Update in post 1. Weight watchers

[Night Elf]

 

The problem with many diets is that they're too restrictive and too extreme for the average person. I would never tell the average teenager that he couldn't have dairy or bread. How long would the kid last on a diet like that? He could never eat any of the things his friends were eating. Heck, I wouldn't last long on a diet like that, either.

 

Thank you. I absolutely refuse to believe that giving up something like dairy or peanut butter is the only way to eat. I could have never lost weight if I had to restrict myself in whole food groups and I most certainly wouldn't have maintained my weight loss over the years. I get a physical every year and according to my doctor and my blood panels, I am healthy. The only healthier thing I know I should do is exercise. I lost 55 lbs. without exercising. I hate exercising! I do it sporadically and only walk at that.

 

And FWIW, when my blood work showed me as pre-diabetic, my doctor told me to avoid potatoes, white bread, and white rice. I understand that's the recommendation but I knew there was no way I could live that way. Those are three of my favorite foods. So I reduced my consumption, continuing to eat them, and my A1C went down anyway. I'll be a most miserable person if I have to give up those things.

[foxbridgeacademy]

Scarlett, I want to mention that he may not see results as quick as he'd like to.  You should take the scale away and only do a "weigh-in" every 2 weeks.  The goal is to lose weight but it's not the only goal, getting healthy and learning to maintain a healthy eating style is what will keep him on track long term.  No/little movement on the scale will be discouraging and if he's doing it in a healthy way it could take a couple weeks to show results.

 

Now on the other topic....

As a diabetic I know that medicine (metformin) did help lower my a1c but cutting a large amount of carbs from my diet is what got me in the normal range.  My old doctor (the one who initially did the tests) kept telling me to go low fat, she never once mentioned cutting carbs.  Thankfully I have a computer and a brain.  My new doctor couldn't believe the other one prescribed a low fat diet not a low carb, he said that hadn't been medically acceptable for years now.  We talked about the ADA and he said I should stay away, I had already come to that conclusion.  Lean proteins, healthy vegetable based oils, high fiber grains, and lots of non-starchy fruits and vegetables.

 

 

[Scarlett]

Updated in post one but I will say it here too....weigh in day for dss. Down 6 pounds!

 

:)

[Catwoman]

:party:

 

I'm so happy for him!!!

[Word Nerd]

Update. Today was weigh in day. He is down 6 pounds! :)

 

Great! Good for him!

[Audrey]

Updated in post one but I will say it here too....weigh in day for dss. Down 6 pounds!

 

:)

 

I'm very late to this, but I did read all the way through (skimming the diversionary arguments over good food / bad food). 

 

I just want to offer that WW can be very good for being aware of the quantity of food one is eating.  I think teen boys just aren't aware of the volume of food they eat.  My own ds isn't overweight, but can consume an enormous amount of food over a day if he didn't pay attention to it. 

 

FWIW, boys lose weight differently than girls and women.  Exercise is a fantastic weight loss support for boys and men.  Their bodies respond to it much better and it speeds up their results.  So, my suggestions are really just to help him to understand how WW points equal quantity/calories of food so he is aware of what he's eating, and to get him active and exercising as much as possible.  Bike riding is great, but walking, playing any active sports, lifting weights, etc. will just spur his weight loss even more.  My dh and ds lift weights together in the winter to stave off the winter weight gain. 

 

And kudos to your boy for his success this week! Experiencing success is the best motivator!

[Night Elf]

Wonderful update! He must feel good. It's encouraging to see the scale go down, but do tell him that won't happen every single week. I had weeks where I either didn't move or went up for some reason. It's over the long term that's important.

[Scarlett]

I'm very late to this, but I did read all the way through (skimming the diversionary arguments over good food / bad food). 

 

I just want to offer that WW can be very good for being aware of the quantity of food one is eating.  I think teen boys just aren't aware of the volume of food they eat.  My own ds isn't overweight, but can consume an enormous amount of food over a day if he didn't pay attention to it. 

 

FWIW, boys lose weight differently than girls and women.  Exercise is a fantastic weight loss support for boys and men.  Their bodies respond to it much better and it speeds up their results.  So, my suggestions are really just to help him to understand how WW points equal quantity/calories of food so he is aware of what he's eating, and to get him active and exercising as much as possible.  Bike riding is great, but walking, playing any active sports, lifting weights, etc. will just spur his weight loss even more.  My dh and ds lift weights together in the winter to stave off the winter weight gain. 

 

And kudos to your boy for his success this week! Experiencing success is the best motivator!

 

 

Thank you for the encouragement.  I remember one summer when he was only here for 6 weeks he rode his bike daily and lost 12 pounds in  2 weeks.  So I hope he will do some exercise.  They like to walk at the track in town....not sure how much of that is exercise and how much is socializing...but I figure anything helps.

[terrafirma]

I wasn't able to read everything...I agree with others who've said that breakfast can be what you would eat for lunch or dinner, not just the things you'd typically find on a breakfast menu. At my house, my kids love this: http://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/2014/08/10/tofu-scramble-breakfast-vegan-champions/ ...I usually don't use the mushrooms or peppers, but I do throw in a bunch of chopped kale and top it with salsa. I'm also more liberal with the spices, adding extra nutritional yeast, turmeric, chili powder, etc. I also started making overnight oats, which has been awesome. I found I prefer the oats to be slightly toasted in the oven to the knock the raw flavor off of them. So far I've mostly made a version with blueberries, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, chopped almonds, cinnamon, etc. Unsweetened almond milk is a nice alternative to milk if you are looking for one, and it's only about 30 calories a cup. You can also add protein powder or greek yogurt if you want. There are a ton of different variations online. I love premixing a week's worth of dry ingredients up in mason jars and then just adding rest to the jars before popping them in the fridge at night. It makes breakfast so easy.

