What does your 7yr old eat in a day? How to help lose weight.

[Turquoisetamborine]

My son is 122cm and 4 stones 6 which is classed as overweight. He's 7. Neither me or my husband are overweight as I know this can be a factor.

From being underweight at age 1 (he only weighed 19 pounds on his first birthday) and having very little appetite up to the age of 4, he now has an enormous appetite and always seems hungry but not anymore than his friends when I have them over.

Yesterday he had two weetbix with semi skimmed milk and a small glass of juice for breakfast, a piece of fruit and a small bottle of milk at school break, packed lunch was a small pot of hummus, about 3 breadsticks, 4 strawberries, a frube, and a cereal bar, water to drink. My mam who collects him from school 2 days a week then fed him homemade oven chips, two fish fingers, beans and a slice of bread and flora followed by blueberries with a dollop of Nutella. Squash to drink.
He then came home and said he was still hungry so had a plate of roast butternut squash, carrots, mash and two yorkshire puds (he doesn't like the chicken and gravy we ate with it). Then had a cookie.
I would normally try to only feed him one meal on a night but he seems to be starving when he finishes school and then about 7pm as well. I took him off school meals as all he seemed to eat was pie, chips and cake most days and he said they were disgusting. He wasn't any less hungry after school when he had them.

He isn't particularly sporty but he does enjoy PE and sports. His dad plays football and tennis with him when the weather is ok and we have a walk every weekend. I've just started to take him to softplay once a week after school and he's interested in starting kickboxing next week. He swims with school once a week too.

Is he eating too much or just not exercising enough do you think? I've been through IVF twice this past year and then a high risk pregnancy currently so I will admit I haven't taken him out as much as I should on the weekends his dad is at work as I just haven't had the energy.

Obviously it's difficult while you're pregnant but maybe you could start parking a little further away once you've had the baby? You could use the excuse that the baby needs the air.

It's a really tricky balance - I spent years trying to cram calories into my DS because he wasn't ever hungry but I think he's eats like an average child of his age now (having seen what his friends eat). Actually he eats like an absolute bird compared to some of them who aren't remotely fat so I do think the growth spurt theory has a lot of truth in it!

I would help become interested in exercise and also look into why he eats. It can't be hunger. Could it be boredom? Habit? Anxiety? 2 teas is probably not required. Also can you be sure of what he's eating at his grandparents?

I think this time of year kids are generally not as active anyway as the days are shorter and weather not great. In the summer we are out and about much more, on our bikes or going swimming.

I find with my daughter she can sometimes eat like a horse and other times not. With the hunger thing I offer fruit and veggies if a 'nicer' snack has already been consumed. If she's hungry she'll happily eat it - if not sometimes this will stop her asking.
There is unfortunately a lot of sugar in many products marketed at children which is not healthy for them. Sometimes I think we're fooled into buying things as a healthy alternative to sweets but they're not really.

Sounds like he needs more filling food, but fewer calories.

Fat (in food) doesn't make you fat, sugar does. Also, fat is more satisfying and filling than sugar, which gives us a quick boost and then an energy crash and hunger pangs.

So, I'd get rid of all fruit juice and squash (empty calories) and watch things like sugar in yoghurts and other snacks like cereal bars and cookies.

Wholewheat bread/ pasta is more filling than white.

Cheese is fine. Filling and very low sugar.

Rather than the grandparents giving him tea after school can't they give him a snack, fruit, yogurt or piece of toast with a drink maybe? And then have a proper tea at a reasonable time, 7 pm seems quite late to be eating a Main meal to me. I don't think he should be having 2 meals in the evening.
I think I would also add something more filling to his lunch box, pasta with pesto maybe?
Today my tall, skinny 7 year old has had a bowl of shreddies for breakfast, apple as a snack in school, cheese sandwich in a large wholemeal roll, cereal bar, apple, yogurt and cartoon of orange juice for lunch. Then for dinner he had a breaded turkey breast, carrots, sweetcorn and new potatoes. He very active. Does judo, swimming 2/3 times a week, out on his bike, enjoys going for 2 hour walks etc.

My 7 year old daughter ate half a bagel for breakfast, whatever the snack was at school, school dinner which was apparently curry, rice, pasta? and beans followed by chocolate pudding then a packet of fruit flakes after school, followed by boiled egg and half a bagel for tea. She refused fruit because she wasn't hungry. She also walked best part of two miles to go to her gymnastics club.
I would say that some days she'll eat more than that for breakfast and tea. She also sometimes wants something more before bed - fruit, nuts, cheese are often eaten then.

I'd try feeding him more protein and fat which will help him feel fuller and help him as he's growing. It may be that you need to look at the portion size - so that the share of the different foods is changed.

I expect that he'll grow into his weight soon.