I'm a little concerned about my son's weight. He's not *TOO* overweight, but I've noticed he's getting a little 'thick' around the middle. Plus he's been gaining, despite my efforts to cut back on his calories and getting him to eat healthier foods. He loves bananas and carrots, etc, so that's not a problem. I'm also cutting out those blasted frozen kid's meals. Those things are horrendous in fat and calories. I've switched from 2% milk to 1%, I give him the fat-free turkey franks instead of regular hot dogs (without him noticing a difference) etc etc etc. Everywhere I can cut fat and excess calories from his diet, I do it.
However, in May he was 76 pounds. He's 8 years old next month. And he's 54" (4.5') tall. I just weighed him again this morning. Two months later he's 81 pounds and he's still the same height. So he's not growing UPWARD, he's growing OUTWARD.
So I was wondering if there's a calorie calculator for children that I can enter his information and find out how many calories he should be eating per day to drop some of this weight back off. He's very health-conscious (every thing we pick up in the supermarket, he reads all of the nutrition info - this wasn't pounded into him by me, it's simply a learned behavior from WATCHING me since I watch what I eat very carefully) and, believe it or not, won't touch any foods that have trans fats
So it's not like he isn't AWARE. He's fully aware that I'm trying to cut out the garbage in his diet and he's fully aware that he could stand to lose a little bit of weight. It's important to me to get a hold of this NOW before it gets out of control.
LLV, I understand your concern and I hope someone has the link to the kid's calorie counter. I know I've seen it on here before.
I was concerned that my DD was getting a little "thick". She was 5'5 and 149 lbs. and most of it was around her waist. She was eating Way more than she usually did. Well, the other night we both weighed and measured and to my surprise she is now 5'8 and 143 lbs. I think she must have just been going through a growth spurt and hungrier than usual. Her waist definitely looks slimmer now. Now if I could just keep her out of my clothes, LOL.
Lilybelle, I was thinking the same thing. I was a stick as I child, but I would always get more girth before I shot up.
I am so torn on childhood weight issues. I think that kids' weight fluctuate so much as their bodies mature that we have to make allowances for that. On the other hand, no one wants to be the mom who saw trouble coming and did nothing to stop it.
LLV-have you talked to his ped? S/he could tell you what the target weight and cal/day should be. Also, I think that their ratio for f/p/c is slightly different. How active is he?
It sounds like you are already taking steps towards a healthier diet for him-but how are you doing as far as getting him more active? For many children, that is the main part. Kids don't want to play outside, swim, play ball, etc. any more...they want to listen to ipods, watch dvds, and play video games.
How is his activity? Since you have switched to healthier foods, I would go for getting him more regular activity before I would actually count calories with a child.
Yeah see if you can get him in sports or something. Go for family walks after dinner. Go hiking or biking on the weekend. Good luck. Oh I googled the other day and found a kids BMI calculator. I will look again. I know it doesn't tell ya how many calories but will tell you his BMI.
Thanks, everyone, and I appreciate those links, I'll look into them further.
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Originally Posted by lilybelle
I was concerned that my DD was getting a little "thick". She was 5'5 and 149 lbs. and most of it was around her waist. She was eating Way more than she usually did. Well, the other night we both weighed and measured and to my surprise she is now 5'8 and 143 lbs. I think she must have just been going through a growth spurt and hungrier than usual. Her waist definitely looks slimmer now. Now if I could just keep her out of my clothes, LOL.
Yes, I too have wondered if it's just a growth spurt because he seems to be hungrier than usual lately. He's always wanting something to eat. I allow him snacks, but he gets them in portions in a bowl, he's not allowed to sit down with the whole bag of whatever he is eating. But then I've done that since he was able to eat solid foods. He already knows he's not allowed to eat a bunch in one sitting.
However, what's making me think he's gaining weight (well, he actually is) is because he's still the same height he was 2 months ago but he's 5 pounds heavier. And he's getting chunky around his waist and in his chest area.
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Originally Posted by onthetee
LLV-have you talked to his ped? S/he could tell you what the target weight and cal/day should be. Also, I think that their ratio for f/p/c is slightly different. How active is he?
Well, he participates in PE in school and soccer and whatever sports they offer, but he's out of school right now and stuck in the "I just wanna play video games" rut. However, the last couple of days I've had him outside riding his bike (this morning I MADE him get off that computer) and his dad takes him swimming several times a week. So he *is* getting some activity, although I'd like him to still be a little more active.
And no, I haven't talked to his doctor yet. This is just something I've noticed only recently and I wanted to try and work with him myself, using my own knowledge, and see if I can do anything. But yes, I've considered taking him to the doctor, at least for an evaluation and, like you said, his doctor could actually tell me if he really has a weight problem or not. So I may do that soon.
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Originally Posted by aphil
It sounds like you are already taking steps towards a healthier diet for him-but how are you doing as far as getting him more active? For many children, that is the main part. Kids don't want to play outside, swim, play ball, etc. any more...they want to listen to ipods, watch dvds, and play video games.
How is his activity? Since you have switched to healthier foods, I would go for getting him more regular activity before I would actually count calories with a child.
Yes, that's what I'm trying to do, get him out of the house more and outside to play. I agree he needs to be more active because he's LESS active now that he's out of school for the summer.
Excellent links, guys, thanks! I checked out the first one. For his age and height, his ideal body weight is 74 pounds. Now, I realize that all children are different and it doesn't mean he has to lose that much, but we'll see
Calorie calculator for kids?
