How much is too much food?

[AFWife]

We've done BLW from the start. DS didn't care about food until he was 9 months old...and his appetite has gone up slowly since then. He'll be a year in a few days. This child can EAT. I remember Dr. Sears saying, "measure the amount of food compared to your child's fist." This is no longer true for my son! He can put away half an avacado worth of guac or almost a whole egg...

I feed him as much as he'll eat...is that okay? I guess I'm paranoid about his becoming obese...

[cristeen]

How little is your guy that his fist is so much smaller than an egg? At 6 mos, my guy's fist is about the size of an egg.

That being said, avocado and egg are both very healthy foods to be eating, so I wouldn't worry about it. Is he still BF? Even the avo or egg (while high in fat and calories) don't have nearly as many fat/calories as BM.

And you have to realize that at 12 mos, he's going to be eating more and more - I would follow his lead on that. You're not going to be able to portion control him for the rest of his life, and truth be told you have no idea how hungry he is at that moment.

I understand the fear of "childhood obesity" that the mainstream media has instilled in us all, but if your LO's fave foods right now are avo and egg (and not cheerios/pasta), then I don't think you really have too much to be concerned about at the moment.

[AFWife]

I guess his hand is the same as an egg...I kind of eyeball it (and eggs look like so much more after they're cooked you know?)

Originally Posted by cristeen

I understand the fear of "childhood obesity" that the mainstream media has instilled in us all, but if your LO's fave foods right now are avo and egg (and not cheerios/pasta), then I don't think you really have too much to be concerned about at the moment.

He eats the same things that we do at meals. I just give him a smaller portion with smaller pieces. He's always been big for his age (as a lot of EBF babies are) We recently took out the HFCS products from the house (well, DH refuses to give up his poptarts lol) but the baby doesn't eat anything with artificial dyes or whatnot in it.

I guess you're right...stupid media.

[Pavlovs]

Originally Posted by cristeen

I understand the fear of "childhood obesity" that the mainstream media has instilled in us all, but if your LO's fave foods right now are avo and egg (and not cheerios/pasta), then I don't think you really have too much to be concerned about at the moment.

On this board, parents are quite health conscious. But to trash the MSM about pushing parents into caring better about what their children eat and how much exercise they get when there truly is an epidemic in this country seems out of line. Even the First Lady has made this her agenda - to me that shows that it really is something that mainstream parents need to be pushed on. Have you seen what lurks in school lunchrooms? Or the drive-thru lines at fast food restaurants? Being conscious of what your children eat is a good thing, and as I don't think the OP has anything to worry about in her case, it makes her all the better parent that she is aware of what her child is eating.

I'm not normally a defender of the MSM, but in this case I think they're on the right track.

[Kelly1101]

I let Em eat as much as she wants, which is an ENORMOUS amount. We still bf but I'm pregnant so I don't want to limit her food. She is definitely not becoming obese, she's crazy tall/thin which runs in my family.

To make sure it's healthy, I offer water constantly (so that she doesn't confuse thirst for hunger) and I don't let her eat too much fatty foods but give her all the fruits and veggies she wants.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by Pavlovs

On this board, parents are quite health conscious. But to trash the MSM about pushing parents into caring better about what their children eat and how much exercise they get when there truly is an epidemic in this country seems out of line.

How on earth did I do that? I told the OP that I understood her concerns, but that if her LO's fave foods are egg and avo then chances are good that she's doing something right and obesity shouldn't be a big concern at the moment. A child who is getting egg and avocado isn't exactly on the fast track to obesity like a child who is getting poptarts and cheetos. And eggs and avo are not foods that I personally would worry about attempting to restrict just because they are healthy choices and contain essential healthy fats.

[Pavlovs]

Originally Posted by cristeen

How on earth did I do that?

Hmm, perhaps I misinterpreted your post, but when you put childhood obesity in quotes it made it seem to me that you didn't think there was an epidemic, but that the mainstream media had fabricated it. My apologies if I read your post incorrectly.

[CourtBChase]

Originally Posted by Kelly1101

I let Em eat as much as she wants, which is an ENORMOUS amount. We still bf but I'm pregnant so I don't want to limit her food. She is definitely not becoming obese, she's crazy tall/thin which runs in my family.

To make sure it's healthy, I offer water constantly (so that she doesn't confuse thirst for hunger) and I don't let her eat too much fatty foods but give her all the fruits and veggies she wants.

I just wanted to point out that you don't need to limit fats in toddlers, it's important for brain development.