Food for underweight teen to keep in bedroom

[Anonymous]

I don't do food in the bedroom but on our peds advice we do a Boost Plus drink one hour after bedtime.

[Anonymous]

We had a similar issue with DS. At 13 he was below 1 percentile in height and weight. Pediatric endo and nutritionist helped us tremendously as they explained to DS that he has to eat. He was doing a sport, trained every single day for a few hours, nationally ranked junior athlete in his sport. So no weight gain was happening.

Donuts, hamburgers, chips, oil in food, candy bars, every single thing that I thought was "unhealthy" was ok. They told his straight, you need to eat. He also had a constitutional growth delay but he was old enough to understand that he will not grow if he doesn't eat enough calories.

Donuts, cakes, pizza, burgers, pasta, adding oil to his soups and food. Buy candy bars, breads, just give him a baguette with butter at night for snacks.

Fast forward, DS grew, not to his top potential but over 5'10".
He is now 23, and he gained quite a bit of weight when done with college and the non stop sport. He actually just grew an inch, at 23! I kid you not.
Bcs he ate and gained weight. He has now lost most of that weight, in the last 3 months. It is true, eat to grow.

[Anonymous]

OP back again. Many thanks to pp's for ideas and advice, especially those who have been there. To answer some questions: DS is 13 and has been tested for Celiac, IBD, hormonal issues, etc. His bone age is several years behind which is a good thing from his endocrinologist's perspective, because it means he still has lots of time to grow. All testing has been normal and we're confident he's getting great medical care. It's pretty clear that genetics are behind this, due to parent and grandparent history. In addition, DS's younger sibling is a very picky eater (unlike DC who eats almost anything) yet despite their totally different eating habits the height/weight for these two kids tracks almost exactly by age. At this point though it doesn't matter if genetics are the issue... he needs to gain some weight.

Re food in the bedroom, I appreciate that this is an unorthodox strategy! My hope is that having food right there will make it easier for him to snack. It's one less obstacle. Just like at work, if there's food in or on my desk, I will eat it (won't we all). DS is highly motivated to gain weight so I don't think he would lie to me about eating when he isn't. I definitely do not want a mouse infestation in his room however so we are trying to be careful there.

We do a lot of ice cream but no one has recommended lots of unhealthy food like chocolate bars and donuts. They've encouraged things like avocado, full-fat Greek yogurt, nuts, energy bars, etc. The usual. That said we haven't seen a nutritionist yet (I think that will happen next) so maybe this person will have different suggestions. DS did try Ensure a couple years ago and hated it, but I know there must be other similar options. I welcome suggestions there too.

Thanks again and please keep the ideas coming.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried Fairlife milk? That helped my "lighter' kid put on some weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP back again. Many thanks to pp's for ideas and advice, especially those who have been there. To answer some questions: DS is 13 and has been tested for Celiac, IBD, hormonal issues, etc. His bone age is several years behind which is a good thing from his endocrinologist's perspective, because it means he still has lots of time to grow. All testing has been normal and we're confident he's getting great medical care. It's pretty clear that genetics are behind this, due to parent and grandparent history. In addition, DS's younger sibling is a very picky eater (unlike DC who eats almost anything) yet despite their totally different eating habits the height/weight for these two kids tracks almost exactly by age. At this point though it doesn't matter if genetics are the issue... he needs to gain some weight.

Re food in the bedroom, I appreciate that this is an unorthodox strategy! My hope is that having food right there will make it easier for him to snack. It's one less obstacle. Just like at work, if there's food in or on my desk, I will eat it (won't we all). DS is highly motivated to gain weight so I don't think he would lie to me about eating when he isn't. I definitely do not want a mouse infestation in his room however so we are trying to be careful there.

We do a lot of ice cream but no one has recommended lots of unhealthy food like chocolate bars and donuts. They've encouraged things like avocado, full-fat Greek yogurt, nuts, energy bars, etc. The usual. That said we haven't seen a nutritionist yet (I think that will happen next) so maybe this person will have different suggestions. DS did try Ensure a couple years ago and hated it, but I know there must be other similar options. I welcome suggestions there too.

Thanks again and please keep the ideas coming.

I am pp who posted about donuts and all that. Nutritionist from Georgetown pediatrics told me and DS to do all that. Have a home made stew and then second lunch of burger and fries. To add oil to his soups, all that came from a pediatric nutritionist. She has moved to Louisiana since, but she is the reason my DS gained weight and hence grew.

[Anonymous]

Oh, and when you do ice cream, Georgetown pediatric nutritionist told us, not the cone from let's say McDonalds, but go for a flurry with all on top, m&ms and fudge, and to remember that to teen Ds some small ice cream meant nothing calorie wise.

