Well, not so good visit to the doctor. Weight...

[Renee']

Well Miss Lauren is overweight. She was 48 inches tall and 81 pounds. The doctor said no more sugar, no bread or pasta, skim milk only and no regular juices.

In the last month she has grown an inch and gained 6 pounds.
I stink as a mom

[Emilysmom]

Renee!! This doesn't mean that you stink as a mom! With kids, it's amazing how quickly they can GAIN and LOSE weight after making small diet changes, like the doc suggested. She'll get used to not drinking sodas or sugary juices, and she'll lose a bit before you know it.
You keep up the good work!
Susan

[laurasmom]

Susan is right! This isn't you, and making a couple of small changes will work wonders. And I don't know about your kids, but in winter, mine aren't outside playing as much. As spring comes and winter leaves, she can get out and run and play, and that will help.

Take care,
Sharon

[momofrussell]

I agree... you don't STINK as a mom. And it's hard to find that balance between Low/no fat stuff which has HIGH contents of sugar.. and LOW/NO sugar stuff that has higher contents of FAT in them! There is a delicate balance of this stuff. And although sugary foods tend to not have FAT in them... those are the carbs and if you sit you still gain wait..

I was doing a lower carb diet.. I did it after I had Russell with HUGE success and then had been doing it off and on after I had Reece.. well.... lower carb (sugar) foods tend to be alot higher in fat.. and we have high cholesterol run in our family.. and yep...my cholesterol is up there... so I can't eat like that anymore. I had lost 20 lbs and was SO afraid with the low/no fat stuff I'd gain it back because of the higher sugar.. and I sit too much.. so I had to remember to "stay" active. They also say to limit your carbs to the AM so you can burn it off during the day. And then some of us, myself included...do NOT look at the calories over all you are intaking either... which gets lost in the mix when you are focusing on no fat or no carbs.... you have to also watch your calories...

You'll get there Renee!!!! HUGS!!! Maybe that calorie counter Connie posted would help too?

A.

[Cbean]

Renee! How dare you say you stink as a mom! You goof!!! Follow the doctor's orders and get all of you out into the fresh air and move. He he he...now I'll go follow my own advice!!!

[cindylou]

I am in the same predicament except every time I bring it up my doc is not worried. Kaylee is like 115 I think, I don't know her height off the top of my head.

I just signed her up for swimming and now she has pe Daily at school--so I think it will help. I've been taking her to the swimming pool several Saturdays a month and it's been fun for all of us!
good luck-
cindy

[lespring]

UGh! I am with you here! Angela, because of a change in medication, gained 22 lbs in 3 months! NO KIDDING! Her BMI went from something like 16 % to 62%! We see the dev. ped in April and she's going to flip.

Now keep in mind Angela was underweight when she started the meds in July. (and man, I really didn't see it until I look back at pictures now.) But she's now 52 inches and 74 lbs. While she's still within "normal" limits, she continues to gain at a regular pace, and it really worries me. Because she gained so much so fast she has stretch marks on her inner thighs!

[Deannalee]

Please do not feel like a bad Mom. My oldest son, who is 11, has been over 100 lbs for almost 2 yrs now. he is about 4'11" and maybe 115 lbs. He was told by our ped to cut his portions down, no pop (unless it is diet), less pastas and breads....kinda the lecture you got. Then I have 2 who are on the small end of the weight scale, and Justin is smack dab in the middle!!!!!!! My Dad had hypothyroidism at my son's age....and I wonder often if this could be heading our way (Just no dx yet). Anyway.....remember genetics also play a role. I have to remind myself that when all my kids are next to each other (rare). So different!!!!!!!!!

Deanna

[Cathy]

Renee... YOU DO NOT STINK as a mom...

It is so hard to regulate children... as hard as I try I am not good at it either.. only with Emily.. its the opposite .. this kid NEVER gains weight... She won't eat anything!

All we can do is our best and try to encourage healthy eating.. Oh yeah listen to me.. the CARB QUEEN here.. Heck I can't even regulate John's diet.. hence he is in the hospital again.... high blood sugar.. OVER 600... scared the pants off me. So this house will be joining the ranks of the low carb/low fat diet... HEAVEN HELP US!

Hugs to you...

