Can anyone recommend a safe way to help suppress the appetite of an 11-year old? My son needs to drop about 10 lbs over the next 3 weeks to meet the maximum weight allowance for his football team. He definitely has more than 10 pounds of fat to lose so this would not be an unhealthy weight loss for him. I’ve put together a good diet plan to help him lose the weight (along with the increased activity from football practice) but he complains about being hungry all the time. Does anyone have any good safe methods to make this dieting a little more comfortable for him?
A very simple way to do this would have him eat only natural unprocessed food. If the food is processed in any way then it’s off limits. Let him eat as much as he wants of the good stuff and make sure he’s exercising. If you need help figuring out specific foods to choose from just ask.
dont teach him to diet but teach good about having a good diet of balanced meals. Eliminate processed & fast foods. I would be happy to help. In faith, Coach Davies
Kelly here’s an example of how he’s eating now. Breakfast - (3) eggs, a piece of fruit and o.j. or cereal with milk instead of the eggs. Lunch – open face tuna sandwich with a slice of cheese, (2) raw vegetables (usually green beans, cucumbers, celery, carrots or cauliflower) and yogurt. Dinner – either chicken, oatmeal and broccoli or salmon, rice and spinach. Snacks between meals are limited to raw vegetables and sunflower seeds (with the shell so he burns almost as many calories opening them than he gets from eating the seeds). Other beverages are limited to just water or water with a spoonful of lemon juice. I would welcome any modifications that you think would make this diet either more effective or more tolerable for him.
Active kids do get so hungry! Eating processed foods and simple sugars, as Kelly mentioned, tends toward higher glycemic foods that are quickly digested. This is the carboholic roller coaster ride. And you have to coordinate with their friends’ parents, too, because they will seek their favorite sugar fix anywhere they can get it! Kids seem to like beef jerky. Let them eat all of that they want. Fruit is good, too, especially peaches and apples. Meat sandwiches on whole wheat bread instead of ravioli. It helps to set an example, too, at home. All they know is they are hungry and it’s hard to teach them that what and how they eat affects how they feel. Good luck.
The best advice for a beginner at eating right is one rule. If you can kill it or grow it you can eat it. That means no butter, breads, nothing processed at all. That will help him for life long weight loss (and health) not just lose some gain some yo yo diets.
And have him drink tons of water. it’s safe and it’ll keep his belly full.
make sure he drinks PLENTY of water. it will help with the hunger, and has the added benefit of making weight loss easer. start with a minimum of 8 8oz glasses, more is better, but that is a base line.
There are ways to supress your hunger while dieting. Brushing your teeth removes the need to feel like having something in your mouth. Large amounts of ice water will suppress you hunger for a while. Chewing sugar free gum will help too. When hunger does hit, make him fill up on fruits and veggies. Also, try to explain to him that there is physical hunger and psychological hunger that happens when your bored. If he’s active he should expect to be hungrier than usual. My 0.02
Feed him 6-8 meals a day and don’t give him cereal, fruit juice, normal bread, normal pasta, etc. I think JMBs Massive Eating w/ cals outlined in previous AFC for cutting is the best way to go, at least I have found it works well.
Pack him full of green leafy veggies. Anything fibrous. That’ll keep his stomach full without adding uncessary calories.
