We “cured” DD’s childhood obesity

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP—So what were the sports and activities that were a match for your kid?

I don’t want to say because they’re a little obscure and she’s getting very involved with them, but we tried a few before finding one that clicked (dance, swimming, gymnastics, ice and roller skating, tennis).

Would love other sports and activity ideas if anyone has them - not just from OP.

I’ll give you some: field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, volleyball, crew, speed skating, martial arts, kickboxing, Tough Mudders

Thanks! Always looking for more sports/activities for my kid who doesn’t like basic soccer & basketball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think I understand why one pp is going off on OP. I think we can all agree that many adults that are trying to lose weight should not eat 10 bananas a day. However, restricting your elementary age child's intake of fruits because of some fad diet you are observing or that you read about online is not something most people would do. I am guessing OP did this as she thought fruit was contributing to her dd's weight gain, and that her intention was good, but misplaced and may have caused more trouble. All that fiber in fruits and veggies is good for our gut, so Dr. really did the right thing by saying what was the right way to eat in front of OP's dd who now realized that she can eat a lot of food that is healthy and was not "forbidden" from eating fruit.

Actually I never said I restricted fruit. I merely shared my general impulse to avoid certain fruits because of what I had casually absorbed from faddish diet media. My point was simply, if I had been left to my own devices and not given very specific advice, I would have done things differently. I would have tried to cut back portion sizes in general and would have tried to reduce simple sugary carbs. I assume a lot of Americans, like me, have absorbed that advice as the correct way to lose weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think I understand why one pp is going off on OP. I think we can all agree that many adults that are trying to lose weight should not eat 10 bananas a day. However, restricting your elementary age child's intake of fruits because of some fad diet you are observing or that you read about online is not something most people would do. I am guessing OP did this as she thought fruit was contributing to her dd's weight gain, and that her intention was good, but misplaced and may have caused more trouble. All that fiber in fruits and veggies is good for our gut, so Dr. really did the right thing by saying what was the right way to eat in front of OP's dd who now realized that she can eat a lot of food that is healthy and was not "forbidden" from eating fruit.

Actually I never said I restricted fruit. I merely shared my general impulse to avoid certain fruits because of what I had casually absorbed from faddish diet media. My point was simply, if I had been left to my own devices and not given very specific advice, I would have done things differently. I would have tried to cut back portion sizes in general and would have tried to reduce simple sugary carbs. I assume a lot of Americans, like me, have absorbed that advice as the correct way to lose weight.

Ok. So, did she eat quite a bit of fruit before? But, whatever the fruit case(lol)you do make a very good point about the learning curve about food in this age of unlimited media. We are exposed to so much bad advice online from all kind of quacks that sometimes medical advice is the best. Sadly, many doctors are in the same boat and not trained to properly dispense eating advice as health advice. You had a very good doctor who did know the right way. Restricting kids' diets is a recipe for a disaster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did you think bananas and apples and grapes aren't healthy?

Np. Because they are full of sugar. Most endocrinologists (diabetes experts) will tell you to limit high-sugar fruits like banana and grapes.

If you have diabetes. But acting like they are junk food is just crazy.

[Anonymous]

Look, this is pretty simple. OP very clearly (by her own admission) had a messed up relationship with food. The fact that she thought fruit was bad for kids, avoided feeding a baby puffs because she thought they were junk food, and thought an 8 pound baby was a big baby whose weight was worth mentioning and all huge red flags. It is great she adjusted her approach after talking to an MD, and then posted here about it, but people have to be open-eyed about the fact that she clearly had a distorted relationship with food in the past.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our DD was always big. Born over 8 lbs, never left a drop of milk in a bottle, and ate well as soon as she started solids. I always fed her healthy things (focused on whole, minimally processed foods, vegetables, etc) but her tendency to take big portion sizes and clean her plate added up to an obesity diagnosis in early elementary. Once she was diagnosed, her MD have fairly simple, evidence-based guidelines:

1) 90 minutes of active play per day
2) 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables per day

We followed the guidelines and it worked.

Getting much more activity required signing her up for two sports. It took quite a while to finally find a fit—since she wasn’t in great shape, she really disliked the first few things she tried. But then she found an activity that clicked for her. Once she had that, it was easier for her to take on a second.

Luckily DD likes a lot of kinds of vegetables, but it was still a huge lift to work in sooo much more produce. We lean some on frozen things, some canned things, some “hidden” vegetable things. Every meal starts with a recognizable fruit or vegetable (fruit at breakfast, vegetable at lunch or dinner). Then we don’t particularly limit what she takes at meals. The whole point is that the vegetable reduces her appetite to overeat. All snacks are fruit or veg (but are often things like pouches). When she is doing legos or homework I set out something like broiled asparagus or peeled clementines for her to pick at.

I had to check a lot of my “diet baggage” at the door. I had internalized that grapes, bananas, apples, etc didn’t really “count” as healthy, but being able to lean on easier sells like a bananac especially when traveling, was important to maintain consistency.

There is another thread going now where some moms seem in denial about the validity of BMI. Admittedly this was hard to hear, especially for someone who had really avoided feeding her kid junk and sugar, never gave her puffs which I considered baby junk food, etc. But if I hadn’t taken a clear-eyed approach, we would not have fixed it. And now DD is very proud of her fitness and athleticism, which is a delight to watch.

