Teen girl suddenly eating like a horse and gaining weight?

Question

Hi. My 16 year old girl has recently started eating more, and it seems to have escalated to the point where she is constantly snacking on chips, chocolate, and is always going in for seconds at dinner. I keep healthy foods in the house, but can't police her every second. I'm only concerned about the weight gain because she complains of being fat.

She is under stress with a move and change of school, could this be causing the feeding frenzy? And is there a way to talk to her about her habits without seeming like I'm criticizing her extra "fluff"?

She's had a full physical and all is fine there.

Thanks for advice.

Answer 1

Don't buy unhealthy snack foods.  I used to eat them all the time just because they were there but I stopped when my mom stopped buying them.

Answer 2

Encourage her not to drink anything but water and lots of it. That itself is a huge part of weight gain.  Try that for a a month and watch her lose a quick 10 lbs!  

Answer 3

It probably does have something to do with stress :|

Sit down and have a chat to her about it and buy less junk food for the house when you're out shopping.

Also, set an example by eating healthily yourself and cook healthy dinners for the family :]

Good luckkkkk.

Answer 4

dont worry your a teen you will go from fat to tall to small your growing and  you will lose it every body goes thouge it  

Answer 5

Her activity is completely normal. And she will gain weight, and probably stress about it.

For her benefit, a simple reminder of what she is doing to her overall health would be good. She will get the point.

Just suggest she might be stress eating, and to alleviate the stress in other ways, like activity.

Answer 6

shes going through a growth spurt.

Answer 7

theres not much way around it without calling her fat really, which would not help, but she may be gettin bullied at school or reciveveing abuse causing her to comfort eat and binge eat. talk to her about it but in a nice way ir get someone she is close to to talk to her about it . she may be fine now but the long terms effects could be devastating to her.  

Answer 8

shes probly on her period

Answer 9

i heard you eat more when you are stressed or depressed, its called comfort eating!

Answer 10

Talk to her, find out why she is under stress. Also try not to keep these items in the house, instead keep carrot sticks, celery, fruit and popcorn.

Good to you for talking. Maybe try to get her into some activities that interest her, so she can make new friends. She may just be eating out of boredom.

Answer 11

thats probably her way of coping with stress..make sure u help her set limitations or else obesity wont be too far from vision..allow ur kid to engage in physical activites to allow her to vent out her stresses and of course to keep off possible excess weight..

Answer 12

You as a parent should know that she is just under stress. She probably copes with everything by eating so that is where she is packing on the extra pounds.  

Answer 13

i am 19 years old and at 16 i was dealing with alot of stress. i went from 110 pounds to 130 pounds in just a few weeks. my mom thought i was pregnant and started asking me all these crazy qeustions. dont start freaking out about that cause its going to stress her out more. i wasn't even sexually active at 16 years old. stress can definately be a cause of your daughter eating so much. there is not alot to say to your daughter right now cuz if i remember clearly i took everything my mother said the wrong way. stress also causes mood swings and mayb trigger your daughter to get extremely mad at you for saying something. but if you really want to say something start the conversation out with something about her stress with school or the move. dont come straight out and tell her shes eating too much or shes gaining weight. it will upset her without a doubt.

try "how are you feeling about starting your new school?" or "are you okay about this moving situation?" slowly work your way into her eating habits. hope i helped. good luck =]

Answer 14

Try to address that you've noticed her stress without talking about the food. If she can tell you what's bothering her and you can work on that, maybe it will solve itself.

Good Luck.

Answer 15

Her eating is DEFINITELY linked to her loss of familiarity by the move.  I had the same issue moving in the middle of 6th grade.

I stopped going outside because I had no friends.  I turned into a couch potato,  Only after I made friends did I got back on my bicycle and skates to drop the weight.  The real key for me was lifting weights to change my body image,  having close friends, and encouragement to be active.  Her complaints of being fat is linked to peer pressure and body image from TV.

If you have any extra money, get a make over- both of you. At this age, it is not uncommon for girls and their moms to become "girlfriends".  The make over should have her blend into the new school fashion.   Not that fitting in so important but sticking outside the norm is devastating to her social status.

Does she have a driver's license?  How about getting a membership to a gym?  I know I could have bypassed alot of body image c**p if my parents enrolled me into a swim team.  It turned out that I was a very good swimmer in college.

Also if you shelter her by removing snack foods and limiting her choices to veggies, she can slow down her calorie intake.  The biggest issue is her activity level and feeling of positive self image and sucess.

good luck.

Answer 16

It's stress.

All teens go through this stage at one point or another.

I went through it extremely young, and I am still coping with the weight I put on. I suggest you sit her down, and talk to her, talk to her about her problems, and suggest different ways on how to manage her stress. My grandma criticized my extra 'fluff' and I felt really bad, and that only made me want to eat even more. Please treat it with extra care as teens, are really delicate at this age. :)

God Bless