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Old 03-04-2002, 10:48 AM   #1  
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Exclamation Need help with 12 year old girls diet!!

Ladies .. I need some help and input!! I have a new foster kid who is 12. She is about 5' 3" and weighs 185 lbs. She has expressed an interest in losing weight .. do you think I should have do the low carb with me .. she is pretty young and has ADHD, suicidal & has ODD (oppositional defiance disorder). Any suggestions would be great .. I am kind of leary about putting her on a strict low carb but maybe a moderate carb / low fat diet might be ok. HELP !! Told you my life was a bit crazy
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Old 03-04-2002, 11:47 AM   #2  
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I know I am not a low carber,but at 12 I think it is important for kids to learn to make good choice. In your house this child will no doubt be eating more of a low carb plan because that is what you do.

I also think that WW is an excellent plan and makes modifications for growing children. I am not sure how you could pay for it, but if loosing weight gives this girl selfesteam it may be worth the price of admissins as they say. The other good thing is once she has joined she can go to meetings anywhere, and continue for as long as it takes. ( you can do low carb on WW as well and you might find it a god way for you to do it together).
just a thought..
good luck,
-L
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Old 03-04-2002, 01:26 PM   #3  
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Try the Carbohydrate Addicts Lifespan Program by the Heller's. It allows for 2 low carb meals and one balanced meal (carb, veggie, protein) This essential boils down to a balanced diet and for a girl to lose the wieght she has this would be the best. Also don't be surprised if after following this plan for a while she has lesser symptoms of her illnesses as carbs do make you depressed if they aren't used properly in the body. Hope it helps you!

Oh yeah! And you might want to take her for a food allergy test, sometimes eliminating foods that can "set them off" will help curb her actions.
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Old 03-04-2002, 06:04 PM   #4  
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I have a 14 year old and a 10 year old and they both eat low carb....actually my whole family does, and has since 1999. They eat what I eat except I add a piece of fruit to their lunches and give them some whole wheat bread a few times a week. Since we have been doing it for so long we also have brown rice, oatmeal and whole wheat pasta once a week or so. A typical menu for them might be...

Breakfast:

Oatmeal with some Meat (sugar free ham or sausage or bacon or even chicken or some other meat I happen to have around)
Eggs and some Meat (same as above)
Whole Wheat bread with Peanut Butter
Whole Wheat bread with melted Cheese

Lunch:

Home Made Lunchable (Meat, Cheese, Whole Wheat Crackers) celery and or carrots and a piece of Fruit.
Peanut Butter Sandwich, some soy chips (we get them at Giant Foods...they come in BBQ, Ranch, and Garlic and Onion) Fruit and maybe some Celery and or Carrots.
Tuna Salad (with crackers or as a sandwich....with the above "go withs")

Dinner:

What ever I make (low carb) with a sugar free dessert.

Never do they complain and they have no idea that making the "right choices" is eating "low carb". They do have a (one)cupcake every now and then at a school party or a (one)doughnut at church but in my opinion it isn't the little treats along the way that make you over weight it's the stuff you eat day in and day out. I hope that I am teaching my girls how to make good healthy choices. It seems to be working

Hope this helps

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Old 03-04-2002, 09:20 PM   #5  
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Lightbulb Hmmmmmmmm........

Ya'll have got me thinking. My dd is only 4, so maybe more carbs. However, I know less sugar would definitely help her little paunch! Besides, who wants the goodies in the house if YOU can't eat them!!
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Old 03-05-2002, 01:50 PM   #6  
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Hi Goomba,

Well with the disorders that you listed, I would take her to a doctor and ask him/her what they think. You wouldn't want some sort of nutritional imbalance to trigger something in this child, such as low carb/sugar........will it trigger depression ??? etc. I would find out as much as possible before altering anything on her.

Good luck and you are a very special person to be a foster mom!!!
Bless you!

Love Leens
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Old 03-06-2002, 02:21 PM   #7  
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you sure do have your hands full, goomba!!!

everyone has given you very sound advice. i'd suggest that you not do anything drastic until the girl has had food allergy tests.


having said that, the low carb diet won't hurt her, but the main thing is to get her more active. peachie and i have a niece who's a distance runner, and low carb just won't work for her because she desperately needs the fuel.

i'd suggest combining weight watchers with low carb for her. she'd get a tremendous support system along with the wisdom...

best of luck...
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Old 03-08-2002, 11:59 AM   #8  
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In my research and fom some of the local docs that low carb is the way to go for the ADD/ ADHD/ and the ODD kids. i have made some expiriments with my kids and have came up with some wonderful results. I will PM you and git you some links that you will find interesting and much reading. there is a link between a dficite of omega 3 also in the brain which if you take a traditional supplemnt it does not help but there is some tha t report good results with coremega supplemnts, and some with carlsons codliver oil (it is lemon flavored so it doe s not taste as bad as it sounds) but do not give flax seed oil as that is omegs 6 if i recall correctly and that these kids do not have the correct chemicals to change it ot the omega 3. and the omega 3 and 6' s work diffetrently in the body. very facinatin problem but give me some time and i will get it to you. I have found that i have been taking ons so much lately i do not have all the time i need, so i will be a bit slow. but my sugestion i to pick up the PPLP book and take a good read of that it does have much info very informative and that should help. CAD would work fine with the kid for the diet part as she is still young and should not have to thiknk of this a a diet but a woe, as diets fail and woe is a life change so she can learn the correct way to eat for her self and that will give her the libertly to be able to conform to the friends. and eat like they do when she is around them.

