How much do your teenaged boys eat????

[Jennifer in MI]

I need to know if I'm being unrealistic here. I do limit portion sizes with my two oldest because if I didn't, there'd be nothing left for the rest of us! Then, I feel guilty about it because if they're hungry, I want them to eat! But, they snack so darn much!!!

 

Today, my 14 yo ate:

 

Bfast - 2 scrambled eggs, 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, glass of milk

Snack 1 - yogurt/jelly

Snack 2 - an orange

Snack 3 - bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter, milk

Lunch - HUGE bowl of rice with homemade jambalaya (LOTS of veggies, sausage), carrot sticks

Snack 4 - big bowl of cashews

Snack 5 - 2 spoonfuls of peanut butter

Dinner - HUGE bowl of chicken/noodle/black bean/veggie soup; two chicken salad sandwiches (this salad is stacked - it has chicken, peas, lettuce, purple cabbage, onions, carrots, mayo, salt, pepper, etc)

Snack 6 - Toast with peanut butter

 

He'll probably make another snack around 8 - probably a big bowl of popcorn with parmesan cheese.

 

All of these foods are organic. The yogurt is plain yogurt - full fat. The jelly is all fruit. The cashews are raw. Peanut butter is JUST peanuts. Bread is homemade. (Actually, the 14 yo made our bread this week!)

 

I think he's eating good things. We don't have junk food in the house. About once a month, he'll bake cookies, but that's the only junk.

 

My nearly-13 year old eats nearly as much. Both are thin and very active.

 

If I'd have let him, he'd have eaten twice what he had for dinner. But, then we'd not have enough left over for lunch tomorrow. Should I just start making more for meals and let them eat more? Or is all this snacking okay? This is normal - right?

 

ETA: The reason for all those snacks in the AM - he takes a chemistry class at the local CC on T, TH and gets up and eats by 7 am. So, he's starving when he comes home (obviously!)

[Remudamom]

Mine eat anything that isn't nailed down. And as long as the girls get their fair share I let them.

[Jennifer in MI]

LOL So, I'll start nailing down the food!

 

Good to know. I'm just trying so hard to be frugal and healthy. I really don't want to have to increase my food budget, but it looks like I may have to.

 

But, on the other hand, if I buy it, they'll just eat it!! Darn children.:001_smile:

[Annie G]

It sounds like a lot of peanut butter and a lot of bread. When my son gets on a jag like that, I try to push more fresh fruit and after a day or two I notice he's off his bread and peanut butter jag. Yeah, I know growing boys are always hungry but sometimes snacking is due to growth spurts/nutritional needs and other times it's boredom/entertainment/routine. If it's the first category, I feel for your budget!

[Amy in NH]

My teen boys eat at least two full adult-sized portions at dinner, each. If they are still hungry after mealtimes, they are welcome to make themselves as many baked potatoes as they want. They add toppings like sour cream, leftover meat (chili/taco/etc - if there is any leftover), fresh cut chives from the yard, etc. Nutritious, delicious, and filling!

[In The Great White North]

Good to know. I'm just trying so hard to be frugal and healthy. I really don't want to have to increase my food budget, but it looks like I may have to.

 

 

Yep. They are only going to eat more and more until they leave the house. And still be skinny as rails. Life's not fair!

 

Ds is now at a college that serves 7000 cal a day. That's for the "real" servings. Dinner is a all you can eat buffet. And he still buys munchies for his room.

[Jennifer in MI]

It sounds like a lot of peanut butter and a lot of bread. When my son gets on a jag like that, I try to push more fresh fruit and after a day or two I notice he's off his bread and peanut butter jag. Yeah, I know growing boys are always hungry but sometimes snacking is due to growth spurts/nutritional needs and other times it's boredom/entertainment/routine. If it's the first category, I feel for your budget!

 

Yea. It's the very end of my shopping week. He's eaten everything else. We had pears, celery, cream cheese, tortillas, salsa, and cheese as snacks earlier on. He doesn't usually eat so much of one thing. I think he's just hungry! I hope it's not boredom! We've actually talked a lot about that in our house. We used to ask the kids if they were "dog hungry" or "people hungry." Dogs will eat anything, anytime. So, if they were dog hungry, they really weren't HUNGRY. KWIM? I need to start asking that question again.

 

Yep. They are only going to eat more and more until they leave the house. And still be skinny as rails. Life's not fair!

 

Ds is now at a college that serves 7000 cal a day. That's for the "real" servings. Dinner is a all you can eat buffet. And he still buys munchies for his room.

 

7000????!!! Are these kids athletes? Wow.

 

My teen boys eat at least two full adult-sized portions at dinner, each. If they are still hungry after mealtimes, they are welcome to make themselves as many baked potatoes as they want. They add toppings like sour cream, leftover meat (chili/taco/etc - if there is any leftover), fresh cut chives from the yard, etc. Nutritious, delicious, and filling!

 

I like this idea!!! I'm sure they would too! Thanks.

[rfhsmom]

I think that sounds about right! :001_huh: My DS13 and DS15 eat on a very similar schedule/menu. If they are in sports even more!!!!

[FaithManor]

My 13 year old can't seem to stop outgrowing his clothes and along with that eats what appear to me to be $20.00 bills. Now I realize that it looks like food but I am pretty certain it's actually twenties!!!!!

 

I have decided that I will allow him to eat generously at each meal and mildly at snack time but after that, unless he hunts it or grows it, he better find a way to distract himself from the tummy growls!!!! Mabel is giving lots of milk right now and so I also make him drink a glass or two of milk before asking for anything else.

