annx33

Anyway, after a few years of having free choice about what we all eat . . .the twins – (boys,
age 15) are thinking they'd like to lose weight, and have requested to join weight watchers.
So, here's another territory around food and making opportunities available. . . I don't think
restrictive diets work over the long haul, but weight watchers food plan seems sane enough,
although it has always struck me as capitalizing on a national obsession for women to be
thin. We've gone on-line to research it; seems pricey to me. I'm keeping my opinions to
myself for now as I observe what my guys want to do. Does anyone have experience with
this arena – supporting their kid's expressed desire to eat differently towards a different body
shape?

Oh, I don't think I've posted here before (been reading for awhile), I'm Ann (age 53)
unschooling mom to twin ds (age 15), dd (age 14)

swissarmy_wife

I don't have any experience with children wanting to lose weight...
but I used weight watchers a few years ago when I wanted to lose a few
pounds.

Certainly it's not for everyone but, I found it very informative and
helpful. It helped me learn to cook better, choose healthier
ingredients, and pay attention to what I'm putting in my body. I'm
one of those people who never seems to lose my appetite under any
conditions. LOL I learned a lot about food through weight watchers
online.

Anyway... I still use it for the recipes, honestly, I've never not
like any recipe I had chosen.

I think its a nice program compared to whats out there. It's very
balanced. I successfully lost about 20lbs. Then I got pregnant. LOL



--- In [email protected], "annx33" <amcarlson@...> wrote:
>
> Anyway, after a few years of having free choice about what we all
eat . . .the twins – (boys,
> age 15) are thinking they'd like to lose weight, and have requested
to join weight watchers.
> So, here's another territory around food and making opportunities
available. . . I don't think
> restrictive diets work over the long haul, but weight watchers food
plan seems sane enough,
> although it has always struck me as capitalizing on a national
obsession for women to be
> thin. We've gone on-line to research it; seems pricey to me. I'm
keeping my opinions to
> myself for now as I observe what my guys want to do. Does anyone
have experience with
> this arena – supporting their kid's expressed desire to eat
differently towards a different body
> shape?
>
> Oh, I don't think I've posted here before (been reading for awhile),
I'm Ann (age 53)
> unschooling mom to twin ds (age 15), dd (age 14)
>

Sandra Dodd

-=-Anyway... I still use it for the recipes, honestly, I've never not
like any recipe I had chosen. -=-

Does this mean I've liked every recipe I've chosen? <g>



Sandra

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BRIAN POLIKOWSKY

WW pricy? IT is $10 a month!
 At 15 I don't think any diet is the solution, even weight watchers( and I have done them and like it).
Maybe more exercise. More fun things like hiking,  biking, or anything they like to do.
Offer lots of low calorie healthy and yummy stuff for them all the time. Have them available and easy to get.
Don't say anything when they eat something people consider fattening.
Cows can gain weight eating only grass. It is all about how much you burn.
My DH can eat 5000 calories a day or more and loose weight when he is training ( lots of cookies and candy bars).
The worse thing they can feel is guilt when eating something.
A question:
Do you talk about weight in you house? Do you complain about yours or are you always talking about food and weight gain, what is fattening what it is not?
IF you do STOP It right now.
It does a lot of damage and I can go on forever talking about it but I am sick today and I got to play with my kids.
At 15 a lot of kids are getting ready to go and have a huge growth spurr and need the extra pounds.

 
Alex Polikowsky
http://polykow.blogspot.com/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/unschoolingmn/
 




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Sandra Dodd

-=-WW pricy? IT is $10 a month!-=-

It was $8 a week or so before Kirby was born, when I used to go.

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Laura Beaudin

$14 a week here in Canada...but having said that, their system works
well and for what you gain (the weight loss and resources to do it),
it's worth it.

Laura

At 12:58 PM 28/09/2008, you wrote:

>-=-WW pricy? IT is $10 a month!-=-
>
>It was $8 a week or so before Kirby was born, when I used to go.

Don't let school get in the way of your education!" --unknown
Visit Practical Homeschooling and view our September contest for a
chance to win free paint-me puzzles!
Practical Homeschooling: http://www.practical-homeschooling.org
Works in Progress: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Laura.Beaudin


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swissarmy_wife

Whoa. I wrote that? It hardly makes sense! I think it means that
Skylar had a sleepover last night and I was up too late!

