To stop my daughter (what I see as) overeating?

[isthisfairidontknow]

She's 7, fit and healthy but neither skinny nor fat. Does gym, dance, etc each week.

But she has an enormous appetite. And we keep clashing over it.

For example this morning she has cried that she is hungry but has had a bowl of rice crispies, a banana and a cheese sandwich. She's only been up since 7. I've made her have a big drink in case she is thirsty. I would be full if I had that.

Yesterday she had a bowl of bran flakes, strawberries, breadsticks and Nutella (as a snack) mid morning, kids portion of fish chips and peas (at a restaurant) and apple crumble and custard for lunch then 'green pasta' for tea (peas, pesto, courgette, garlic, onions) and a corner yoghurt for pudding.

There is a rule in our house that food is unlimited but if it's outside of mealtimes it's fruit veg and water or milk. And I've offered all of that but she's still whinging on.

She's been like this every day of the holidays and it's relentless every day. Even before the holidays she was always complaining about portion size, 'can I have more? I'm hungry etc'

Is she just chancing it for more food? Because she doesn't want the fruit and veg and water on offer.

She might have a very high metabolism. One of my dd's did, had a huge appetite once she was past the toddler stage - 5 helpings of granny's roast dinners, etc - but stayed slim. She was always very physically active though.

I used to know a bloke who was more extreme - skinny as a rake but ate an awful lot, 5 spoons of sugar in his coffee, etc. And he told me that when he was a child his mother used to leave a sandwich by his bed every night, since he'd invariably wake up hungry.

In that example you gave as well she's having a lot of refined sugars - barn flakes, Nutella, crumble and custard, corner yogurt. This will make her hungrier more quickly. Try swapping the corner yogurt for full fat Greek with a side of mashed strawberries.
I annoy my children intensely by saying "if you're genuinely hungry you'll eat anything (ie the fruit and veg on offer), if you're hungry for something specific then that's boredom"
I'll admit that's not always the case but it's a fairly good rule of thumb.

Well rice crispies are basically air so I can see why she’s still hungry after that!
It’s a tricky one. My 5 year old is currently going through a phase of asking for lots of food, but she’s skinny and very active and goes through phases of being completely unbothered by food in general so I usually give it to her (usually high protein snacks).
4 year old is more of a boredom eater, so if she’s whinging that she’s hungry (but doesn’t want the fruit/cheese cubes etc on offer) then I usually suggest a bike ride/trip to the park etc instead.

My dd, 7, is very active, she's constantly on the go and also does gymnastics, sports etc. She eats like a horse

Breakfast - adult size pasta and veggies
Snack - toast and fruit
Lunch - spaghetti Bol, or baked potato and beans (adult size), basically a full meal. Ice cream for pudding or rice pudding
Snack - cereal, fruit and raw veg
Dinner - roast dinner or similar plus pudding

She does have some sensory issues which might explain why she doesn't always feel full after eating (they can't prove this of course)

But she's slim, has a 6 pack she's that active and not overweight or underweight. So it's obviously not affecting her. I try and use things like pasta to feed her up and make sure I make things from scratch and she gets plenty of fruit and veg. She only drinks water so no sugary stuff

There’s very, very little protein in the meals you’re giving her, no wonder she’s hungry! Just quick releasing carbs.

Fruit to me isn't filling. If she's hungry give her something healthy to actually fill her up.

I think she needs more protein, try to give her eggs for breakfast maybe? Or quinoa porridge with berries? It is not as gross as it sounds honestly

I agree with others here,Cereal is not a very substantial breakfast TBH. Poached or boiled eggs /omelettes ,Porridge with some fruit .Maybe some grilled Bacon sometimes .If she is out and about then she will eat quite a lot as well.If she feels fuller will not keep on for snacks .I think we sometimes underestimate how much of a healthy appetite our children have ! .If she is a healthy weight then obviously needs the extra calories

I agree with everyone else.

Give more protein. Breakfast cereals are not filling enough unless you serve them up with a heavy yogurt and nuts etc.

Try eggs for breakfast. Amazingly satisfying and can be made quickly.

Yesterday's food intake doesn't sound remotely over the top to me.

My daughter had a large appetite throughout childhood. But she was active and burned it all off easily.

Increase DD's portion size and she's less likely to need snacks.

I think it's fair to not want her to overeat, but the meals you're describing are all very carbohydrate, fat and sugar heavy and there's very little protein. Changing the quality of her meals to include more protein and more wholegrains and less "empty" calories should help her feel fuller for longer.

For example, swap the rice crispie breakfast for a yoghurt or scrambled eggs. Swap the cheese sandwich for pitta bread and houmous.

Cereal is often a sugary waste of empty calories, even the so called "healthy" ones. Breadsticks are just starchy carbs with little nutrients.

