over weight children

[xmotherndaughterx]

can any one give any advice on how i can help my 8yr old daughter loose weight, she is so unhappy with not being able to wear the nice clothes she wants we are with a dietician but doesnt seem to be helping and i dont want her to worry about her weight and just be a happy little girl, she has been to mend but all these things ive got her to do have made her feel more consious i dont want her getting some sort of eating disorder

Does she eat big portions, or graze too much or eat the wrong things? What is her diet?

ive cut her portions right down, she used to have a pudding after dinner every eve but i stopped that as now she is having school dinners, she is always hungry she says she never feels full, i cook her stews, roast dinners, salads theres not much she wont eat to be honest

How much exercise does she get?
Dd is 8. She eats everything that comes within a foot of her mouth.
But she walks to school everyday (20 mins).
6 hours of gym per week
2 hours of pe
2 hours of swimming
On sat she has 4 hours of dance and drama.
Sunday dog walking
We have a big garden and a trampoline which she plays in after school.

Works out about 2 hours of activity per day.

So she eats what she likes because she burns it off. As children should really

As well as food and exercise it might be wise to discuss that healthy women are not all skinny, that they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes to try give her a more positive self image. So she can start to understand that we are not all the same and that this is a good thing.

also is it worth looking for other place to buy clothes so that she doesn't get depressed if they do not have her sizes

If she is always hungry then its possible she is not getting enough water or enough protein. Its really common to mistake thirst for hunger.

It might be good to give her soup before dinner (and give her a bit less dinner), or when she get in from school and make sure she has a good drink in the morning. Children are often rubbish at drinking during the school day. High protein breakfast can stave off hunger for a while but its counter-intuitive because its more calorific than cereal. Rubbishy cereals really don't fill you up for very long.

Does she have 'no added sugar' drinks or anything else with sweeteners in? Artificial sweeteners can make you crave food because your brain has been tricked into thinking there is some sugar coming when there isn't.

Sleep deprivation can affect metabolism and appetite here. 8yos should be getting around 11 hours per night but most don't.

It doesn't take all that much to gain weight. 100 calories a day that you don't burn off leads to a 12lb weight gain in a year.

She may need to be told that is ok to be hungry sometimes and you don't have to be belt loseningly full after a meal. It sounds obvious but it may not have occurred to her that everyone gets hungry and thats ok because there will be a meal along soon enough.

thats my main problem iam agrophobic so i riddled with guilt that iam not taking her out for exercise but i do enrol her on swimming she does sports at school and she goes out every weekend with her dad and grandparents she has a very active life she goes for walks theme parks lol brownies, i do try for her but it is very hard to do it myself, when i dont get out. she doesn't drink hardly at all she is terrible on that front im forever nagging her to drink, she has also been under hospital with bowel problems she doesn't go for weeks on end and this has been ongoing since birth

Oh don't be riddled with guilt about anything. We all just do our best.

I make my dd drink a glass of water before meals, usually while I am cooking/preparing. It helps prevent her misreading thirst as hunger and it fills her. If she doesn't drink much water that will make her bowel problems worse.

It must be difficult for both of you. Do the DRs have any idea what causes the bowel problems?

iam also a single parent on benefits and live in a flat a nice flat but a flat lol so i havnt got a garden for ella to play in, i have recently got a dog to help me with my agrophobia as it falses me to walk him, which ella and i have been doing 4 times a day which iam proud of myself for cause ella is getting excercise and im getting out , i dont have many friends cause i dont get out i dont want ella living her life like me so i do encourage her to do things which iam pleased to say she does

when she was newborn she split her bum when she went to the toilet so they are saying that its subliminal

I'm trying to cut back and lose weight myself. The tips below all work for me.

Easiest way to cut out the sweet-stuff (at least at home), is not to buy it. It is hard at first, but then becomes normal.

Soup is a great filler. I make big sauspan of soup during the weekends, and get several days from it. It is much healtier than the shop bought soup, and much cheaper too!

Agree also with all the comments about water. I am still working on upping my water consumption, and finding it is really keeping me away from the snacks.

And finally, make snacks healthy ones. A nice yogurt, a fistfull of nuts, these will fill her up and help keep hunger at bay.

Good luck!