I think maybe I was just trying to say that the recipes taste like
good hearty meals. Not bird food.

--- In [email protected], Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
>
> -=-Anyway... I still use it for the recipes, honestly, I've never not
> like any recipe I had chosen. -=-
>
> Does this mean I've liked every recipe I've chosen? <g>
>
>
>
> Sandra
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

Pamela Sorooshian

On Sep 28, 2008, at 8:30 AM, annx33 wrote:

> So, here's another territory around food and making opportunities
> available. . . I don't think
> restrictive diets work over the long haul, but weight watchers food
> plan seems sane enough,
> although it has always struck me as capitalizing on a national
> obsession for women to be
> thin.


Hi --

I lost 85 pounds on WeightWatchers and now work for them.

WW eliminated the children/teen program a few years ago because
studies showed they really didn't work - they were not good for kids
and teens.

We currently don't allow kids under 17 to join unless they have
permission from their doctor.

There is a brand-new program for families that is being sort of
"tested" in the next month or so at a few locations. The new program
is being offered in the form of Family Seminars - the kids don't go to
the seminar, it is for the parents. If you're interested, contact the
closest WeightWatchers meeting location and ask them if they happen to
be hosting a seminar. The book they're giving out at the seminar is
brand-new and is called "Family Power." The book is really more for
families with younger children and I don't see it as being very
compatible with unschooling, really. But you could most definitely
utilize the ideas in the book if you focus more on support and
cooperation and not on parental enforcement.

The ideal, in my opinion, for teens, is to focus on healthy foods,
being aware of how hungry you are and only eating enough to "just"
satisfy hunger, not more. Don't eliminate treats, but try to eat lots
of bulky foods that fill you up. Choose lower fat versions of foods
when it doesn't compromise taste too much. Choose foods that are low
in calories, low in fat, and high in dietary fiber. And get active -
try for at least an hour per day of movement - vary what you do, if
possible.

Don't try to lose weight, but do try to be healthy and active and not
eat when not hungry.

When I joined WeightWatchers, it wasn't like I didn't already know all
about how to lose weight. There is no big secret there - take in fewer
calories than you put out. The program is awesome in the way it helps
you slowly change the way you eat while still really enjoying food and
not feeling deprived at all. But I was suprised how the support in the
meetings meant a lot to me - I made friends, we applauded each other
and helped each other through setbacks. It was very fun. A number of
other people I know also joined after they saw that I was having such
success and enjoying it so much. What we all found was that we needed
to shop around for a meeting leader we were inspired by - different
leaders will be good for different people. I loved my leader who
didn't give "lectures" but acted more as a facilitator encouraging
everyone in the meeting to offer ideas. She was very high energy and
positive.

Also, being active was really just as important as food. I could
barely walk to the corner without my feet aching, at the beginning. So
that's what I did. Then I walked around the block. Every week I did a
little more walking and one day I just felt like jogging a bit.
Surprised myself, for sure! My knee had been in such bad shape that I
was probably going to have surgery - it is fine now.

There are quite a few good books out there right now about weight loss/
healthy eating. "Volumetrics" is good. Molly Katzen's book about
eating healthy is great! It is called "Eat, Drink, & Weigh Less: A
Flexible and Delicious Way to Shrink Your Waist Without Going Hungry."

-pam

Bob Collier

--- In [email protected], "annx33" <amcarlson@...> wrote:
>
> Anyway, after a few years of having free choice about what we all
eat . . .the twins � (boys,
> age 15) are thinking they'd like to lose weight, and have requested
to join weight watchers.
> So, here's another territory around food and making opportunities
available. . . I don't think
> restrictive diets work over the long haul, but weight watchers food
plan seems sane enough,
> although it has always struck me as capitalizing on a national
obsession for women to be
> thin. We've gone on-line to research it; seems pricey to me. I'm
keeping my opinions to
> myself for now as I observe what my guys want to do. Does anyone
have experience with
> this arena � supporting their kid's expressed desire to eat
differently towards a different body
> shape?
>
> Oh, I don't think I've posted here before (been reading for awhile),
I'm Ann (age 53)
> unschooling mom to twin ds (age 15), dd (age 14)
>



My son Pat (12) and I (56) are in that territory at the moment. We've
both put on a lot of weight this year and have been having
conversations about what to do.

Not a diet. I know that much.

