Ok, I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest one other possibility I didn't see mentioned. Yeah, he could be a teen smoking pot. Or, he could be binging, meaning an eating disorder, growth spurt, whatever. The lying? Could be that he's lying because he has a problem he doesn't want to face, or could be...he's not lying?

That other possibility?

Is he feeding someone ELSE after hours? Has he befriended someone homeless? Ok, just a thought. But I kept thinking there is NO WAY one human body can consume the amount you listed! Not without puking anyway.

Wow, so many people to reply to. Thanks so much guys.

Mama2- i dont buy junk...thank God or he would eat all that too. But like Jillybean said, he is binging on whole wheat bagels, roasted turkey breast, special k protien plus, even fruit....weird isnt it?

Nightengale, you hit on something. He is VERY antisocial. My father has a pool and he lives accross the street from our house. My dd and i walk over there 5 times a week and he will not even go. If i make him go he just sits on the side of pool pouting at me. I can BARELY get him to go to walmart with me.

Lots of you touched on taking away the videos and getting him to exercise. I have tried this and he was VERY resentful. I didnt want him to have a sort of resentment to exercise because i was "forcing him" to do it. I like the idea of 20 minutes of activity = 20 minutes of video or whatever. We used to have the rule no video games before 8 p.m. unless it was raining outside. Might reinstall that policy.

Also a lot of you touched on the fact that the more i restrict and the more i make a big deal out of it, then i make it more shameful and he just sneaks all the more. But i just made a big deal out of it this week and only because it is getting worse and worse. To the point where in the morning there is NOTHING left to eat, even if i bought $100 worth of groceries the day before.

I think i will try some counselling with someone that specializes in teens with eating disorders. I dont know if he will open up to them. At least i can say i tried.

Please get him some help -- I'm not a doctor, but I'm very well read about eating disorders, and he has all the symptoms of being a binge/compulsive overeater (the hiding aspect is a huge red flag). I developed binge eating disorder when I was 16 -- I gained about 140 pounds in a about a year and a half. I also fell into a dark depression and went from having a 4.4 GPA my junior year and being ranked second in my class to being expelled for non-attendance my senior year (the principal saved my butt by allowing me to finish my year from his office). This was all brought on by my massive weight gain because of the ED. My parents did NOTHING. No doctors, no therapist, no encouragement, no concern. I don't completely blame them, but they could have done something. I really wish they had -- I may have recovered and not still be struggling to this day. I love my parents, but I still hold a lot of resentment toward them for not intervening whatsoever. Whatever you may force him to do now might be resented now, and he may never realize that you saved him from a life-threatening illness, but in the long run, you won't regret it.

Another point I'd like to make is that the chances for full recovery of eating disorders are better when the person is treated at a younger age. Case in point -- a male relative of mine has had an eating disorder for over 35 years. I've had mine for nearly 9. The longer it goes, the harder it is to overcome.

hi Stacy,
Sorry, I didn't notice in your first post that he was already overweight.

My only point about the fridge, is, if you pretty much only have healthy foods in the home, then the healthiest stuff would be in the fridge and less fun to binge on than bread, crackers, pantry stuff.
Say you open your fridge and theres nothing but condiments, lettuce, carrot sticks and cukes. I say, Go to town, buddy! Knock yourself out with that 1kg of carrot sticks. Its way better than 3 boxes of cereal and a loaf of bread!! LOL

Is it possible he's depressed? Or possibly has another disorder which may play into the overeating? You say he is extremely anti social. Has he always been this way or just since he got overweight?

Just wondering if he may have depressive or anxiety issues and eating to make himself feel better.

My pantry is locked up, due to my younger two having no self control over what they eat. My oldest is fine, and she uses my key to get their breakfasts in the morning if I am not up, and immediately locks it back up and puts the keys back in my hiding place in my room.

In my opinion, my youngest daughter has the same problem as I do with starches, and some of it is boredom as well. So, while I am teaching her how to eat properly and cut down some, the lock is a reminder that she needs to find something else to do with her time while waiting for her next snack or meal. It's been working, and to my shock, last week I forgot to lock up the pantry, and neither her nor my son snuck any food! It's been six weeks for all of us, and we've all made good progress on our weight loss and portion control.

I do leave fruit out, though, for them to snack on, if they get really hungry, but just enough for one serving, the rest is locked up. Oh, and I leave the veggies in the fridge, to which I am glad to see them grab those more and more. Thankfully, my kids have always been healthy eaters, but they just ate way too much, and my youngest daughter is a breadaholic.

Natalia, he does binge on the healthy stuff. I dont buy unhealthy stuff. If the fridge is left unlocked there is nothing but condiments left, is what i am saying. I cant live with nothing but mayo and mustard and carrots in my fridge. I would like cereal for breakfast some days (and it is healthy cereal by the way, kashi and special K protien plus), other days i might be in the mood for a bagel (they are the small whole wheat ones). What i am saying is, he will eat the boxes of cereal AND the bagels AND the strawberries i put on the cereal in one setting. It is just not practical for me to have just carrots and mayo in my fridge....i have a family of four, i have to keep the basics on hand...but he eats ALL the basics in one setting if i keep the fridge unlocked. I dont think the rest of the family should go hungry because my son cant control himself. I have to have staple items in the fridge and pantry.