 

I haven't used WW before, but I have known people who've had success with them. There is also MyFitnessPal (website/app) if you are interested in actual calorie counting. You'd need a food scale though.

 

 

[CJVW]

To me, WW is just old ladies (plus I disagree with their info).

Have him check out Nerd Fitness and cut his sugar.

When was the last time you used the program? My area has many married couples, teenagers, men, women.... you name it.

 

Granted, if you go to the mid-week, noon meeting, it is almost strictly old, retired women. You have to find a meeting grotto that fits you.

 

And the program has been greatly improved now that they incorporate sugar into their point system.

 

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[HeWillSoar]

Great news!  I was wondering how he was doing.

[Shellydon]

I read your tone as being nice!  (I've never known you to be anything but nice!)

 

I did a ketogenic diet for about 12 years, and for me it was pretty easy.  And that was shocking to me because I was very sugar-addicted prior to it!  So I'm a big believer that the education goes a long way in making it work.  For example, I had a friend once who said low-carb didn't work for her, and when I asked why, she started describing the classic symptoms of the "Atkins flu".  Well, yeah, the Atkins flu is not fun!  But if you know what causes it and how to reduce the symptoms and the fact that it only lasts for a day or two and then passes, then you can get through it.  But if you don't know that stuff, well then no wonder you would think low-carb doesn't work for you!

 

But, that said, it truly doesn't work for some people.  So I most certainly am not trying to imply that the reason you don't like it is because you're not educated enough!  I hope I didn't come across that way.  Even world-leading experts on low-carb diets say there is a portion of the population for whom it simply is not a good diet.  And while it worked great for me for 11 of those 12 years, the last year was awful (and yeah, it took me a whole year to figure out that my diet was part of the problem.  I'm slow!).  So I wish more people had the education about it so that they could make their own informed choice.  My choice right now and for the foreseeable future is not a keto 

 

I have never felt more terrible in my life than when I did a few months of low carb.  After several trips to the doctor and have bloodwork and various tests done, we figured out is was my change in diet.  Switched back to my normal diet and felt better within 24 hours.  I was seriously sick, had no energy, horrible headaches, joint pain, nauseated all the time.  It was a mess.  Adding this in here to say that not all people can do low carb., 

 

[Greta]

I have never felt more terrible in my life than when I did a few months of low carb.  After several trips to the doctor and have bloodwork and various tests done, we figured out is was my change in diet.  Switched back to my normal diet and felt better within 24 hours.  I was seriously sick, had no energy, horrible headaches, joint pain, nauseated all the time.  It was a mess.  Adding this in here to say that not all people can do low carb., 

 

 

Ugh, that sounds awful.  Hope you made a full recovery!

[LucyStoner]

I definitely encourage him to eat all of his smart points and not go under. If he has 60+ points, 9 is a little light for breakfast. I eat 10-12 points for breakfast and I have a significantly smaller points budget.

 

One of my favorite things for breakfast (I am not a low carber and my A1C isn't even a little high) has been a whole wheat English muffin with an egg, smoked salmon, tomatoes, green onions and avocado. Cream cheese is nice too since he can do dairy. He could probably eat two.

[foxbridgeacademy]

That is great news! After he really starts to lose a lot of weight you could reward him with new clothes, even though eventually he'll likely lose more and those won't fit him either.  New clothes and seeing himself in them has really helped DS to stay on track.  We had to buy him new pants, none of his will stay on any more but those combined with some shirts that actually fit has done wonders for his self image.

[Scarlett]

That is great news! After he really starts to lose a lot of weight you could reward him with new clothes, even though eventually he'll likely lose more and those won't fit him either. New clothes and seeing himself in them has really helped DS to stay on track. We had to buy him new pants, none of his will stay on any more but those combined with some shirts that actually fit has done wonders for his self image.

I will do that for sure!

[Scarlett]

I definitely encourage him to eat all of his smart points and not go under. If he has 60+ points, 9 is a little light for breakfast. I eat 10-12 points for breakfast and I have a significantly smaller points budget.

 

One of my favorite things for breakfast (I am not a low carber and my A1C isn't even a little high) has been a whole wheat English muffin with an egg, smoked salmon, tomatoes, green onions and avocado. Cream cheese is nice too since he can do dairy. He could probably eat two.

I think after that first day or two he has been using all of them. After he weighed in yesterday his points dropped by one....:). He gets 62 now.

[Scarlett]

I definitely encourage him to eat all of his smart points and not go under. If he has 60+ points, 9 is a little light for breakfast. I eat 10-12 points for breakfast and I have a significantly smaller points budget.

 

One of my favorite things for breakfast (I am not a low carber and my A1C isn't even a little high) has been a whole wheat English muffin with an egg, smoked salmon, tomatoes, green onions and avocado. Cream cheese is nice too since he can do dairy. He could probably eat two.

That breakfast sounds delicious, how many points?

[LucyStoner]

That breakfast sounds delicious, how many points?

Depends on how many eggs, how much avocado, salmon and cream cheese. You can do them for 6-7 points or 10 points pretty easily. The muffins we get are 3 points, one egg is 1 and the the veggies are free, just factor in how much cheese, salmon and avocado you want. Cold smoked salmon of 1 point per ounce. Avocado is 1 point per 1/8th avocado (so a half of an avocado cut into 4 slices). Cream cheese isn't my thing very often but I think it's 1 tablespoon=1 point depending on the brand.

Edited April 18, 2017 by LucyStoner