Teenage bodies are still under development, so when it’s time to lose weight, special care must be taken to prevent undernourishment or malnutrition. While formulating a weight-loss plan, factor in the nutrients that are essential for good health. Sometimes the weight will drop off quickly, but don’t go on a fad diet that can damage your organs. Avoid starvation diets and laxative abuse. The Mayo Clinic staff advises teens to discuss their weight-loss plans with their doctors and to formulate a plan based on age, height and general health.
Portion Control
Simply cutting back on portions may be all you need in order to lose the excess weight. Avoid super-sizing meals because that almost always packs many more calories than your body can process in such a short time. Some tricks to help you feel satisfied while cutting portions include using smaller plates and bowls, splitting a meal with a friend when you eat out or asking for half your meal to be delivered in a to-go box. Read labels and study portion sizes. You may be surprised at how small the portions are. Avoid going back for seconds. Give your meal time to digest and give you the feeling of being full.
Drink Water
You should drink at least eight, eight-ounce glasses of water each day. More is better. A half hour before you eat a meal, drink a full glass of water to fill you up before you even sit down. Instead of drinking soda or other sugary drinks, have water. If you don’t like the lack of flavor, squeeze a lemon, lime or orange slice into your glass of water. When you head out, bring a sports bottle filled with water to avoid being tempted to stop and buy a soda. Water has zero calories, and it helps flush toxins as you lose weight.
Healthy Snacks
Snack on fruits and vegetables instead of eating fried chips and candy bars. You’ll have more nutrition in a single apple than you will in a bag of chips and a candy bar. Other healthy things to snack on include grapes, oranges, tangerines, carrots, celery, broccoli, peppers and radishes. Dried fruit such as raisins, dried pineapples and prunes are also healthy snack options. You may also eat energy bars, but check the nutritional value and calorie count on the label.
Move Around
Inactivity burns very few calories, so increase your physical activity. According to Mayo Clinic, teenagers should get approximately an hour of physical activity each day, and it may be broken into segments rather than done all at once. Instead of sitting and watching television, get up and exercise. You can still watch your favorite shows, but do some sit-ups or jumping jacks at the same time. When you go to the mall, spend less time shopping and more time walking. If you have even a hint of athletic ability, try out for a sports team at school. After dinner, take a walk around the block. You may discover you enjoy it and want to continue walking.
About this Author
Debby Mayne started writing health and parenting articles in 1992. Approximately 100 of Mayne’s articles have appeared in regional parenting magazines. She has been managing editor of “Coping with Cancer” magazine and product information writer for HSN. Her degree is in health, PE and recreation from the University of Southern Mississippi. During college, Mayne worked as an instructor at a fitness center.
