Need to improve ds's diet

[TheOriginalNutcracker]

He is 9 and not a very active boy, and he eats for england. I keep catching him taking stuff from the kitchen. He is becoming chubby, and is getting called fat. He has always been stocky but this is not that. His clothes are starting to strain at the seams.

The main problem is he likes to graze and I have got into the habit of having a cupboard full of crisps and cakes, mainly because they are cheap, and so thats where the weight gain is coming from.

I'd be graeful of some healthy snack ideas. He will eat fruit but only grapes strawberries and the occasional banana.
Obviously, i will be changing his diet subtley as i don't want him to think i think he is fat.

I used to have a plate of chicken drumsticks in the fridge to keep my ds off snacking on crisps and rubbish, he quite liked rice cakes too. He's 16 and eats crap now anyway though

Oh and could you get him more active? Skateboarding or something?

get him involved in cooking the main meals -more likely to try if he is involved in cooking

stop buying the crisps and cakes, no one NEEDS crisps and cakes and after 2 weeks of them not being in the house he will stop asking for them

get him more active -trampolie, bike, take him swimming -is he allowed to play out by himself? get him down to the park

my 10 yo dd was getting noticeably chubby so we talked about healthy eating and balance, and making healthy food choices -diet and fat were never mentioned, just health
she really bought into it and 6 months on she hasn't lost weight but has grown and now is much leaner and looks more athletic -her skin and her mood have also improved

Stop buying crisps cake etc. Stock up on loads of heathy snacks like fruit, nuts, vegetable soups, healthy cereals etc etc. When he asks where the crisps are just say oh we've run out. Have a banana/apple/bowl of special k etc instead. Make sure his meals are healthy with lots of veg to fill him up (if he'll eat it). Watch what drinks you have in too as these cn be full of sugar. Is he into sports? Boys lose weight so quickly if they are busy running around or swimming

Oh I see you said he's not very active. Can you try encouraging him into doing a bit of exercise? Swimming always used to be a treat as did trampolining and both burn a lot of calories

Why not just stop the crisps and 'naughty' treats?!! As alternatives try rice cakes or fruity flapjacks ( can make them yourself get your ds to join in?) as a treat I offer my dd oatcakes with a little honey etc don't just take away but offer alternatives. Fruit is great but I understand kids can b temperamental with it, perhaps try various fruits with yoghurt etc. nows the right time to change eating habits as he is still fairly young, unlike my brother who won't touch anything that is a vegetable or fruit and he's now 22!!

I can't stop the snacks completely, because i always have two teens in the house, that have hollow legs, but are like beanpoles lol. I have told both dd's that i plan to make some changes to what food is available though.

He hates any type of sport, always has. He does play out though and we are soon moving right opposite a park, so I'm hoping that will encourage him to be more active.

He won't eat salad, except for cucumber, but i do still give it to him, in the hope he might change his mind one day lol.

I love the idea of having chucken drumsticks in the fridge for snacks, and having cereal, although i need to change what i buy.

Cucumber or celery with low fat hummus
Home made popcorn
Flavoured rice cakes (I love the salt and vinegar ones)
Bakes crisps - but not often!

Check out some sports he may like - maybe martial arts or football?

Try to get him interested in cooking - even just chopping up a fruit salad for the family with low fat yoghurt and honey. Home made pizza needn't be high calorie, and muesli bars can be surprisingly satisfying if home-made. Home made fish fingers are ok too,

Always pop a small salad down with his meal. Even if it's just cucumber, grated carrot, olives and sweet corn. Small steps!

Im assuming the teens are siblings - hopefully a big brother will take him to the park to play football or throw a frisbee around, or even to the pool for a swim.

Check he's hungry when he's asking for food
If not, try a drink and a distraction
Cut up banana with lemon juice, grapes and strawbs just before his main meal
Are there any opportunities for him to walk more? Or cycle?

So far he has tried and vetoed, football, karate, rugby and swimming, although i think i might try him with swimming again after easter. The only activity he does is drama.

He plays out on his bike, and down the park, climbing trees etc, and we do have a trampoline, although thats not up atm because of the move.

So the flavoured rice cakes, are better than normal crisps then ?? Like snackajacks ??

He likes cooking, so i will try and involve him more in that too.

These ideas are brilliant, thank's.

Blimey, just checked the fat content of a bag of snak a jacks, compared to a bag of asdas own cheese and onion crisps and was shocked.

