question regarding food...
mommuller
Hi,
My first question has to do with food. I have an 8 (almost 9yo)
daughter who is not able to tell when she is full. She ends up eating
beyond a point of fullness and gets stomach aches and sometimes sick.
I don't allow her freedom of eating because of this (she has had
freedom in the past and she eats till she is sick and she is also
overweight because her metabolism is very slow). If I am trying to
move towards a RU lifestyle, what would you suggest I do with this
situation? Right now she can eat when she is hungry, but I control the
portion size so she doesn't over eat and get sick. If she still feels
hungry after what I give her, I ask her to have a glass of water and
wait 15 minutes, if she still feels hungry, she can have more. Yes,
this probably is controlling, but I don't want her getting stomach
aches/sick all the time. She just does not recognize when she is full,
so I am trying to help her focus on her body and what it is saying to
her. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Deece
My first question has to do with food. I have an 8 (almost 9yo)
daughter who is not able to tell when she is full. She ends up eating
beyond a point of fullness and gets stomach aches and sometimes sick.
I don't allow her freedom of eating because of this (she has had
freedom in the past and she eats till she is sick and she is also
overweight because her metabolism is very slow). If I am trying to
move towards a RU lifestyle, what would you suggest I do with this
situation? Right now she can eat when she is hungry, but I control the
portion size so she doesn't over eat and get sick. If she still feels
hungry after what I give her, I ask her to have a glass of water and
wait 15 minutes, if she still feels hungry, she can have more. Yes,
this probably is controlling, but I don't want her getting stomach
aches/sick all the time. She just does not recognize when she is full,
so I am trying to help her focus on her body and what it is saying to
her. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Deece
Robyn Coburn
<<<<She just does not recognize when she is full,
so I am trying to help her focus on her body and what it is saying to
her. Any thoughts?>>>>
There is an actual medical condition that manifests itself as an inability
to sense fullness. I'm sure that someone will be able to supply the name and
more info on it. I seem to recall that it is futile to hope that time and
experience would bring about a change in the physical sensations *if* your
dd is suffering from it.
However it is still possible for *both* of you to become informed, seek a
diagnosis, gain understanding, and to discuss and agree together to
strategies to manage the condition, so that they are mutual - a partnership
rather than "top down". Your dd may have ideas that are even better than
yours for how to achieve a healthy eating process while still preserving her
sense of self determination.
Unusual medical conditions and extreme situations tend to be held up as
exceptions to living the Principles of Freedom and Autonomy. They don't have
to be exceptions even if the children's situations are exceptional.
Robyn L. Coburn
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.12 - Release Date: 5/17/2005
so I am trying to help her focus on her body and what it is saying to
her. Any thoughts?>>>>
There is an actual medical condition that manifests itself as an inability
to sense fullness. I'm sure that someone will be able to supply the name and
more info on it. I seem to recall that it is futile to hope that time and
experience would bring about a change in the physical sensations *if* your
dd is suffering from it.
However it is still possible for *both* of you to become informed, seek a
diagnosis, gain understanding, and to discuss and agree together to
strategies to manage the condition, so that they are mutual - a partnership
rather than "top down". Your dd may have ideas that are even better than
yours for how to achieve a healthy eating process while still preserving her
sense of self determination.
Unusual medical conditions and extreme situations tend to be held up as
exceptions to living the Principles of Freedom and Autonomy. They don't have
to be exceptions even if the children's situations are exceptional.
Robyn L. Coburn
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.12 - Release Date: 5/17/2005
[email protected]
In a message dated 5/19/2005 9:07:18 AM Mountain Daylight Time,
dezigna@... writes:
There is an actual medical condition that manifests itself as an inability
to sense fullness. I'm sure that someone will be able to supply the name and
more info on it. I seem to recall that it is futile to hope that time and
experience would bring about a change in the physical sensations *if* your
dd is suffering from it.
================
I'm sure that's so, but it's worth considering that if there are stresses in
her life and eating just FEELS good, the stress should be looked at. And I
think any doctor would ask all those kinds of questions too, about safety and
calm surroundings and other forms of comfort and positive regard from others
around her.