If anybody had found info in oposition to what i have found then let me know. this is a very interesting field for me so i do want to learn all that i can about this, so please correct me if the info that you have is different.

here is some add sites that can help

http://borntoexplore.org/

http://www.difficultchild.com/

I will send a few more via PM when i can find them again.
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Old 03-08-2002, 09:49 PM   #9  
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Angry Thank you

Thank you all for your support and guidance .. I have alot to go on here. I have been slowly trimming down on her carbs and forcing her to eat a much healthier diet .. I just need to get mom on track Its pretty bad when the woman complains of how much her daughter eats but provides her with tons of carbs, candy and pop when they visit. I have told her that these types of foods are not allowed in my home as it makes it difficult for all of us and have asked her to only provide her with diet drinks. Lets hope this works .. after all mom is a Registered Nursing Assistant .. she should know some of this stuff.

Well I better start reading .. those sites look great .. thanks so much Sue.
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Old 03-09-2002, 07:38 PM   #10  
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Realize that nurses assistant are just tought to give bed baths and have little to no medical inastructions although they may think they have by being around it all the time. she is making up for the time that she is missing with her DD and the fact that it is much easier to give in that fight it. i still give in often, but i do have more fruit in the house and more heath snacks, i do insist that they do eat protein daily at my meals it helps.

I still am in a busy time frame so maybe this next tuesay i may ahve some tome to send you the info.
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Old 03-10-2002, 01:50 AM   #11  
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Goomba, I am so proud of you! I have a daughter who is ADHD, ODD, bipolar, and who knows what else they would have added on if they had had the chance. But you are taking this on knowingly. You are some brave lady!

Actually, there is a low carb book written specifically for kids. It is by the Drs Heller, who wrote the Carbohydrate Addicts LifeSpan Program and many other books on "low carbing." The one for kids is called, Carbohydrate Addicted Kids. Considering the horrific diet which many kids are allowed to eat today, and even the emphasis on low fat which ends up also being a low protein and malnutrional diet, it is prudent to assist kids in making heatlhier choices in eating.

The advantage in following the Hellers' plan for kids is they not only take into account growing kids' needs for more carbs for their fuel. But they also offer a great plan for easing kids into the lower carb eating, and suggest a way to allow the child to make decisions. This way the child has some control over her/his eating choices.

It is a great book for anyone who wants to lower the carbs in a child's diet. It is difficult to determine how many carbs is okay and how many is too much. But the Hellers do show how to determine this.

Again, I must say I am impressed that you are willing to take on such a challenge as this foster child must present to you.

And as to her mother bringing those poison foods- perhaps it is her mother's way of offering love in a difficult situation. Perhaps you can allow the foods but hold them as occasional "cheats" or sins which she can earn in your household. Or you could possibly let her have them as long as she consumes whatever is brought by her family only during the visit.

Even though we believe those foods are terrible for her, it may be the only thing her mother knows. It may be something she CAN offer her child, since parenting didn't seem to work out very well. I would only politely suggest you may need to be grateful you know better and can offer this child a better life and diet as well, but patience may also need to be extended to the child's family as well as the child.

Good luck with the diet and the fostering as well.
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Old 03-10-2002, 05:33 PM   #12  
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{{{GIGGLES}}}}

hey girl glad to see you drop in!! and thanks for the info regarding the book. I did not know that there was one!! I will be looking into it for my kids. I have self diagnosed them with add and well cutting their carbs have helped and increasing thei r protein has certainly helped with their concentration in school// so having the book available to me is a great help.
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Old 03-10-2002, 10:36 PM   #13  
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Talking Thank you

Thank you so much for your information and also for the HUGE pat on the back!! It is difficult having the foster kids with so many issues but I do love it. You too are a very special person to be able to deal with the issues your own child presents .. I know just how difficult it can be. Presently I have two young girls with the same diagnoses .. so they do keep me busy.

As for her mother, I do realize that she is making up for not being able to deal with the issues her child presents within her home. They are working towards her returning home at some point. I do allow for her mother to feed her what she wishes while on visits .. but mom seems to be looking into the Low Carb WOE!! We have actually discussed her taking a food journal home during visits so that her mother can see exactly what meal plans we have come up with. It would be great if this could continue on once she returns home.

You have all been so supportive and informative!! Thank you all so much.
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Old 03-11-2002, 06:34 PM   #14  
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Hello everyone,

May I join you? I found this site yesterday and posted on the WW/low carb site but I think that most members probably do not visit that location very often at this point.

I thought I'd just "audit" for a couple of days (I hate to think of myself as a "lurker") but Goomba's posts caught my attention. I wondered if your foster daughter receives any treatment for ADHD and if she is currently receiving any counseling. If so, your job may be a bit easier. In regard to her eating patterns, since you say she was diagnosed with ODD, the effectiveness of your interventions may depend on her level of motivation. If she is motivated, terrific, you'll be a team. If not, you may wish to try lower carb versions of the foods that her friends eat, at least to start with. Depending on her situation (new school? new friends?) she may not wish to stand out too much in the cafeteria or when she spends time with other kids.

Hats off to you for your kindhearted decisions.

Sincerely yours,
Stilltrying
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Old 03-11-2002, 06:57 PM   #15  
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Talking I'm glad you checked us out, Stilltrying!

We are a great group, really busy and FULL of information! Welcome, join us on the daily thread, have fun!
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