A Meeting With The Nutritionist

It's here! It's here! My very exciting news that I can't wait for you all to see! I'm pleased to be partnering with Diets In Review to publish the Mom 2 Mom newsletter! Written by a mom for moms, the newsletter will focus on the four things a mom needs to live a healthy and balanced life: Food, Fitness, Family and Fun. Would you take a minute and sign up? The newsletter will be delivered directly into your inbox and I can promise it will be chock full of interesting and helpful information!

Last year at this time my oldest son weighed 138 or so pounds. He was about 5'4". Today he weighed in at 111 pounds and stands 5'8". 4 inches taller, 27 pounds lighter. Does that seem, well, odd behavior for a 17 year old to you? Especially one who eats just about anything he can get his hands on. I've blogged before about our trips to the doctor and the blood work we've had done. He's been tested for just about everything that we could imagine, and it all came back negative. Meanwhile, the 10 15 20 pounds became 22, 25, 28 and the kid is all bones. You can count his ribs, his hip bones jut out sharply and the center of his chest, the spot where the ribs meet (that spot where you place your hands when you perform CPR - I'm too tired to look it up) sinks in. He's exhausted all the time and if he's not sleeping he's on the coach. BUT. His cross country times are the best they've ever been - his last 5K time was around 20 minutes. As the doctor put it, how sick can you be when you can run a couple of sub 7 minutes in a row? Indeed.

The next step was a trip to the sports nutritionist.

The kid runs cross country 3-5 miles every day. Up until a few months ago he took boxing a couple of times a week. Maybe he just burns off more than he takes in.

The nutritionist was a great help. She went through his day and he told her exactly what he's doing at any given time and what his daily intake and exercise habits are. To start with, her goal is for him to gain 28-30 pounds and her idea is to move him to a 2400-2800 calorie diet with at least 100 grams of protein. No more than 130, no less than 80.

He's not a big breakfast eater, so she came up with a few idea for him. 4 eggs (2 whole + 2 whites, any way), or a protein shake with a banana, peanut butter toast, something to keep him from being incredibly famished at lunch. (Part of his problem is that he's not timing his meals correctly - he's eating enormous snacks because he's ravenous, and then he's not hungry at meal time.) Add some kind of jelly to his 2 peanut butter sandwiches that he has had every.single.say of his high school career, plus add in a fruit and a drink that has calories - either juice or milk. The most important change is that he needs to eat something at the end of school, before practice. He never does, and then he comes home and eats 1/2 of a loaf of bread - and then he's too full for dinner. If he eats a protein bar, it might be enough to hold him through practice, and then have a piece of fruit at 5 and dinner at 6. Then a snack before bed. 

So, we'll see if this works. One other (enormous) factor in the equation is that the child is incredibly picky. She suggested tuna, chicken salad, protein bars, nuts, yogurt, pudding, milk shakes, and about 100 other things - all of which he vetoed. I think she was a wee bit aggravated by his fussiness, but maybe we can think of this as a challenge, yes? She mandated that he MUST take a multi vitamin every single day - something I've said for years - because he may have a low level of a nutrient that is making him tired - and guarantees that he will have more energy if he gets his diet corrected.

Something has to work - 111 pounds is the limit.

Comments

[amie]

Does he like yogurt? My hub eats 2 yogurts with 1/4c granola mixed in twice a day for protein- but the yogurt also helps his immune system. I wish I didn't like milkshakes :)

[Young Wife]

Sounds like you guys got lots of good information. My husband isn't a big breakfast eater, but I've gotten him to eat smoothies lately using frozen strawberries and bananas and don't tell, but there's vanilla yogurt in there, too. I hope he's able to gain weight.

[Sylvia]

Avocado. If he likes it. Great for skinny kids. Or maybe I can just transfer some of my left over fat to him?

[Headless Mom]

I'm glad you got some help. I've been worried over here! Sounds like you've got something to work with, at least. I may use some of those tips for my skinny boy, too! What about muffins? They will keep in a ziploc and he can probably scarf one down in between morning classes and/or before practice. I tried a great new apple strussel muffin recipe this week that I'll be posting soon. (I'll send it to you, though.)

[Katie]

I don't know the school policy on eating in class...but if he doesn't like/want breakfast, maybe a snack before lunch, after school and before dinner may help get his 'timing' back on track...

[Mama Cas]

You have all of my sympathies....getting someone to gain weight in a healthy way has to be very difficult. He can't just load up on snickers bars and hope for the best.

What about cheese sticks? You might check with his school and see if he's allowed to keep a small lunchbox/cooler in his locker. It's easy to chow down a granola bar or cheese stick between classes. Also, chocolate milk in a thermos. He could drink that between classes. Eh...who am I to talk?! I'm sure your nutritionist gave you oodles of ideas. Good luck to you. I hope to hear soon that he's gaining some weight.