Steelslady, so glad to finally hear i am not the only one. I locked the fridge after dinner last night and i heard him creep into the kitchen and then leave. so i guess it worked for last night. It does seem extreme, but it is the only way to make him "find something else to do" than eat.

Harpo, i think you are right. I am making an apt with a counselor today. DS has said he wont talk to a counselor and it would be a waste of my money. Maybe so, but at least i can say i did all that i could.

I still don't think you are getting my point.
Everything you mentioned in your post that you were annoyed with him eating, except the strawberries, would be pantry items, not fridge items. You might be better served locking the pantry than the fridge. Its way easier to binge on starch than vegetables..so the bread , bagels you were mentioning, heck yes I binged on bread myself before. Only I spread a bunch of butter on it and microwaved it until it tasted deep fried ..that was as a preteen.

i get what you are saying, but what i am saying is that i have to lock both. It doesnt matter, if it is there, he will eat it. I know that sounds nuts.

He also ate a plate of left over chicken, a 6 pack of sf jello, pkg of roasted turkey breast, the bagels are the fridge kind. I am not even coming close to naming all the stuff he will eat if it is not locked. This is stuff that was missing in the morning and found under his bed or closet the next day. It doesnt matter. he has been doing this a while, i have no food left the in pantry or fridge if i dont lock either. But that is okay. I am locking both. (fridge and pantry) Both the kids are allowed to eat what they want all day long, there is no reason to be binging on ANYTHING at 2 a.m.

Hey Get n healthy,

Are you a single mom? It sounds as though you are--you haven't mentioned a dad around. But does your son have contact with his father? Or is there another male adult who your son is close to? I'm thinking you might enlist some help to get him into counseling.

Jay

I had forgotten about this earlier, but I did have a lady friend that did her grocery shopping every morning. The reason was, she had 4 children and one of them was eating her out of house and home. The only thing she kept in the house at all times was her spices, condiments and such. Each day she'd plan out what her family would need for meals and go buy it. I know this would be a hassle, but it might help to keep your son from being able to binge and save you money on food. It might also be less psychologically damaging than locking the cabinets and fridge. Something you might want to consider and talk to a counselor about. A small dormitory type fridge to put any leftover perishables in at night (in your bedroom might help).

I had mentioned that my SD has a problem with eating LOTS of bread and drinking LOTS of milk. I've discovered that I'd prefer to go buy a half gallon of milk each day than wake up to a gallon gone every single day. As for the bread, I'm buying the smaller loaves so even if she wants to binge on it, there isn't much of it left at the end of a day with 6 of us living here. As for the cereal, I've gone to buying one box at a time. If it's gone, I wait a couple days to buy more as it tends to disappear too with all the milk.

The picture coming through from all of the bits of info in your posts is that this is in no way a normal situation. Having to lock up the food like this is so outside of normal, that there is something really wrong going on here, and you need more than casual advice, you need to get specialists involved.

Praeder-Wili is a genetic syndrome involving a faulty hypothalmus (where signals of fullness come from) that causes uncontrolled hunger (but also other traits like mental ******ation and OCD behaviors, that don't seem to be the case here). While that doesn't seem to fit the picture, considering that 2of your 3 children have severe binging problems, I would wonder if there is an underlying physical disorder, possibly glandular or hormonal.

I know your doctor didn't seem overly concerned, but in my experience, doctors rarely understand how extreme a situation is until a person makes an incredibly huge fuss, sometimes repeatedly (and sometimes not even then). They seem to assume that most patients and parents tend to overreact. I would reccommend making that fuss as loudly and as often as possible. If at all possible, I would reccommend physical workups (blood tests for just about everything they can think of) for both of the bingers. Psychological evaluations and counseling for the whole family (whether or not there's a underlying physical cause, you all need help coping with this situation, and probably other stressors in your lives too). If you have insurance that allows you to see a specialist with or without a referral, an endocrinologist could help determine if there's a hormonal cause.

Good luck,

Is it possible that he has a sleep eating disorder and is actually not completelon conscious during the late night binges? Have you ever tried to stay up and stake out the kitchen at night to catch him in the act of carrying the food to his room? It seems like catching him in the act (assuming he's not sleep eating) will be the best way to get him to admit what's going on, and you'll have proof.

Um... I don;t want to alarm you, but this is typical when kids smoke pot. I know because my sisters and her friend would never eat but devoured the kitchen clean after marijuana exposure. I'm not saying that you're kids are doing it, but do ask.

It might be pot (I myself binge when I smoke pot--but it's more likely to be an entire pint of ice cream than 3 boxes of cereal! I think even I would be ill if I tried to eat that much in one go, high or not high!) but more likely it is something psychological. The kid needs help, and soon. Having to lock the fridge and cabinet to stop the child from eating everything is extremely worrying and I'd be concerned that you're creating emotional problems that will encourage obesity, EDs and binge-eating in him as an adult. (I know you're trying to do the right thing!)

Get n' Healthy: Please take your son to a psychologist. We can only guess at what is going on, but it is clear that he needs the kind of help that even a loving mama can't give. His weight is troubling, his social isolation is troubling, his depression is troubling and the bingeing is troubling. I think professional help is definitely in order here.

Good luck!

I think with the information given its clear he should be talking to a professional to try to pinpoint the root of the problem. He may not admit it at first, but I think that you will have the mystery solved after some perseverence. Hopefully sooner, than later, for everyone's sake.