Jump to content

Is my teenage son eating enough?


KDJ

Recommended Posts

I have been concerned about my 16-yr. old son since he hasn't been feeling well since beginning the Whole 30 program.  He is very slim, and seems to be very dizzy anytime he gets up, and pretty lethargic in general.  Someone recommended that I post 3 days of his diet to get any ideas.  So here it goes:

 

Day 1:

 

Breakfast:

2 soft boiled eggs for breakfast with strawberries, pear slices and kiwi (about 3/4 cup)

 

Lunch:

Large chef salad with roasted chicken, avocado, tomatoes, and ranch dressing (from recipe in It Starts with Food)

 

Snack:

Raw cashews, orange slices, banana

 

Dinner:

Chili (2 bowls), Side Salad, Blackberries

 

He has also been drinking about 72 oz of water daily and sleeps for about 8 hours per night.

 

Day 2:

 

Breakfast:

Sausage/Apple Concoction (recipe from It Starts with Food)

 

Snack:

Apple 

 

Lunch:

Hamburger Patty over lettuce with avocado, tomatoes, etc., grapes

 

Snack:

Raw cashews, banana

 

Dinner:

Roasted chicken leg and thigh, baked sweet potato, green beans

 

Day 3:

 

Breakfast:

2 egg omelet with mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers and fruit

 

Lunch:

Chef Salad with chicken and ranch dressing and apple

 

Snack:

Cashews and fruit

 

Dinner:

Salmon cakes with tartar sauce, cooked cabbage, cooked carrots, salad

 

Overall, he is just really hungry within 2 hours of eating and he is feeling extremely lethargic and dizzy anytime he stands up.  He only weighs 120 lbs. and is 6 feet tall, so I know he doesn't have a lot of reserves to use.  Any advice would be so appreciated!  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He is definitely not eating enough. A moderator will be able to tell you exactly how much he should be eating, since he is still growing, he may need more than 3 template meals. Also, if he does workouts, then we will need a pre & post workout snacks in addition to the regular meals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From my experience I would work on what he is having for breakfast as they are way too small for a 6' teenage boy. Breakfast on day 1 should have been 4 eggs minimum plus lots of veggies and a huge dollop of good fat, having fruit sets him up for a sugar crash and 2 eggs is not nearly enough. Ditch the fruit in general and get him to eat his veg. Without a really good, substantial breakfast I find the rest of the day is spent playing catch up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Agreed: he's not eating enough.

From what you listed, here's what I'd specifically suggest:

- Up the eggs, veggies and fat, especially at breakfast and dinner.

- Aim for the higher end of the template: 2 palms of protein and 2-3 cups of veggies at every meal. Don't let fruit push veggies off his plate. Salad/lettuce tends to not be very satiating: add some cooked veggies to those meals. As part of those tweaks, aim for 2 fist-sized servings of carb-dense vegetables daily.

- If he's working out, add a pre wo meal of protein and fat and post wo meal of protein and optional carb.

Further, take a look at this article for more tips on maintaining weight on a Whole30:

http://whole30.com/2013/12/keeping-weight-whole30/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chris got you going in the right direction.  One more comment, because I've been noticing this lately: a regular hamburger patty is not a "palm" of meat. A giant burger at a fancy restaurant might be and it is possible to make them at home, but what most people think is a filling meal-size burger is filling because of the bun. Unless you make them giant, have two patties and give your son three.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your tips.  One issue we are having is that he has never been a big egg lover.  So he has not been willing to eat more than two eggs at breakfast.  I guess I will need to supplement with meat at breakfast.  Would white potatoes be okay to add back in for him, or should we stick with just sweet potatoes?  I've been tempted to add brown rice with some of his meals, but I want to do what is best for him so that he reaps the benefits of the Whole 30.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

white potatoes are permitted on the whole30, brown rice is not, so I would start with potatoes.

 

Post-whole30 you could experiment with white rice for him. Contrary to conventional wisdom, brown rice is harder to digest and less bio-available. White rice might work for a relatively problem-free starch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for your tips.  One issue we are having is that he has never been a big egg lover.  So he has not been willing to eat more than two eggs at breakfast.  I guess I will need to supplement with meat at breakfast.  Would white potatoes be okay to add back in for him, or should we stick with just sweet potatoes?  I've been tempted to add brown rice with some of his meals, but I want to do what is best for him so that he reaps the benefits of the Whole 30.

He doesn't need to eat eggs at all.  :)

 

Start thinking about breakfast as "meal 1" - anything you eat at the other two meals of the day, you can have at breakfast.  Google Whole30 non-egg breakfast to get links to lots of past discussion threads on this topic, or look at this thread of non-traditional breakfasts for inspiration.

Sure, potatoes would be a good carb-dense veggie to add. Here is a great seasonal produce guide to give you ideas on other in-season veggies to include in his rotation of 2-3 cups at every meal. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

For breakfast this morning I chopped one small red onion, one poblano chili pepper, one red potato, one Japanese eggplant and cooked these in ghee with a small can of tomato paste, salt, garlic powder, turmeric, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. I added a few ounces of water to get things going and a palm-size portion of previously cooked shredded sirloin tip as my protein. It would have made a better meal if I had added a handful of green olives to boost the fat content. 

 

I love eggs, but have been eating "supper" food at breakfast and 4 fried eggs and sauerkraut as my last meal of the day because that is what works best at my house lately. 

 

I am 6'2" and weigh 184 pounds.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...