KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

Hi,

Facing a dilemma here. My sec 2 girl loves to eat and she is about almost 67kg now, ht 1.62m.

Her school has notified us that she is about 25% overweight. In the last 3 mths, she has agreed to jog or swim twice a week for an hour each time and has cut down on desserts eg ice cream, chocs. She eats 3 main meals a day and our diet are rather healthy, hardly any deep fried stuff. As she is still growing and she enjoys good food, we do not want to restrict too much on her main meals. She is the only one who is overweight in the family, so no genetics link here, I suppose. Her wt problem only surfaced from P6. Our weighing scale is the digital type & is v reliable, it also measures fats, water content etc.

Despite her effort, her weight has increased from 64kg last year to 66.7kg now. I would think that her wt should just maintained or decreased rather than increased!

Are there any healthy herbal food/drink to detox or remove some of the body fats? Any other suggestions is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Your girl is still going through puberty. Do not resort to any slimming products that is not recommended by the doctors. In any case she is not that grossly overweight, so no need to resort to drugs or herbs.

If possible, reduce sugar intake to the bare minimum. No soft drinks or processed juice.

As she is still developing, she will need enough calcium. If she can handle it, drink unsweetened soya milk. Else go for low fat fresh milk.

Cut back on carbo and increase fish and vege intake. For dinners especially, fill up with veg and fruits instead of carbo.

I will say the same thing I have said on the other Thread that started out about green tea. Eat big for breakfast, moderate for lunch and light for dinner. And that should be the eating habit going forth not just for the 'diet' period.

If she's eaten a big meal, have some lemon with diluted apple cider vinegar.

From http://www.homeremediesweb.com/apple_ci ... nefits.php
What are the Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar?
Natural Apple Cider Vinegar is a wonderful natural cure for a number of ailments which usually require antibiotics and other medications that have a number of side effects. In particular, Apple Cider Vinegar has been known to:

•Reduce sinus infections and sore throats
•Balance high cholesterol
•Cure skin conditions such as acne
•Protect against food poisoning
•Fight allergies in both humans and animals
•Prevent muscle fatigue after exercise
•Strengthen the immune system
•Increase stamina
•Increase metabolism which promotes weight loss
•Improve digestion and cure constipation
•Alleviate symptoms of arthritis and gout
•Prevents bladder stones and urinary tract infections

It's difficult to control her lunch intake as this is mostly taken in school.

Will try to reduce her carbo for dinner. Does green tea really help? Is this Japanese or China type? As she returns home rather late in the afternoon, will this affect her sleep?

Will try apple cider but afraid it is too sour for her. You see, so far, I dont want to restrict too much on her diet (other than avoiding deep fried & fast food) as she is still a kid & should enjoy what she eats too.

Thanks for all your kind advice.

maki wrote:It's difficult to control her lunch intake as this is mostly taken in school.

Will try to reduce her carbo for dinner. Does green tea really help? Is this Japanese or China type? As she returns home rather late in the afternoon, will this affect her sleep?

Will try apple cider but afraid it is too sour for her. You see, so far, I dont want to restrict too much on her diet (other than avoiding deep fried & fast food) as she is still a kid & should enjoy what she eats too.

Thanks for all your kind advice.

I do not think green tea helps in reduction of weight.
I have been drinking green tea for the past 15 years in place of water.
My DS was also overweight when he was in P3-P5. Later he became appearance conscious and diet conscious. I have stressed to him that dieting excessively is detrimental to his growth.
Now he has cut back on carbohydrates, eats fresh chillies instead of sambal and chilli sauce, takes steam/ stirfry food instead of fried foods and snack less often. He does not take sweetened drinks.
Now he is of acceptable weight.

Maybe you can sign up programme together with her, such as gym classes, aerobic... some activities that can make her sweat and she likes to join?

Just control on food/drink intake might not be sufficient. Exercising is still the main factor. With a sign-up programme at intital, she will force herself to go, and exercise together with the rest is more fun than doing it alone.

My niece also face this problem (during her primary school). So her parent send her to swimming and ta-kwan-do class, and she joins dance group in school herself. She is now slim and healthy. She still can wear her 3-years ago T-shirt and shorts... haha