Cathy

[AndAnd]

Hi Renee',

You are a good Mom and hopefully with the change in diet and exercise she will slim down. I think it's great that she grew an inch in a month. She is taller than Andrew and he is a year older. Andrew doesn't have the best diet so I have been trying to keep him active. He is thin right now but I talked to a lady once that had a son who was overweight and she told me that her son was the same size as Andrew at his age and didn't gain weight until puberty. Andrew goes to Gymnastics and is doing a kids cardio class and Hip Hop class at the YMCA and he just loves it. He actually behaves and stays in the room for the entire hour for all three classes. Anyway keep up the good work and I will see you soon.

Take care,
Andrea

p.s. You probably know they are building a new YMCA in your neck of the woods, should be really nice.

[CC]

Renee ~

Don't beat yourself up girl, Chris too has put on weight and grown so fast in the last months he has freakin stretch marks on his legs I still can't get over that guys can get stretch marks Chris is 5' 1" now and about 125 to 130 lbs and although that sounds like a lot he really doesn't look over weight. But our Ped has said Watch it with him.

I hate to group things bout our kids with DS but weight is for sure a worry sadly. So its better that the Doc say watch it now before she gets older KWIM.

Sadly weight is an issue ones with DS have to really watch. BUT if we catch it now, which I think your Doc is cool to talk about it with you before it really becomes an issue. Just my thoughts...

CC

[CC]

Thought this was a good place to post this. I have posted it before but I too need the reminder..

Looking At Metabolism
by Joan E. Medlen, R.D., L.D.

Joan E. Medlen, R.D., L.D., is the mother of two boys, one of whom has Down syndrome.
She is a registered, licensed dietitian in private practice in Oregon and frequent speaker
at Down syndrome symposiums. This article was originally published in the journal
Disability Solutions, Volume 1, Issue 3, Sept/Oct 1996. Reprinted here with permission.
© 1996
In the first weeks after our son with Down syndrome was born, my thoughts strayed to his health throughout his life. My impression was that all adults with Down syndrome were very obese. As a dietitian, most of my work had been in the weight management area. I had seen first-hand the effects long-term obesity had on a person's life. I remember emphatically explaining to my husband that we needed to be an aerobically active family. I asked him to consider cross-country skiing instead of downhill skiing, and to plan for activities like family biking trips.
Now, seven years later, Andy is a slender, tall boy, like his brother. He eats well, but not perfectly. He appears "active," but it's not very aerobic. And, when I look at other children with Down syndrome at conferences and in my community, there seems to be a mix of body types: some are slight and petite, some are thick and stocky, and some are overweight. Where did that early image of obese adults come from? Had I fallen for a myth? Could it be that this younger generation of persons with Down syndrome will not have as many obese adults? Has the increase in community inclusion changed the incidence of obesity?

Probably not. Research suggests children with Down syndrome are as active as their peers, yet use fewer calories overall. They appear to have a lowered Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the rate a person burns calories for fuel when completely at rest - or sleeping. This means that children with Down syndrome use less energy when they are resting or sleeping.
Taking that information one step further, it means that they use fewer calories throughout the day to accomplish the same activities as their normal peers. When Andy hangs out with his friend, and eats the same amount and kind of foods, does the same activities with the same intensity for the same amount of time, he will burn up to 15% fewer calories than his buddy. Since he ate the same amount of food as his buddy, but needs less to do the job, he has calories left over. These extra calories - even as few as 50 calories a day - can lead to an increase in weight. For example, 50 calories is equal to a half of a large Red Delicious Apple. The calories from half an apple left over at the end of the day for one year will lead to about 5 pounds of increased weight. If that continues for 5 years, it becomes a troublesome 25 pounds. With this in mind, it is easy to see how slender children and adolescents with Down syndrome can change into overweight young adults.

There are three ways to adapt for this difference in metabolism:

Increase activity
Limit calories
Increase activity and limit calories.
Focusing on Calories alone is one option. However, unless there are other medical reasons, it is risky to limit calories for children under 18 years of age without direct medical supervision. Children have great vitamin, mineral, protein, carbohydrate and energy needs while they are growing. Limiting calories may cause children to get too few of what they need to grow and develop well. For adults, a sole focus on calories becomes a battle of will-power, and feels like a punishment.
As with everything else, focusing on positives and abilities has a far greater effect. Beginning with a focus on physical activity has many more positives. A person can choose from a variety of aerobic activities that are enjoyable. Additionally, regular aerobic activity has many health benefits: increased muscle tone, decreased resting heart rate, decreased blood pressure, a sense of well-being , better sleep, and an increase in metabolism.

