My son is obese and I am so responsible

Hi , my little boy who is 6 and has autism is very overweight . We have had to buy him age 10-11 elasticacted school trousers. I feel awful , I know he has such an issue with food and that he only eats a handful of things but most are the wrong things, he hasn't really wanted do much through the holidays, he has been swimming a few times and just explodes if things don't go his way. I feel exhausted all the time and to be honest I give in to him very easy. I know all the things I should do , for one not buy the pigging stuff. (Crisps and chocolate biscuits) .

i suppose I just wondered if anyone who had been through the same and could give me any strategies that they had used to help their children.

I feel like a complete failure as a mum , I'm supposed to be giving him the best in life instead I'm turning him into an overweight little boy who will probably end up with health problems if I don't handle it now. His waist measures 31 inches , which shocked the hell out of me.

sorry for going on and Thankyou for reading

Parents
  • I applaud your honesty, as well as your wish to rectify the situation.

    You should replace unhealthy treats with healthy/healthier ones instead.  Nuts (if he doesn't have an allergy to them) such as mixed nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit (fruit salad might look appealing), low-fat cheese sticks, cucumber/pepper/raw carrot sticks with a low-fat houmous dip, change your bread and rolls to granary, always use half-fat or low fat cheese.  Health shops and maybe some supermarkets also do crisps made of beetroot and other sliced dried veggies.  If you get him involved in preparation he will probably show more interest in eating them than he otherwise would.  The bright colours of mixed fruit salads and the houmous and veg sticks should appeal to him.

    You can also hide cooked vegetables in pasta sauces by blending them up if he's not eating enough vegetables.

    Instead of using sugar, use Stevia granules in anything you would have with sugar.

    Use low-fat milk or milk alternatives such as rice milk. soya milk etc. Cut all the fat off meat.

    If he is using an adult sized plate cut down to a side-plate size so he doesn't notice his plate has smaller portions.  Don't cut portion size if they are already age appropriate though, in that case it's the content that needs to change.  This isn't about a diet it's about changing what he eats, unless medically advised by a health professional you shouldn't put him on a diet.

    If he is boredom eating, ensure he is kept as occupied as possible.  As you have realised, if you don't buy the unhealthy foods/treats then no matter how much he wants them he can't have them.  He may meltdown at first, but he will get used to knowing what is available.  You could also try explaining to his logical mind, that unhealthy food is bad and there are nice-tasting things that are good for him.

    Good luck.

Reply
  • I applaud your honesty, as well as your wish to rectify the situation.

    You should replace unhealthy treats with healthy/healthier ones instead.  Nuts (if he doesn't have an allergy to them) such as mixed nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit (fruit salad might look appealing), low-fat cheese sticks, cucumber/pepper/raw carrot sticks with a low-fat houmous dip, change your bread and rolls to granary, always use half-fat or low fat cheese.  Health shops and maybe some supermarkets also do crisps made of beetroot and other sliced dried veggies.  If you get him involved in preparation he will probably show more interest in eating them than he otherwise would.  The bright colours of mixed fruit salads and the houmous and veg sticks should appeal to him.

    You can also hide cooked vegetables in pasta sauces by blending them up if he's not eating enough vegetables.

    Instead of using sugar, use Stevia granules in anything you would have with sugar.

    Use low-fat milk or milk alternatives such as rice milk. soya milk etc. Cut all the fat off meat.

    If he is using an adult sized plate cut down to a side-plate size so he doesn't notice his plate has smaller portions.  Don't cut portion size if they are already age appropriate though, in that case it's the content that needs to change.  This isn't about a diet it's about changing what he eats, unless medically advised by a health professional you shouldn't put him on a diet.

    If he is boredom eating, ensure he is kept as occupied as possible.  As you have realised, if you don't buy the unhealthy foods/treats then no matter how much he wants them he can't have them.  He may meltdown at first, but he will get used to knowing what is available.  You could also try explaining to his logical mind, that unhealthy food is bad and there are nice-tasting things that are good for him.

    Good luck.

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