Yet Another Cycling Forum
Random Musings => Miscellany => Kidstuff => Topic started by: mrcharly-YHT on 03 November, 2011, 02:01:09 pm
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We have a problem with the 13-yr-old. He is consistently suffering from exhaustion in the mornings. He's getting to sleep ok most nights (a bit late but nothing excessive). However he hardly eats in the morning. Maybe grabs a croissant but that's it.
I reckon that protein first thing can help greatly with mental alertness (ISTR several studies on this). But what protein? He isn't vegetarian. Time is an issue.
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Do you eat brekkers together as a family?
Hard to pass up on a bowl of porridge or a fry up if everyone else is having one.
If there's not a family breakfast, does the school do breakfasts?
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Eggs are quick, especially scrambled. If he needs to grab and run, scramble some eggs, cut the croissant in half, pile the eggs in, a bit of ketchup (if wanted) and off he goes.
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probably want low GI rather than protein?
taller guy sometimes has just yoghurt/banana or takes a sarnie if he doesn't feel like eating before he leaves
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Like his sister (and mum), if you try to get him to eat carbs as soon as he gets up, he's likely to puke them back up 10 minutes later.
No, we don't eat together. I've usually left the house before anyone else wakes. When we lived on the boat, the kids had to be up much earlier (40min drive to school), so I made him reddiebrek. He's gone off that now (see comment above about puking). He might cope with a fryup - although my bank balance might not survive it.
Hmm - I might try getting a variety of nuts and making him a 'breakfast snack' container, that he can grab a handful of before leaving the house.
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He's a teenager. They're engineered to be useless in the mornings. Fact.
But for protein, well, eggses (gollumm). Microwave scramble is low-hassle, and boiled is awesome.
BACON. SAUSAGES. YOGHURT. There's a metric ton of this stuff, it's not hard.
From the school of paleo eating: do an extra steak or chicken-breast in the evening and serve as a brekky salad.
Mind you, I still reckon it's the being-13-ness of it that's the cause, not his choice of snack.
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Its all very well saying "he's 13, get used to it" but that doesn't mesh with the real world. As this is the youngest of 6, I've seen teen behaviour before. This is a bit different. He doesn't get going in the afternoon, just gets more exhausted.
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Medics/scientists have claimed that protein for breakfast helps to keep you going in the morning, as well as low GI.
Full English Breakfast!, depending on how you feel about the fat content. Or a protein drink.
Having said that, I used to have egg and bacon before school, and I was still extremely knackered all day. Listening to the radio all night every night might have had something to do with it! Don't let Charlie junior have internet access after 10 pm.
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Kids that age need a proper cooked breakfast.
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Or a protein drink.
Milkshake? Whatever flavour he prefers? Easy enough to down a large glass of chocolate milk...
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I am much better when starting things on protein, it seems to boost me much better than carbs do.
Eggsies are a definite go in my world...I eat quite a lot of them! If he's not a fan of scrammied eggs, could you maybe boil a couple when you get up and leave them for him to eat when he's up? Cold boiled eggsies is yummy and sets me up nicely for the day when I get an extra 5 mins to do them!
There are also some good protein shake type things as others have mentioned. I had one in banananana flavour for a while as it's quick and easy and if I was in a rush I could drink it on the way to the yard. Just mind the sugar content, a lot of them are surprisingly high!
Worst comes to the worst, I tend to find a bananana on its own tends to help a bit!
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When I was that age I used to cook myself a one egg cheese omelette every morning
Before that I got myself cornflakes with milk
Vorsprung jnr is 14 and a breakfast resistor. At the moment Vanilla flavoured yoghurt and some fruit works. We do get reports of heavy snacking at morning break time at school
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Milkshakes and eggs and all that are great if your stomach can deal with enough of it, and you don't mind the fat. Some of the wey protein powders* body builders buy are easier to digest. Maximuscle is a good one, and sometimes discounted at H&B. I suppose real food is preferable though, as well as being cheaper!
* To mix with water to make a drink.
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If he can't face much of anything first thing, can't he take some cheese or boiled eggs for morning break? He might do better with a 'packed elevenses' as well as lunch.
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Like his sister (and mum), if you try to get him to eat carbs as soon as he gets up, he's likely to puke them back up 10 minutes later.
Jeez his sister is also his mum :o :o :o
Is that even legal?
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NFN, less common in Yorkshire except where the sheep are real mingers.
I would suggest a flapjack when arriving at school.
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Baked beans on toast?
Kippers/smoked mackeral - they can be warmed in the microwave in 30 seconds.
Poached egg or microwaved scrambled egg?
Pot of yoghurt?
A chunk of cheese to eat on the way to school?
Bananananana?
Peanut butter on toast?
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I'm on a minimal-carb diet and either have an omlette (which takes about 3 minutes but would be nicer with toast) or a yoghurt, cream and trail mix combo. Doesnt need much cream, but I find the fat content keeps me full for longer compared to when I have honey instead so I end up eating less through the day.
Bacon & eggs is a once-a-week treat (and it's tomorrow!! :D )
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Update:
I spent a small fortune stocking up on an assortment of dried fruit and nuts. If he complains of being hungry just before bedtime, I give him a bowl of these. Sometimes he has some in the mornings.
Not a single day of school since I started doing this.
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Update:
I spent a small fortune stocking up on an assortment of dried fruit and nuts. If he complains of being hungry just before bedtime, I give him a bowl of these. Sometimes he has some in the mornings.
Not a single day of school since I started doing this.
Make sure he cleans his teeth after eating these; they are acidic and high in sugar. Young teeth decay much more readily than old ones.
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Making sure he cleans his teeth?
Trying to 'make' a 5' 10" teenager do anything they don't want to is . . . difficult.
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Agreed. Inform him that:
Teeth are most susceptible to decay in the first few years after they erupt.
Permanent teeth are irreplaceable. (Various replacements are not as good as the Real Thing though they are improving.)
Dental work is expensive and can be unpleasant; heavily filled teeth often require crowns in midlife.
Toothlessness is not sexy; bedside dentures do not a woman's desires arouse.
The choice is up to him.
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He gets the horror stories from me - I have a mouthful of metal - but is bone-idle when it comes to things like basic hygiene (washing hands, brushing teeth, showering). I only stopped him pissing all over the toilet and adjacent carpet by saying if he didn't stop, I'd be telling him off loudly enough that everyone heard, including his friends and older siblings.
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Is this puking business normal? Unless you're rushing your food (or it's very fatty/sugary), that doesn't sound healthy.
(Never had fried stuff for school-day breakfast, but variations on toast/cereal were essential. All my friends were the same. )
Anyway ...
Maybe decent-sized snacks for morning break, e.g. from:
Baked beans on toast?
Kippers/smoked mackeral - they can be warmed in the microwave in 30 seconds.
Poached egg or microwaved scrambled egg?
Pot of yoghurt?
A chunk of cheese to eat on the way to school?
Bananananana?
Peanut butter on toast?
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Buy Master Charly a big box of chewing gum if he's not going to brush his teeth.
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Not a bad idea. Although if you heard his speculation about how much chewing gum would you have to swallow before you noticed it coming out the other end . . .
The puking thing is the same with his mother and sister. Personally I think it is a low blood-sugar thing, just like you get after riding through the night. WeCyclists know that the answer is to get a small easily digestible bit of food down, then 20 min later you'll be up to a large meal.
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I hesitated before suggesting gum, because it can be bad for the stomach. But I think the risk of that is less than the risk of bad teeth if you don't do anything at all to clean your teeth. (Chewing gum creates saliva that cleans the teeth somewhat).