overweight toddler…constantly hungry.what do I do?

[bumbleandbumble]

My DD is 3 1/2 years old and she could eat for britain. Its starting to stress me out as the doctor made a comment and quite a few people have called her "solid, pudgy, big girl" already.

She is about 70% for height and 99% weight. She is in clothing for 5-6 year old and even those can be tight around her tummy/thighs.

The good news is she is not picky. Will eat just about anything. I thought this was a good thing, but it has turned into her just stuffing her face all day long. As soon as she finishes a meal, she starts "Mummy I want something else, I am am hungry"

I try to give her healthy things….but I am struggling to cope with the constant begging for food. How do you change the attitude of a 3 year old? what do I do?

you need to ask HV or GP to refer you to an eating specialsit or community dietitician who can really help you wiht this.
keep a food diary for a week of EVERYTHING she eats and take that along to dietitician. dietician can advise you wahtt o change so she doesnt put on more weight but stays healthy and can also help with the behvioural aspect. .

you need some support with this and community dietician can be really good

I know personally that certain foods can definitely make me more hungry and other foods can fill me up. For example sweet or carb rich foods are always going to make me want to eat more whereas some quality protein fills me up and I'm satisfied. Wonder if it's the sane for your daughter.

My kids will eat and eat if I give them starchy carbs. The sugar just makes you spike then dip which makes you want to eat more - it's a vicious cycle. Maybe as previous poster says, try protein or good carbs (veg n fruit), also increase good fats (olive oil) as this makes you feel fuller. An ideal in-between snack could be a banana, strawbs, grapes, with a huge dollop of yogurt on it (and nuts if she likes nuts). And maybe try little and often?
Also if you know she can't possibly be hungry, say 'no - wait for tea etc'. Don't feel bad saying no if you know she isn't going to starve! Stick to a firm meal routine.

What does she eat in a typical day?

Will she have something like egg for breakfast as a nice filling start to the day?

Children often confuse thirst with hunger. Offer her water each time she asks for more food.

Dd is similar - I'm convinced its mostly habit so I distract her and offer things like cereal which takes ages to eat and breadsticks which she sees as a massive treat for some reason, she isn't a great fan of veg but if she was I'd give her plenty of raw veg - ds has always loved big bowls of salads but dd won't touch them unfortunately.

Oh and I make sure she drinks plenty, ideally water but more usually very weak squash. Sometimes give her ice pops too.

Is she thirsty? Kids often confuse thirst for hunger

I would cut down on any sugary things. If you give her chocolate make sure portions are very small ie. couple small squares from a bar after her main meal. No harm at all in doing this, she doesn't have to miss out but most chocolate bars are far too big to eat in one go.

Also make sure the greatest portion of her meal is protein and veg with only a little carbohydrates.

Maybe wean her off the squash and start making it weaker and weaker.

If she has cereal choose the least sweet. Porridge with stewed fresh strawberries (no need to add sugar) is lovely.

I would be back to the GP and ask for some support with her eating from a dietician.

Does she run about? Swim? Soft play etc?

Feed it high good fats, medium protein and low carb. It will not be too hungry then. Loads of veg too with lots of butter on top. Drink only tap water.

It?

I struggle to get her enough exercise in winter. she walks/runs a lot around town….but I can't afford gymnastics/play groups swimming more than once a week! Nothing is cheap in London.

She does eat protein….and her snacks are fruit or rice cake. I have succeeded in getting in less juice and water only for the most part. I cook really healthy things and only use olive oil…she gets an occasional biscuit or Fruit yo-yo…I guess thats why I am so distraught. What is going wrong?

She has cheerios in the morning for breakfast…which is never enough. But my husband does breakfast duty and claims he can't fight with her when he tries to convince her to have porridge instead.

Recently she has been obsessed with ham sandwich for lunch. She always has a big helping of carrots or cucumbers with it so I thought it was ok…but maybe the bread has to go? I can't bear the idea of a 3 year old on low carb diet…..it just seems wrong.

Put some music on and get up and dance around with her - anything little like that will help with activiy

Can you get her to have Shreddies or Weetabix in the morning? Cheerios are not filling at all! And one of the more sugary cereals I think.

how are her portion sizes - this is a really tricky one as if you and your DH have large portions then it can be hard gauging what your DD should have, so the HV might be able to help here. Basically a toddler should have about a quarter-sized portion. Her fist is the size of her tummy - maybe one day (it's a bit of a waste but could help) cook up the amount she would usually have, whizz it up and see if that is bigger than her fist. If yes, she's having too much. She might be eating too much protein - a veggie who has dairy and eggs gets enough protein so most omnivores have too much, especially if they don't get much exercise.

Lots of parks and playgrounds in London! We have about 4 we can walk to, and a few more by car. I hardly do any paid activities these days.

It sounds overall like what she's eating is fine, so my guess is portion size.

Have you checked portion sizes, when I did this and realised my dd was having too much her weight soon became normal. She was about the same age as your dd. It only needs to be slightly over constantly and they will be over weight.
Now with carbs especially I am really careful.

sorry but if she is having too big of portions….

then how come as soon as she finishes she begs for more saying "I am still hungry!!!!"

she goes on and on…..I want this or that or more….

She needs to be eating protein for breakfast, or porridge. Cheerios will not fill her up.

Please do as the other posters suggest and keep a very detailed food diary, complete with the weight/portion size of what she is having, and go and see the GP.

Ignore the begging for food and give her a drink of water. If you have just fed her, she is not hungry.

I try to ignore her…but you have no idea how loud and persistent she is…

I just don't know how to deal with food begging. If she asks for a toy, I can manage…but going on and on about being "sooo hungry"…its hard.

Then she says "but you said if I finish I can have fruit"…so she has an apple…then asks for more…how can she just always want to eat?

My ds1 (now 4.9) goes through phases of the constant hunger whine which can be really wearing. What I do now is offer him veg like raw carrots/peppers/cucumber. If he is actually hungry he will eat that, if really he just wants a biscuit/attention/is bored or something then he won't and then I know he's not actually hungry.

is it attention she really wants? you could try doing an activity with her when she pesters eg playdough or a puzzle

Hiya.
I know I am replying to an old post but I have been searching the internet for answers and have just read your original post and is literally identify to my child and I am at the end of my tether.
My daughter is 3 1/2 years old and would eat every minute of the day if I allowed her to. She really doesn’t seem to know when she is full. She too is called chunky, solid, big girl, chubby etc and it’s now upsets me as she is by far the biggest in her dance class, swimming class and pre school class.
She wear clothing 5-6 and is also tight around her tummy.
She is not a fussy eater and will eat whatever I put infeont of her but will always want more and as soon as she has finished a meal she say “I want something to eat” “can I have more something to eat” “I am hungry”. I hear this all day every day.
She drinks water and has the occasional juice. She has coco pops or porridge for breakfast, a fruit snack, lunch and dinner. I do not give in to her with foods and we have to write everything down with being under and consultant and dietician.
She does however have a number of intolerance and allergies; milk, wheat, soya, egg and strawberries.
We have a dietician and consultant and I always say to them about her constant hunger and begging for food. They say she’s growing and developing well.
She is very active; goes to pre school in the afternoons, attends dance lessons, swimming lessons and gymnastics lesson each once a week.
I was just wondering how you got on and any changes you made that I could try. It upsets me so much that she seems to be getting bigger and bigger. I honestly don’t know what to do. It doesn’t matter how much she eats she insists she is still hungry and gets herself into a complete state when she is not given more food. Any advice would be wonderful.

Going really far out on a limb here Kandrews88... have you read about a condition called hypothalamic obesity?