Linda loves her food.
The days when she was fussy, picky or otherwise difficult to feed – those symptoms of Williams Syndrome are long passed.
Now she is on the See-Food diet – see food and eat it!
I can’t quite understand why but Linda has always eaten quickly. I promise you, there’s no competition. It’s not as if there’s a threat from a hungry brother who will take her food if she doesn’t eat ot first, it just seems to get eaten as if there’s a race. We find it so difficult to not constantly tell her “Slow down!”.
Linda never or very rarely seems to be satisfied with the quantiy of food she eats – and we do try to bulk it out with more vegetables but surely, if she gets used to a heaped plateful it’s only a marginal benefit if that’s a plate full of vegetables. How do you work towards better portion control? All suggestions welcome!!
For the last two years we’ve been really working towards a better understanding of a healthy diet and healthy foods. As I know so many adults with Williams Syndrome are prone to diabetes, I think it’s important that we learn these lessons now.
In fairness, I think Linda is understanding the theory a little better but maybe, like so many of us, is less able to follow through with healthy choices.
I suspect this is a challenge faced by many people who care for adults or children with learning difficulties and not just Williams Syndrome.
Linda has been out with different Support Workers this week and has returned home with bags of sweets… Now I know we all like a treat every now and then but Linda can’t stop and when the sweets are taken away is very ingenious in being able to find them and eat more…
I so don’t want to be like a wicked step-mom banning sweets, always saying no… but what do you do when someone you love seems unable to make better choices.
How do you help them learn this process of making better choices for themselves without constantly letting them fail?
I taught my daughter about food groups, starch, fruit, vegetable and protein. I tell her, if you want a starch, you have to eat a protein and a vegetable first. (We call her “the Starch Beast”!) She has to make two healthy choices, and THEN she can have the pasta or rice or bread.
I serve food on small plates, so it looks like you’re getting a lot. If the plate gets cleaned, then there can be seconds, but she has to wait a while as I finish eating my food. Then I’ll get up and fuss around in the kitchen to kill time, and then ask her again if she still wants more. That gives her brain long enough to get the message from her stomach that she has, indeed, been fed.
I don’t mind giving seconds if she’s still truly hungry at that point. If I wait long enough between servings she’ll usually just pick at the second portion before declaring herself “stuffed”. Importantly, I’m also giving her choices to make all along the way, so she doesn’t feel like I’m controlling her food so much.
Finally, I find someone who speaks about the uncontrolable hunger of a person with WS!! Doug is 13 yrs old and has had this issue since I can remember. When he turned 11, he began sneaking food. He has always fixated on food, though. For example, before rising from the breakfast table he wants to know what is for lunch, what time is lunch and constantly asking me “is it time for lunch, yet! Has there been any studies regarding this? Are they truley hungry? Im at the point that we are considering puting locks on the fridge and cabinets to control his weight. Also looking for a locking system to do just that!!!
Sandy I can’t answer the question “are they truly hungry”, I just see the obsession. I am so familiar with the “What are we having for tea?” question before the current meal is even finished… All I can say is that while many things have changed for Linda over the years, this one has not. I get the feeling that it is fairly common though I’m not aware of any research on this specifically. Might have to go and see what I can find!
Good luck with the locks!