[Anonymous]

Also saying not in the bedroom, but I've been given recommendations like these for a picky, tiny, younger kid:

Full fat dairy like milk, yogurt, and cheese
Add butter or olive oil to anything you can
Nut butters on multigrain bread

I will add "premium" ice cream with cream, not any of that "frozen dairy dessert" crap.

[Anonymous]

I think this a great idea. When I have food nearby, I eat more - which for me is good, as I can sometimes accidentally and unhealthily lose weight.

Nuts/trail mix is perfect for that. I go to Trader Joes and get a bunch of different nuts and mixes, such as their honey-roasted peanuts.

[Anonymous]

I wouldnt keep food in his room. Unless he is mobility impaired, he can eat meals and snacks at the table or in the kitchen

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP back again. Many thanks to pp's for ideas and advice, especially those who have been there. To answer some questions: DS is 13 and has been tested for Celiac, IBD, hormonal issues, etc. His bone age is several years behind which is a good thing from his endocrinologist's perspective, because it means he still has lots of time to grow. All testing has been normal and we're confident he's getting great medical care. It's pretty clear that genetics are behind this, due to parent and grandparent history. In addition, DS's younger sibling is a very picky eater (unlike DC who eats almost anything) yet despite their totally different eating habits the height/weight for these two kids tracks almost exactly by age. At this point though it doesn't matter if genetics are the issue... he needs to gain some weight.

Re food in the bedroom, I appreciate that this is an unorthodox strategy! My hope is that having food right there will make it easier for him to snack. It's one less obstacle. Just like at work, if there's food in or on my desk, I will eat it (won't we all). DS is highly motivated to gain weight so I don't think he would lie to me about eating when he isn't. I definitely do not want a mouse infestation in his room however so we are trying to be careful there.

We do a lot of ice cream but no one has recommended lots of unhealthy food like chocolate bars and donuts. They've encouraged things like avocado, full-fat Greek yogurt, nuts, energy bars, etc. The usual. That said we haven't seen a nutritionist yet (I think that will happen next) so maybe this person will have different suggestions. DS did try Ensure a couple years ago and hated it, but I know there must be other similar options. I welcome suggestions there too.

Thanks again and please keep the ideas coming.

I am pp who posted about donuts and all that. Nutritionist from Georgetown pediatrics told me and DS to do all that. Have a home made stew and then second lunch of burger and fries. To add oil to his soups, all that came from a pediatric nutritionist. She has moved to Louisiana since, but she is the reason my DS gained weight and hence grew.

OP again, thank you PP for sharing all of this and it's great your son is now doing so well as a young adult. But there is no way my kid could eat all this in one sitting! I wish he could. For example, breakfast is often a bagel with lots of cream cheese, a couple sausages, and some fruit, and then he is maxed out. I am wondering if that's part of the challenge... He has what seems like a regular appetite to me but not anything more than that. I will be curious to hear what a nutritionist says and really appreciate all the suggestions.

[Anonymous]

The thing that worked for my kid was junk food. Chips, ice cream (I guess that wouldn't work in his room), whatever she picks at the store. I would be wary of doing that with a kid who is super picky, but mine eats chips after school and then happily eats a healthy dinner. Since I let up on "only healthy nutritionally dense foods" she's gone from <1% to 6-8% (and from 20% for height to 25%).

[Anonymous]

OP, ignore all the PPs who say no food in the bedroom. They are talking out of the arses and have no clue.
High calorie nut bars have no crumbs.
Is there space for a mini fridge? You can stock it with Ensure and other weight-gaining shakes.
Eating at night right before bed is a good time to eat if you need to gain weight. Just make sure that he brushes his teeth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, ignore all the PPs who say no food in the bedroom. They are talking out of the arses and have no clue.
High calorie nut bars have no crumbs.
Is there space for a mini fridge? You can stock it with Ensure and other weight-gaining shakes.
Eating at night right before bed is a good time to eat if you need to gain weight. Just make sure that he brushes his teeth.

And why can’t this be done where everyone else eats?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, ignore all the PPs who say no food in the bedroom. They are talking out of the arses and have no clue.
High calorie nut bars have no crumbs.
Is there space for a mini fridge? You can stock it with Ensure and other weight-gaining shakes.
Eating at night right before bed is a good time to eat if you need to gain weight. Just make sure that he brushes his teeth.

Shakes in a minifridge is one thing. If my kids were making peanut butter sandwiches and keeping trail mix and pretzel in their room, we'd have mice and bugs!

[Anonymous]

Larabars are great!