I have this book on order as I write:

The Gabriel Method
http://www.jongabriel.com.au/

I also have a copy of Teresa Bondora's ebook The Reality of Weight
Loss, which I bought earlier this year and have just started
rereading. She's a homeschooler (school at home I think).

Bob

carnationsgalore

> Does anyone have experience with this arena – supporting their
> kid's expressed desire to eat differently towards a different body
> shape?

I used the Weight Watchers program earlier this year. It is pricey,
but it helped me learn about food choices, cravings, not restricting
foods, and portion sizes. My daughter Allie (10) read the materials
with me and asked a lot of questions. She made some dietary changes
because of what we were learning. Weight Watchers is not a gimmicky
program and you don't need to be a member to follow their suggestions.
Once you learn their way of eating and exercising, you can follow the
program without being a member.

Allie is more overweight than she'd like to be, but she understands
about nutrition and exercise. She hasn't yet reached the point where
she wants to be active in losing weight. She's talked with her doctor
about it as well and he doesn't make a big deal of it either. She's
still growing and she's learning about foods in a healthy way.

Beth M.

Sandra Dodd

I think there are some online weight-loss sites and lists where
people sign up and someone keeps track of them, aren't there? Or
where they declare their intent and have witnesses and encouragement?

The first episode of this year's Desperate Housewives was on last
night. Five years have passed. Carlos is blind, so that wasn't
temporary. Gabriella has had two children and gained weight, and her
older girl is very pudgy, so that was part of the parenting
conflict. Carlos was saying to leave her alone. Gabi was being the
awful, shaming mom (not entirely and not at first, but as she was
hearing other people's comments she was putting more pressure on).
It will be interesting to see how they play that out, because Gabi's
character has always been THE most vain and thin and stylish of the
core group.

So many people watch this in so many countries that it's bound to
have an impact on more than a few families. The actress does seem to
have gained weight for the part, which is interesting too, because
she was all over magazines and advertisements for the past couple of
years.

Holly's youthful observation that parenting situation comedies were
training films for parents is probably as true of Desperate
Housewives as any show ever on. Each couple has seemed to disagree
about how to treat children, and that continued last night in several
couples. It might be a good tool for someone whose husband is
disagreeing (if she has a husband who watches the show I mean <g>).
For Holly it will certainly make her a better mom to see some bad
strategies played out.

Sandra

susanleeb52

Some years ago (pre-unschooling) I read How to Get Your Kids To Eat,
But Not Too Much, by pediatric nutritionist Ellyn Satter. She is by no
means a radical unschooler about food, but there are bits of wonderful
common sense in her books. I remember that one had some interesting
information about teens and weight loss.

I just looked on Amazon and she seems to have out a new book about kids
and weight. Her books are here:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-
keywords=satter%2C+ellyn&x=18&y=17

I am a Weight Watchers Failure, having lost 25 lbs and gotten my
Lifetime keychain and everything... and put it all back on, plus some
(from what I read, that makes me pretty typical). If you are not ready
for lifelong changes, nothing will work for a lifetime, right?

Perhaps your sons would be interested in doing some research with you
before they start to do anything formal about eating. In the meantime,
you could start some simple things like cutting back on sugar and
floury stuff and increasing veggies and fruits, and exercising more.

Two other interesting books to look at might be Good Calories, Bad
Calories, by Gary Taube (very dense), and The Obesity Myth, by Paul
Campos (quite readable).

k

> Perhaps your sons would be interested in doing some research with you
> before they start to do anything formal about eating. In the meantime,
> you could start some simple things like cutting back on sugar and
> floury stuff and increasing veggies and fruits, and exercising more.

Her sons are 15. I do agree that research might turn up some much needed
rethinking about eating for people their age.

The huge growth that takes place in those years requires a lot of fuel.
Such that packets of sugar wouldn't be out of line from time to time. Brain
growth is still going at a tremendous rate and sugar is great brain fuel.
Any excess sugar consumption converts to fat, the brain food. The only
brain food. And actually it nourishes nerves which is part of that system.


A certain amount of sugar (way more than a full grown adult needs) is in
demand during the teen years. If you research dieting, make sure it applies
to teen nutrition, not adult nutrition.

And this is just as important for pre-teens and certainly for toddlers and
infants, hence the comments about the sugar content of breastmilk.

~Katherine


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