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YogaBuff
Sat, Nov-17-01, 13:48
I cannot find where to put this, so moderators--move it as you see fit. LOL!

Ihave two sons- one 18 and fit, muscular, -always has been- a football 'star'.
The other is 15, has tried sports, but never been quite the athlete, although has kept fairly active, but since the age of 8, has been sort of an emotional eater, put on steady weight since then and tried 3 yrs. in a row( ages 10 thru 13) to lose weight for football, was succesful and of course, gained back MORE immediately. ( I never liked this practice at all-- looked like the start of yo-yo-ing to me.)

He has a pretty good attitude about his weight, but I know (mothers know) that it bothers him....... THE BIGGEST thing is. I've been reading in Schwarzbein's Book--my favorite LC info-- that the high carb, sugary diets of pubescents, coupled with a couple of whacks at restrictive 'dieting. and regaining can make these kids have DELAYED PUBERTY, and delayed height growth.


This describes my son to a T. He's 5'11' after finally having a major growth spurt while NOT dieting.(His growth was way behind his brother till then. He's doing fine, now. BUT he has ZERO whiskers and other signs of maturation. I'm not terribly worried about this, he will catch up. BUT DO I THINK IT HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH HIS DIET OF CARBS AND HIS TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT BY LO CALORIE-- HIGH CARB??? YOU BET!! He looks like a large 11 yr. old . 'Course- I love him no matter what, but it just makes me so mad to even THINK that his 'dieting' did anything to cause him emotional upset NOW. Ya know?

SO.. ... I've been kind of mulling over the idea of getting himto increase his fat and protein, decrease carbs, cutting out sugar altogether, and see if this improves his weight , and health. He;s all for it --says he doesn't want to get NEAR a scale, doesn't care if it takes a while, or doesn't do much of anythoing. Just wants to feel better. AMAZING-- this kid has figured out what matters at 15, waht it took me 47 yrs. to get-- I'm humbled.

I KNOW if puberty changes come , it may have just been his time-- I'm not as dumb as all that, But since he WORKS OUT WITH WEIGHTS AND CYCLES at their school gym., that should help, too. Dr. Scwarzbein says this whole bad cycle he's been on his whole young life can be reversed with a better diet. Hers is very moderate-- allows a few more healthy carbs. I know when I was a kid-- we ate plenty of butter, meats, and cheese, vegetables from our garden, were never fat kids, and our pubescent changes were right on time. DUH.

I really value all you peoples opinions, you are so knowledgable, and well read on this . What do you think??

SORRY SO LONG!

yb

YogaBuff
Sat, Nov-17-01, 14:00
Oh, by the way-- at 5'11", his weight is 235. Not WAY out of control, but is quite obviously very doughy-- NOT muscle. To tell you how hard he tries to keep a good humor about this-- at his all boys school, they wear a tie every day. He wears a 'Pillsbury Dough- Boy' tie-- every day. I don't know whether to laugh or be a little sad.

yb

Karen
Sat, Nov-17-01, 14:38
I think that anything that will get the crap out of peoples diets is a wonderful thing. Life long eating habits start from birth. Thank God your son can start changing at 17 instead of struggling with 40 years of bad eating habits. He has a life of great health and energy to look forward to.

Karen

tamarian
Sat, Nov-17-01, 15:06
Hi YogaBuff,

Your question made me realize that this issue comes up often, and we don't have a forum for it (parents, teens and kids on LC).

So, we now have one! :)

Wa'il

YogaBuff
Sat, Nov-17-01, 16:41
Thanks, Tamarian! Yes, our teens often follow in our footsteps-- either trough genetics, or our former terrible habits.

yb

gecolon
Sun, Nov-18-01, 18:46
My kids have seen the changes in me and they really want to start this way of life. Any suggestions on how we could pack their lunch for school[ They are in jr high and don't have microwaves to heat food].

missydog
Sun, Nov-18-01, 18:56
YogaBuff,

I'm no doctor and no expert, but I've read that once puberty hits in a boy (or girl, for that matter) their ability to gain height shuts off for life. So if your son's genes meant for him to be tall, it would stand to reason that his puberty might be delayed to accommodate his greater than average growth in height. I'm not saying you're not onto something with the dieting, but perhaps his growth in height must finish before the puberty can really kick in. Just a thought.

Missydog

YogaBuff
Sun, Nov-18-01, 20:13
You're probably right on, Missydog. I'm sure his body and hormones can only work on one thing at a time very efficiently, amd he grew about 5" this past yr. I do think he will benefit from stopping all the sugar, it keeps him from taking in more things that keep him from growing AND maturing.

