Teenage son and worrying lifestyle changes

[Brunolarge]

Morning all
I am worried about my teen son he’s 15 and has recently seemed to become a bit obsessive over his eating habits he’s aiming for 100g of protein every day which means yesterday he had 2x protein shakes and is frying eggs like they are going out of fashion. He spends a lot of time on tik tok and you tube watching fitness videos of fully grown men and body builders. I am trying to talk to him but he has an answer for everything and doesn’t seem to take my advice or want to listen to anything I have to say.
He isn’t overweight but eats a lot of rubbish I have had to move his Easter chocolate so he doesn’t have free access to it while I’m out or at work.
He has recently seemed a bit more moody than usual which I am putting down to hormones but I am worried it could be more sinister and he’s becoming obsessed with his body image. He has a gym membership which is good because he doesn’t have any other hobbies…it hasn’t been for the want of me trying over the years he just doesn’t want to do anything sporty or competitive but he does have a competitive personality

guess I’m just looking to see if anyone’s son has been similar and they have come out the other side

I weight train with my 14 year old son and we’re always discussing protein intake 🤣 He also does an endurance sport and all his sporty teen boy peers talk about eggs and chicken and how their mums think they’re on steroids and what their (hugely exaggerated) one rep max is for bench press. They all laugh about it (I’m a coach with them). This seems entirely normal to me. And my son ate a full size trifle over 2 days.

It's just a phase, my son went through it as well, then he grew really tall and gave up trying to bulk up and decided his aesthetic needed to be "rugged" instead all of his sports brand clothing was dumped for permanently soggy baggy jeans and checked flannel shirts.

I was quite glad he had decided to eat because I spent his early childhood trying to persuade him to ingest more than a slice of cucumber and three crisps.

Keep an eye obviously and intervene if you are worried it is becoming unhealthy but it is probably just a phase. Try to keep talking to him and encourage him to meet up with mates IRL rather than spending too much time online.

And yet you don’t let him decide when to eat his Easter eggs!

My DS became very health conscious at 15, would only eat stuff he deemed healthy (no chocolate or deserts) and was quite obsessive with his exercise. He moved on around a year or so later when discovering a social life and house parties post GCSE.

A few years on now I would say he’s fairly balanced, but like your DS he does aim for protein and calories and works out most days after work. It is a ‘thing’ now with young men.

Your DS possibly does need to rein it in a bit at his age as I think there are some concerns about too much gym training in terms of weights on a body that’s not stopped growing.

Of course you can ! The evidence is overwhelming these days in terms of the effect on MH for young people in direct correlation to what they access online , as his parent it is up to you to take responsibility .

@Cupcakegirl13this is very difficult for many parents, depending on the type of child. My DS is neuro-diverse and we are going through many extreme issues. Cutting off TikTok right now would not be on my list. My son is also 15 and obssesssd with supplements, protein etc. I am a bit worried and keeping an eye on it all. But then, at least it’s not drugs or alcohol. Yet.