Hi,
Sorry to add to this a little late, but your post could be about my son, who is also 10. He was getting very heavy this past year even though he is very active (football, soccer, running, etc.). This was a shock because he had always been thin and fast and it seemed almost over night he was getting slow and heavy. We helped him lose 10 lbs. by the following:
No drinks with sugar. This one was huge. My son could down 5 to 10 juice boxes in a day. At 150 calories each, thats a lot of sugar. Now it is just water, water everywhere and more than a drop to drink. Don't be fooled by Gatorade, it still has sugar in it.
Cutting out the junk. This has been good for everyone. My husband always had a coke with dinner and he likes a dessert or something sweet each night. I was able to convince him that having this junk, even in small amounts, was bad for our son because the inevitable attitude was, "Well, Daddy gets to eat it, so why can't I?" Even if you do not have any excess weight (like my husband)your son is looking at what you put in your mouth. And at this age Dads are very important role models. So think about what you put in your mouth or what is allowed in the house.
Being a nag. Sometimes I hate this part, but constantly reminding everyone, not just my son, that we need to eat well has an impact. Remember when you taught your son to say please and thank you or not to use his shirt as a tissue for runny noses? Well, those habits took a lot of reminding and, yes, nagging. The same goes for a healthy lifestyle. It sinks in sooner or later.
This next one sounds lame, but given that my children listen to every conversation my husband and I have (they only look like they are not listening until one of them pipes up with a comment on what we are talking about
) we discuss food and exercise a lot. This can be as simple as discussing what you ate that day, what your training was for the day and choices you made or items in the news about eating and exercising. They absorb everything. And yes, they are listening, probably more so than when you are nagging them. This also gives them an example to follow instead of just hearing "you shoulds."
We also try to get my son to look at the big picture. We don't want him so wrapped up around a number on the scale. My husband has been stressing that losing that extra weight makes him faster for football and soccer. This is a better motivator than just changing a number on the scale, I think.
Also, it was a slow process and we are still working on it. But, my son is in much better shape now than in July of last year I'm glad my husband and I did something about it.
I hope this helps.