And those who have dealt with controls and then taking them away, or SAYING
they're gone but just moving them to an unspoken level have probably all seen
kids who gorge and binge and obsess, knowing the controls will return.
It's worth looking at those factors and not assuming first that it's a
biochemical glitch.
Lots of parents claim children "don't know" and "can't tell" when maybe the
kids just haven't had a chance to really experiment with feeling it themselves
without a running commentary or judgment from those around them. "That's
enough." How many MILLIONS of times have parents said "That's enough" to a
child as though they, the parents, can tell what's "enough"?
That's enough crying.
That's enough TV.
That's enough playing.
That's enough question-asking.
That's enough food.
That's enough laughing.
That's enough singing.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
dezigna@... writes:
There is an actual medical condition that manifests itself as an inability
to sense fullness. I'm sure that someone will be able to supply the name and
more info on it. I seem to recall that it is futile to hope that time and
experience would bring about a change in the physical sensations *if* your
dd is suffering from it.
================
I'm sure that's so, but it's worth considering that if there are stresses in
her life and eating just FEELS good, the stress should be looked at. And I
think any doctor would ask all those kinds of questions too, about safety and
calm surroundings and other forms of comfort and positive regard from others
around her.
And those who have dealt with controls and then taking them away, or SAYING
they're gone but just moving them to an unspoken level have probably all seen
kids who gorge and binge and obsess, knowing the controls will return.
It's worth looking at those factors and not assuming first that it's a
biochemical glitch.
Lots of parents claim children "don't know" and "can't tell" when maybe the
kids just haven't had a chance to really experiment with feeling it themselves
without a running commentary or judgment from those around them. "That's
enough." How many MILLIONS of times have parents said "That's enough" to a
child as though they, the parents, can tell what's "enough"?
That's enough crying.
That's enough TV.
That's enough playing.
That's enough question-asking.
That's enough food.
That's enough laughing.
That's enough singing.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
soggyboysmom
The medical condition is called Prader-Willie Syndrome where the
switch to say 'I'm full' never clicks. You might also consider
having her thyroid function checked - underactive thyroid can slow
metabolism and lead to all sorts of other things (tiredness,
depression, when she gets older, reproductive issues, etc). It is
easily corrected with medication in most cases.
She's old enough to gather info with you, including what constitutes
a "portion" of meat or a "portion" of veggies or whatever. Many
nutrition books use common objects as reference - for instance,
a "serving" of meat is the size of a deck of cards. That way there's
not a lot of tedious weighing and measuring, just a rough
eyeballing - maybe keep a deck of cards handy at first even.
But, my first step would be a thorough physical (including a blood
test and all - blood test is the only way to confirm thyroid
function as far as I know. That would help include or exclude
physiological issues little PWS. If there is something that needs
addressing, address it *together*.
If there isn't anything physiological, then look to what else is
happening - for instance, I read when I eat breakfast - it slows
down my eating so I can register when I'm done (it takes something
like 20 minutes to register "Full" so if you eat rapidly, you can
easily overeat) - at dinner, I have DH and DS to talk to but they're
still asleep when I eat breakfast. On the other hand, focusing on
other things aside from what you are eating can also lead to "robot"
eating where you keep going and going without noticing that it's
your sixth cookie because you were wrapped up in a show about
mummies. What works for each person will vary. Sometimes including a
beverage with the meal helps. Sometimes it creates a full feeling
too quickly and precludes getting all the nutrients necessary from
the food. Does she eat out of boredom? stress? control needs? is it
always or at specific times of day? specific types of food? in
particular situations (like is it more likely if you've been running
errands all morning)? Is she 'allowed' regular high fiber and
protein snacks (whole grain crackers and cheese for instance)? Is
she eating mostly high-glycemic foods? They cause spikes and drops
in blood sugar which can cause a feeling of "hunger". Look into
providing mostly low glycemic foods (oatmeal for instance instead of
white toast, bagels, cereal).
Good luck
switch to say 'I'm full' never clicks. You might also consider
having her thyroid function checked - underactive thyroid can slow
metabolism and lead to all sorts of other things (tiredness,
depression, when she gets older, reproductive issues, etc). It is
easily corrected with medication in most cases.
