[CarrieA]

My 13 year old would like to try IP to lose about 20 lbs for baseball season. He has always been my chubby one but his weight seems to be getting out of control this last year.

I'm considering alllowing him to do this for a month. It will have it's challanges due to the fact he's a kid...going to his friends house, eating lunch at school, etc. I don't know if I want to spend the money on IP products. I thought about doing the alternative food.

Questions: What should his day look like as far as food...breafast he could do 2 egg whites and whole egg but he will get tired of that every day...lunch: I'm kinda stuck here...thought I could order some type of soy puffs or something from Lindora, since he can't have a sandwich.. he will eat celery sticks, steamed broccoli, salad with ranch..the veggies will be hard to get in....Dinner: he can have what we have protein and veggies...Snack: do a EAS shake

I plan to give him some vitamins to make up for what he will be missing.

I'm looking for your thoughts and ideas.

[nina125]

You can do a lot of things with eggs for breakfast.

1. You can scramble it with a little bit of chorizo sausage for flavor.
2. eggs & bacon
3. eggs scrambled with bell peppers, mushrooms & onions
4. eggs with smoked salmon on a buckwheat crepe
5. eggs and salsa
6. eggs with a cut up hot dog (the chicken ones with no preservatives)
7. crustless spinach quiche or fritata

[Mamadancer]

Are you sure this is the program you would like him to do? Have you tried other weight loss measures and have you talked to a coach? I ask because this is a very unbalanced diet for a growing boy.

If you are sure then some meal suggestions are have shakes for breakfast to mix it up with the eggs. Only turkey bacon would be allowed. Does he have access to a microwave at school? Left-overs are great for unquestioned lunches. Meat with cooked veggies or stir-fry or burger patty with turnip fries or cauliflower "fried rice". Salad is great but if he didn't eat it before, he may be questioned about it now. Be sure to include a treat at lunch...protien bar or pudding or soy puffs. Supper can be what ever the family is having (minus the carbs) and a large salad. Shake or rhubarb make a good snack. Vitamins should be similar to IP vitamins. He definitely will need the supplements to stay healthy. I hope this helps and best of luck to you both.

[rulemom]

My 15 year old daughter started Ip on Monday. It was a decision that she made herself. I told her she had to be 100% on board or it wouldn't work. She has about 30 lbs to lose and we are only doing it for about 6 weeks. If people at school ask if she is on a diet she tells them it's a change for her health. She takes veggies and a protien bar or soy puffs for lunch and eats what we eat for dinner. She has done amazingly well. She is hungry by dinner but not ravenous. I think if we do it now for our kids we are setting an example for the rest of their lives. I don't want my daughter to be 41 like me and still battling the scale. That's my 2 cents.

[CarrieA]

Originally Posted by Mamadancer

Are you sure this is the program you would like him to do? Have you tried other weight loss measures and have you talked to a coach? I ask because this is a very unbalanced diet for a growing boy.

Mamadancer...we have tried a few things to help him with his weight (no chips, soda, fries, etc...not always 100%) but that hasn't brought the scale down. I know it's an unbalanced diet but that is why we decided to only do it for 4 weeks.

Thanks for you input...it helps.

[CarrieA]

Originally Posted by rulemom

My 15 year old daughter started Ip on Monday. It was a decision that she made herself. I told her she had to be 100% on board or it wouldn't work. She has about 30 lbs to lose and we are only doing it for about 6 weeks. If people at school ask if she is on a diet she tells them it's a change for her health. She takes veggies and a protien bar or soy puffs for lunch and eats what we eat for dinner. She has done amazingly well. She is hungry by dinner but not ravenous. I think if we do it now for our kids we are setting an example for the rest of their lives. I don't want my daughter to be 41 like me and still battling the scale. That's my 2 cents.

Rulemom...I agree with you. I don't want to make my child self conscious about his body at an early age but if we don't work on it NOW and discuss it NOW it will never go away. I don't want kids at school to make fun of him and I don't want it to be an issue when he is playing sports. This will be good for his self esteem and make him faster and more mobile in baseball and better for his health....win.win. We've discussed how hard it will be and the dedication it will take but I will help him because I want him to be successful.

[Lucky Chick]

I don't have any experience with this but my coach was just telling me last night about a young girl she is working with who is 14 and is on the program. She said the soy puffs help to make her feel a lot more 'normal' around her friends. That was especially true around valentine's day. Remember those types of days could be really hard for him... the days when parents bring in treats, birthday cakes, pizza party celebrations.

Good luck!

[Munchy]

Originally Posted by CarrieA

Mamadancer...we have tried a few things to help him with his weight (no chips, soda, fries, etc...not always 100%) but that hasn't brought the scale down. I know it's an unbalanced diet but that is why we decided to only do it for 4 weeks.

Thanks for you input...it helps.

I agree with mamadancer. I have a daughter and I'm not concerned about her weight right now, but I am concerned about her future weight and not affecting it negatively. While I don't eat many carbs (although I'm more of a calorie counter), I would feel weird restricting my her carbs.

What does his typical diet look like in general?

Is it possible to go a little more homemade with some of his favorites? Ie, if he likes pizza, can you make it on a high fiber/low cal "crust" with homemade sauce with pureed veggies in it and some part skim cheese? Or my daughter is a fan of meatballs so I make teeny tiny turkey meatballs with grated zucchini and freeze them in a bag. My daughter also asks for orange fries (baked sweet potatoes) even when we're out.

I just cringe at the idea of restricting too much for kids, you know? I mean no offense at all.

[dcapulet]

Originally Posted by CarrieA

Rulemom...I agree with you. I don't want to make my child self conscious about his body at an early age but if we don't work on it NOW and discuss it NOW it will never go away. I don't want kids at school to make fun of him and I don't want it to be an issue when he is playing sports. This will be good for his self esteem and make him faster and more mobile in baseball and better for his health....win.win. We've discussed how hard it will be and the dedication it will take but I will help him because I want him to be successful.

I am with you all the way. My 12 year old had about 25 extra lbs on him - he hated it and considered himself sooo fat. he really only had a little belly, but because he's already 5 foot 9 in the 7th grade he already felt so out of place. We addressed it (i made him keep a food and exercise journal) and he lost the weight in about 10 weeks.

I commend you on trying to help your son find a healthy solution. I honestly never thought my MALE child would have weight/self esteem issues, but he did. What's amazing is that I know he also wants to set a good example for his 7 y.o. sister.

I wish you all the best!