[Karen L]

Did the nutitionist mention healthy fats for energy? Yes, he needs protien to build strong muscles and complex carbs but I think fats are given a bad rap lately.
Not that I'm an expert but my Mom and Grandma were both degreed nutritionalists and they have always said that contrary to current popular thinking, they felt that healthy fats, and they included butter in that (stay away from processed fats), was necessary for healthy skin, digestion and energy.

[Katherine]

I have started eating hemp hearts... you can get them at the Virginia Market at the Farmer's Market (the organic store in the back)... they have GOOD FAT in them - a perfect protein - I put a link to an article I wrote about them with my name... I put mine in yogurt - they actually taste really good, but can be hidden in things - you only need a few tablespoons a day, IF THAT. You could mix them in rice, in yogurt, in cereal... all kinds of things. They are kind of nutty and remind me of couscous. :) They give you energy and do all kinds of other wonderful things. :)

[Katherine]

P.S... ok the link didn't work.. just go to agoosa.com and search for "hemp hearts"

[Nicki]

I've got no ideas as I have my own picky, skinny son. Here's hoping this works for your son and he can get his weight up. I, too, wrote down the suggestions in the hopes that maybe they will work for my little guy.

[The Only Girl]

Oh dear. You certainly do have a challenge on your hands. I hope it works out.

All 3 of my boys are also incredibly picky. I struggle between trying to introduce new things and getting sick of the same limited menu over and over again (because frankly, I'll eat anything. No really. Anything).

I'd love to hear about any new items he tries and likes. Or how you actually get him to try some of the new things.

Good luck!

[sarah k]

Butter both sides of toast. Full fat puddings. A spoonful of healthy oil on top of dinner ( blends in seamlessly with most food ). Instant breakfast powder added to regular milk.

At least, these were our suggestions from our dietician to help our daughter come off of her gtube.

[Lorraine]

Make milkshakes / oatmeal / cooked pudding with half-and-half. It's working for my son! Also, will he drink Boost? The chocolate flavor RULES at our house.

[Brandy]

Has the doctor tested his thyroid? Just curious. I was tired to the point of exhaustion after exercising and asked my Doc about vitamins. Little did I know...... *sigh* Anyway, all the food suggestions sound great. As for yogurt, maybe try the Greek yogurt? It's higher in fat, but also higher in nutrients.

[Stephanie c.]

Sounds like a good plan. I second the nutritionist's smoothie idea; you can sneak in a LOT of great food that way (carrots, spinach, etc.).

[Philippa]

Is he losing any hair along the hair line? Or eyebrows or eyelashes? If so, he may have hyper-thyroidism. Perhaps a blood test is in order. My niece is going through this too. She eats something like 3000 calories a day and is still losing weight.

Worth a check anyway.

[ReinventingAmy]

I am likely to get some serious glares here I'm sure, but I'm just going to throw it out there as an idea-- exercise bulimia? Is he concerned about his weight in the sense of wanting to gain weight?

Thyroid is also a common thing lately to check.

[kyooty]

I hope he gets it figured out.

[Carmen Staicer]

You wont get stares from me, Amy. We actually spoke to him about it, He swears that hes not trying to lose weight and I believe him - I think that he just has his eating patterns screwed up. Hes made a genuine effort the past two days, eating protein shakes and bars and says he has a bit more energy. We did check his thyroid twice and nothing showed up.

Carmen

[Carmen Staicer]

Thanks for the input, Philippa. We did check his thyroid twice and it was negative both times. I think he just needs to get his eating straight - having a snack in the afternoon will keep him from eating so much after running that hes too full for a healthy dinner, kwim?

Carmen

[MaryK]

Not to get personal, but is having any "bathroom" issues? Was he tested for Crohn's Disease? My family went through a similar battle with my brother, he just kept loosing weight. They took him to a nutrionist as well, months later after other issues presented he was tested and diagnosed with Crohn's disease.

[jan]

I've got my kid drinking a glass of carnation breakfast stuff in the morning & after school and taking his multi vitamin. And just introduced him to the magical smoothies (made in the stupid impulse buy magic bullet) with a healthy scoop of protein powder) ... kid is 6 feet plus and if he weighs 120 lbs I'd be amazed.

[heather]

Hiya....this post really caught my eye. I hope you are able to find the answers you need soon.

Hearing some of the things you described made me think of gluten intolerance. It can cause the body to stop absorbing nutrients and leads to many of the issues you talked about. Also, doctors rarely catch it nor is the test the doctor orders very reliable. It's worth it to do a bit of research on gluten intolerance and then maybe check out enterolab for a speicimen test (it's only $99 and it has high accuracy).

Good luck to both of you on this hard journey!