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Start date 9/10/17 with 7 yr old daughter


Lady49er

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Both of my adopted daughters have the same bio-mom but different bio-dads, so therein starts the problem with my 7 year old; both of her bio-parents are very overweight, and she has always been "tubby". We have had her tested for anything and everything that might be causing her weight issues, we've been to a nutritionist, she is incredibly active (dance, cheer, karate, and vigorous outside play for over 15 hours per week), and she eats less junk than her much thinner older sister, but she's 89 pounds at 7 years old. She's comfortable in her skin, but I worry about the health and social issues that may come up for her as she gets older. I'm also sick of getting the third degree from her doctor at every checkup.

Other than her weight, she is incredibly healthy (didn't miss a single day of school in kindergarten or 1st grade and just started 2nd). I feel like we're fighting genetics but decided to try Whole30 with her to maybe reset her cravings for carbs and sugar (and mine). 

Since I can stand to lose a pound or 50, I told her that it's my diet so she wouldn't feel targeted. She agreed to be my eating buddy because there's nothing she likes better than a good challenge! We have been making lists of what we can and can't have and are developing a meal plan to keep us on track. My husband and other daughter have been told they don't have to participate, but they can't sabotage! 

I'm cautiously optimistic, but I'm scared about the reactions our bodies might have as they "detox". I'm an adult and can suck it up, but she's a little kid and has to go to school and all of the aforementioned activities. I'm praying we will both be strong enough to keep each going with our mantra, "It's just 30 days"!

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11 minutes ago, Lady49er said:

Both of my adopted daughters have the same bio-mom but different bio-dads, so therein starts the problem with my 7 year old; both of her bio-parents are very overweight, and she has always been "tubby". We have had her tested for anything and everything that might be causing her weight issues, we've been to a nutritionist, she is incredibly active (dance, cheer, karate, and vigorous outside play for over 15 hours per week), and she eats less junk than her much thinner older sister, but she's 89 pounds at 7 years old. She's comfortable in her skin, but I worry about the health and social issues that may come up for her as she gets older. I'm also sick of getting the third degree from her doctor at every checkup.

Other than her weight, she is incredibly healthy (didn't miss a single day of school in kindergarten or 1st grade and just started 2nd). I feel like we're fighting genetics but decided to try Whole30 with her to maybe reset her cravings for carbs and sugar (and mine). 

Since I can stand to lose a pound or 50, I told her that it's my diet so she wouldn't feel targeted. She agreed to be my eating buddy because there's nothing she likes better than a good challenge! We have been making lists of what we can and can't have and are developing a meal plan to keep us on track. My husband and other daughter have been told they don't have to participate, but they can't sabotage! 

I'm cautiously optimistic, but I'm scared about the reactions our bodies might have as they "detox". I'm an adult and can suck it up, but she's a little kid and has to go to school and all of the aforementioned activities. I'm praying we will both be strong enough to keep each going with our mantra, "It's just 30 days"!

Start removing any junk and sugar from her diet now... start eating close to Whole30 with meat, veggies and fats as a pre-whole30 so that her detox happens while she's still not at school.  Also water is huge so not sure what she drinks but she should be replacing any juice and soda with water... it's scientifically proven that the drinks are what makes a lot of kids overweight so that might be a big thing for her right there, depending on what she consumes.  The more you ease out of the old routines and food and into the new Whole30 way, the better off you'll both be when you start.

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Hi! I just wanted to say that I plan to start on September 10 as well! I don't necessarily have any thoughts or recommendations on your questions but we will be going through this journey together! Let's do this! 

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My then 4 and 6 year old did nearly-Whole30 with me last year. I just didn't want to make two different breakfasts or two different dinners. Their school lunches were sometimes whole30 but I had a hard time finding cold foods that they liked for lunch. They would happily scarf down hot whole30 lunches on the one day a week I ate with them. But otherwise, sandwiches were champion.

Drastically reducing their carbs and sugar (not 100%, as I mentioned), didn't cause them any symptoms at all. So I agree with sugarcubeOD, start cutting that stuff down now. You may be able to really ease the symptoms with her. And everyone goes through it differently.

Good luck!

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  • 2 weeks later...

We kind of actually did that, so it's good to know we're on the right track. She is going to get to have cake this Sunday, ice cream on the 31st of this month, and cookies on September 9th before we start, but that's pretty much it before we start on the 10th until after the end of the 30 days. We are trying riced cauliflower tonight and have been experimenting with different things so we can make that meal plan and stick to it once we start. She generally drinks a small glass of juice in the morning, a small glass of 1% milk with dinner, and has water infused with lime (sometimes a different citrus) the rest of the day.  Thanks for the great advice!! 

The only problem here that still concerns me is that she's already in school, and while we have been working on "no thank you" strategies at lunch and birthday celebration times, I'm hoping it doesn't make her miserably hungry and/ or achy. 

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Ha! I just realized I never submitted the reply I wrote weeks ago! But now looking back on it and all of your great responses and advice, this was definitely the way to go. I started adding almond milk to her 1% with a little more almond and a little less 1% each day, and she now prefers straight almond milk. We started yesterday and she was eager to try new things and didn't complain even once about not getting to have something else. She loves smoothies for breakfast anyway, so we replace the 1% milk with the almond milk, and she's happy. We always use bananas in the smoothies, and yesterday we added a little cocoa powder and today we tossed in a few strawberries to change things up a little. I can't get her to eat eggs except as a cheese loaded omelet and she isn't a fan of potatoes, so I'm glad there's an easy, tasty alternative for breakfast.

Yesterday was Day 1, and it went amazingly smooth for both of us. I made a charcuterie board (minus cheese!) Of mini chicken apple sausage, tri-color mini sweet peppers, and some strawberries, melon, and pistachios. It was so amazing that my husband and other daughter, who are dedicated junk food eaters, dipped into our platter instead of eating their football snacks! Whaaaaat???  Healthy family eating??? Whoa!!

The best part of the day was when the girls went to play at a friend's house and they decided to make a YouTube video and do a candy challenge. The mom took the kids to the store but knew about my youngest one's diet. MiniMe was politely declining all of the sweets, but the mom texted to see if she was allowed to have gum. Of course she can't, so the mom let her pick out a little toy instead. I am so proud of how strong my little one was, and so thankful for the support of the other mom. 

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