skinny teen how to gain weight

sud1

My son who is 13 is very slight for his age..he is 90lbs and around 5 foot at the moment..he has a very small appetite would quite happily go with out food for hours and hours never has a real desire for dinners etc....

He plays alot of sport training at least twice a week and maybe three matches or more per week..I really don't know how he survives...

He is a very fussy eater and has issues with most of the dinner we have as a family as he has to pick stuff out etc...

This week I got him some fresubin energy protein drinks which he will take so I am giving him one a day to help increase his protein levels....

Does anybody have any suggestions in helping him gain weight or supplements that I should be giving him...

Thanks in advance

gymsoldier

Being as young as he is, it is extremly important for developement, for your son to be eating a balance diet. Can you give more imformation on your sons eating habbits, foods he eats, foods he dislikes, and foods he's willing to try.

sud1

Thanks for replying gymsoldier,

He likes potatoes/chips/chicken/steak/pork/lamb/ham/burgers/bread/beans(he eats small quantity's of these he does not like them mixed in with anything i.e stews,curry's,stir frys,anykind of sauces...he dissects all dinners..

Breakfast either cornflakes or weekabix...he hates the whites of eggs will eat the yolk...

Lunch if I can force one in is a ham sandwich he used like cheese in them but now doesn't like that either...

He dislikes rice/pasta/noodles/sausages/mince(in the form of spag bol/lasagna) all veg most fruit very rarely he will eat an apple

People tell me feed him what he likes but this is difficult when your cooking for a family that are not fussy and will eat most things and I really don't have the time to make two dinners a night...

Twigster

i wouldn't force feed him, you're sending out a bad body image to him if you tell him he should be putting on weight, i'm 30 and weigh about 60kg, so about 120lb i think? some people naturally have a physique like that, at 13 he's still growing, and as long as he's eating when he's hungry i'd leave him be, you'll give him a complex.

but as said try give him a balanced variety or try throwing in a good multi vitamin.

sud1

Ya thats what I am afraid of but he is already conscious of it as as he plays sport and is called names by people on the other team like you skinny little f***er etc so he himself wants to gain weight but as you said his physique is naturally slight as is mine but as women its fine for me but for him it is a problem...

MrPain

Whats his view on milk, its a high calories, high protein food thats easy to consume in high quantities.

sud1

He drinks full fat milk maybe 2 glasses with dinner and in cereals..

travnett

If the rest of the family are not fussy eaters then why don't you cook once or twice a week stuff that he likes and you all eat it. If he doesn't like veg then you can just add that as a side to your dinners. There is plenty you can cook for him and your family form the list that you gave of what he likes.

Also the milk thing is a good idea, if he drinks a liter of whole milk a day thats an extra 600 calories which he wasn't getting before. It has lots of protein, fat and carbs which will help him in building muscle as he trains with his sports. Also as you say he is only 13 his body is still growing and also being a teenager it is natural that he is a fussy eater.

Does he eat much chocolate, sweets, Mc Donald's etc..?

sud1

Thanks...

I know i should probably make more of an effort with making separate portions for him..but its hard to fit it in when working full time and cooking for the rest of the family in the evenings...and I also would like him to try other foods so he gets a varied diet...

I will up the milk intake with him as that should be easy to do...

He is not a huge sweet/crisp eater...he does like chocolate maybe 4 bars a week...

Mcdonalds maybe once a month but would quite happily eat it everyday if given the chance...

Thanks again its great to get advice on it as I find it difficult with him as its hard to feed a child who does not seem to have a natural hunger..

gymsoldier

sud1 wrote: »

cooking for a family that are not fussy and will eat most things

A suggestion maybe would cook all the dinners suited to your son, since the rest of your family are not fussy they shouldn’t mind the meals. Then in time slowly start adding in new food items, larger portions.

Changing eating habits will not occur over night, it is a process that will take time. Especially now at the age of 13, he may be stubborn to try new foods. But that is all the natural process of developing independence etc.