I have a 9 yr old Ds too, and he loves his food. He is forever asking for snacks etc... I feel like I am always saying 'no' to him. If he asks for food between meals, then offer him fruit, and that's it.

Our problems come when it's a special occasion, or School hols (dreading Easter), as he wants to go over the top. He doesn't seem to know when to stop, and I feel like the food police!

I have cut crisps out of his lunch box, and changed his chocolate treat for 2 snack a jacks. He also takes a 'bear fruit'. So that is a big change.

I know exactly how you feel, it's really tough sometimes. Good luck.

More fruit and veg and wholegrains, of course. All are 'bulky' foods and will make him feel fuller. Keep trying with different fruit and veg: it took me THREE MONTHS to get my DS to eat oranges, now he loves them. They're stubborn little ... I sympathise!

Protein will cut down his cravings, and the lower-fat the better. Cottage cheese, tuna, maybe try Quorn products if he tolerates them, a pot of cooked & diced chicken breast, hard boiled egg. You know, stuff he can just get out of the fridge and eat without much fuss.

Invest in an air popper if they like popcorn. Still yummy and very low-cal.

Don't buy crisps/cakes and cut down on processed snacks - none of the DC need that stuff.

But most importantly, as others have said, he needs to exercise. That will be the best thing for him going forward in life.

By the way, any ideas why he's not very active?

He has never been an active child tbh. He used to cry all the way through sports day as he gets flustered when he cant do something right. He is currently under camhs for anxiety, anger, concentration and obsessive issues.

He does like golf. His dad did say he would take him to play, but as usual, that never happened.

He used to have very good food control tbh, and would stop half way through a packet of sweets and save them for later, but that has stopped and nw he just goes on and on.

Im going to make a list of things that they eat now and what i can swap them for i think.

Do you have a Wii? There might be a game for it that he would enjoy, and they're all pretty active.

Your "beanpole" children don't NEED to snack on junk. They can have boiled eggs, fruit, nuts, etc the same as your son. (plus it would be better for their health)

I think the non-activity bears further investigation. Sports day can be a hellish pile of shit for some, so he's not wrong there! Maybe a sport or activity that he can do on his own (walking, then eventually running/ cycling/ swimming but not in 'classes'). The Olympics are coming up - maybe there's some inspiration to be had there?

Does he have any physical or vision problems that could be holding him back?

Just noticed the anxiety/anger. If the overeating is new, I wonder if it's linked to him emotional or mental state.

What about swimming with a friend or with you instead of lessons? He might think that's more fun especially I'd there's a diving pool so they can do jumping in. Also as I said before trampolining. I have always hated exercise but loved this as a child as the lessons were non competitive -just lots of bouncing around with a few tricks thrown in.

Bit of a tangent, but you don't need poncey equipment to make popcorn, just a saucepan with a lid.

I sympathise with the not-very-active - I've never ever found a sport that interests me and was a fat kid. It's always possible that he might be more confident/keen once the weight starts to come off. I agree with ButIlikesalt - it's worth checking if the food issues are linked to the emotional ones.

I don't think snack a jacks are the same as rice cakes op.

Sympathy too about the other teens in the house. I used to give older dd stuff that she kept in her room. bad I know

Well since posting, I have discovered that ds is stealing food from the cupboard on occasions too. I got a packet of 9 cereal bars on Monday, and there are only 3 left. Dd1 hasn't had any, dd2 has had 1 , and ds said he's had two, so 3 are missing.
I had thought before now that food was going missing, but i thought it was just me going mad.

Anyhow, i have changed alot of the snack type things that i buy, to lower fat, lower sugar content etc, like rice cakes, and i have filled the fruit bowl up and moved it to a more prominent position, (instead of at the back of the worktop, surounded by junk). I have also cut down everyones portion sizes, and sent ds out to play every day.

You need to just not buy them. Not great for everyone else but temptation is too strong.

As long as there are lots of healthy treats with choice, then he will slowly wean off the bad stuff and hopefully prefer toe good stuff.

Well done for sending him outside to play, and making all those changes. I agree with Frontpaw, don't buy cookies and crisps and snack bars and sugary cereals. You can't expect a 9-year-old to use his willpower to stop eating them. At his age, though, exercise will go such a long way to sorting any weight problems. And he'll feel better, too!

Does he like to cook? Try to encourage him to make his own pizzas, etc and once on a while a nice cake or cookies. There are low fat recipes out there and they are much better than the shop ones!

I even have to hide sweets from myself!