I was just wondering if any of the parents of kids with CF end up overweight? I have been lazy and end up only cooking one meal, geared towards my son. Needless to say, I need to go on a diet.

Deb

Hi I have a 12 yr old daughter with cf. and she is only 60pounds.. I have tried everything to get her to gain wieght but it aint working. we cook only high calorie foods. and we let her eat anytime she wants and still only 60 pounds

I guess I should feel lucky my 13 yr old is 80 pounds. I'm sure the dietian has already told you how to beef up her meals. If not I would be glad to share what knowledge I have. I know it get frustrating, it seems like I'm always naggin him to eat something. So basically I stick with stuff I know he likes. Now that he is growing up his tastes are getting more expensive. Now he loves shrimp and lobster. That is something that he only gets occasionally because I am not made out of money. I did get a hand out from the dietian, I would be glad to share some of her ideas if you are interested. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you again. Best of luck.

Deb

Hi again,
well we have her eating what ever and when ever she wants. she even drinks boost atleast a 1/2 case a day if not more.. we were told she might also ave diabetes... but some ideas to beef up her meals would be great ty

Michele, at least you are fortunate enough to have her drink boost. My son will not drink any kinds of supplement. He gets free reigh in the kitchen, anything and everything he gets to eat. Although he does turn his nose up at my low cal food, which is OK with me. When I get home from work I will dig up that handout and post some of the help hints she gave me. I'll talk to you later.

Deb

Hi,

This is kinda long, this is one of the hand outs the dietian gave me.

Increasing Protein and Calories

Cheese

Melt on sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, other meats or fish, veggies, eggs, dessert like stewed fruit or pies; grate and add to sauces, casseroles, vegetable dishes, mashed potatoes, rice, noodles, meatloaf, breads, muffins.

Cottage
Cheese Mix with or use to stuff fruits or vegetables; add to casseroles or egg dishes like quiche, scrambled eggs, soufflés; add to spaghetti or noodles; use in gelatin, pudding type desserts or cheese cake; add to pancake batter, stuff crepes and pasta like shells or manicotti.

Cream
Cheese Spread on sandwiches, fruit slices, and crackers; add to egg or vegetables, roll into balls and coat with chopped nuts, wheat germ or granola.

Milk or
Cream Add to water used in cooking or use in place of water in preparing foods such as hot cereal, soups. Serve cream sauces with vegetables and other appropriate dishes.

High
Protein
Milk Blend whole milk with dry skim milk powder using 1 cup dry powder for each quart of milk; substitute for regular milk in beverages and in cooking whenever possible; substitute for water in soups, cocoa, and pudding mixes; use on cereals, jello and stewed fruits.

Powdered
Milk Add to regular milk and milk drinks such as eggnog and milk shakes; use in casseroles; add to meatloaf, breads, muffins, sauces, cream soups, pudding and custards, and milk based gelatin salads or desserts.

Eggs Add chopped, hard-cooked eggs to salads and dressings, vegetables, casseroles, creamed meats; beat eggs into mashed potatoes or vegetable purees; add an extra egg to French toast and pancake batter or milk shakes.

Egg
Yolks Beat into sauces; add extra yolks to quiche, scrambled eggs, custards, puddings, pancake and French toast batter, a rich boiled custard made with egg yolks, high protein milk and sugar is a good source or calories and protein. Add extra hard-cooked yolk to deviled egg filling and sandwich spreads.
Ice
Cream Use in beverages such as sodas, milk shakes, or other milk drinks; add to cereals, fruits, gelatin desserts and pies; blend or whip with bananas and soft or cooked fruits, sandwich between enriched cake slices, cookies or graham crackers.

Peanut
Butter Spread on sandwiches, toast muggings, crackers, waffles, pancakes, fruit slices; use as a dip for raw vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, celery; add to meatloaf, appropriately flavored soups and sauces, cookies, breads, muffins, blend with milk drinks and beverages, swirl through soft ice cream and yogurt, top cookies and cakes.

