Overweight 10yo ds wants to do weight watchers

[Mummypig2020]

Ds weighed himself a few days ago. We are open about weight/healthy eating/unhealthy eating etc. We all could do with getting healthy and losing weight. Except my Dd who is naturally slim and can eat anything.

Ds is 4ft10 and weighs 7stone3. He carries a lot of weight on his belly. He walks around topless and you can really tell. I feel so sorry for him but it’s my doing.

I do ww. I had a delivery from their website today and he asked if he could do it. Iv currently lost 4 stone through it.

I don’t know what to do. He knows you get so many points a day etc but obviously he’s too young.

I don’t know what to do 😩 I started my first diet at his age and have constantly battled since. I don’t want him to have to deal with the same.

Children are still growing they need the right amount of fat, sugar is for more unhealthy than fat!

He doesn't look overweight in that pic

Has he gone from toned to flabby? Rather than overweight?

TBH when you are 5' or less even 3 or 4 pounds really shows.

@SauvignonBlanketyBlank he does. Not excessively so, but certainly "tubby".

OP, I think you're doing a great job. Losing 4 stone yourself is a fantastic achievement and it's great that you are recognising your sons weight too - a lot of parents are in denial. Keep going!!

I have this problem too. DS10 weighed himself, then googled average weight of a 10-yr old and was in teases. He was a bit podgy and lockdown has made it worse as we’ve eaten more treats and his sports clubs and at school has stopped. Also people at school say he’s fat.

I’ve not been that concerned as every male in my family was podgy until about 12 and then grew to be 6 footers and slim. DS1, now 14 was teased constantly about his weight and now he’s 5’10 and fit and lean.

I’ve just started WWs myself after getting thru lockdown with wine and chocolate. I’ve told my DS I don’t want him skipping food or worrying about it and I made a commitment to him that we will eat healthier and do loads more exercise so that when he walks into his new school in Sept, he feels better.

I dont think he is overweight if that pic in fact he looks like my friends son did before he had a massive growth spurt.

Op i wouldn’t worry too much. Just keep an eye on it and plenty of activity

I'm not sure 'looking overweight' is a good measure- people were assuring me I didn't look fat when I very clearly was at size 16-18 and with a BMI that had just tipped into the obese category. Without wanting to be one of the "we exist only on fresh air and organic seeds and anyone weighing more than a few ounces is a disgusting specimen " MN fatshaming bores, there is something to the idea that we have lost sight of overweight looks like.

No, it’s not a bread roll. I made banana muffins lol.

He’s gone from toned to flabby. It’s definitely on his tummy.

I fear he has Lipoedema like I do, his legs are chunky like mine were :( even though it’s rare in boys it still
Could happen.

Shouldn't slightly overweight children aim to grow into their weight rather than lose weight?

And is the cake instead of crisps/chocolate?

No, the cake was because I had made them. They don’t take a sweet and/or crisps if I make something which is typically healthy. We make a lot of banana bread.

Banana bread with white flour probably high enough in calories..

My god. I feel like everything I’v done is bloody wrong. Do I just feed them lettuce?

Under lockdown we've been getting shopping in once a week. I buy treats like crisps, biscuits donuts. These are gone in a couple of days and then we wait for a week for more so we aren't snacking on junk every day. Works ok

no.
make small changes.
first change - no snacks (have 'tea' late afternoon as 4th meal)

change anything white (flour, rice, pasta) to wholemeal
reduce sugar (most cake recipes still taste nice with a third less sugar)
look at portion size/proportio (imagine toddler plate: small compartments for meat/sauce/pasta/rice/potato, large compartment for steamed veg)
exercise - at least one hour a day, preferably outside until sweaty/out of breath

Sorry mummypig I wasn't going to say anything as I know you feel low but it is better to be fully informed. I wouldn't not give bb but just to know a couple of thick slices would add to calories.

I think those portions are very big and the huge dollop of mayonnaise will add a lot of unnecessary fat. The size of that pie in the first set of pics is gigantic. A 10 year old should not be eating that.

Have a snack once or twice a week
Not every day

No home made cakes or muffins or banana bread

Fruit is very high sugar, as is yogurt.
Ok in small amounts.

Lots of vegetables if he likes them and give him bigger portions of them to fill him up.

It is hard, but exercise and keeping them both fit is key...

Given the wrong foods, with high suger and fats even if you are thin, you can still get diabetes

Control portions now, as when he grows he will keep these portion sizes up and grow into a very large adult.

Good eting habits are formed as a child, try and establish them now

I would let my DS have one cake a day, but he is currently a healthy weight. Honestly I think the meals are what we eat, except no sugary cereal. Instead there is plenty of fruit to put on the plain stuff.

One small (fairy cake, not cup cake) banana cake as the only treat food during the day is fine. And obviously feed them things other than lettuce. The problem here is that everyone is controlling their intakes slightly differently so you are sending up with nearly everything in the lunchbox being a bad idea in someone's opinion.

Sticking with "Eat. Not too much, mostly plants" works for us

I feel like everything I’ve done is bloody wrong

It isn't. Please don't let people make you feel that way. Of course you don't just feed them lettuce. No food needs to be totally off limits, it is about balance. Banana bread is fine in moderation. Anything can be fine in moderation!

my dc have 'treat food' almost every day. but as part of a meal.

and if we fancy it, dinner can be crisps with raw veg sticks and dips in front of the tv

Try not to beat yourself up - this is reversible.

Don’t even concentrate on getting him to lose weight per se - even if his weight stays the same over the next year or so, he will slim down markedly as he grows upwards.

Don’t be draconian either. It won’t work and it will be miserable for your son. I totally disagree with the person upthread who recommends no cakes/fruit/yoghurts, virtually no snacks and concentrate on vegetables. You need this to be sustainable, and you achieve that by making small, manageable changes.

And I wouldn't be worrying about fruit!! If you are managing portions and activity I don't think fruit is a problem.

Sorry those pictures of the food aren’t theirs, it’s ours but they have the exact same but abit smaller

@KaptainKaveman

I think those portions are very big and the huge dollop of mayonnaise will add a lot of unnecessary fat. The size of that pie in the first set of pics is gigantic. A 10 year old should not be eating that.

Where’s the mayo?