My 11 year old son plays football on a youth league. Because of the lack of interest on the Varsity league( no team) he has to play on the junior varsity league. He is a very good player and in order to play he has to be at or under 120 lbs. He weighs 124. The coaches are really pushing him to lose 4-5 lbs or he can not play in the games. How do I do this? I refuse to starve him and I should also mention he is a bit of a picky eater. He really does not eat a lot of veggies. He does eat fruit. Neither of my kids are big milk drinkers or pop. The coaches said to not even let him have Gator aid. My biggest problem here is that most of the coaches were or have sons in wrestling so they are used to going to extremes to lose extra weight. Any ideas at all would help.
Just wanted to add that in this league you have to be a certain weight so you are not too big for the other smaller players. The other teams are very strict because they are concerned for the safety of their players. At the weight he is now he would have been on the smaller side for the varsity team. He has always been a bigger child but healthy big, not obese I believe he is about 5 ft tall. He could stand to lose a little of his mid section but I am certainly not concerned about this because he is still growing. He is a video game junkie but I limit the time he can play. I will try the suggestion of cutting out white foods and sugar. He loves playing and with the expense that is involved we want him to play. This is not a school activity so it costs more. Thank you everyone for the responses and for any more that will come in.
My company has a program where we teach kids how to loose weight and maintain that loss for life. Without going into the whole program, introduce low glycemic carbs and cut out white food. That will do it in no time! Let me know if you want more info!
S.
Depending on his height, 120 is pretty darn light! I'm only 5' at best and 120lbs my ribs begin to show.
If my son at 11 was 4-5lbs 'too heavy' for a sport, he wouldn't be playing. The coaches can be crazy SOB's... I watched my brother's deal with that garbage.
I personally don't think it's safe to put a growing kid on a diet (unless, of course h/she is clearly overweight, and only then with a doctor's supervision). I especially think it's a really BAD idea to give a child such a distorted self-image, by telling him he needs to lose weight. He's also at an age where he may be getting ready for a big growth spurt, in which case he's going to get heavier as well as taller.
No extremes, though, if he absolutely MUST drop 4 pounds, let him do it through exercise and giving up junk food. That should take care of it without drastically cutting his calories and sacrificing his health.
I really question the judgement of those coaches, though.
What is his BMI? Does he need to lose weight or just for football?
If it's just for football, I probably wouldn't encourage the weight loss.
If he does need to lose weight--eliminate the white stuff, any & all junk food, juices. Encourage him to take a walk everyday or shoot hoops or whatever activity he enjoys outside. If he is a gamer, I'll bet eliminating the video games for a week or two would help.
If he needs to lose weight, cut out stuff thats bad for you like snack foods but if he's a healthy weight, I don't recommend putting your son on a diet. Keep in mind that he's going to continue to grow so even if he loses 5 lbs now, what about next week? next month? 6 months from now? Are you constantly going to put him on a diet so he doesn't grow? Thats going to mess with his height and nutrition. Just wanted to warn you -- I heard of a guy in high school who was on a wrestling team and his coaches told him to lose weight so he could participate in a certain game. He was found dead in the exercise room crawling to the scales. He had basically deprived himself of water and was doing cardio for hours straight and was going for a last weigh in when his body gave out. Don't let this happen to your son. He might be 11 now but soon he's goign to be older and if you teach him its okay to put himself on a weight restriction thing just for a game, thats not a good lesson on body image. Like I said, if he can stand to lose weight then cut out the junk. If not, leave well enough alone.
The nephew had the same thing on this team. No kids over 120lb could play, because the other kids might get hurt. So it is loss it or not play football this year. Most boys would cut out snacking in order to play football. 4 lbs, isn't a lot how long does he have to lose it? My daughter weighs 75-78lb depending on the day. Have him go to the bathroom and don't to eat or drink before getting on the scale. Look at all the sodium on everything. Bigger lunch, smaller dinner. Eat dinner early. Drink only water, just not a lot the day of or before the weigh in. He shouldn't fix anything for himself without ask you. Early morning jog to get in shape for football and afternoon bike ride, at night play catch and do sprints. Just look at everything he does and eats until the weigh in and he will get it without starving. Good luck!
