Teen boy eating non stop

[Anonymous]

My son is 15 and an athlete, and I continue to be astonished about the amount he eats. We have granola bars, frozen pizza, Annie's mac & cheese, and lots of fruits and vegetables stocked at all times. He is actually fairly concerned with nutrition relative to most boys his age (because he's very focused on doing well in his sport), and will happily eat tinned sardines and canned salmon, so I buy those by the caseload. I got a heavy duty blender so he and his sister could make smoothies whenever they want, and he'll usually add yogurt and peanut butter. Having milk (we buy 1%) around is good too when he doesn't have much time to fix a snack before practice.

Pretty sure he eats more than the other 4 of us combined.

[Anonymous]

My DS doesn't eat much, always had small appetite, but same attitude of "can't get it himself" and "where is my food?" If you figure it out how to make your DS get his own food, let me know. I stopped warming his food and told him so many times to warm it up himself and he will rather be hungry! I wonder if he thinks Olive Garden will move into his dorm? I know, I am being sarcastic. How about Nutella?

[Anonymous]

DS is 15 and vegan. He is an endurance athlete and eats over 5000 calories a day.

A typical day -

Breakfast - oatmeal with peanut butter and chocolate chips
Lunch - he takes leftovers from dinner the night before to school
Snacks - averages 12 bananas a day, 6 cliff bars, and at least three fruit smoothies made with almond milk
Dinner - I make sure dinner has at least six different vegetables and plenty of protein
PM snack - Amy's burrito, hummus and pita, or pb&j sandwich

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I think kids going through major growth spurts can require up to 2800 calories a day, especially if they do sports!

Not "up to 2800". I'm a mostly sedentary, average weight middle aged man, and that's about what I eat.


From
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/many-calories-teenage-boy-need-1871.html

USDA guidelines:
Moderately active teen boys (meaning they walk around a bit rather than sitting on the couch all day): 2400-2800
Active teen boys: 2800-3200
Athletic teen boys: up to 5000. If you're practicing soccer a few hours a day and trying to grow, you'll need a lot of fuel.

Basically, they need to eat until they are not hungry as long as their body fat isn't increasing substantially.

Well, OP said his or her son was 13, so I was looking at the suggestions for kids 9-13. From your link:

Active teenage boys engage in physical activity equivalent to walking more than 3 miles per day. Based on USDA estimates, active boys ages 9 to 13 require 2,000 to 2,600 calories per day and active teenage boys ages 14 to 18 need about 2,800 to 3,200 calories each day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I pack a 2000 calories lunch for mine. He is recovering from an eating disorder so I need to do this, but this may help you see how much food kids this age need to fuel their growth!! It seems like an insane amount of food to me but I'm a perimenopausal woman....

bottle of full fat chocolate milk 400 calories
3 servings of lentil soup with 2 T extra olive oil mixed in 600 calories
peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread 400 calories
bag of chips 100 calories
carrot sticks and ranch dip 100
chocolate cookies 200
Ritz Crackers and cheddar cheese slices 200

[b]

I had an eating disorder and was in treatment. This diet is very unusual. When we were in a weight gain program we drank ensure and had healthier snacks and food.

[Anonymous]

Eggs! My kids learned to cook eggs by 9 yo. DS is 11 and he can also cook himself a grilled cheese sandwich and boil pasta.

Does he microwave things? Make a lot and have leftovers. chicken sandwiches -- just make a second chicken when you roast one.

[Anonymous]

I hear you! I never cease to be amazed by the amount of food that our teen boys (and girls) pack away.

My suggestion is to teach your boy how to scramble eggs (or make omelettes). These are fast and nutritious. Show them how to add some cheese and diced tomato (or even salsa) or even fresh spinach and feta. If he can throw a few slices of bacon in the oven or in the microwave then he has a pretty nice meal.

Our boys also love making smoothies. Every once in a while I'll walk in and see that someone made pancakes. It is always a mess but they seem to like it!

I usually have a big pot of mac and cheese in the fridge. And I almost always have a roasted chicken that they know they can carve off of and make sandwiches, etc. And, if they're absolutely desperate, I keep Eggos and Hot Pockets in the freezer as well as some Stouffers.

I also make big batches of hummus and then have lots of bags of small veggies and naan around. We also go through yoghurt and granola like crazy.

Sometimes I wish they would just stand in place, tilt their heads back and I could 'fill them up' like you do at the gas station with the car. Yikes we go through a lot of food and milk!

[Anonymous]

You could put a pork loin in the crock pot with some bbq sauce. When they get home from school/sports they can grab some rolls and make themselves pork bbq sandwiches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give him a jar of peanut butter. That's how my brothers fended for themselves.

DS is peanut/nut allergic. do you know of any good/cheap alternative to peanut butter?

Sunflower seed butter?

thx but those are gross... no one in my family would touch it...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS is 15 and vegan. He is an endurance athlete and eats over 5000 calories a day.

A typical day -

Breakfast - oatmeal with peanut butter and chocolate chips
Lunch - he takes leftovers from dinner the night before to school
Snacks - averages 12 bananas a day, 6 cliff bars, and at least three fruit smoothies made with almond milk
Dinner - I make sure dinner has at least six different vegetables and plenty of protein
PM snack - Amy's burrito, hummus and pita, or pb&j sandwich

12 BANANAS A DAY?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give him a jar of peanut butter. That's how my brothers fended for themselves.

DS is peanut/nut allergic. do you know of any good/cheap alternative to peanut butter?

Sunflower seed butter?

thx but those are gross... no one in my family would touch it...

Well, I think it's gross too, but on the other hand, I'm not allergic to peanut butter, and also I'm not a hungry 15-year-old boy.

[Anonymous]

12 bananas a day sounds really constipating

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pack a 2000 calories lunch for mine. He is recovering from an eating disorder so I need to do this, but this may help you see how much food kids this age need to fuel their growth!! It seems like an insane amount of food to me but I'm a perimenopausal woman....

bottle of full fat chocolate milk 400 calories
3 servings of lentil soup with 2 T extra olive oil mixed in 600 calories
peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread 400 calories
bag of chips 100 calories
carrot sticks and ranch dip 100
chocolate cookies 200
Ritz Crackers and cheddar cheese slices 200

[b]

I had an eating disorder and was in treatment. This diet is very unusual. When we were in a weight gain program we drank ensure and had healthier snacks and food.

This is a perfectly normal teen diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I pack a 2000 calories lunch for mine. He is recovering from an eating disorder so I need to do this, but this may help you see how much food kids this age need to fuel their growth!! It seems like an insane amount of food to me but I'm a perimenopausal woman....

bottle of full fat chocolate milk 400 calories
3 servings of lentil soup with 2 T extra olive oil mixed in 600 calories
peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread 400 calories
bag of chips 100 calories
carrot sticks and ranch dip 100
chocolate cookies 200
Ritz Crackers and cheddar cheese slices 200

[b]

I had an eating disorder and was in treatment. This diet is very unusual. When we were in a weight gain program we drank ensure and had healthier snacks and food.


I don't find this unusual at all for a kid who needs to eat and is recovering from an eating disorder and needs to find food appealing again.

This is a perfectly normal teen diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12 bananas a day sounds really constipating

FYI, ripe bananas relieve constipation.