Milk was suggested, and is a great way to get those much needed calories in.

sud1

Oh god if I was to give everyone else his food I would have issues with them and that would end up being a whole other issue..His diet is so boring I really can't see anyone else putting up with it

gymsoldier

sud1 wrote: »

Oh god if I was to give everyone else his food I would have issues with them and that would end up being a whole other issue..His diet is so boring I really can't see anyone else putting up with it

Have you asked your son what he dislikes about sauses and pasta's etc. Is it the taste or texture he does not like?

DL Saint

sud1 wrote: »

Ya thats what I am afraid of but he is already conscious of it as as he plays sport and is called names by people on the other team like you skinny little f***er etc so he himself wants to gain weight but as you said his physique is naturally slight as is mine but as women its fine for me but for him it is a problem...

It's not a nice feeling being a skinny build. He sounds like he has a body of an ectomorph. I also have this body type. Naturally skinny build, very little muscle but also very little fat. Very fast metabolism.

I also used to be a very picky eater. If I ate something it had to be dry. I did not eat: fish, eggs, steak, milk, rice, cheese, noodles, green veg etc... I used to play football and did cross country running which didn't help my skinny-ness. At the age of 15 I started going to a gym. I had no real understanding of what I was doing and after a year in the gym I went from 50kg at 5.5ft to 54kg at the same height. Where it all changed for me was when a man of very large stature approached me in the gym and told me how he used to be like me, the skinny kid who could put on no weight. He told me that I needed to increase my meals to six a day (I was barely eating two), and to increase my carb intake.

I tried this as I was very fed up being skinny at this stage. In the first year I went up to around 70kg and was happy with my muscle gain and my overall physique. Now I am no longer a picky eater and will try anything to see if I like it. I used to be almost scared of eggs and bananas and now I eat them every day.

Anyway sorry about the long post. I just wanted to tell you of how gains can be achieved with a skinny frame if you have the right drive. If your son is fed up being skinny maybe he would consider trying more foods. Just start him off with sampling different foods and he may develop a liking for them. I hope this has helped.

Best of Luck,
DL Saint

sud1

gymsoldier... he dislikes the texture of things like pasta/rice/onion/mushroom etc and the taste of curries and pasta sauces etc...


DL Saint... thanks for the detailed post good to hear that you have come out the other side of being a fussy eater and now will eat anything...
I think your right about him having the body of an ectomorph...just had a quite google and looks like your spot on..must read up a bit more..

I still cant imagine him having six meals as like you he barely eats two..that will take some work but as you said if he really want to gain weight that is what he will have to do...

Thanks again to everyone for the input..

syklops

My advice: Do nothing.

I was a fussy eater and was painfully thin when I was his age. I went to bed one night a fussy eater, and woke up the next morning at the age of 15 and ate my mother out of house and home. I'm talking three double decker ham sandwiches as a snack before dinner. I am now (13 years later)trying to lose weight.

I remember staying at a relatives house without my parents when I was about 9 and she cooked about 3 different meals trying to get me to eat. I didnt have the confidence at the time, but I want to scream "Leave me the F**k alone. Im not hungry. Ill let you know when I am". The absolutely worst thing you can do is make an issue out of it. If he is not hungry, he's not hungry.

Dont go cooking only his food, dont give him 'special' food, don't take him to a 'specialist', just let him be a normal kid.

As for kids calling him names like "Skinny f**ker", I got news for you, if and when he puts on weight, they'll call him a "fat f**ker", when he gets spots he'll be called the spotty f**ker. If he is half a centimetre taller than the rest of the kids, they'll call him the tall f**ker, and if he is half a centimetre shorter than the rest they'll call him shorty. Kids call each other names. They find something that you dont like about yourself, and manipulate it, and not in a nice way. Not a lot you can do about it.

sud1

Syklops..

I know what you mean about the mane calling and as you say there is always something that stands out with children...so this is something he will just have to accept as a part of growing up...

His dad and I for a long time have hoped that one day he will wake up hungry and have being doing most of what you say as in not cooking special meals but recently I find myself thinking if he isn't well nourished he will not develop and his whole health will be affected by it( in saying that he actually rarely sick has only been on antibiotic twice in his life)
He hasn't really hit puberty yet physically that is the attitude is well established...

It just a worry to see somebody existing on so little...