Raising an athelete (not OT!!)

Anybody out there have kids in upper level competetive sports? I do. And I've really packed on the pounds in the past 7 months partly as a result of that. I have a teenage swimmer. 14 years old, 6 ft tall and 155 lbs. Growing at the speed of light. Three years ago when I didn't know better and he started full time swimming...I held back on the carbs. I figured protein protein protein...all about building muscle right? Well I nearly killed him. He got dark circles under his eyes, got very thin, was very tired all the time and began to cry after swimming saying he just couldn't do it. I took him to the pediatrician who, after examining him and asking me some questions....just as sensitively has he could said, "Well Mrs. B_________. You just need to take this boy home and feed him." And so I did. More carbs. Ok I get it. I gained then too. Then he only swam in the summer and I didn't pay too much attention to diet. Now he's decided swimming is his thing and he's gone back to year round. And now all I think about is carbs carbs carbs. Where can I get more carbs for him? Gotta find carbs. All my favorites: crackers, pasta, fruits (bananas yum) rice, pizza! It just flows on and on. Thank goodness he is NOT a sugar baby and is at the age where he's paying attention to that kind of thing. He knows that sugar is poison even to him. But even the pasta with vegetable salads that he loves drive me crazy and are not the best choice for me at this time. Everything he can eat I can eat more of! So I think that's why this surgery will be a great tool for me in the long run...at least that's what I'm praying. But for now, I'm trying to get off some weight before surgery and I have all these carbs in my face all the time. He's also homeschooled so he's here and the food flows all the time for him. And...he burns it right off. He needs this kind of stuff. The cereal bars and potatoes and corn chips...they are everywhere. And we go through it like Grant went through Richmond. It's tormenting when you're a person who has to take off weight and yet be faced with that every day. I call it the CarboHighway to Hell. Please tell me that torment will ease after the surgery!!! I realize I have to deal with those demons on some level but I'm so hoping to have some degree of the desire taken away and ultimately be able to say, "Eh....I don't want that stuff anyway....I'd rather have__________ (something healthy)." Any thoughts or suggestions would be GREAT. Have a great day in this gorgeous Virginia sunshine! Amy

Wow Amy, If anyone had a good excuse for hitting the carb bandwagon, it's you. I didn't have a growing boy to feed, but I still did my best to eat every carb in the book before I had surgery. Carbs are NOT evil, as you have found with your boy, carbs are an essential nutrition without which you are in seriously bad shape. That said, there are some carbs that we all can do without. I try to go by the "no whites" rule, no white flour, sugar, rice. Everything else is fair game. Develop a love for brown rice, whole grain breads, fresh fruits and vegetables, and leave the white pasta in the dust. If you must cook the white pasta for your boy, just cook enough for him, and load your own plate with the protein. As for chips and (most) cereal bars, you really don't need them in your house, even for your growing boy. If God forbid, he were injured and couldn't burn off the calories the way he does now, believe me, he would start packing the pounds on too. Maybe a session or two with a good nutritionist would help. I know all this is very hard for you, and I wish you the best of luck. BTW, after surgery, for at least the first 6 months, you won't feel like eating much of anything and you won't feel any physical hunger (head hunger is a different animal all together). That is the best time to start developing those healthy eating and exercise habits for a lifetime commitment. Good luck, Carole

Been there, done that and bought numerous T-Shirts. I too have children that are very competitive. I have a 14 year old daughter that plays year around, highly competitive travel softball and a 11 year old son just starting down that road with travel baseball. It is a fine line that you must follow for yourself and your children. They are working so much, they burn it right off. But alas, that doesn't happen for us. The weekends are always a packing chore. Spending all day Saturday and Sunday at tournaments and thru the week at various practices puts me on the field nearly 24/7. It was definitely a learning curve. I had my surgery in March of last year and then my husband had his in April of last year. I soon realized that "snackbar food" wasn't healthly for anyone and we would need to pack 2 coolers to make it thru the days. One for the kids and one for us. Sometimes this activity becomes packing 4 coolers when the kids are in different locations. But then the travel factor comes in. Very frequently we are spending days in airports and travelling hours in a car up and down the east coast. This again becomes a chore because its very hard to pack a cooler and take it on a plane or pack chairs, tents, bat bags, luggage and everything else needed for the weekend in a small car. Needless to say, I have earned a reputation with my teams as being "high maintenance". But that's ok, because they mean it in the best of terms. They have been very supportive and given a list of my "special needs" they assist in making sure those are met when making team accommodations. By special needs I mean booking hotels that have exercise equipment available, in room refrigerators (to store my protein and left over's from group meals I can't finish) and even making sure that we are near a grocery store so I can get the food items that we need since I didn't bring a cooler on the plane. My only advice to you on this is, still think about yourself and make sure you put your needs first when you are on the go. Athlete parent's tend to nurture others before they nurture themselves. It may sound selfish but by taking care of yourself first, you'll have more energy, be more successful with WLS and will be around longer to watch your children grow up to be healthy, happy adults. Sandy

God Bless you Sandy! I needed to hear that this very morning!!! Amazing how our lives are so similar with two entirely different sports! Although....my son does karate also and we went to a championship not long ago and my husband and I looked at each other. We could tell the same thought was rolling through....."Wow. This is just like having a dryland swim meet!" Thanks and have a great day! Amy