How old is your dd today?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look, this is pretty simple. OP very clearly (by her own admission) had a messed up relationship with food. The fact that she thought fruit was bad for kids, avoided feeding a baby puffs because she thought they were junk food, and thought an 8 pound baby was a big baby whose weight was worth mentioning and all huge red flags. It is great she adjusted her approach after talking to an MD, and then posted here about it, but people have to be open-eyed about the fact that she clearly had a distorted relationship with food in the past.

[Anonymous]

Do you people really think puffs are nutritious? Because they are actually just convenience food that's not particularly good for anyone. Just a gimmick for parents who want to feed easy snacks on the go.


Seriously, they're about as processed as you can get: puffs are produced through a process called extrusion, which involves mixing grains with water and–through high temperatures and pressure–forcing them through a tiny hole to give them their desired shape. The "vegetable" is powder, which have virutally no nutrients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did you think bananas and apples and grapes aren't healthy?

I kind of remember having heard/read this at some point, probably >10 years ago.

OP's strategy sounds like a good NY resolution. I always think of packing in that many vegetables/fruit as a difficult challenge and I don't even have to cook for a family any more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you people really think puffs are nutritious? Because they are actually just convenience food that's not particularly good for anyone. Just a gimmick for parents who want to feed easy snacks on the go.


Seriously, they're about as processed as you can get: puffs are produced through a process called extrusion, which involves mixing grains with water and–through high temperatures and pressure–forcing them through a tiny hole to give them their desired shape. The "vegetable" is powder, which have virutally no nutrients.

Meh. Nobody cares about puffs. They are neutral; just a fun little snack to help your kid learn to eat without choking. The point isn’t that they are nutritious, but that someone shouldn’t brag about avoiding them because they are purportedly junk food. That is a red flag for someone who has an unhealthy relationship with food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you people really think puffs are nutritious? Because they are actually just convenience food that's not particularly good for anyone. Just a gimmick for parents who want to feed easy snacks on the go.


Seriously, they're about as processed as you can get: puffs are produced through a process called extrusion, which involves mixing grains with water and–through high temperatures and pressure–forcing them through a tiny hole to give them their desired shape. The "vegetable" is powder, which have virutally no nutrients.

Meh. Nobody cares about puffs. They are neutral; just a fun little snack to help your kid learn to eat without choking. The point isn’t that they are nutritious, but that someone shouldn’t brag about avoiding them because they are purportedly junk food. That is a red flag for someone who has an unhealthy relationship with food.

Your kid can learn to eat without eating highly processed crap, which is what they are. Cut up some actual food, don't be so lazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you people really think puffs are nutritious? Because they are actually just convenience food that's not particularly good for anyone. Just a gimmick for parents who want to feed easy snacks on the go.


Seriously, they're about as processed as you can get: puffs are produced through a process called extrusion, which involves mixing grains with water and–through high temperatures and pressure–forcing them through a tiny hole to give them their desired shape. The "vegetable" is powder, which have virutally no nutrients.

Meh. Nobody cares about puffs. They are neutral; just a fun little snack to help your kid learn to eat without choking. The point isn’t that they are nutritious, but that someone shouldn’t brag about avoiding them because they are purportedly junk food. That is a red flag for someone who has an unhealthy relationship with food.

Can’t imagine why an OP around here would be on the defensive about what they fed their kid, what with such lovely posters as you who are quick to give the benefit of the doubt...

[Anonymous]

I didn’t feed my kids “puffs”. Not even feels the need to feed their kid random food products. We stuck with real food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Great job, OP! I can't tell you how many times I've seen parents in denial, including my own parents when we young about my little brother's weight issues. He now has diabetes in his 30's. I know it's hard because some kids put on weight more easily than others, but kudos to you for recognizing what your DD needs.

Np. At 30, it is certainly not his parents' fault for his weight or diabetes.

An obese child is not likely to be able to develop a healthy lifestyle on their own just bc they hit 18.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is wrong with you people? Avoiding giving her child processed foods like puffs doesn't mean she's obsessed or that her eating is disordered. There is so much misinformation out there about diet and nutrition. OP admitted that had bought into some of that misinformation like believing that fruits that are higher in sugar aren't healthy. She has now changed her thinking after following the advice of her doctor. Jeez, give her a break. Good job OP. It's not easy to change habits and beliefs around diet and it sounds like you've made a lot of progress with your daughter.

Most foods are processed.

Yogurt is processed. Bread is processed. Cheese is processed. Granola is processed. Pasta is processed. Nearly everything we eat is produced using a process.

Depends on who you are. I do a large salad everyday. Romaine and/or spinach, peppers, celery, tomatoes, cucumber, any other veggies that appeal (raw), beans (just soaked and cooked), nuts/seeds (raw, unsalted), fresh fruit (normally berry or citrus). The only “processed” things on my salad are shredded poached chicken or turkey (bought raw), eggs that I boil and peel, and cottage cheese. Breakfast is usually veggies sautéed in oil and egg. Snack is typically plain Greek yogurt with fruit and/or nuts. So, the only processed items I eat on a regular basis are cottage cheese and yogurt. I add salt to many thing I eat, since my diet doesn’t contain enough in the food (per my doctor).

When I cook for others, I cook from scratch. I don’t use anything that contains ingredients I don’t recognize, and I prefer cooking from whole, raw foods.