Side note: Football gets really competitive. Your son is really good, make sure the coach that weighs him doesn't have a son playing the same position as yours. He might not want him to make it.
I'm really surprised that football has weight restrictions. Is it just a weigh in, or does he have to keep it off? How much time does he have to lose it?
I would suggest that you need to be very careful with this. He is still growing. Is he truly "overweight," or just weighs too much to play in this league? Will he have to stay below weight the entire season? Is this healthy for him? What about next year? Will you think it is still a good idea for him to diet just to play a game? Decide with your husband what your values are concerning this. Don't be pressured to do something just because the people pressuring you cannot see clearly about this situation (because this is what they do all the time--going to extremes).
Personally if I were you and your child is healthy and fine I would not let him play.
I do not feel when he is at the top of his charts and is proportional that he should be going on a diet. I did do the calculations for him. He is healthy and it is not his fault that there is not varsity.
Again I would just not let him play. Besides Muscle weighs more then fat. So you can not buy into the BMI. If you want to know how healthy or unhealthy your child is have is fat measured.
Good Luck.
http://www.slimkids.com/sample-menu.asp
here is an example of a good menu for a child. it's a program you buy, but the sample idea is nice.
When I make vegetables, I put a small amount of olive oil in a small pot, bring it to medium heat, add in my veggies (usually cut asparagus, or squash) I add in some salt and pepper, garlic powder and a teeny drop of butter. And stir fry it until crisp tender. They are really good, even my 2 and 4 year old will eat them... especially if I put a small dab of Girard's light cesear dressing on the side to dip them in.
There are ways to sneak veggies into a child's diet. For example, when eating spaghetti, you can add fresh mushrooms, squash, tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper in the sauce. Try replacing processed and junk foods for snacks he does eat, with healthier options, like popcorn with little butter and little salt, pretzels, rice cakes, nuts. Help him learn to eat smaller portions.
Here is a link about sneaking veggies into your kids food:
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/vegetable-reality-714287/
Here are some links with some great ideas:
http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/children/diet_for_ki...
recipes:
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healt...
menu planning:
http://blog.superhealthykids.com/menu-ideas/
free printable weekly meal plan
http://www.livinglocurto.com/category/food/free-printable...
It's only 4 lbs. You'd think the coaches would be a little bit more leneint and maybe consider that once he starts exerciisng more with the team, he will lose the weight.
This is tough since you say he's a picky eater. I dont necessarily think eating veggies is a weight-loss regimen (cause often, you put extra butter on it to make it taste better).
Protein is a good one for him -- it will help him feel fuller longer, so he will be less likely to snack.
What DOES he eat? If you limit the fattening high-calorie snacks (just don't buy them) then he will have to either choose fruit or something healthier for a snack.
Last thought: Help him learn to listen to his body. Tell him to stop eating after he's content. He doesn't need to go back for seconds to the point where he's FULL. Just eat until he's satisfied. It's not easy to do when the food tastes so good (I have this problem sometimes) but he will have to use willpower. Also, I have tried using a smaller plate so that I don't stuff a hugeplate full of food. I use a smaller plate and then don't go back for seconds.
Does he eat school lunch? Because if he does you have no control and that is probably where he gets most of his calories. If this is the case make him a homemade lunch and if he is willing to lose the 4lbs for school then he has to make a commitment to extra physical activity. I do not agree with an actual diet either, but just watch portion control, drop pasta or white bread for the week before weigh in and gator aid is high in sugar so that's no real loss. Have him drink plenty of water and make sure he is not stressing about it, you don't need body image issues down the road. Goodness like 4 lbs will really make a difference?
If his meals are healthy and balanced, then leave those alone. Look at what ever snacking he does. Make sure he has access to nothing but carrot sticks and celery (no dip). He may not drink a lot of soda, so cutting it out completely shouldn't be a big problem. Water or no cal flavored water is fine.
If he cuts out all junk (even if it's not a lot) and he's active and running a lot, 4 lbs is not a big deal - he should have no trouble making the weight.