Wheat
Germ Add to casserole, meat, bread, muffin and pancake or waffle recipes; sprinkle on fruit, cereal, ice cream, or yogurt; sprinkle on top of vegetables and toast to ass a crunchy topping; use in place of breadcrumbs.

Nuts Serve as snacks; add chopped or ground nuts to ice cream, yogurt, puddings, breads, muffins, pancakes, waffles, cookies, meatloaf and hamburgers, vegetable dishes, salads, sandwiches; blend with parsley or spinach, herbs and cream for a noodle, pasta or vegetable sauce; roll banana in chopped nuts.

Meat or
Fish Add small pieces of any cooked meat or fish to vegetables, salads, casseroles, soups, and biscuit ingredients; use in omelets, soufflés, quiches, sandwich fillings, chicken and turkey stuffing; wrap in pie crust or biscuit dough as a turnover; add to stuffed baked potatoes. Liver is an especially good source of protein and other nutrients if accepted.

Textured
Vegetable
Protein Add to hamburgers, meatloaf, meatballs, spaghetti sauce, and ground or chopped meat dishes, casseroles, and sandwich fillings.

Legumes Drypeas, beans and bean curd (tofu) can be cooked and made into soup or added to casseroles, pastas, and grain dishes which also contain cheese or meat. Mash with cheese and milk.

Plain or
Sweet
Yogurt Add to fruits and desserts; use to top cereal, pancakes, waffles, fill crepe; add to milk-based beverages and gelatin dishes.

Butter and
Margarine Add to soup, mashed and baked potatoes, hot cereal, grits, rice noodles, and cooked vegetables; put into sauces and gravies; combine with herbs and seasonings and spread on cooked meats, hamburgers and fish; sue melted butter as a dip for raw vegetables, seafoods, such as shrimp,
scallops, crab and lobster.

Whipped
Cream Use unsweetedned on soups and sweetened on cocoa, desserts, delatin, pudding, fruits, pancakes, waffles; fold unsweetened into mashed potatoes or vegetable purees.

I'll post recipes later.

Deb

I'm sure you guys know this already but another thing to watch for (almost obsessively) is that the meals your child gets, while also high in protein and calories, are high in fat -- many of the vitamins CF patients are deficient in are fat-soluble, and that's also one of the things they have more problems digesting.

This has been a big problem for us....I have two daughters with CF,half sisters.Skylar is pancreatic sufficient and Ashleigh is not.Ashleigh is also type 1 diabetic and has food allergies.She takes Ultrase enzymes and ADEK vitamins,is fed via NG tube at night and drinks scandishakes(she actually likes the taste of that stuff!)We're debating over a g-tube at the moment.

However I'm trying to balance Ashleighs diet needs with that of me,my dh and 5 other kids(of whom only 1 has CF)...this often times leads to two different meals.

BTW anybody use scandical?

Rug--what is scandical?

I have a healty 15 yo with CF, he is active in sports, he only weighs 125. I fix him milkshakes with that malted milk stuff icecream and milk, it has lots of calories in it, and he loves it and has for years, he would never drink any of those supplements either. Hope this helps. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Sometimes weight gain is related to depression, which is very common in parents with CF. Inactivity is also often associated with depression. CF is a lot for parents, and relatives, of a CF kid to handle, emotionally. It can be hard to take care of oneself when a loved one needs a lot of caring. You might talk to your own doctor about the possiblity of depresssion. Just a suggestion.

Coconut oil. Wonderful for people with cf. Very easy to digest. To read up on the health benefits of it go to http://www.coconutoil.com/.

Tumeric. I'm getting pretty tired, so just go here and read- http://www.cftrust.org.uk/scope/documentlibrary/Tumeric.doc.

If you decide to try tumeric (curcumin) you might want to get it with bioperine added to it which apparently helps one to absorb the curcumin. Made a big difference for my son, as well as taking Lecithin with it. Good luck all, and good night.

Kathleen