stressed out about food

[truthhurts23]

My 6 yr old is overweight, double what it should be for the age group..

I have over indulged her in junk food
I dramatically cut it down now
another problem is the portions sizes, I have been giving her similar portions to my own

from researching online, I think I have a rough idea of what the appropriate portion for her age is now..

She is allergic to milk, nuts and eggs , she also has ASD so she has issues around food mostly sensory,
Because I cant give her things like boiled eggs, nuts, and cheese for protein , the gap tends to be filled with carby things ,

vegan dairy alternatives are useful for some recipes but arent really filling, also without dairy and egg alot of dishes taste not as good

shes also not a fan of meat, sometimes she will eat it other times just leave it on the plate , which means she just eats the carb portion

for breakfast is usually toasted sandwich, bagel, beans on toast, porridge
sometimes she will not eat the porridge, she doesn't like cereal eg rice crispies
doesnt like pancakes or muffins,
on days she refuses everything i try a yoghurt or some fruit ..

im struggling to balance her dietary needs, plus making something healthy that she also likes to eat is difficult

she does exercise , once a week , walking to and from school or scooter
weekends softplay or park or more walking , plus she never sits still always running around in circles

i just need some ideas, so i can get her weight down , i have health issues that run in the family
can you show me what you feed your child on a typical school day , and a non school day breakfast lunch and dinner, and when do you give snacks, what kind of snacks do you give ?
also any other allergy mums , do you have any recipes for kids?

meant to say she does swimming once a week , not exercise once a week
she cant swim properly yet but she does moves around the pool alot

Hi I understand why you are worried.
If you google Interoception ( sensory) you will see that your daughter may not know when she is full so this may have contributed, conversely she may not feel hunger either at times.
Our daughter ( diagnosed with ASD age 3) had an extremely restricted diet but fortunately things have moved on a lot in terms of understanding, advice and support now.
Maybe you could ask for a referral to a specialist Paediatrician or dietitian. Your GP or school nurse may be a good starting point.

That does sound stressful but good you're addressing it. As you've asked what my 5 and a half year old dd would eat on a typical day is as below.

I have the opposite problem to you my dd barely eats anything some days also she has a health condition.

breakfast - porridge made with whole milk and raspberries and sometimes I stir in peanut butter - portion size made with 1/2 cup of oats. Or two slices toast with peanut butter and jam.

Lunch - ham or tuna Mayo sandwich with one slice of bread. Yogurt with honey or berries in. Cucumber sticks pepper sticks (these are often left).

Dinner - omelette and beans and toast (1 slice) or spag Bol (about 2 tablespoons full), or fajitas (1 wrap with chicken peppers, onion and cheese etc) or 2 fish fingers a few chips (about 8) and peas ketchup.

snacks fruit fruit fruit she loves it probably has too much most days she'll have an apple, pear, grapes and a satsuma. Some days she'll have crisps or something but most days not.

I wish you all the best OP getting food right is really hard x

hi thanks , i didnt know the name of the term but yes my dd does have this,
she is always hungry and asking for food, which i thought was anxiety but she also asks for food shortly after eating too ,
and she does get very worked up when i tell her no more food
i will try to find a one that specialises in autism food issues too because i find the tips doctors have given me are really unhelpful , such as hide the veggies, smoothies etc which ive already been doing

That should say she has a health condition that means I have to careful about what I give her as somethings trigger seizures.

you may be able to get support and advice from the school nurse. To access the one at our school you'd need the senco to arrange. Our school nurse it not much help with autism and issues around food, but you may have a better one!

thank you for this x ive been giving my dd probably double the portion you mentioned which is probably why the weight has gotten out of control so i will be giving alot less now ..

Cut down the bread, buscuits cake, crisps, etc. If she likes carbs, more porridge, potatoes and fried sweet potatoes - at least is not all processed and packaged. Yogurt is very good balanced food, because they put plenty of carbs in it also, but still has proteins and vitamins;

Make sure she is drinking enough water , especially in this hot weather. It is easy to confuse hunger with thirst. Does she have water with her meals, make sure she does and finishes it. If she says she is hungry straight after a decent meal ask her to drink some more water first then see how she feels after a few minutes. It takes a while for “feeling full “ to kick in.

Hello just contributing what a typical day for my almost 5 year old would be who is a normal weight.

breakfast - one slice of toast with peanut butter, or one bowl of porridge made with oat milk (approx 30g oats), or one bowl hole made muesli (approx 30g) with oat milk. Plus 2 tablespoons yoghurt and a banana or apple.

lunch would be a sandwich with 2 slices of bread (tuna mayo, or cheese), and a few sticks of cucumber and pepper and 3 strawberries. Or 4 crackers/2 rice cakes instead of the sandwich with some cubes of cheese.

dinner examples would be 2 boiled eggs and one slice of toast with 3 spears of broccoli, or 3-4 tablespoons of dahl/pasta bake/savoury crumble, with the same again of a carb and the same again of veg. She doesn’t always eat it all. Followed by 2-3 tablespoons of yoghurt and another piece of fruit (sometimes she doesn’t want pudding).

snacks are rare but mainly a few nuts, cubes of cheese, fruit, veg sticks etc.

we eat a lot of vegan food - dahl is good and easy if she will eat it? We eat lots of veg and lentil soup with homemade bread. I can recommend the green roasting tin, and one pot pan planet for recipe books.

I would say her portions are generally a third to a half of an adult portion

My DD is 8 and is the normal weight for her height. This is what I feed her:

Breakfast: porridge (30g dry) with fruit or a wholemeal bagel with butter and fruit or two weetabix.
Lunch: cheese sandwich on wholemeal bread, 2 portions of fruit, cucumber sticks. Sometimes a few olives or a handful of pretzels for variety, no more than once a week.
Snacks: fruit, rice cakes etc at afterschool
Dinner: 1/3 of husband's portion of whatever we're having.
Water or milk to drink.
No treats except on Friday unless it's a party.
Take away once a month at most.

The other thing she has is a fitbit. We go for a 45 minute walk every evening as a family but she also goes to a forest afterschool so she regularly gets 18 - 20k steps.

Hope this helps. Well done recognising and tackling the issue. I was an overweight child and I wish my Mum had been more realistic about the situation (rather than thinking I was perfect, an opinion the kids in school were clear wasn't universal).

this is a good idea im going to try this
her water intake is generally pretty good, she has her water bottle for school but she needs to be reminded to drink other wise she just doesnt

love the fitbit idea i was actually thinking to get one for myself too,
from our house to the school its about 1mile , so she walks or scoots about two miles a day i think , sometimes abit more if we go to the park

ive never tried dahl before she might like it because she likes lentil soup if its anything like that , thanks for the recipe book suggestions x

definitely cutting down the carbs , most of it is processed.. she does like dairy free yoghurts which is one of her healthier snacks

thanks for all the suggestions xx i am trying to make a meal plan
tonight we had sausages and mash with peas
i gave her two sausages cut up , one scoop of mash with table spoons of peas and some gravy that i grated carrots in to
does that sound like too much ??

you could never say this to my face, what a sad life you have

what are you going to do hit me through the computer😁 not very bright are you get a life , you are reported

Give her a glass of water each mealtime, drinking it before each meal will mean she eats less.

Also veg to be half the plate and snacks. Raw or cooked.

try lentils, tofu, seeds, fish, prawns and chickpeas for protein

Many cereals are processed so not the best start. Beans on a slice of toast is great.

Portion size all mine would have one sausage, a scoop of mash for carbs, lots of veg aged 6

a six year old who has just an hour of exercise a day needs 1600 calories in total.