Really not eating well!

Lara loved to eat sweets and greasy, salty food. She tried to have some with every meal. That kind of food just tasted really good to her. For breakfast, Lara had cereal. It was Super Crispy Crunchy Rainbow O’s with extra sugar on top and chocolate milk instead of white milk. She drank some grape juice to make it a healthier meal. It was very sweet. For lunch at school, she brought a small bag of chips and a chocolate bar. She had this with her school lunch, which was pizza. She had strawberry milk and juice to drink. The cheese on the pizza was rubbery, so she just ate her snacks. She bought an ice cream for 50 cents, too. During class, her stomach felt weird, and she was very hyper at first. Later, she got tired and wanted to sleep. Then, in gym class, she ran around a lot and felt short of breath. She didn’t really like gym class. It was hard to run, and it made her chest hurt. Everyone else seemed faster than her. Before dinner she had a handful of Super-Spicy-Cheesy-Puffs becuase she was hungry. Then, she had some soda to wash it down. By dinner, she wasn’t really that hungry but mum made her eat some macaroni and cheese. The broccoli was gross. She wanted more soda with dinner but mum made her drink white milk. That was gross, too, so she only had a couple sips. For dessert, she had some ice cream with chocolate syrup. She felt hyper again, ran around, and went to bed late because a good show was on. The next day, she was tired, hungry and cranky. Her shirt didn’t fit well over her belly and her pants were tight. A few weeks later, at her checkup at the doctor’s office, they said she needed to lose weight, exercise more, and stop eating so much sugar and fat. Even juice was bad! That was news to her, but juice is full of sugar and little else. She could only have ice cream once a week and the candy and junk cereal for breakfast had to go. It was time to stop eating fried foods and have more veggies. They also said she had to exercise more. Mum started making her walk to the bus stop. She had to ride her bike for 30 minutes every day after school, too. They did it together. She started feeling better and breathing better. When she had a better bedtime, she did better in school also. Lara still doesn’t like gym class, but at least she is more able to do the exercises and play the games. Her pants and shirts fit better, which is nice as well. She misses the sweets and junk food less and less every day. Now, when she has a little snack, it is a real treat, and she deserves it!