How much does your teen DD eat?

[Anonymous]

Carbs are too “palatable” and reduce the desire/willingness to eat and enjoy other, more nutritious foods. Like other posters said, focus on serving protein, veggies, good fats. Fruit makes an excellent desert. Yogurt topped with berries makes a great snack or breakfast. When you do serve carbs, focus on lower glycemic index carbs and healthier choices. Don’t create a situation where she thinks every meal must include bread or other carbs. Make it about nutrition, not weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One more tip. I often serve steamed or roasted veggies as an appetizer so they "fill up" on those while I'm getting the rest of the dinner on the table. . .

Great idea!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 13 year old DD has a little tummy but is otherwise lean. She eats a ton of carbs but mostly home cooked stuff and few sweets. She is not the world’s most athletic girl but she does get adequate exercise. She loves food, and if she likes something, can eat more than me or her Dad at a meal. I have never said anything to her because I don’t want to set up bad relationships with food. But I do sometimes wonder what “normal” looks like. How much and what does your growing teen daughter eat?

Unless your DD has a fast metabolism which it does not seem as though she does, she likely needs to exercise more. If she is sedentary, the weight is not going to disappear after a growth spurt. My DD went through this at age 9 or 10 but she is athletic. Otherwise, she would struggle with her weight. I let her eat what she wants but know she gets plenty of exercise through her sport.

If you're serving whole foods, and don't have a lot of chips and sweets around let her listen to her body. My very thin, athletic girl eats like a horse - but she swims 12 hours a week as well. My little soap box is I believe most kids don't get enough exercise, and if you're not doing a sport it gets a little harder to encourage but getting out and moving an hour or so a day is imperative. And please, as a nutritionist, I beg you all to stop the no carb nonsense. Everyone needs carbs, you just need to make sure your carbs are coming from adequate sources and not from bowls of mac and cheese and cookies but instead fresh fruits (not juices) and whole grains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 13 year old DD has a little tummy but is otherwise lean. She eats a ton of carbs but mostly home cooked stuff and few sweets. She is not the world’s most athletic girl but she does get adequate exercise. She loves food, and if she likes something, can eat more than me or her Dad at a meal. I have never said anything to her because I don’t want to set up bad relationships with food. But I do sometimes wonder what “normal” looks like. How much and what does your growing teen daughter eat?

Unless your DD has a fast metabolism which it does not seem as though she does, she likely needs to exercise more. If she is sedentary, the weight is not going to disappear after a growth spurt. My DD went through this at age 9 or 10 but she is athletic. Otherwise, she would struggle with her weight. I let her eat what she wants but know she gets plenty of exercise through her sport.

If you're serving whole foods, and don't have a lot of chips and sweets around let her listen to her body. My very thin, athletic girl eats like a horse - but she swims 12 hours a week as well. My little soap box is I believe most kids don't get enough exercise, and if you're not doing a sport it gets a little harder to encourage but getting out and moving an hour or so a day is imperative. And please, as a nutritionist, I beg you all to stop the no carb nonsense. Everyone needs carbs, you just need to make sure your carbs are coming from adequate sources and not from bowls of mac and cheese and cookies but instead fresh fruits (not juices) and whole grains.

I don’t think anyone is advocating no carbs. I see people saying “fewer carbs,” and I see people suggesting fruit and veggies (both of which have carbs). Personally, I ate the so-called “white carbs” (bread, pasta, rice, sugar) like there was no tomorrow when I played HS sports and stayed thin no matter how much I ate. But it’s true that as you get older, you can’t exercise your way out of a bad diet. What OP was describing was a recipe for disaster in a few years. I agree with other posters that quantity isn’t the problem but the composition of her diet probably is an issue. No one needs as much sugar, pasta, or bread as is in the American diet. Focus on veggies, fruits, protein. Get most of your carbs from fruits and veggies. Eat Whole Foods, mostly plants. If someone shows up and suggests the keto diet for a teen girl, I’ll join you in calling it nonsense. Til then...I do think your suggestion about more exercise is a good one. Just like eating habits, it’s inpotatnt to develop good exercise habits. Even if it’s just an hour walking the dog every day, start somewhere. Exercise has so many important benefits beyond weight control!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:when growing, girls eat a TON, just like boys. When not growing, they cut back, just like boys. The best thing to do is feed them whole foods and teach them to listen to their bodies.

Food like chips, anything with sugar, will mess with the whole "listen to your body" idea, since it's a different kind of craving.

+1. Teach good food choices, don’t worry about quantifying; the rest will take care of itself.

OK , I kind of disagree with this. I was a varsity swimmer 6 days a week or 4 for off season club, hours at a time. and I was fast. and I was chubby. I was just never really "full" or even satiated, and was having tons of carbs even though I like veggies fruit and protein. it was all whole foods bc that was just what we are although no one called it that, LOL. But even with my schedule I shouldn't have had so many carbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Carbs are too “palatable” and reduce the desire/willingness to eat and enjoy other, more nutritious foods. Like other posters said, focus on serving protein, veggies, good fats. Fruit makes an excellent desert. Yogurt topped with berries makes a great snack or breakfast. When you do serve carbs, focus on lower glycemic index carbs and healthier choices. Don’t create a situation where she thinks every meal must include bread or other carbs. Make it about nutrition, not weight.

This makes sense. no matter how yummy something is it always feels incomplete or deprived in some way without carbs, and I'm not even talking about white carbs! I wish I weren't that used to them

[Anonymous]

My son can put in "flab" when hes sedentary. Since i do the meal planning, shopping, lunch packing, ans cooking if i notice his weight creep up, I simply adjust portions, adjust my mesl plan and insist in ky acrivity and he drops rhe weight in 2 weeks time. He never has any idea I've put him on a "diet".