old and 6 stone. Apparently it’s VERY overweight according to the gp and paediatricians which just makes me feel awful!
I think limiting tv is a good idea, worth the battle in the long run.
He did do a few activities but gets so stressed and upset and quits which is really frustrating.

He's about half a stone overweight, but you should concentrate on maintaining that weight so he grows into it.

Park run? Trampoline? Street dance? Football? Ideally he needs something every day. Reduce sugar and increase protein to reduce hunger pangs. Whole grain carbs not white bread/pasta/rice.

Thanks titchy nobody has actually said what his weight should be and half a stone doesn’t sound too bad.
We’ve tried football, gymnastics, boxing, dance and others and he struggles so much, hates it which upsets him further and it becomes harder and harder to take him.
He does go swimming and I’ll see if we can go other days (it’s a school pool) we’ve just moved so I’ll see what else is around for him

It looks like he is upper end of the centiles for height and weight, but not a massive difference between them IYSWIM.

Did they suggest anything? Or any further support like a dietician ?

Would he like anything like Just Dance, Wii sport type things he could do at home? Ds loved it when we had a treadmill and would fast walk on it while watching YouTube! Pokemon hunting outside might get a few extra steps In?
Does he like ice pops? A friend made very dilute sugar free squash ice pops for her child who was very compulsive about food, it seemed to satisfy some of the need.

Do you have space for a trampoline? What about workouts on YouTube, are there any children/family focused videos maybe?

I know your said he is always hungry but is he actually or does he just want to eat? If he just wants to eat maybe just have a selection of healthy snacks, celery, peppers and dips etc. If he's hungry try upping his protein, chicken (I keep cooked cold chicken strips in the fridge snacks) eggs, full fat Greek yogurt. Also make sure he's drinking a good amount of water.

First things first, have you done a food diary?

When DD1 was putting on weight at a similar age we did this. We wanted to see where the excess calories were coming from. What we decided was that for a week we would record everything she ate and drank. We wouldnt change anything just record.

In her case we realised that she was taking in a huge amount of calories in the form of a 'no added sugar' drink. We reduced the amount of that drink and the weight very quickly melted away.

If he says he is hungry do you offer him a drink first? Many people confuse hunger and thirst.

Is he getting enough protein in his diet? Protein makes us feel sated quicker than other food groups.

Does he help with preparing food? Making bread, chopping and slicing fruit and veg all help to put a space between wanting and eating.

Your son's weight is fine. As long as his diet remains constant for the next few years, his weight will become appropriate for his age.

Don't worry yourself, OP.

Lots of healthy proteins, lots of water. Smoothies (in moderation) will be fun as he can help make them himself, and they taste good, and can be healthy. Exercising for fun too. Doesn’t have to be a forced sport or activity. Go out for a walk, get out in nature, forest/beach etc. He likes swimming, try some new water activities?

Does he actually look overweight?
6 stone does not sound much for a healthy 9 year old boy

Wii, ice poles and Pokemon go are all fantastic ideas thank you hazeyjane and unfortunately no, just he’s very overweight and needs to lose weight. One paediatrician did tell me he’s too tall but not sure how I could stop him growing!
Food diary and upping water is good too. I knew I could count on you lot!
He does prepare food but I’m realising now he seriously lacks protein. He loves salad and veggies but I’m vegetarian so I’m obviously not thinking about meat as much as I should. I do get him fish and he sometimes has ham but I’ll definitely look into adding chicken and other protein sources.
Not sure if he’s actually hungry, I don’t think he could be, sometimes he’ll ask me what’s for lunch when he’s eating his breakfast. Maybe an autism thing? I’m wondering now if I made a visual aid of what he’s having for meals that might help?

I try not to worry but we see the paediatrician quite regularly and he always gets weighed and measured so it feels I’m constantly being told he’s overweight.
chickydoo he looks fine in clothes but quite chubby and booby when he takes his top off

How about games for the garden, swing-ball, a basketball hoop or a scooter (might be easier than a bike and can start to build confidence balancing)?

