DD always hungry

[Thecaravan]

Sorry in advance for the essay! DD 7.5 seems to be constantly hungry at the moment. We live abroad and she goes to international school where the days are long comapred to home but its all they have ever known so arw lle used to it. At the moment I can't seem to fill her up and she keeps going to find DH who is a teacher at her school and asking him to buy her more lunch. Help with your wisdom please.

She wakes around 5.45/6am and 3 mornings a week has sports training before school from 6.30-7.30. Then 2 days a week she has sports fixtures/training from 3-4ish. Other days she has after school clubs 3-4pm. Home from school around 4.30ish. 3 evenings a week has gymnastics for 2 hours each from 5.30-7.30. Does PE/swimming twice a week at school.

Typical days food:

Breakfast around 6am: shreddies/weetabix/porridge/toast with Peanut butter and banana. Glass of milk.

Snack at 9.30: Bento style box with 3 chopped fruit or veg e.g. chopped melon/strawberries/grapes/carrot sticks along with a few ritz crackers or a rice cake.

Lunch at 12: Kids flask with e.g. egg fried rice, chicken, carrots, corn or pasta, sausages, peas, corn. Yogurt/banana

Snack after school on non-gym days 4.45: apple and Peanut butter, milk.

Dinner on non-gym days around 6pm: homecooked meal e.g. chicken and pasta/salmon and veg/spag bol.
Sometimes fruit or yogurt after.

If hungry before bed around 7pm: small bowl of cereal or piece of fruit

Gym days dinner at 4.45: poached egg/beans on toast with cheese/leftover spag bol

Snack before bed after gymaround 8pm: apple or bowl of cereal.

She's 128cm and 26kg. Bed at around 7.15 on non-gym nights and 8.15 on gym nights.

Doesn't like: sandwiches/hummous/hard boiled eggs/chunks of cheese.

I feel like she needs more protein to fill her but not sure what to give. Any words of wisdom?

She is a very active girl, so she's going to need a lot more food. I think she's light on protein and possibly fats, especially in the morning, and at all snack times too. Doesn't matter what - as long as it's protein, so scrambled egg at breakfast, ham at 9.30am snack. And check her portion sizes - with the level of activity she is doing, she'll be needing more calories than average.

Yes I agree with the pp, she is doing a LOT of sport (not a bad thing but it does mean she needs more calories to keep her going!). Her diet sounds generally good and actually sounds like a decent amount of protein assuming fair portion sizes. My son went through stages like this of being super hungry during growth spurts so it may calm down eventually!

Her snacks sound very healthy but also very light I agree. And if she’s super hungry every lunchtime it probably does mean she isn’t eating enough, or enough of the right things in the mornings (especially when doing sports before school). Are her milk/yoghurt etc full fat? If not I would change that first of all. Amazing what a difference that made to my unfillable pit of a teenage son along with copious amounts of peanut butter, chicken and egg 🤣 Look at whole grain breads/pastas if not already taking those. And make snacks more substantial - maybe yoghurts if she is not a great cheese fan or some cooked chicken etc. Bananas are quite filling? Nuts? Flapjacks? Some kids will accept a wrap even if they don’t like sandwiches. The peanut butter is a great choice already as is the egg at dinner. I’d institute regular supper and give her a hot chocolate as well at bedtime!

Thanks for the feedback. Milk and yogurt are full fat. Will try extra ham at snack. You're right that snack is pretty light. Fruit isn't that filling with all the sport. Maybe even philadelphia wrapped in ham like a wrap would work. Am useless at creative packed lunches!

I think she needs more protein/more food. It could be a growth spurt, too!

My daughter is the same, not as active as yours but she has some form of sport/extra curricular most evenings! I let her eat what she wants within reason, and make sure she gets enough good fat and protein each day. She’s nearly 7, and very skinny, so im not too concerned.

@readingismycardio I think it could be a growth spurt too tbh. Before spring break she was rarely eating lunch and i was getting really fed uoneith all the waste but the last few weeks she's like a bottomless pit. I don't limit her food (unless just before mealtimes) but try to push healthier options over the junk that she always asks for! How long do growth spurts last for? Not something I've ever really noticed before with either of the kids but this seems a noticeable increase in hunger.

To be fair, I have no clue. My baby is 14 mo old and I noticed he had growth spurts too and drank more milk/ate more food. Your DD is v active, so I wouldn’t worry about it.

Can she have nuts as a snack? Lots of fat, protein and calories.

I'd suggest cereal and toast for breakfast, if she currently has one or the other.

She wakes around 5.45/6am and 3 mornings a week has sports training before school from 6.30-7.30. Then 2 days a week she has sports fixtures/training from 3-4ish. Other days she has after school clubs 3-4pm. Home from school around 4.30ish. 3 evenings a week has gymnastics for 2 hours each from 5.30-7.30. Does PE/swimming twice a week at school.

Sports training before school 6:30-7:30 3 mornings a week ? And she's 7. I feel so sorry for your child who is not allowed a healthy childhood where sports are for fun
It's clear you want to make her into an athlete but it's just so fucking selfish because she doesn't have a say. I think SS ought to look into this.

@arcticpandas thanks for your thoughts!! I don't want to make her into an athlete at all, she enjoys all of these sports. It's very much the norm where we live as school starts at 7.30am. To be quite honest I'd take the extra few minutes in bed in the mornings and will happily quit any or all of them if she wants to!
I'd be curious as to what SS would ask her if they existed here. The vast majority of her friends also take part in as much activity as she does. It's just school based rounders/basketball/netball etc but due to heat they train as much as possible earlier on in the day. It's a long day though for sure which is why I want to ensure she's getting enough food and rest.

@Thecaravan Sorry I did not see that you were abroad where you need to do physical activity in the morning/evening due to heat. I'm probably reading abuse in too quickly having seen pushy parenting and a mental health disaster + anorexia for my cousin so I go into defensive mode. This does not apply to your situation and I excuse myself for jumping to conclusions.

Let your daughter have access to illimited fruit between meals to fill her up. She's growing and she's very active so ofcourse she's hungry. I've got a not so active 15 y old at home who is constantly hungry. It's in periods when they are growing I think.

@arcticpandas no worries at all. I get it as its so different here to how it is in the UK but is just normal for thousands of children here, rightly or wrongly. Please rest assured though that I would willingly let her quit anything if she wants, but equally we're blessed to live somewhere where there are opportunities to experience lots of different activities.
Will try some of the suggestions to keep filling her up and try and find a cheaper supermarket for this growth spurt 😀