 

Oh, last Friday night, we purchased pizza from our favorite pizzaria...not a regular treat. My dh, thinking it would be nice to have left-overs for the next day (i.e cold pizza for breakfast) ordered two larges. We were watching a movie together as a family and failed to notice the frequent trips to the fridge (mind you this was two large pizzas for five people - dd was on an ambulance shift - so we thought for certain there would be leftovers since this pizzaria makes BIG pizzas). HE ATE AN ENTIRE LARGE PIZZA BEFORE WE COULD STOP HIM!!!!!!!!!! I swear he inhaled and did not even chew. Dh just about blew his top. This kid was comfortable, no feeling too full, no moaning and groaning, no tummy ache. My mother always said that teenage boys have hollow legs and they rush to fill them up. Now I believe her.

 

 

Groan.....agony.....there are two more waiting in the wings to bankrupt me.

 

Faith

[Karen in CO]

:lol::lol:

Seriously. My ds, at that age ate everything. I would adjust my recipes for at least twice as much meat at each meal, and I changed him to whole milk. He could come home from exercising, eat a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread and pound of bacon and still be hungry for his next meal.

 

My grocery budget is about half what it was when he was at home, and I get leftovers for lunch now.

 

He still eats 6 eggs every morning for breakfast, and he still eats about 6 times a day. He has to, or he starts disappearing.

 

We used to order him his own large pizza on pizza night. Now he just eats two large slices, a large salad, and avacado and two chicken breasts on pizza night - with room for dessert.

 

I'd adjust my recipes and grocery budget. Welcome to the world of teen boys.

[elegantlion]

I wondered if this were a trick question when I opened it. I see the answer is somewhat like pi, you could on forever. :lol:

[lynn]

That sounds about right for my teen boys. I keep all sorts of good healthy snacks around and cook big meals. Oldest ds is skinny as can be, ds #2 is fit from being Raider team rotc and ds #3(10) has eaten competetively with his brothers is more stout but plays hard.

[MamaT]

Yep, that sounds about right. My tall, skinny 17yo never stops eating. He has friends over on the weekend and I have actually hidden food from them just so we'll have SOMETHING to eat on Monday. :001_smile:

 

I let him at it, as long as the food is healthy. I have to say, my grocery budget is outrageous.

[annabanana1992]

My DS13 eats twice what my 200 lb, 6'2'' husband eats. My son scoffs at 2 eggs for breakfast :001_smile:! So our family of 5 is really a family of 6 (4 adults and 2 kids).

[hsmom3tn]

My DS is not officially a teen, but will be 13 in 9 more days...

He doesn't snack a lot, and doesn't really eat sweets; but at mealtimes, he's like a vaccuum. He can eat more than me and his father combined.

 

It's scary. :eek:

[AngieW in Texas]

I only have girls, but my almost-15yo dd has been eating like that since she turned 11yo. I even had her checked for diabetes at the beginning because I was concerned when she suddenly tripled her food consumption while actually losing weight.

 

My dd eats 8-10 meals/day. I'm not talking about just snacks. Most of these are actual meals.

 

She eats good, healthy food. We've actually catalogued it before and figured out that she averaged 3000-3500 calories/day. She's only 5' tall and weighs a whopping 95 pounds. She hasn't grown in over one year. She just eats a LOT. We are pretty sure that she is done growing. There are lots of 4'11" women on both sides of the family. She was expected to be 4'10"-4'11" for a very long time. The doctor didn't change that to 5'0" until she was 12yo. I'm just 5'1.5".

 

The only time she goes more than 4 hours without eating is when she's sleeping. Even then she sometimes gets up during the night to have a chicken breast.

 

If she says she needs to eat something, then I have to make sure that she has some protein within 15 minutes.

Edited September 10, 2010 by AngieW in Texas

[mjpeter]

My two older sons already eat more than I do, lol. Since we have three, we figure we'll have to take a mortgage out on the house. :lol:

[RoughCollie]

DS1 will eat 5-8 sandwiches at one sitting. He can eat 2 large pizzas by himself. He is slender, about 5'8" tall, and no one who sees him eat can believe how much food his stomach will hold at one time, until they see him in action. He is not a binge eater -- he eats 3 full meals and snacks whenever he can.

 

DS3 will eat a full and hearty dinner, and ask me when we are having dinner, an hour later! I remind him that we just had dinner, and he is ready for a re-run. If we are out of snack food (unless I fix it for him), he will eat a dozen apples and 6 bananas without batting an eyelash. He is 5'9" and slender.

 

DS2 hardly eats enough to keep a bird alive. He is an extremely picky eater and will only eat a few foods. He doesn't enjoy food and refuses point blank to try anything new. He's been eating the same few foods for his entire life, ever since he no longer ate baby food. It's strange, and we have had him tested in every conceivable way for everything and he is healthy. I don't know how, but he is.

 

DS1 and DS3 love pot roasts and steaks ... chicken and pork are also-rans, and cheaper ... but BEEF is where it's at.

 

DD has recently been very careful about what she eats ... now it's hard to get her to eat beef at all! I have a hard time making sure she eats enough calories. She used to be overweight, but she has lost 20 lbs., healthily, and now she is determined not to give in to a love of good food which she unfortunately inherited from me and the German side of my family. She eats a lot of veggies and whole grains, and a low fat diet, right along with me.

Edited September 10, 2010 by RoughCollie