Can he ride a kick scooter?

If he's asking what's for lunch while he's eating his breakfast then that's not going to be hunger - is it about routine/structure? I understand that's often v important for those with ASD.
Does he understand about different food groups and nutrition?
Agree that offering water first, and then nutritious snacks if between meals would be the approach I'd take with myself, plus being conscious of whether I was eating out of an emotional driver - tiredness, anger, sadness, boredom, or because I wanted a break from what I was doing.

OP what are his actual interests and maybe we could try to suggest ways to turn these into activities for you the he won't realise he's exercising if you know what I mean.

Nip it in the bud while you still can OP. Fat children tend to grow into fat adults, and that's really quite unpleasant.

Remember that you can't outrun your fork, so focus on your child's diet first and foremost. I'd say start with smaller portions and cut out any crap that he eats - it is entirely possible to make healthy AND utterly delicious food.

Pokemon go/Harry Potter wizards unite - sounds illy but it’s a game and you walk to collect stuff and battle characters so it doesn’t feel like exercise but it is!

You guys are amazing, I’ve downloaded pokemon go and Harry Potter, he’ll love them.
I’m looking for a wii too and will cut out any treats and add more protein and water.
He has a scooter but doesn’t like it, he was very attached to his big 3 wheeled toddler scooter but he’s too big for it now. Maybe I can encourage him to try it more in the hope he gets used to 2 wheels.

We have similar challenges with ds. He's not dyspraxic but does have SPD. we are making slow progress. A few things we are doing;

• keep working on the scooter. Ds really struggled to master it but with lots of encouragement he does it now and loves scooting to and from school.

• he's not as co-ordinated as other kids so team sports are hard. But he's come a long way - we got him a football net and he practices and plays at home alone or with dh. He also would bring a ball on walks with our dog to practice. After 6 months he's now joined a local soccer camp thing on weekends (not a club so not so competitive but he loves it).

• we are slowly trying to make him understand the importance of eating well and exercising. As he learns and understands, he is actively trying to make changes himself too. Eg being less insistent on treats etc.

• trying to ditch traditional kids food because they tend to be high carb. Ds is a good eater and will happily eat veg and salad etc so we are trying to get him eating more of those with meat/chicken/fish rather than spaghetti Bolognaise etc.

• sports like swimming are great. Take him swimming as much as you can. Lessons are good too. Low impact and if you can get him doing lengths, even better.

Progress is relatively slow because he still has too many treats (that's a different issue I won't go into here), and some of these changes take a long time to implement consistently (eg meals is tricky as I have to do the cooking, but I am often home late so he's getting the easier stuff from dh quite often still). But we ARE seeing progress and importantly, so is ds and it makes him feel good.

Oh, and him and I are doing couch to 5km this holiday! Starting once my injured foot is better!

Thank you BlingLoving couch to 5k sounds good, not sure id be brave enough though! I’m going to try and take him swimming though!

The first step is to stop him gaining more weight, if you can maintain his weight, as he grows he will get slimmer, look at what he is eating, reduce portions & increase the amount of veg on his plate, give him protein, because it makes you feel full for longer, if you make things like spaghetti bolognese, grate lots of veg in the sauce so he doesn't notice, it still looks bulky but has less calories, try spiralising veg instead of pasta or halve the amount of pasta & put the spiralised veg in with it, buy whole wheat pasta & brown rice, they stop the blood sugar dropping so fast after eating. Cut down fruit juices & fizzy pop, dilute a small amount of fruit juice with fizzy water instead. Put a box of things like carrot & cucumber sticks, peppers, sugar snap peas & celery in the fridge for him to snack on, give him a protein rich breakfast to start the day off full, scrambled eggs, porridge are great. Just take small steps, don't try to introduce everything at once.