Christmas gift to my son

[MumIsabel]

Morning all and Merry Christmas. Joining this forum is perhaps my best Christmas gift to my son, who at 12 years old weighs more than I do, and to myself because I have once again been awake since 5.30 worrying about him. We have been trying to address this sensibly on our own but not really getting anywhere. Christmas day is not the day to start but finding this page, the 12 week plan and this forum is such a relief - now I hope I can relax for today knowing that we can come back to this and make a realistic plan to get him back on track by the time he turns 13 in May. See you in a few days.

[Hidden]

Hi and welcome to the forum MumIsabel please note that your son will not be allowed to join the forum due to his age (minimum age is 16 yrs old) Also none of us on here are medically trained

Please can you make sure that you speak to your GP / nurse regarding your son's weight and a calorie allowance for him due to his age

Sorry not trying to put you off but just give you some important information - I do hope we will see you in a few days time as the NHS 12 week plan is fantastic and the support of the forum even better

I would like to invite you to join our Newbie Club, Follow this link to the Newbie club: healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

Please read all the information carefully, it is very useful and can be referred to whenever you want to check something.

It just remains for me to wish you well on your journey

Edited to add - Merry Christmas and hope you have a great day with your loved ones

[MumIsabel in reply to Hidden]

Thanks for the welcome and advice cracker10. I have taken advice a few months ago from both practice nurse and GP, who both gave general "eat sensibly and make sure he exercises" responses without anything more specific - and since then he's just continued gaining weight. As the BMI checker here is recommended I think I saw for over 11 year olds I took it that's OK as a starting point? Anyway I've now downloaded the Week 1 plan, I'll do his BMI tonight and we will take it gently from here. I'm not aiming for a rigorous regime, just to help him understand more about how to make better choices and to get his weight back under control. Does that sound a reasonable approach?

[wa2un7 Maintainer]

Welcome to the forum. I hope the 12 week plan will help you help your son subject to the advice given by Cracker10 Merry Christmas.🎅🏻

[rutheliza]

hi MumIsabel , welcome and a very happy Christmas, wishing you and your son all the very best for the new year and I look forward to hearing how you're getting on.

[Honey10 1lb]

Merry Christmas and welcome.

I agree definitely speak to GP , could ask to be referred to a dietician who could be support for your son.

Wishing you well .

[Tiggerr]

Welcome, good luck and merry xmas.

[IndigoBlue61]

Hello and welcome MumIsabel Please don’t despair, you are still the main food provider and influence on your son. Whilst we have to be cautious as your son is too young to join the forum, with our help and support you can change the way the whole family eats and that will really help. 😊

The other aspect is exercise, which may be problematic but should still be encouraged.

Try to relax and have a lovely weekend, we will all be here for you for the rest of the year 😊

Best wishes

Anna

[lucigret]

Welcome MumIsabel you have found us know and we will still be here after christmas. This forum is so supportive and the best thing you can do is lead by example. Have a lovely day today and we shall see you soon🎄🎄

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone]

Hello and welcome, MumIsabel .

You sound really committed to making changes for yourself and your son, and he is young enough to make the changes he needs, with your encouragement and good example.

Have you had a look at the NHS Change4Life website? It has lots of stuff aimed at children and young people, including recipes and ways of involving young people with food constructively nhs.uk/change4life#LsJ3I1Ys...

Wishing you and your son happy and positive times ahead

[MumIsabel in reply to BridgeGirl]

Thanks for that link marymanc! It looks like there's lots of good stuff there, I'll sign up and look through with my boy.

[Ceals]

Welcome, what a fab reason to join us. Make good use of the forum, although your son is too young to use it you can make fab use of it and learn so much about healthy lifestyles and then reflect this in the way you feed your son, and yourself of course.

Take care and come on regularly for maximum benefit.

[Beach-runner 1kg]

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Exercise I think is a fantastic way to lose weight. It's something all the family can do, and it's FUN! Playing in the park swimming any kind of activity is good.

This will be a great year for you all. Take care.

[MumIsabel]

I'm not quite sure I understand your response. The school nurse contacted us when he was still in primary school as he did register as overweight then, if that's what you mean. But my concern is that he is bursting out of his school clothes, unable to keep up with his friends in sports because of his size, secretively buying sweets and spending hours on the computer...so it's not a "cultural" so much as a quality of life issue for us. I'm not an obsessive control freak mum, I just want my son to be healthier and happier and adopt a more sensible attitude to food.

[IndigoBlue61 in reply to MumIsabel]

I think Concerned is just warning against the widespread use of a low-fat diet 😊

[MumIsabel]

I agree! It's just always such a struggle to get him to come out and do anything active, though once he is out with us he always has a great time. Fortunately one of his best friends is very sporty and that's encouraged him to get involved in lots of sports in the last few months.