Counting calories

[secondhalf]

NJ has struggled with her weight. S12 is not overweight. In fact he has been told by sources that he could gain weight. A couple of months ago I noticed that S12 appeared to be counting calories. I have since confirmed that he is counting calories and I have heard him call his mom to ask "I have eaten this today. How many calories is that?". At one point he was shooting for under 1000 calories per day which is way to little for a 12 year old boy. I have little problem with the calorie counting as long as he is doing it in a healthy way and have communicated this to the NJ. But I do wonder if A 12 year old has the maturity to calorie count in a healthy way. Over the years I have witnessed large weight fluctuations in NJ; up and down 70 plus pounds. I am concerned that S12 is picking up the often times weight obsession of the NJ.

[defaultuser]

If I were you, I'd stop communicating with the NJ about it beyond raising your objections to her actions. Instead, focus your attention on your kid. Do some research together on healthy ways to eat etc.

I agree with you that paying attention to your diet is probably a useful skill for a kid to pick up. Help him to understand how much he should be eating every day and to understand the relationship between diet and exercise so he understands that more activity needs more fuel.

[Trevor]

Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry's should fix that. "Dude, look what I got at the grocery store!"

[Rod27]

Your son should eat as much as he wants(to a point).....but make sure it's healthy food. Cholesterol problems and clogging of the arteries starts early in childhood. He just needs to be burning more....equate that to playing and sports. Make sure you eat enough to keep up too.

[Trevor]

I think what the doc is saying is that HD and B&J are perfect but get your kids on the soccer pitch or in the dance studio so they're not rotting in front of the x-box or television set.

Think I need to get groceries...

[Chosen2Dad]

He should eat what he and you feel as healthy and as much as he can be content with in his stomach. On your time, it's your time. Don't focus on the NJ and her issues, focus on you and your son.

[defaultuser]

I'm sure that we've all seen families come into restaurants. The mother and father are way overweight and the kids are super fat too. Obviously bad choices in diet. I feel sorry for those kids.

It kind of reminds me of my boss. He's got a golden retriever who is super fat. I've never seen a dog as fat as this, even a friend of mine who has a dog called, "Big fat dog". Anyway, when you ask him why his dog is so fat, he tells you that the dog has a glandular problem or a thyroid issue, or whatever medical condition that makes her fat, and she's on a special diet. The special diet includes him giving the dog tons of table scraps.

So, one thing leads to another and my boss gets another adult golden retriever. This dog looks good. Normal healthy weight. In about 3 months, the dog gains about 30 lbs. I guess she has a glandular problem too...

[Fatheroffour]

Poor dog.


Truth is, given the modern diet, watching calories is probably not a bad thing.

[Rod27]

The muscles of the body are like a furnace....they will burn everything you throw at it if the fire is hot enough. If the body is sedentary or in starvation mode such as calorie restricting diets, it will store any excess as fat.

[secondhalf]

S12 continues to call his mom and ask about the calories of everything he puts in his mouth. It's very frustrating that she has that much control over him on his eating habits and I believe emotionally unhealthy.