If he can cut white foods (pasta, rice, potatoes, bread, sugar) for awhile , drink lots of water, and get more exercise, he should be able to do it. (jogging or skating is much better than biking).
Hi R.---The biggest impact you can make is to eliminate processed/fast/packaged foods and only offer the entire family whole foods, mostly plants. Keep animal protein consumption to a minimum as those contain mostly fat and calories. I have a bunch of charts and info on serving sizes for different ages, etc. that I can share with you if you'd like.
If your son really wants to plany football badly, he will learn to eat veggies. The plant based foods are what give a person optimal health, optimal energy and will help him to achieve his optimal weight. Do not restrict calories, rather aim to eat as much fiber as possbile. It's likely he will be eating 5 or 6 times per day in order to get enough calories. Pack him a healthy snack to have before practice, then another for after. Again, his veggies are what will keep him healthy and to help his body to be prepared for the next game/practice.
I am an athlete and have raised several. I work with a Naturopath who has her PhD in Nutrition. I would be honored to share what I have learned with you. A great story...a guy I know is VERY active, running 6 miles each day and playing competative hockey as an adult. He said he started gaining weight or holding on to it even with this very demanding schedule. He ended up adding 600 calories per day to his diet and within a few weeks dropped 20 lbs. You see, when the body thinks it might be starving...not getting enough food with an active schedule, it will try to store everything it consumes because of the demands placed upon it. Hope this makes sense. The quality of the food you son consumes will dictate how the body uses that food.
I'm happy to help. Let me know how I can. Good luck...D.
I'd increase the activity you do together as a family and see if you can get him moving in a fun way as much as possible every day. Cut way back on video games and TV as your new policy for this school year. Pres.Obama's kids have none of those during the school week. You can cite them as your model. I'd cut out empty calories from your whole family's menus and provide portion-controlled healthy snacks as well as making veggies more fun. Can he help you prepare them - wash, cut, make a healthy/tasty dip etc.? Can he go with you to buy healthy stuff like veggies, salad fixings, and choose things he'd like to try? You can cut calories by using lighter meats or veggie protein in things your family likes like spagetti or sloppy joes. You can avoid fast food or keep the choices as lo-cal as possible - probably easier to avoid it whenever you can. This will take a lot of examination of your family's current lifestyle and more planning, shopping and prep, but it'll be good for all of you. With kids, the main thing is to get them moving. Do you have a Wii? Those are fun. Family walks and bike rides are great. Good luck!
Have you tried by asking your son what he thinks he needs to eat or not eat to lose weight? He may intuitively know.
Is it a matter of safety for the other kids - like no kid can be over 120lb? Or is it a weigh-in sort of thing where they think tha tis the right weight for him?
Either way, I am not sure I would work really hard on this. He is ONLY 11. You can cut out sweets and white carbs and make him lots of food with veggies and vegetable pritein like beans - what we all should be eating anyway. But I don't see a diet as appropriate for an 11 year old CHILD. Ask your pediatircian, maybe?
My son is 12, just had a growth spurt and now is just barely under 5 ' 1". He weighs about 108 lbs. At 11 yrs and 120 lbs, and just 5', he does sound a little heavier. My son is NOT and never has been a "skinny" kid. Always very solid. But he did shoot up around the middle around age 11. He is growing out of that now, with the height growth spurt that is hitting now.
What I would recommend, is just be very aware of how much prepackaged stuff he is eating for snacks (maybe getting himself that you are not aware of?). Let him have apples, cheese sticks, nuts, etc... but limit chips and sweets. Then, be sure he has time outside every day. Take a family walk after dinner maybe. Challenge him to do some sprints/running to get himself "ready" for football... If he will eat lunch meats or chicken salad instead of fried chicken nuggets that will help too. (I know my son's middle school lets them choose from nuggets as an option almost EVERY DAY.)
I limit portion sizes. My son would eat and eat and eat. So, I give him one helping of dinner and the second helping is half the size of the first. And that's it. He also has to go run around outside to play so that he's burning calories.
