Hi all, HELP!!!!!


My son is 13 ( will be 14 in March), stands at 5ft 5inches and told me last night that he was weighing in at 185lbs.

He takes after mom (me) and I an so worried..... I tried to get him on atkins with me a few months ago, but was so stressed that I wasn't doing it right. So here I am.

I will be hanging around this board for a long time reading up, I need all the info I can get before doing this to him.....

He starts High School next year and I don't want him to go through the same hurtful things I went through.

Thank you all!

Oh yeah, I forgot to ask, how many carbs do you all let you kids have on average? Did you have them do induction? What plans are they following?


see, I need LOTS of help:

hi deb! My husband, my 15 yr old daughter, and I all eat lc. My 10 yr old son eats what we do plus sandwiches (on whole grain bread) and often a starch with dinner. I try hard not to have anything tempting that is high carb in the house and make sure to have plenty of acceptable snacks available. I have been lc'ing for about 3 yrs and my dh and dd started in September. As for which plan to chose and whether to use induction and how many carbs to allow..... I think it is all very individual. Each body has a different tolerance for carbs and metabolizes thing at different rates. Before starting Atkins, my daughter tried a more modified plan including whole grains and fruit but no white flour, sugar, rice, or potatoes. After a month she had gained a pound. So, we decided to try Atkins which is the most restrictive in the beginning and then we would add carbs slowly to see how high we could go. She followed the 20 grams faithfully for induction and then every 2-3 weeks we added another 5 grams/day. She has been on Atkins for 11 wks and has lost 5 pounds! It is slow but it is losing! She now eats around 40 grams of carbs per day, the majority of which are veggies, some nuts, and cheese. Though most of the time she is very diligent about sticking with the program, I would say she averages one "indulgence" every 2 weeks( a pretzle at a hockey game, a slice of pizza at a youth group activity, etc.). I always tell her that if this is a way of life and not just a fad diet then we have to live our lives with it. That means that if you are out with friends and it would make you really happy to eat something special, then have one. No need to go crazy and eat a whole pizza and no need to be racked with guilt. Enjoy and then go back to eating healthfully and working toward your goal. I know that the slow weight loss is driving her crazy but first of all she "only" has 20-25 pounds to lose (total) and it takes awhile when you are closer to goal weight. Also, the slower you lose the weight, the more likely you are to establish a healthy life style and keep the weight off.
I suggest that your son check out the forum here for teens and also other lc forums for teens. It is hard to feel different and the peer support is as wonderful for the teens as the rest of this forum is for us adults
I hope this was helpful and not too vague. Let me know if there is anything else I can share.

Well the new year is approaching and for my one gift that I get to pick.... I got the South Beach diet.... I am currently reading it and trying to get as much information in my head to get my son going....Thank heavens the hoildays are over, now I can afford to re-stock the kitchen the right ways....

Any good ideas for after school snacks...... or lunches for him to take to school. Because there is no way the school lunches served are any where near good for him let alone anyone else!

Dear Deb,
Our family is doing Atkins together. I have an almost 15 year old daughter and a 7 year old son. They can eat as much fruit & veggies as they want. I pack their lunch daily. It was challenging since my son is so addicted to carbs and my daughter doesn't want to get embarassed in front of her peers. I make 2 lc pizzas. 1 is for dinner and the other I cut into 6-8 pieces and the kids have lunch for 3-4 days. The cheeseburger pie works the same way. They love to eat these cold. Sometimes I can get "deli" end which are really cheap and slice them and pack in a ziploc baggie or hotdogs cut up. Snacks is the s/f jello mixed with cream cheese, nuts, or cheese chips. The kids have only had sandwichs maybe 3 or 4 times so far on lc bread. My husband usually takes a cheese omelet or cooked burgers since he has a microwave at work. We did 2 weeks of induction as a family and then added nuts and berries. We all take a multi vitamin. I too tell my daughter if she is with friends to do whatever makes her most comfortable that this is our new way of eating not just a quick way to lose weight. None of us feel like we are deprived of anything. Her favorite food group was candy but induction got her over that craving. Hope this helps and have fun. Blessings, Maureen

Maureen: I also have a 15 yr old daughter who has been part of our family lc'ing for the past 3 months. She would love to have another 15 yr old to chat with. She does chat on this site in the teen forum. Let me know.

Deb: My daughter brings lunch daily. Most days are some form of salad with meat in it. Chicken ceasar, Greek Salad with chicken, salad with tuna or chicken salad. Sometimes she brings a sandwich on lc bread. As a side I pack cheese sticks, veggie sticks, salad dressing for dipping, cream cheese or peanutbutter stuffed celery, nuts, and lc protein bars that I make. If your son will eat cold left overs the possibilities are endless LC wraps are easy too using the lc tortillas with deli meat and salad veggies. It is so important not to let yourself get too hungry because then you overeat. So my daughter brings a protein bar for mid morning. Then after school she eats another snack. Some snacks she enjoys are ricotta with sf pudding mix, cheese, deli turkey rolled up with feta cheese inside, almond meal pancakes (recipe called almond-vanilla pancakes on this site) and a wide variety of snacks I make from the Dana Carpender 500 LC Recipes book. Search the recipes on this site for many great ideas. I have found that lc baking takes some trial and error to understand but there is the possibility of high fiber, whole grain products that actually taste good even to a teen ager The interesting thing is that in a relatively short time periond, tastes change. Addictions to sugar and carbs in general disipate and things that before weren't acceptable as a snack are suddenly exactly what you are craving Good Luck! Let us know how it is going!