maybe he does not want to play football. at 11 yrs old if he REALY wanted to play football he would do whatever it took to loose 10lbs. and yes he would probably do stupid things like trying to sweat it off, etc… but thats not what I get from the thread. he is complaining about his diet!! when I was 11 if I would have been told that to play baseball I had to loose 10lbs I would have lost it in weeks and if I had a problem loosing it and my dad put me on a diet I certainly would not complain. maybe he knows you love football, maybe he does love watching football, maybe he just thinks he is supposed to love football, I don’t know but maybe he just does NOY want to play football.If all of us think about what we were like when we were 11 and we wanted to play our favorite sport, how hard would it be to KEEP US FROM PLAYING. peace
Hetyey I can assure you that HE wants to play. He’s been talking about it and practicing for weeks before camp began yesterday. We knew that he had to lose a some weight to be eligible to play, but our home scale was apparently 5 lbs off so we thought that he only had about 5 lbs to lose until he weighed in with the team and found out that it was really 10 lbs. The boy is very athletic and not only plays football (this is his 3rd season by the way), but also baseball, basketball, and soccer. His problem is that he loves to eat. He’s never been on any kind of restricted calorie eating plan before and as a result is just not used to being hungry. I think that the eating plan that I have him following (see earlier post) is well-balanced and includes all foods that he likes. My reason for posting was just to get some tips on how to deal with the hunger either through suppressing it or least tricking your mind and body into not feeling the hunger. By the way, thanks everyone for your replies. I see a few good ideas in there that I will try.
Delvin - his diet sounds pretty healthy. Is he cheating at friends houses or at school? I have never ever ever had luck losing weight until I went to the 5 meals a day plan. the initial adjustment isn’t easy, but after the first three days or so it’s not bad at all. I never get really hungry because I eat every three hours. Even too much ‘good’ food can make you overweight, so perhaps encourage him to eat less of everything. Another simple strategy, have him load his plate once at each meal…no seconds. and leave some on the plate. Yes, it is wasting food, but if you leave a few bites one every plate after not too long you’ve cut a lot of calories. If he’s going nuts for sweets make sugar free jello, that’s what kept me sane while on the fat fast.
hetyey225 - I’m 26 and have a horrible time losing weight, even with strict diet and lots of motivation my body is very stubborn when it comes to weight loss. This is a kid we’re talking about, not an elite athlete, all he knows is that he’s hungry and probably feels weak because of it. It’s hard for most adults - myself included - to stick to a diet, let alone an 11 year old!!! Delvin - do you have specific rewards set for him? I don’t mean anything extravagent, but short term goals are good motivators. Maybe go somwhere special after the first 2-5 pounds come off? I’ve gone indoor rock climbing before, it’s a TON of fun and he’ll be working out at the same time!!!
10 pounds in 3 weeks is pretty fast even for a 200-pound adult. Personally, I think it’s too fast to do safely for an 11-year-old.
Just my humble opinion,
Tom V
Michelle, the sample diet that I posted just began yesterday. He wasn’t eating anywhere near this well or this little previously (if he had, we wouldn’t be having this problem). Fortunately he really hasn’t complained about sweets yet, but if he does I’ll keep the jello idea in mind. Also good idea about the rewards, I hadn’t thought about that. I’ll have to come up with something for him (maybe a trip to an all-you-can-eat buffett ?).
Tom, I agree that 10 lbs is a lot to lose in only 3 weeks, but he does weigh 160 lbs so hopefully we can get there.
Have your son go on a cyclical ketogenic diet for three weeks. If anything, he will lose five to eight pounds of water. Getting the other 3-5 lbs off can be done with cardio. Have him eat 145 grams of prot, 150g of fat from flax oil, olive oil, etc. Before he does any STRENGTH training have him consume 40 grams of sugar (no juice or fruit, something like poweraid). After he works out give him a myoplex with water. Keep his water to about 105 ounces per day plus extra if he sweats a lot and works out. Have him run sprints EOD with full body workouts in between. Let him have controlled eating for a four hour block every seven days, but cut that our 5 days before he is to be weighed. On weighing day, have him consume no water or food 12 hours prior, and load him up with fiber so he’ll poop. Taraxatone could help three days prior but be careful and give him about half the recommended serving. Some exlax the night before could also help him. If he gets hungry 12 hours prior to weigh-in let him eat salads until he is full. I guarantee this will work if he does it right. Good luck!
I strongly recommend that you NOT use food as a reward.
Brider, I was kidding. I should have put a :)after that statement. Luke, those sound like good ideas for an older individual, but remember this is an 11 year old kid. Also with 2 hour football practices every day in 90 degree plus heat I sure don’t want to limit the amount of water he consumes.