Lower carbs / underweight child

[chelles]

I can't figure out how to lower my 10-year old daughter's bad carbs without cutting calories. She's gained one pound in the last three years (and about 6 inches!) She's always been between the 5th and 15th percentile for weight and I hate to see her lose calories if I cut out carbs.

I know I can substitute fruit/veggies, but they're so low in calories and she's extremely active. On the other hand, her diet must be 75%+ carbs and I have trouble getting enough protein into her, as she's not a big meat eater.

Any ideas?

[watersidhe]

Hmmm... maybe you could add a few extra condiments to her diet or start sprinkling her fruit with yummy-tasting cinnamon, vanilla, or almond extract. If she like mayo or butter on her bread-stuffs, by all means you can add it.

Is she eating any artificial sweeteners at all? It would be best to keep them to a minimum, but of course, the 'stall' effect is the last thing your daughter needs to worry about...

In all honesty, I'd be very hesitant to cut your daughter's carb-rate by all that much at this point.. She is still very young and will more than likely start to gain some weight in the nest year or two. (i.e. once she gets into puberty) I could be very, very wrong, though. What does her doctor say about it?

Eggs, dairy, and peanut butter are all excellent sources of protein, too. :thup:
Does she like cinnamon-flavored French Toast, maybe even with bacon and/or sausage? That'd probably be a great breakfast-treat for her.... just use a minimal amount of the syrup. Mind how it is sweetened and keep track of the carbs in the bread, though! A few pieces of regular, low-carb bread cinnamon toast w/ an abundant amont of butter might be a good staple for her, too.

[Lisa N]

Does she like yogurt? If she does, how about a fruit smoothie made with berries, full fat yogurt, sneak a scoop of whey protein powder in there and mabye a bit of heavy cream? Sweeten with a little Splenda, if needed. If she wants it more like a milkshake, use frozen berries. :)
If she doesn't like protein and you're going to cut carbs/sugar, the only way to keep her calories up is with fat. Put butter and cheese sauce on those veggies, see if she'll eat veggies with regular ranch or bleu cheese dressing to dip them in or celery spread with cream cheese or peanut butter.

[WendyLynn]

chelles, don't cut carbs, replace bad carbs with good carbs. You aren't looking for weight management, you are looking for healthy eating.By that I mean make every carb count. Use whole grain breads and flours,whole grains in cooking like brown rice, lots of good oils, nuts, and fruits (which are not at all low in carbs by the way). Slip protein in by using lots of eggs and dairy in desserts as well as meals. Snacking on nuts instead of empty calorie foods like chips is another idea. Have you tried asking if she would like to be the dinner chef once a week? My 10 yr old son will eat all kinds of things if he is the chef. I hope this helps.

[chelles]

Thanks for the advice! I guess I know all this already, but I'm just trying to sort it all out in my head.

We took her to the doctor to check her height, and after some x-rays, we found out she has the bones of a 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 year old. (She turned 10 in September.) She'll be seeing a pediatric endocronologist in April (first available appointment!) to determine if she needs to go on growth hormones. We're really hoping she doesn't, since it entails a shot every day until she's out of puberty.

She also has severe emotional outbursts about once a month - severe freaking out, threatening to jump out of the car, etc. - so she'll be seeing a therapist soon. Coupled with her problems in school (concentrating), I'm thinking that a sugar change in her diet may be in order. Not just to head off future health problems, but for her behavior.

And her cholesterol is about 30 points higher than mine! It's so hard to get strict with her eating, as her dad and I share custody and both of us get lazy when shopping for her.

I think it's just time for me to get my big a$$ in gear and do what I need to do as a parent.

Sorry for the long rant, but none of my friends have children.

[WendyLynn]

chelles, rant away. There is nothing like venting to those who understand. No matter how well intentioned and loving, if your friends don't have kids, they can't truly get it. Remember before your daughter was born when you would be in a supermarket and a kid would have a tantrum and you would think, "Can't that parent control that Kid!" Then we all turned into that parent with that tantrum throwing kid and learned first hand that, no, you can't always control that kid. :) We all want to make our kids happy and sometimes it is a lot easier to give in to their demands than to face another arguement, but when it comes to health, we can't afford to give in. If a child needed antibiotics to get over an illness, but threw a tantrum about taking the meds, we wouldn't think of giving in. You can't let down your guard on your daughter's eating for exactly the same reason. After you see the endoronologist you will have a better idea of what you are dealing with. April is a long way off however. Use that time to create nutritional documentation for the doctor. Journal what your daughter eats and make notes of behavioral swings. Has she ever been allergy tested? Allergies, as well as sugar reactions and hormonal swings, can cause the kinds of reactions you have described. By journaling her eating you may find some patterns. At the very least, the doctor will have info on how many calories your daughter eats and the nutritional breakdown. Good luck! Keep venting. We parents have to stick together! :)

[Mua'Dib]

Buy her things like good tasting protein bars and atkins bake mixes. She should have no trouble keeping her calories up if there is something LC that she really likes.

[LadyBelle]

I think it's great your cutting down on her sugar. She'll feel more awake, have more even moods and feel healthier all over. The bones I don't think any diet could help unfortunetly.