And Gecolon, there's a 'lunch-packing-mom's discussion going under a thread in this section. It's by Lessara, called "Help- my poor children." or something like that. We'v e been getting ideas from each other for 7-15 yr. olds, and any age. Come share with us.

yb

YogaBuff
Sun, Nov-18-01, 20:48
Correction gecolon-- that thread was started by mjchyzy.
I'ts in this LC parents section though.
yb

gecolon
Mon, Nov-19-01, 09:52
Thank you.

Yan
Fri, May-24-02, 00:41
My son was always an overweight boy but at 13 (going on 14) he has decided he wants to trim down, get fit and gain more energy. He announced one night that he was tired of always being picked last in sports events at school. And... he discovered girls! With him wanting to look "normal"I began to scout for info on weight loss programs. I came across an article on Dr. Atkins Low Carb diets and decided to educate myself. In years previous, we had him attend a weight loss clinic with a dietician and nutritionist at a local hospital. Of course, he was always referred to Canada Food Guidelines and of course, knowing what I know now, none of it helped whatsoever. He got taller as the years went on and so too did the weight.

He signed up for Weight Training every two days with weekends off; continues to swim every couple of days as well, and I started him (as well as my husband) on the LC diet. I am careful to make sure he takes daily vitamin supplements; we have totally eliminated sugar and breads (I make Soy Pancakes I found in the members recipe forum - and make extra so that I refrigerate them so that he can have a cold one with his dinner). I plan on making my own low carb bread soon as soon as I get all of the ingredients but so far, he does not miss the breads and pastries!

We eat a nice balance of dark green vegetables (salads) combined with high protein meats and he drinks his psyllium and 7 glasses of water each day.The pop (even low cal pop!) are gone as well as the massive amounts of fruit juices he used to drink every day. My son so far has not complained about missing his ice creams and desserts as he is usually quite content after each meal.

Tonight he had 4 asparagus stalks, a Caesar salad with homemade Caesar dressing, (l egg boiled for 1 minute before cracking, 2 crushed garlic cloves, about 10 tbsp. cold pressed olive oil; 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan Cheese; all whisked together) 4 oz. grilled salmon, glass of water and a nice cup of tea sweetened with Splenda.

And, I continue to count the carbs. I know they are everywhere and hidden in many things (even the Raspberry Tea!).

I find I have to plan each meal very carefully with carb and protein ratio always in mind. I am now relying on using some of the low carb recipes in this forum and my husband and son say that our meals are more exciting and tastier than ever. I also do not allow my son to skip meals.

With my son's 14th birthday only 6 days away, I plan on making a low carb cheesecake for his birthday cake. The main food items will be grilled chicken breasts and Caesar Salad. The beverages are certainly going to be a challenge and this birthday will be a big difference from those in the past. They were nothing more than "sugar parties"..... no wonder the kids were bouncing off the walls!

Certainly there was no pushing or educating to get my son on board. This he initiated himself. He said, "Mom, just find me something that works". Low Carbing works!

I am so happy to say that in two weeks, combined with his excercise program and daily activities and low carb eating, he has lost 6 pounds. I know the weight training program will build muscle (and this weighs more than fat) but he is supervised by a trainer, is weighed in each time he checks in and follows a very specific program designed with his goals in mind.

Tonight he went to sleep with a big smile on his face and so very happy with his progress and with a very strong image of where he's going to be at in another couple of months.

I used to think that rewarding my child with sweet treats (along with all of the hugs and kisses) and not denying him his treats was being a good mother. No longer! The best thing I can do for my child is give him guidance in eating and do my darndest to help him achieve his goal. When he smiled at me tonight and said "thanks, Mom, for your support", I knew I was on the right track. :clap:

Stephbme
Wed, Apr-06-05, 18:55
Since I got sick I have seen my son also fallow in my steps. He is 10 and has stopped playing sports. He has a hard time leaving me alone. He thinks he needs to be the man of the house. I have also noticed his eating habbits are getting pretty bad. I have since started feeling better and have lost some weight myself. I would like to put Ethan on this diet, but is it safe for him. How many cabs should he have? How do you take suger away from a 10 year old?

Meg_S
Fri, Apr-08-05, 16:57
GRRR I just posted a long post and accidentally lost it.

I started LC when I was 16 and wish that it had been forced on me from the time I was 8. Puberty/teens is a time when growth hormone is highest, testosterone should be highest and the body is dedicated to building and setting itself up for the rest of it's life. A poor diet and hormonal balance (some people are "stronger" and more resilient to a poor diet than others) will predispose kids to a future of problems...obesity and diabetes only being a couple of them.

A resource which might make you feel more comfortable: www.westonaprice.org_splash2.htm
Check out the column on the left