My girls and 8 and 9. They low carb with DH and I, but at maintainance levels since neither of them needs to lose any weight. Most days that are at 100+ grams of carb, but from fruits, veggies, yogurt, cheese, whole grains breads, steel cut oats, etc...
I do let them have some treats like today my oldest daughter and I made cookies for DH's family Christmas gathering tomorrow and they each got to eat one now and tomorrow they can eat as they please (within reason, of course) since it's a social gathering.
Otherwise I make sugar-free jello with fruit for desserts, sugar-free puddings, CarbSmart ice cream is now one of their favorites as well as the bars.

Ok, I have another question since you ladies seem so helpful!!!

One thing I am worried about with him is he tends to over eat without paying attention to weither or not his tummy is full. I don't think he can tell what having a full tummy feels like.

One of you said to not let him get over hungry.... I am afride that there is no way for him to not ALWAYS be over hungry. This has been a frustration for years and he now wants to try the slimfast shakes (ugh!sugar! out the yeng yang!)

Deb...it's a well known fact that 13 year old boys have hollow legs and can pack away food like there's no tomorrow!
He is in the peak growing years and will probably require more calories to support that.
There is a lot to be said for learning when your body has signalled you that it has had enough and to stop eating at that point, but it's a learned skill. Why not try at dinner at least to give him a reasonable portion and then if he's still hungry when that is gone, ask him to wait 10-15 minutes before going back for more. If he's still hungry (I mean really hungry, not just "not stuffed"), then let him. It also helps to encourage him to take his time eating his meal instead of wolfing it down in 5 seconds flat. It takes, on average, 20 minutes from the time you start eating for your stomach to signal your brain that it is full...meals should take about that long or if they don't, you should wait that length of time to see if you really are still hungry.
Encourage him to snack on protein/fat combinations instead of more carby foods or to have fruit with a protein such as cheese or meat instead of alone.
You might also try explaining to him that Slim Fast is not for someone who is still growing and that the sugar in it will only leave him hungrier in a few hours than he was before he drank it. For someone who always seems to be hungry, Slim Fast certainly isn't going to cut it.

Just a quick update.....

After letting him be a kid through the holidays, I got him (and myself) on track. We are on day 4 of LCing....
He statrted at 189.5lbs and today he was at 185.0 . He is feeling very good about himself and is enjoying his lunches.

Thank you all for the support.....I'll come back and let you all know how well he is handling it.

Congrats deb! Not only does he deserve a hug and a pat on the back for his progress and commitment, but you deserve a huge hug and pat on the back for you love, concern, and dedication to helping him be healthy and happy! HUG. PAT.

Maureen and Wendy - I have a 14 1/2 year old daughter who would like to lose about 15- 20 pounds or so, but is having problems as her peers are so critical of her "so fattening" food (ie, low carb!). Would either of your daughters be willing to chat on MSN to an English girl? - they could share tips and also learn a little about their different countries at the same time. Please post or PM me. Thanks!

Katy131, I know my daughter would love to chat with yours! Peer pressure and being "different" is soooo hard. My daughter always tells me that it is easy to lc at home (well, yes, I provide her with a wide variety of lc meals and snacks without the temptation to eat high carb stuff) but at school and when out with friends it is really hard. She is not at home right now but I will tell her when she gets home and have her send you a PM with all of her MSN info.

WOW Deb you just described MY son also!

He's 13 (and a 1/2 hehe) and 5'5" 180 also.

He had cardiac surgery in Oct. of 2002 and now his cardiologist wants him to lose about 30#.

I have him reading Carbohydrate-Addicted Kids (by the Hellers) and am TRYING to get him moving a bit.

Unfortuately he has chosen to live with his dad (we're divorced) so I can't watch him like I would like to but when he's here I get us up early and make him go for a walk with me. I'll usually take us about a mile total and he complains the whole time ("You're going too fast" or "OMG when will we be done") but he's such a couch potato anything is better than nothing.

I've tried to get his dad involved and he always says ok I'll do this or I'll do that but he really let's him just do what he wants. Also my ex goes to work very early so my son is left to get himself up and to school by himself so I know he's eating terrible in the mornings as well as at school. Bleh.

However I do see a glimmer of promise on the horizon. We went out for breakfast last Sunday. He wanted to get the "Super Duper Mega Breakfast" (you know that one..pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns, toast, bacon and sausage lol). I sussested het what about this omlette with sausage and cheese? He agreed to try it and he LOVED it. I did let him have the hashbrowns with it though. I just thought well he agreed to no pancakes so that was a probably a 100 carb save hehe. I guess any small change at this point is a help.

Cindy, I think you have exactly the right idea! Starting slow and making small substitutions and changes does make a difference over time and you may not encounter as much resistance. You are in a very difficult position with the divorce going on and your son living with his dad who obviously isn't as invested in this as you are. I figure that you can only do your best and even if that isn't enough for you it is way better than nothing. We don't have total control over what teens consume anyway, so teaching them to make wise choices and getting them up and moving is the best we can do . Good luck and keep us posted!