I agree that whole milk yogurt is a wonderful idea. Mix in some berries and maybe some sweetened DaVincci's or other syrup.

For bread I get my son iron kids. It does have some sugars in ingredients, but at 11 total carbs and 2g fiber it is one of the lowest carb "regular" breads I've seen. Plus I like the fact it's iron and calcium fortified.

Will she eat oatmeal? Steel cut oats, the kind that take hours to cook, can be very filling, low glycemic and could help with the cholesterol maybe. Look for other lower carb or GI substatutions as well. My son didn't even notice when I replaced the regular peanut butter with unsalted all natural. He also doesn't notice instead of jelly he gets all fruits spread.

I think with kids the slow substatuting helps ease them into things. Alot of children are very resistant to new things, and suddenly haivng a whole new way of eating may just be too much for them.

If you start with the lower sugar and your daughter starts feeling better, take that opportunity to talk to her about different foods. Don't lable any food as bad or good (we all want the bad ones, don't we? ) just explain to her that some foods help her to keep that healthy energized feeling. Other foods can be enjoyed in moderation, but too much will make her sick, and to often will drag her back down into lathargy. At 10 she's more then old enough to at least understand the basics of healthy eating, and may feel empowered about being able to make healthier choices on her own.

[miller205]

I want you to know that I am goin through something similar with my daughter. At 9 years old she is only 3'6" and 45 lbs. Her shoe size and clothing size are so small that we can still shop in the toddler sections! After a visit to a pediatric endocrinologist I was informed that I must eliminate all empty carbs from her diet as gaining weight is a priority. Whole milk was the most important factor in increasing her protein intake as was eliminating soda (she was only allowed soda 2 times a week anyway) and reducing her intake of juices. He said to feed her 2 eggs and bacon or sausage every morning along with a glass of whole milk at every meal (we are having lots of luck with vanilla Nesquik mixed into the milk). Full fat yogurt or cheese for a snack but snacks should be limited b/c he wants her to be hungry for meals.

Whew!! It has been tough and only 2 weeks now. She has only grown 3/4 of an inch in over a year, he expects if this diet modification works that she will grow an inch in the next three months! Even if we can spark her growth with additional proteins he said that at best she will only ever be 4'8" as an adult so growth hormones are a probability. I believe that I will make this her decision.

As for bone aging, the fact that her bones are only those of a 6 1/2 year old may be promising. The doctor said that sometimes the brain thinks the body is younger than it is but usually catches up. I haven't gotten the results of my daughter's tests back yet...hopefully nutrition is the key factor and not anything more serious. GOOD LUCK!!

[Kimarie]

I know just what you are going through and it is so hard. I have a 6 year old who is 33 pounds and boy has it been hard work to get her there. She has Moebius Sequence which is a rare disorder that affects the muscles in the face. Luckly she is not as bad as she could be - she can simile -but eating has been her biggest problem. Eating is just a little bit harder for her but when she gets tired she stops eating and then is tired because she isn't eating! At the worst times she has to have a nasal gastric tube so she can have extra food at night while sleeping. I find full cream milk, with Milo (do you have that in USA I am in Australia) a great way of adding calories and is also full on iron. She also loves steak and chops so big plates of these.

[BlitzedAng]

I been working on my son Daniels menu also.He is 8 years old and 50 pounds. All skin and MAJOR bones. Kids pick on him soo much. He has had every test known to man but they say he's just fine. Very healthy was the exact words. So we removed the sugar and boy does that kid love yogurt,cheese sticks, pepperoni, etc..
He is doing great tho.

[miller205]

I am happy to report that over the last few weeks my daughter has gained between 4 and 5 pounds! I am noticing quite a change in her both physically and energy wise. Here is a typical days menu for her now:

Breakfast:
12 OZ OF WHOLE MILK (SOMETIMES WITH VANILLA NESQUIK ADDED)
1 SCRAMBLED EGG
2 PIECES OF BACON
(I DO STILL LET HER HAVE CEREAL ONCE A WEEK ON THE CONDITION THAT SHE DRINK ALL OF THE MILK PLUS HER 12 OZ)
LUNCH:
3-4 SLICES HAM OR TURKEY ROLLED UP
100% APPLE JUICE
A PIECE OF FRUIT (APPLE, PEACH, OR PLUM)
RICE PUDDING OR CHEESECAKE BAR
YOGURT

SNACK:
ICE CREAM OR PEANUTS OR STRING CHEESE
MORE WHOLE MILK


DINNER:
12 OZ WHOLE MILK
SERVING OF VEGGIES
4 OZ OF MEAT (STEAK, PORK CHOP, HAMBURGER, CHICKEN, TURKEY)
BAKED POTATO OR NOODLES WITH LOTS OF BUTTER AND SOUR CREAM ON THE POTATO

[skhur]

My issue is that my underweight daughter will only eat tiny portions. Even if I feed her every 2-3 hours, she still doesn't get enough calories. She also tends towards sugar & not much protein, which I'm trying to break. That would be a great menu that you posted, but I don't see her ramping up to eat it. Any tips? Also how did you get your daughter's buy-in to do it? Talking rationally doesn't seem to work. Forcing her or giving too many outside incentives doesn't seem right either. Ideas?

Thanks.