Hi Keto Fam
I need your help desperately. I have the opportunity to greatly improve my teen daughters quality of life and possibly steer her away from a lifetime of disease.
Looking at my daughter, I have noticed that she has dark discolorations on her face and neck. Similar to diabetics. She’s also very heavy chested which is odd for her age. She’s only 13 years old. Her weight has always been in the normal rage and it is still normal but on the very high end. I’m also noticing fat around her waist and a little belly, even though she’s thin. I believe that she may have PCOS aka diabetes jr. I’m also noticing a scary addiction to sugar. As her keto Mom, I’ve had some success pulling back the sugar, carbs and desserts. But it’s not enough. She needs more help and she needs to go keto. Her skin is a disaster, she’s already having pain in her knees and her cycles have become irregular. I feel that if I can pull her into this way of eating at only 13 years old, it could set her up for a very healthy future.
I took her to the Dr as soon as I started noticing these irregularities. Her Dr has referred her to a pediatric endocrinologist to do some testing and check her BG. Her appointment isn’t for another couple of months (heavily booked) but I want to make changes now.
Here’s my first dilemma. Her sugar addiction is real and very powerful. Even though the kid never grew up with juice or soda or cereal or even a lot of processed snacks, she loves pasta, bread, fast food and fancy desserts. (Totally my fault. I failed her there) She’s old enough to get sugar out of the vending machine if she can’t fight her cravings. I can’t fully control her diet 100%. I’m going to let her school lunch account run empty to force her to take her lunch and eat the yummy keto foods that I’ve cooked.
Second dilemma, I don’t know how to do keto for kids. She’s still growing (taller than me already) and she has nutritional needs that are different from mine. Does she need 20grams of carbs or maybe more? Does she need as much fat? Dr Baker advises against putting kids on keto diets. Dr Fung doesn’t want them to fast. But I’ve got to do something to save my baby. I can’t let her wait until age 40 to realize she has to change.
So I need everything you’ve got. Advice, science articles, websites, YouTube videos…everything. I’ve got to figure out how to make this work for her. She’s 90% on board because she’s embarrassed by her skin and wants it to improve but she doesn’t believe me when i tell her sugar addiction can be cured. I’ve forced her to listen to two keto dudes but she doesn’t trust their advice. Which brings me to my third dilemma. Her grandparents, teachers, friends, society even the Dr tell her the exact opposite of the advice that I give her. She’s spouting off SAD babble that will turn her fat and unhealthy. Her grandparents feel that I am obese (even though I’m down 63 pounds) and therefore contradict my advice quite often because they don’t feel that fat people are capable of giving diet advice. I’m literally in a fight for her mind. I have three things going for me: 1) my husband trusts me and reinforces my advice, 2) I’m a living example of how powerful keto can be (she’s watched with amazement as I have lost 60 pounds in five months) 3) my daughter worships me and she really wants to believe this can work for her.
Long post but I really need your expertise keto family. This is not about weight. Her weight is fine and I would never allow a 13 yo to let that be a focus. This is about healing her. Let’s help this kid.