Daughter 17 wants to fast – is it ok?

This topic contains 9 replies, has 7 voices, and was last updated by TracyJ 10 years, 4 months ago.

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Sue M

9:05 am
3 Aug 14
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My Daughter aged 17 wants to give this a try – She has seen that I have lost 2 stone in the past 8 months, and although she probably only wants to lose about a stone in weight, up to now I have been putting her off saying it isn’t meant for teenagers – but am I being too strict?
She matured physically very young and although she may still grow another inch in the next couple of years I doubt she will do more than that. I would love to tell her to lose weight by exercise only but apart from walking to college each day she doesn’t really enjoy/do sport (nor do any of her friends).
Thoughts please?

Amy C.

11:53 am
3 Aug 14
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Most young women reach their full height and weight (plus some) earlier than young men. I know I was my full height at 13 and started to add on the weight.

No one here is a medical person, but I would think she could give this way of eating a try.

2fast2furious

12:15 pm
3 Aug 14
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To be honest, I’m not sure what you expect to be able to do about it, for the most part it really isn’t your decision what she eats at that age surely? I’d moved out by 17! If she needs to lose a stone, then presumably she would be healthier and happier having done that, so I wouldn’t try to prevent her from doing it. As above, I’m not medical, but I doubt she will be growing much, if at all, at this age, and over-nourished children in general do tend to be taller as well as fatter anyway, even from toddler age.

JulieK1967

3:37 pm
3 Aug 14
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Hi Sue M

Your daughter probably won’t grow any more now at her age. Girls typically reach their adult height by 14 or 15 years of age (unlike boys who keep growing into their late teens). I was 5’2″ when I was 14 & my own daughter was 5’3″ at 14 also, final height.

If she is overweight for her height then it won’t hurt her to do 5:2 I’m sure but it takes dedication & there is no point doing it halfheartedly, as a Mom of 2 grown up kids I know that most 17 year olds have their mind on other things!

Probably better to encourage her to get more active if she isn’t already & eat healthily & reduce portion sizes. Checking the labels on food is a good habit to get into to see what a “portion” actually is. Breakfast cereal is a good example, when you weigh out 40g which is a standard portion it looks like nothing in the bottom of the bowl. People typicall pour in twice as much as the stated amount of cereal without realising the calories in it.

She should be eating plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit, lean meat/fish, wholegrain bread, brown rice/pasta & cut out processed ready meals & junk food (if she eats these a lot). Also swap sugary drinks for sugar free ones or just have water as all carbonated drinks leach calcium from your bones. Swapping to low fat mayonnaise & yoghurts is good but watch for hidden sugar.

Couscous

10:35 pm
3 Aug 14
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I agree with JulieK. Your daughter should look at her “lifestyle” diet, research and choose healthy foods and eat appropriate daily calorie intake. This will firstly stop weight gain and then with some knowledgeable adjustments loose some weight. Check out the FAQ link and read through many of some very knowledgeable posts on diet and weight loss on this site. Remember the 5:2 diet, while it does aim for a weight loss is also about inner health.
Good luck.

HappyNow

6:34 am
4 Aug 14
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Hi Sue,

Intermittent fasting has had a positive effect on my relationship with food (portion size control/no more overeating, healthier food choices) so it might actually be really good for her in terms of not starting down that road of overeating and weight gain? Imagine, a life free from weight worries and fad diets!

Your daughter is not very young, and I don’t think you should attempt to ‘stop’ her. She should be fully informed though, so perhaps you could watch the Horizon programme together, and encourage her to read (and digest) the health bits in the book. Be open and discuss it.

There could possibly be effects on menstruation, but in a supportive environment she may be happier to mention any adverse effects and you could then discuss/address. If you do not support her, she may just do it in secret and/or be more defensive.

When I was her age, I already knew that I wasn’t hungry early in the morning, but my Dad would not let me leave the house without eating breakfast. I’m now maintaining my weight by regularly not eating breakfast (16:8) and guess what? Dad is doing 5:2 and skipping breakfast (and losing weight)! OK, so who actually knew best all those years ago?!

Good luck.

TracyJ

2:37 pm
4 Aug 14
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I wish I’d known about 5:2 when I was 17. I wish I’d known about it when I was 15 actually. Instead I got mum on slimmingworld, mum on atkins, mum on the cabbage soup diet and lots of lovely self-esteem trampling (mum was significantly thinner than me and insisted on calling herself fat & disgusting).

Talk your daughter through the ins & outs, tailor your days so you can do them together and support eachother through them and get her involved in menu planning for them and for non-fastday, so she ‘gets’ the whole ‘good food choices’ and everything in moderation messages.

Good luck to you both. Hopefully she’ll never need a fad diet in her life.

Sue M

8:09 pm
4 Aug 14
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Thanks Julie.

Sue M

8:11 pm
4 Aug 14
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Hi Tracy, thanks for the advice. Yes I think we should do together and i will get her involved in meal choices – good idea!

TracyJ

12:44 pm
5 Aug 14
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I met a girl in the gym last night who was telling her friend how terrible and unhealthy her mother’s new ‘faddy’ ‘fashionable’ diet was and how she’d had to talk her into having a sandwich because her mum had been insisting on not eating all day. Guess what the ‘faddy’ diet turned out to be!

Needless to say I had to stick my oar in and tell her about 5:2 from the POV of someone who’s been on it for 2 years, dropped 4 stone and actually only even started it for the health benefits. Hopefully that’s one mother who can expect a bit of support from her daughter in the future rather than sabotaging her fastdays.