Being physically active, and focusing on aerobic activity doesn't mean you need to be an Olympian athlete. For the average person, with or without Down syndrome, adding small amounts of aerobic activity on a regular basis makes a difference. Even small changes in daily activities can be beneficial.

Ideas for adding aerobic activity:

For parents, adults, and children:

Park farther away from where you are going
Take the stairs instead of the elevator. My son and I are often seen taking the stairs up and the elevator down -- many times.
Walk or bike to activities that are in your community.
When you go to the park, play "tag" for 10 minutes with the kids. Don't catch them, just chase them around. Parents think of swinging and climbing the play structure as being active. It's not aerobic activity, except when running between structures.
For teenagers and adults:

Use a push mower to mow the lawn.
Go on a long walk, hike, or bike with a friend once a week.
Join a local recreation facility.
Join a walking club.
Create some rules: for every one hour of TV watched, go for a walk around the block. (Be prepared to live by the same rules.)
Coming up with ideas to increase activity is the easy part. The hard part is choosing activities that are motivating. It is important that the person with Down syndrome make the choice of activity and be involved in setting the goals. The important part is to keep moving and have fun!
Working together as a team in the plans for activity will help. Sit down and make plans together. Write them down in a special place. Create a list of 3 small, but specific activities to add in a week. Begin with things that are 99% achievable. Talk about when these activities will be done and who they will be done with, if appropriate. Write them on the calendar. Then, create a way to keep track visually as those goals are met with a chart or check list. Remember to leave room for doing more than the goals you write down - a chance to over achieve!

For Andy, we hope to build habits that will last a lifetime, and be fun. Habits that will increase his activity overall, and hopefully, reduce the risk that he will have to fight the battles that extra weight can bring. And ours too.

Reference: Luke, A., Rozien, N.J., Sutton, M., Schoeller, D.A. Energy Expenditure in children with Down Syndrome: Correcting Metabolic Rate for Movement. Journal of Pediatrics, Vol. 125, 1994.

[Chris too]

I see that this thread is pretty old, but I didn't want to start a new one.

This week we also had a "not so good visit to the doctor" about weight, but my daughter, Stevie, is only 21 months old, and started life out with trouble gaining weight. She had aspiration trouble and only gained 15 oz in 3 months. Now, a year and a half later, she's overweight for her height. The doc says switch her to lowfat milk (not skim, yet), and cut out her cereal (used to thicken her milk - she doesn't need it anymore). Stevie was giving up the cereal anyway, and I don't mind switching to 2%, but I wonder: will it be enough?
Also, she's had some bad thyroid tests, so I wonder if this will be a factor. The doc said that he'd rather wait to see if the diet will be enough before re-testing her thyroid.
I don't want to wig out over this or over-react, but I also don't want to battle a weight problem after she's had significant weight gain.

So here's my request: does anyone have guidelines on how much children with slower metabolism (ie DS) should be eating out of each food group? I don't want to count calories if I don't have to; I'd rather have an overall idea about how much she should be eating for her height and metabolic rate.

Thanks!
Chris
mother of Mary 13, Katie 11, Betsy 8, William 5, David 3, and Stevie (DS) 21 months

[lespring]

I try to follow this, but really I suck at it. But basically, if you stay away from ALL processed foods, you will be ok. But that is very difficult to do (Krispy Cremes's don't really count towards processed foods....do they?? LOL)

That means you're not eating anything that has breading on it. You're eating WHOLE grains (like REAL oatmeal, not the packaged w/flavor stuff) fresh fruits and veggies, and meats. We do eat breats, but 12 grain Brownberry. And I eat granola for breakfast WHEN I'm sticking to this. When I stick to this program, I loose weight soooooo very fast. But it's tough for my to stick to because my mouth craves certain flavors. It's MUCH easier for a toddler who hasn't developed some of those cravings yet.

[hidyperson]

"Also, she's had some bad thyroid tests, so I wonder if this will be a factor." - could well be.