Any weight issues with your spectrum kiddo's?

[naturemom031]

My daughter at four years old (will be five in July), hasn't lost her "toddler pudge" yet.  She's almost 50 lbs, and looks borderline heavy.  I know that she takes in too many calories, a balanced diet and pickiness is a huge issue for her.  She eats a lot of cheese, and lots of foods topped with mayonaise, which is high in fat too.  I'm really working on reducing the amounts of cheese and mayonaise she'll eat throughout the week.  Sometimes you tend to give in to them just so they'll eat SOMETHING. 

Does anybody else struggle with their children being too heavy or too thin, because of eating issues?

[cherrypop73]

We have a similar problem in our house.  Because of the pickiness, my son can't seem to gain weight.  He's only 5 but he's been weighing in at 40lbs for about 2 years now.  Sadly I can't get anybody to help us with his eating issues and I'm afraid that it will have to come down to him becoming dangerously underweight before they do something. 

Have you tried the lower fat cheeses and mayos?  You probably have but I just thought I'd throw that out there :)

[naturemom031]

Quoting cherrypop73:

We have a similar problem in our house.  Because of the pickiness, my son can't seem to gain weight.  He's only 5 but he's been weighing in at 40lbs for about 2 years now.  Sadly I can't get anybody to help us with his eating issues and I'm afraid that it will have to come down to him becoming dangerously underweight before they do something. 

Have you tried the lower fat cheeses and mayos?  You probably have but I just thought I'd throw that out there :)

Sorry to hear about your situation too.  It sounds like one is just as bad as the other (kids being underweight and overweight).  Yeah, we are doing the lower fat cheeses, which she will eat.  Unfortunately, the low fat mayo's don't taste as good to her, so she won't touch them.  Thanks for the suggestions, though! 

[dandelions2]

While my son is a picky eater, his favorite foods are all pretty healthy things.  He lives off of fruits and veggies.  He's a tiny guy.  He just doesn't seem to get any taller.  He's 4 1/2 and just finally moved into a size 4T.  He was wearing 3T for a couple years.  He is also extremely active.  He has a really hard time sitting still.  He was a very chubby baby, though.  20 pounds at 3 months old.

[AisForAutism]

Hi,
I have had students on both ends of the spectrum on this issue...skinny and heavy. Some was due to special diets and some due to medications. Plus the fact that some kids have motor issues and can't participate in certain activities, their activity level can sometimes be low. So in my experience it's been a bit of all 3...diet issues (good and bad), medication issues and exercise issues.

[lizardmom]

My daughter Cara turns 5 in July and she is 40 pounds. She is tall enough to wear 5Ts and some 6s but she has a 4T waist. She has gained weight in the last year - about 5 pounds or so. She is 95% on her height and 50% on her weight - but the doctors all say her height to weight ratio is okay. Cara goes past picky eater to eating disorder it seems. She has five solid foods she will eat (rainbow goldfish, chocolate chip Pop-Tarts, Moon Pies, Wendy's french fries and fried wontons from one particular Chinese restaurant). And forget french fries from anywhere but Wendy's or fried wontons from any other source! For the last year and a half to two years Cara has been living off of Pediasure. One of the doctors she has seen basically said if she ever gives up Pediasure she will be in the hospital! I get terrified whenever she gets a stomach virus and stops her Pediasure for a couple of days.

[thingz123]

My son Caleb(will be 10 on the 15th of this month) has always had a stockier frame than his brothers, and now he is actually carrying extra weight. He's not dangerously obese, but he has a definite gut and thunder thighs.  We have to watch him because sometimes he sneaks extra food-not all the time, maybe several times a month.  I think most of his problem is that he isn't as physically active as his siblings-they move around more and seem to have a faster metabolism; his older brother eats like a horse and nothing sticks to him. We are working on paying better attention to what all the boys eat and finding meaningful activities he'll participate in where he is getting exercise. Case in point-we are buying him a Wii this summer. He's a video game freak, and if he has to physically participate in the game to accomplish a goal, he will do it.

[MAmom2boys]

My son is 6 and he stands a good head above all the other kindergarteners, but along with beibg tall comes the wieght. He is 75lbs. He wares a 12!!and a 2 in shoes, they dont make cute boys cloths in that size!! The picky eating was a big part. He loves salad ans fruit but sometimes that just is not what he will eat. We went through a stage of frozen food. He didnt want it warmed-up he wanted it frozen!!! I made sure everything was pre-cooked. 

[sclark2007]

My ds was small at birth, 6 lb, 15oz.  He made it up though because he ended up being a chunk!  However, as he got older and more mobile, even though he didn't start walking until he was 21 months, he lost his chunkiness.  He was staying around the 55-58 lb mark, up until about 6 months or so ago, when he started taking Risperdal.  Since he's been on it, he has gained 9 lb.  Therefore, I've had to buy him all new clothes, thank goodness it's summer and school's out for the summer!!  LOL

[naturemom031]

Well, I'm happy to say that my daughter is doing better in some ways.  Her constipation issues became so bad, that something had to be eliminated in her daily diet intake, and the obvious answer had to be the three or four cheese sticks she'd eat everyday.  What I am shocked about is that once I elimated the cheese, she lost the "buddha belly" she had.  Her stomach went down dramatically!  Her behavior has improved, probably because she feels better.  I had to come to the realization that her whole world wasn't going to end because she couldn't have the cheese.  We explained to her that too much cheese was making her tummy upset, and that she can still have it once in a while.  I can't believe she was actually okay about it! (Everything is a battle with her, and she was addicted to those things).... We've also made the mayo thing an occasional treat. 
 
Her constipation issues haven't completely gone away, but she's not passing painful, hard stools anymore...My intentions are not for my daughter to be a "pencil skinny" kid, (she's beautiful no matter how she looks), but to eat a healthier diet and to feel good.  She's also very active, and will be doing gymnastics soon, so I feel like we're on the right track!     

[Samred73]

My son kyle has AS hes bipolar OCD ADHD and has sensory issues... he used to be under weight and never ate he was so picky... but now since hes been on risperdol he eats everything in site and hes always hungry and now hes gone from being almost anorexic to heavy. its bad enough kids make fun of him because hes so diffrent now the weight becomes something else to get teased for .. sucks..

well thsi was my first post i am new just nwo to this group... hi to all of you !!