She's old enough to gather info with you, including what constitutes
a "portion" of meat or a "portion" of veggies or whatever. Many
nutrition books use common objects as reference - for instance,
a "serving" of meat is the size of a deck of cards. That way there's
not a lot of tedious weighing and measuring, just a rough
eyeballing - maybe keep a deck of cards handy at first even.
But, my first step would be a thorough physical (including a blood
test and all - blood test is the only way to confirm thyroid
function as far as I know. That would help include or exclude
physiological issues little PWS. If there is something that needs
addressing, address it *together*.
If there isn't anything physiological, then look to what else is
happening - for instance, I read when I eat breakfast - it slows
down my eating so I can register when I'm done (it takes something
like 20 minutes to register "Full" so if you eat rapidly, you can
easily overeat) - at dinner, I have DH and DS to talk to but they're
still asleep when I eat breakfast. On the other hand, focusing on
other things aside from what you are eating can also lead to "robot"
eating where you keep going and going without noticing that it's
your sixth cookie because you were wrapped up in a show about
mummies. What works for each person will vary. Sometimes including a
beverage with the meal helps. Sometimes it creates a full feeling
too quickly and precludes getting all the nutrients necessary from
the food. Does she eat out of boredom? stress? control needs? is it
always or at specific times of day? specific types of food? in
particular situations (like is it more likely if you've been running
errands all morning)? Is she 'allowed' regular high fiber and
protein snacks (whole grain crackers and cheese for instance)? Is
she eating mostly high-glycemic foods? They cause spikes and drops
in blood sugar which can cause a feeling of "hunger". Look into
providing mostly low glycemic foods (oatmeal for instance instead of
white toast, bagels, cereal).
Good luck
mommuller
Thank you all for the ideas and suggestions.
I talked with dh and we decided to start with a physical (thanks for
the suggestion of seeing a nutrionist, I will look into that, also) and
see if anything comes of that.
If that is fine, we will work with dd to come up with ways to honor
her, yet keep her healthy.
We are in the process of changing our eating habits as a family (though
dh is having a rough time, he's a meat and potato kind of guy) to more
whole foods.
Thanks, again.
Deece
I talked with dh and we decided to start with a physical (thanks for
the suggestion of seeing a nutrionist, I will look into that, also) and
see if anything comes of that.
If that is fine, we will work with dd to come up with ways to honor
her, yet keep her healthy.
We are in the process of changing our eating habits as a family (though
dh is having a rough time, he's a meat and potato kind of guy) to more
whole foods.
Thanks, again.
Deece
Lisa M. Cottrell Bentley
> We are in the process of changing our eating habits as a family (thoughYou might really enjoy the book "The China Project" by T. Colin
> dh is having a rough time, he's a meat and potato kind of guy) to more
> whole foods.
Campbell. It is only on hardcover currently, but worth every penny.
-Lisa in AZ
[email protected]
**We are in the process of changing our eating habits as a family (though
dh is having a rough time, he's a meat and potato kind of guy) to more
whole foods.**
A year ago I strove to change my own eating habits, and my husband joined me
because he wanted to lose a few pounds and mostly because he always supports
me by being my partner for hard stuff.
He was always a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Ate vegetables because he knew
he was supposed to but didn't really like any except beets. He ate a lot of
crackers and chips rather automatically while watching tv.
Now, a year later, he packs salads for his workday lunches instead of
sandwiches and chips, by choice. For the first time in his life he's eating several
servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
Me, I'm still working on changing my habits. Life's funny that way. <g>
Deborah
dh is having a rough time, he's a meat and potato kind of guy) to more
whole foods.**
A year ago I strove to change my own eating habits, and my husband joined me
because he wanted to lose a few pounds and mostly because he always supports
me by being my partner for hard stuff.
He was always a meat and potatoes kind of guy. Ate vegetables because he knew
he was supposed to but didn't really like any except beets. He ate a lot of
crackers and chips rather automatically while watching tv.
Now, a year later, he packs salads for his workday lunches instead of
sandwiches and chips, by choice. For the first time in his life he's eating several
servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
Me, I'm still working on changing my habits. Life's funny that way. <g>
Deborah