Low Carbing for children?

[bbcessex]

Morning all. Sorry if this has already been asked... Am on phone so can't check easily.

My 12 year old son is quite overweight.. Not obese but getting there. He is 'naturally' greedy.. Always wanting food / asking for food / moaning about not having food.

We do tonnes of planned sports with him to get him active but his default setting is sloth.

I am low carbing as is my hubby. I'd like to start DS on this (and he wants to try it too).

Does anyone have experience of doing this with their children? I have a few concerns, namely:
I can monitor him at home but not at school
What happens if he 'cheats' and I don't know about it - will the high fat element of low carb make him put on even more weight ?

I'm no expert, but I would suggest that if he's sat on his arse a lot, then low carbs is fine. If he's doing lots of exercise, he needs his carbs for slow release energy.

Thanks OOMTCO.. That's my hubbies worry too .. He does a fair amount of team sports so may need carbs for that (or may not - I'm going to do some research).

My main desire wld be to 'retrain' his appetite / way of thinking about food, which is what low carb has done for me, hence me thinking it may be beneficial for him..

I think low carb sounds perfect for him. Once he has adapted to fat burning he shouldn't need extra carbs for doing sports as he will be using his own body fat for energy.

When his weight is where you'd like it I'd suggest having a look at Paleo Parents for some great recipes for kids.

Thanks whippoorwhill.. I will certainly have a look at that website.

I think it may suit my DC.. I'm just worried that I can't monitor him all the time.. need to get some educating done I guess!

I really wouldn't put a child on low carb. Just not worth the risk of missing nutrients that are vital at his age. If he is 'greedy' all the time it's very possible he has a sugar addiction. I would lean more toward a sugar-free diet (or low sugar) which also means cutting refined carbs like white bread and pasta. There is a book by Dr Alex Richardson called 'They are what you feed them' that explains kids nutrition in detail including overeaters. It also has lots of recipes. Also you could very likely get a referral to a dietician through the GP if your child is overweight. Or privately it's about £100 for a consultation, if you google freelance dietician there's a regulatory body that lists them with contact details. (Dietician is a protected title and you need a degree where as Nutritionist isn't so you get everything from phd's to people who did a two week course).

Have a search for Dr Robert Ludgstig. He is a specialist in childhood obesity and has several key lifestyle interventions which might help. Sugar the bitter truth is a particular good (but long)video.

I agree with Whippoorwhill that once he is in fat-burning mode he won't need the carbs to do sport.

But low carbing is a pretty unforgiving way of eating. And if he does start to eat higher carbs during the day (when you're not in charge) as well as a high fat/low carb diet when he's at home, this won't do him any favours.

The world isn't really set up for low carbers, and his choices during the day may be fairly limited. Also, it will mean he is not able to enjoy things like chocolate/sweets/crisps, which his peer group will inevitably be enjoying.

I think, if it were my child, I would look to restrict carbs as much as possible at home, e.g. no pasta, rice, minimal potatoes, no sugar (wherever possible - no-one has to have a dessert!), and make sure he's getting plenty of fresh veg/salad stuff. Don't buy snacks like biscuits/cakes/crisps for home so that he doesn't get into the habit of relying on those.

He's also going through puberty at the moment, and will be growing in huge spurts, so I would expect that he will naturally slim down.

I also think that this age is a very sensitive one, and I wouldn't want to put the additional pressure on him that he is 'on a diet'.

Agree with previous posters. Cut out all the sugar and processed carbs, stick withpotatoes or rice rather than bread or pasta.

What does he eat for breakfast? If he's having a high carb breakfast and the same for lunch its perfectly feasible that he's hungry all the time. Switch to better carbs/more protein and it might nit be such an issue.

Thanks all.

Completely agree that this is a sensitive age. We are very aware to not "fixate" on weight. We have switched to boiled eggs for breakfast, and no carbs in the evening. School lunch will be 'normal' options (ie wraps, sandwiches etc.).

Seems to have worked for the 3 days this week, so will try to limit carbs but not go super-low and see if that works.

Thanks for all the comments.