DS is losing weight, high fat food suggestions please

[IGIG]

My 6.5yr old is not gaining / not maintain/ losing weight. I've seen the doc and he says to give him high fat food. DS is a snacker and a ok ish eater but last 6m he has not gained any weight and stick thin. How do I get him to have a healthy weight gain?

Eggs, cashew nuts ( most nuts really), avocado, cream cheese, cheese in general.

He eats all of those apart from eggs, have to retry him again. He is a grazer and doesn't drink water much, not sure if that makes any difference.

Thanks

Can you ask your Dr to refer your DS to a Dietician? They'll monitor his progress and give him a tailor made diet to follow (incl working around fussy eating habits etc), with him needing extra calories it's hard to retrain yourself to encourage him to eat 'bad' foods.

DS was on a similar diet, we were encouraged to give him plenty of protein - so cubes of chicken as snacks (DS loves salami and they were more than happy for him to be eating it) as well as fats/carbs - plenty of cheese like cheddar as well as mixing mascarpone cheese in cooking and his yoghurts.

Also the drinking too much water can make a difference - they can 'fill up' on liquids meaning they're too full to eat and get calories into them.

Thank you. We have been given 6m to improve his calorie intakes, and if no change we will be sent to dietician. I'm going to try cheese & egg.
He eats variety of food but the quantity might be little?
Yes, I'm finding it hard to encourage him eat more sugary/ bad food but doctor insinuated that it's ok to give him more choc etc (in a subtle way as DS was in the room) and don't get me wrong he gets "puddings" / "treats" so I'm not sure where all the calories are going!

Sorry I didn't explain my first bit properly, what I mean about the Dietician is that a high calorie diet for a child is risky so you'll need support.

Also forgot, butter on everything as well - on crumpets and in cooking (obv not apples etc )

You're welcome

Oh yes, another I forgot pudding after every dinner/lunch - DS face when he got told this was like

Also rice pudding type desserts as well.

DS was the same (he actually fell off the percentile chart!) he ate bird like amounts and takes ages to eat. But seriously check out mascarpone - the calories in that is ridiculous!

Peanut butter, Malt loaf, cereal bars, butter on everything, full fat milk, cheese, nuts, muffins, ice-cream.

Make sure he is doing things to increase his appetite and he needs to be drinking more too. Fill a couple of water bottles and set him the target of finishing them every day.

If your DS is a grazer then maybe making him a daily snack box for just him and letting him know he's welcome to eat from it when he wants - the novelty might encourage him. so things like nuts, yoghurt coated raisins, cheesy crackers (those adult ones like 'Fudges' brand that are v buttery and moreish!) Babybels, cubed chicken/ham/salami, those tubes of squeezy yoghurt with cartoon characters on.

Also just be careful about the sugar and extra care with teeth brushing.

IGIG if you weeks/months on need a chat you're more than welcome to PM me x

I had the same issue with my son at that age. I used to buy 5% milk and encouraged him to drink milky tea. I was making it with 1/3-1/4 of milk in a mug and sweet too.
You could make rice pudding with full fat milk, cream and cashew nuts.
Mashed potatoes with milk and lots of butter.

Doesn't drinking tea inhibit the absorption of Iron or something in children?

Pressed too early..

Thank you, like the snack box idea, good pointers on food, wouldn't have thought of mascarpone.
He is on 2nd percentile :( he is active so burns if off as well. Yes eating is bird like! Spot on.

That must be tough :( Mine would eat everything was wasn't nailed down so had the opposite problem.

4 year old just got her results back from taking part in the national food survey. Her 4 day sample meals included a trip to McDonalds, a trip to the cake shop with her Grannie and a fish fingers, chips and peas freezer tea (it was a busy weekend). She eats sugary breakfast cereal most mornings and crisps and biscuits most days. (The rest is "healthy" although resolutely full fat and no artificial sweeteners). She was still within the government guidelines for everything and is on the small side of average weight.

I just wanted to share because especially with all the discussion of sugar tax etc I think it is very hard not to get sucked into the calorie limiting health messages when you actually have the opposite problem.

I use Ice cream, fruit cake and adding cheese straws or similar side orders for building mine up if they are off their food.

On top of what's mentioned, full fat yoghurt. Yeo Valley are very morish, but if they're too sharp for him, the M&S luxury ones are fab. They're quite big portions, but he'll still get 100 calories if he can only manage half a pot.

if you bake for him, substitute ground almonds for some of the flour - highly nutritious and rich in good fats.

And rather than add in snacks during the day, which may simply put him off his meals, add one before bedtime, if there's more than an hour between dinner and bed. Or try to space his meals a little better so there's that option - with the Easter holidays and the clocks changing, now's a good time to do that.

Has he been tested for diabetes? Just I remember my sister ate like a horse but continually lost weight before being diagnosed as a child.
I second the pp you can give a lot of treats and high cal foods without going over diet guidelines. When mine are ill Dr are always saying to give cake, ice cream, juice - basically anything to get cals in them and they aren't underweight particularly.

Actually reading your OP again and what winchester1 said I'd be inclined to get a second opinion, 6 months is a long time to wait for a referral. We knew why our DS was low percentile but your Dr doesn't and that would bother me that it could be something else (even a tapeworm) and it's not being looked into. In 6 months my DS would see the Dietician twice so it's not as if it's excessive. How long do you reckon your DS hasn't been growing and did you tell your Dr this?

Peanut butter, nutella, macaroni cheese made with cream. Caffeine does prevent absorption of iron in all of us (decaff tea is ok).

Not tested for diabetes/ tape worm. Went to go about tummy ache and weight gain and he said its normal to have tummy ache (around belly button) and weight is ok, chart him for the next 6m.
Month later (last w) we had a consultant appt (DS under care since his chicken pox eps 3yrs ago, sees him every 6m) so that's when he said to load him up w high cal food.
Do I chart for another month and then go back to GP?

He has no caffeine at all, never had tea / coffee.

How is his digestion? Does he poo regularly and without pain? If he isn't drinking he could be getting constipated and this would affect his appetite plus he might be limiting his intake so he doesn't need to go if it is maybe hurting? Is he wheat intolerant?

Not tested for any intolerance, normal diet. Sometimes he tries harder when he goes. Last two days we have been encouraging to drink water, treat for finishing bottle at school.
It's a good point to consider, thank you.

I'd have thought the consultant would dave arranged Dietician referral - ours did. Did the consultant check his weight on the chart in your DS yellow/red book?

I don't want to say chart him for a month as really this needs a medical professionals opinion, which you've had but really I'm surprised at their relaxed attitude

*have not 'dave' sorry!

Yes he checked his grow chart before saying to bulk up his diet.