Agree, this is complicated enough to need a professional, it’s not just your standard eat less processed food and exercise more situation. |
This isn’t what a restrictive diet is. It’s just called having a picky eater who likes junk food. |
The snacks, sugar, lemonade and fast food are all in your control. I would completely eliminate the lemonade. I would choose healthier snacks, and make fast food once a month treat. |
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Not everyone is going to be super tall, nor is everyone getting ready for a growth spurt. Many kids just overeat and don’t have the right satiety cues. And they’re not destined to be 6’ 5”.
One way to combat the satiety cue issue is to give them whole foods. The more processed junk you give them with hydrogenated oils that are carb based, the more the body turns off the hunger cues. |
It sounds like you need to work with him to find healthier alternatives. |
I mean, he's ten years old. If he's drinking a ton of lemonade and eating fast food, you’re providing it. It's not just happening. I understand there's a history here with the eating but you A) can get professional help and B) be creative here. He likes chicken nuggets and fries? You can make baked versions at home. You can work with a nutritionist on this, they can help find the alternatives. Lemonade is a treat, not an every day thing. If he's throwing up foods you need to go back to feeding therapy. And you need to learn to say no. |
| Try 3/4 water 1/4 lemonade |
His Body Mass Index is at the 88%ile. It is a pretty standard measure of relative weight. |
Yeah, it makes no sense. Too much cheese and mild can cause symptoms like stomach issues of all kinds and too much can cause weight gain. |
| Instead of focusing on his weight, what are you doing about this? "eating less sugar, exercise and drink more milk/yogurt/cheese" Who cares how active or thin he is if he eats junk. Kids can easily be nutritionally malnourished. |
It usually listed as an integer between 0-25. Never heard it as a percentile. |
Your pediatrician doesn't show where your kid falls on the height and weight growth charts? They are pretty standard.
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This is a stupid rabbit hole but my answer is no. Pediatrician just says “kid is on track, X% height and X% weight”and plots it in the growth chart. That’s different compared to BMI. I haven’t heard BMI expressed as a percentage since BMI is based on a height/weight combo, and it doesn’t seem like the most helpful metric when expressed as a percentage. Doesn’t make sense to me but it’s not a hill to die on. |
Okay it’s crazy to me that you didn’t include this in your initial post. So - you need to start cutting the crap out of his diet. There’s tons of space between “forcing him to eat a food” and endless lemonade. If you need to, go back to the feeding therapist. I’d start with a few things: No more sugary drinks like lemonade at home. Just don’t buy them. Out and about maybe sometimes as a special treat. Maybe replace with flavored seltzer. Set meals and snack times. No grazing on crap all day. There’s an after school snack, and there’s dinner. That’s it in the evenings. And at snack time, it’s not grabbing whatever crap. You sit at the table, and it’s a reasonably balanced meal - a fruit, something with protein, and a little treat. So, a banana, a string cheese, and a small treat. He can have as many bananas and string cheese as he wants. Once he gets up from the table, that’s it till dinner. A requirement to eat a veggie at dinner every night. Be creative here. Smoothies work great especially if he’s got texture issues (banana, strawberry and two handfuls of spinach and you can’t even taste the spinach! Put it in a stainless steal container so the color isn’t obvious, and that way you can start with like one leaf of spinach and work your way up slowly). Raw carrots/cucumber/celery/tomatoes? Whatever veggie he’ll eat, he has one every night. If it’s the exact same veggie every night, fine. Also - make sure that his plate has a little of everything on it. He doesn’t have to eat it, or even try it, but it’s there. That way, it’s NBD if one day he’s inspired and takes a bite. And if he does that BE CHILL. Like it’s the most normal thing in the world. |
PP to add that if there literally is not a single veggie he eats, not one, you gotta go back to the feeding therapist. |