The Virtual Nutritionist

Brendon's endocrinologist AND, as of yesterday, his pediatrician have mentioned concern with Brendon's elevated cholesterol and weight. His pediatrician is awesome and I love that he wants every part of Brendon's health, both physically and emotionally, to be just right. I LOVE that.

In any case, I try to be careful about what I buy at the supermarket. I read labels and reject anything with trans fats and high fructose corn syrup. I travel the outer trail of the supermarket, buying the majority of items...whole foods as close to its natural state as possible with as little ingredients listed as possible. But, somtimes I buy things that aren't the best choices....like short-cut foods.

*There are nights when I serve Stove Top Stuffing instead of potatoes.

*I let the kids indulge in cheese cheese glorious cheese when they hound me relentlessly for a snack and I hope that all of that fat and protein suppresses their appetite until dinner is served....20 minutes later.

*I occasionally buy the 100 calorie snack bags for the times when I don't feel like doling out snacks by hand weighing them on the scale and calculating the carbs.

And *gasp* I let Brendon eat school lunches every. single. day.

But, things must change.

At Brendon's last endo appointment, his Doc pointed out that his cholesterol is elevated. She asked what I could do to improve his diet. She also suggested that we make an appointment with his nutritionist to see during his next endo checkup in 3 months.

When I took Brendon to his yearly pediatrician physical, yesterday, we found that:

His height is in the 90th percentile.

His weight....the 97th.

I'm not one of those delusional mothers whose children are clearly obese but claim that their child isn't fat, he's just big boned.

But, I will say that his skeletal and muscular frame is ginormous. My neighbor, whose son is Brendon's best friend, always tells me that she is in awe of his physique and claims he looks like a 15 year old.

Brendon is not obese, btw. He's a big kid, though. And yes, he does have a bit of excess fat on him, but I don't think it's something he won't grow into.

At the rate he is growing, he eats like an adult, but I KNOW that he indulges in snacks too much. Based on his carb intake during meals, I know that his calorie intake is pretty on par with what he should be taking in. So, the snacking has to be tightened up.

I will talk to the nutritionist about whether his weight is OK. I gather she'll tell us it could be taken down a notch.

I enjoy dealing with nutrition, reading about it, figuring out ways to improve it for everyone in my family. In fact, being a nutrionist is something I'm mulling around as a career for when it's time for me to return to work in a couple of years. Must get degree first!

In the meantime, I have already eliminated cheese. He drinks skim milk at every meal, so no worries about getting enough calcium.

I will start to make school lunches...blaaah.

And I will make potatoes instead of Stove Top stuffing.