13 yr old overweight ?????

[julie39180]

hello,
i have a 13 yr old that weighs 140 and is a very picky eater. he doent go outside much and mainly plays his video games and doesnt do any exercixes. he eats alot of junk food, nothing else. he wont try things and when he does he dont like them. he will not eat veg. or fruits. i cant make him eat what he dont wont to eat and i dont want to starve him either. i know his weight is really bothing him.
me and husband are both overweight. when i try to diet or watch what i eat, after about a week i give up. i have no will power. SO if i cant help myself, HOW DO I HELP MY CHILD????? I JUST DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO... any advise? anyone else going through this and if so what r u doing???
thnks,
julie

[joekerr30]

sounds like your child is mimicing the lifestyle you and your husband lead.

my advice would be to change how you and your husband approach your own health and he will also. That doesnt mean he'll catch on right away. But if a year from now you and your husband are trim and slim, and if he is bothered by being over weight, odds are he will say to himself 'hmmm, mom and dad did, i can do it also."

People only change when they have internal motivation to do so. I think the only thing you can do is be an inspiration to him so that he develops that internal motivation to change.

btw, if he's 13 where is he getting the money to buy all the junk that he's eating? I'm assuming you aren't buying it right? If you are buying it then its a little silly asking folks here how to help your kid lose weight - stop buying junk food!

J

[wendy67]

Originally Posted by julie39180

hello,
i have a 13 yr old that weighs 140 and is a very picky eater. he doent go outside much and mainly plays his video games and doesnt do any exercixes. he eats alot of junk food, nothing else. he wont try things and when he does he dont like them. he will not eat veg. or fruits. i cant make him eat what he dont wont to eat and i dont want to starve him either. i know his weight is really bothing him.
me and husband are both overweight. when i try to diet or watch what i eat, after about a week i give up. i have no will power. SO if i cant help myself, HOW DO I HELP MY CHILD????? I JUST DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO... any advise? anyone else going through this and if so what r u doing???
thnks,
julie

[Annee]

I think that because he's 13, it would be wise to get specific information from your son's doctor. You wouldn't want to cut back on his calories too much, especially if he's entering a growth spurt. Find out how many calories he should be eating daily, and what his minimum nutritional needs are. My son was extremely picky when he was young, and his doctor told me that just one teaspoon of mixed vegetables a day would keep him going until he outgrew his pickiness. It did!

[lindan]

Julie - I know exactly how you feel. My 14 year old son is over 210 lbs. He is tall (5'9") and has a large frame - but is probably 30-40 pounds overweight. It is not as easy as saying - "don't buy junk food." I have NO junk food in my house - ever! "De-junking" your kitchen is the first step but don't expect it to solve his weight problem. Teenagers are bombarded at every church event, school event, social gathering, etc with junk food. Have you ever heard of a teenagers' party with fruit & veggies instead pizza, cookies, chips and cokes??? It's just not realistic to expect him not to ever eat those things. My son has been educated about what is healthy for him but at 13-14, they see themselves are invincible in regard to their health. They really do not understand.

Also - adolescents are trying to become in control of their lives and are becoming more and more independent. They want to assert control over whatever part of their life they can and what they eat is one thing they can control.

I believe that the best thing is to get your son as active as possible. My son quit sports - that makes it much harder. (I try to get my husband to do active things with him - but that's another novel!) When he's at home, make sure his meals are healthy. You can't dictate what he eats when he's away from you so make sure you know he's getting nutritionally sound food at home.

I don't have the answer - I'm still struggling with how to deal with this issue myself. I've even resorted to offering $5 per pound lost to motivate my son. I've actually hoped a little peer pressure would help - he loves the girls - but girls like him and call him "teddy bear."

Good luck. By the way, it is ESSENTIAL that you and your husband get your own eating habits in order before you can do anything about your son.