Fish is great, but maybe try swapping out fish and chips for grilled fish and a side salad instead of chips. Similarly, nothing wrong with a dessert but not on a background of a day eating sugary cereals, breadsticks and chocolate spread.

Again, pasta (especially white pasta) is very carbohydrate dense. So it gives that short term satisfaction but leaves you hungry later. Grilled lean meat with a side salad is probably going to keep her fuller for longer.

Rice crispies are rubbish nutritionally and very light in texture so I can see why she wanted more afterwards.
Why not try porridge as it should keep her fuller for longer (perhaps with sliced banana or another fruit on top). Or how about scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast?

I'd always try liquid first too as lots of us confuse thirst with hunger.

If her hunger continues and she's eating plenty of food check her poo in case she has worms.

Mine have huge bowls of porridge with raisins every morning (double my size portion). I make it with full fat milk so really fills them up. Then they can have banana if they are still hungry. It's like feeding five thousand at mine (all my boys are normal weight - you can see their ribs)

Not nearly enough protein.

Add in more eggs and chicken/fish and see if that helps?

2 boiled eggs and a slice of toast is way more filling than cereal.

Fruit and veg is great but I'm not sure it's actually very filling unless you eat mountains of it - bananas excepted.

Could you try something that's also boring but more substantative?

I can't keep up with my 12 year old! He's normal weight incidentally but his appetite is enormous and usually before a growth spurt.

For breakfast I give him

A bagel filled with chicken
Chopped apple
Chopped pear
Large handful of nuts

If I'm lucky, this keeps him going to at least 11am

Growing children need fat and protein, you're giving her mostly empty carbs and sugar, no wonder she doesn't feel satisfied.

It does sound like boredom eating I still do that I'd also add more protein to dishes like the pasta and maybe try and find an eggy breakfast she likes. I used to be v. sceptical any time I heard someone on here start going on about "too many carbs" when a poster has has a couple of bits of toast or something, but the times when I have eggs or fish for breakfast I am definitely fuller for longer with less cravings so have gradually come around to accepting that the carb police are right at least when it comes to sugary cereals. Porridge is great and filling though I find so maybe try that. Rice Crispies are a load of shite - basically puffs of air and a nutritional void. I honestly think you could eat a box of them and not feel full.

Give her more filling healthy food - she could just be really hungry. The only cereal I give our DC is porridge or homemade muesli - processed cereals really aren't that filling for kids - despite what the marketing says.
If she was a boy would you feel the same? Ask yourself that question.

My 7 year DD is RAVENOUS but eats mostly healthy food, she's also incredibly active and will eat whatever she's given, without exception. For breakfast she eats things like salmon and eggs, or eggy bread and porridge with watermelon, and cut up fruit, or cut up veg. Daytime we don't do 'snacks' other than fruit or veg though in the hols they are getting ice creams or similar sometimes.
She gets hungry throughout the day.
Her older brother doesn't eat the same quantities, he eats big in the morning and almost nothing by the evening.
Your DD doesn't seem to be eating a lot or overeating IMHO.

Again - would you be worrying about a fit, slim boy eating as your DD does? I have friends who really fret about their DD food intake while praising how hungry their 'growing' boys are...

Where is the protein? There is little in what she has eaten yesterday and today that is actually satiating. I think you'd find if you increased her protein it would help. Got to say if I was actually hungry and someone offered me an apple I would turn my nose up at it too.

if you're genuinely hungry you'll eat anything

I mean I'm in my 30s, and if I'm starving and want crisps and someone suggests an apple I think about giving them a smack.

Agree with PPs to try giving more protein. This will help her feel fuller for longer. Not sure if she eats a vegetarian diet, but more meat, eggs, beans, tofu, lentils, chickpeas, oats, etc. might help.

Personally I don't think you're feeding her near enough! My DD would eat far more than that even when she was 3/4/5, she eats far more than I do!
And your DD is barely getting any protein - she needs far more protein, and that will help her feel fuller. Peanut butter sandwich or on toast, hummus and rice/corn cakes, beans on toast etc will help her feel full, and are healthy.
Maybe stock up on healthy between-meal snacks that aren't fruit/veg. I don't feel full after eating fruit/veg, but I do after peanut butter on toast, for example.

She may be going through a growth spurt and need more food.

I don't mean to criticise, buy you sound very harsh to me, and I worry that this could give your DD 'issues' around food etc.

I think all children eat so much more in the school holidays. Considering they only have one meal a day at school and fruit for break time in always amazed at the amount of food we go through. I agree with the eggs they always fill up dd8 who is very active with dancing three times a week and football practice. She is a natural grazer and this becomes more apparent during the holidays. I feel like I'm running an all day buffet at an all inclusive.