I have written several articles on what Jon likes to eat and gluten-free kid-friendly choices.  Surprisingly this hasn’t helped us out recently because Jon has become extremely picky.  I am sure some of it is control on his part and maybe a touch laziness, but the bottom line is that he was not eating enough to maintain his weight. 

It just so happened that Jon had gym this year first quarter and they weighed the kids at the beginning and the end of the quarter.  Jon just mentioned in passing that he had lost 7 lbs in 9 weeks.  That certainly caught my attention.  Was it because he wasn’t eating enough?  Was it because he may have been ingesting gluten?  I suspected that it had to do with the amount of food he was taking in (or not taking in).  Because he takes medication for ADHD, he is often not hungry when they eat lunch at school (10:30 AM – he had an earlier lunch and I asked his guidance counselor to move it later).  I have tried to impress upon him the importance of taking in enough food to fuel his body, especially since hockey season has started up, but his teenage boyness has made that difficult. 

When I was at a hockey meeting last week, I chatted with the goalie coach about Jon’s weight loss and he suggested I talk with Jon’s doctor or the school trainer.  Since Jon and I see the same doctor and I was in there the following day, I asked him.  He definitely thought that this needed to be addressed and suggested starting with the school trainer because they are right there at the school.  The trainer was very responsive and he met with Jon to come up with a plan for him taking into account that he needs to follow the gluten-free diet. 

Our first step is keeping a food diary for 3 days so that we can get an accurate account of what he is taking in.  He needs to be taking in 3000+ calories/day and is currently at a max of 2500, which probably accounts for him being about 10 lbs underweight.  The trainer gave Jon some suggestions that I had given in the past, but were much better received coming from him.  I have also switched Jon from skim milk back to whole milk.  He drinks about 5-6 cups of milk/day and whole milk has an additional 60 calories/cup than skim milk does. 

I think the key to the success of this is the trainer keeping in communication with Jon.  If he meets with Jon regularly, Jon is more likely to stay focused and eat like he needs to. 

Some of the things Jon likes today (that very well may change tomorrow)

• Quaker chocolate rice cakes with peanut butter & jelly (breakfast & before practice)
• Bananas
• Yogurt
• Muscle milk
• Milk shakes
• Rice
• Baked potatoes
• Burgers (with cheese on Udi’s Gluten-Free buns)
• French fries
• Tacos
• Gatorade (before practice)
• Chipotle burrito bowls with extra sour cream & cheese
• Cocoa Pebbles bars
• Shrimp scampi
• Fried eggs
• Bacon
• Whole milk
• Apple juice
• Cool Ranch Doritos
• Mandarin oranges
• Corn
• Broccoli
• Carrots

If Jon fails to gain weight or the trainer determines from his 3-day food diary that he isn’t getting enough calories or nutrients, he will be referred to a sports nutritionist. I am just thankful that we have the help of the team trainer to make sure he is healthy.