Helping Your Teen Lose Weight

Following healthy habits are the essential key to teen weight loss. Without such a habit, teenagers may find it difficult to maintain their healthy weight. The way today's food consumption is being looked at in this country, healthy eating has surely been put at the wayside. Teenagers of today really have a myriad of delicious food choices to eat. But sad to say, most of them belong to the unhealthy food group. It is now easier for teenagers today to get fat because of the convenience brought about by fast food. Parents today live in a very busy world where time is spent more on work. Such parents may not have the time to prepare food and sometimes must rely on the nearest pizza or hamburger place to provide the nourishment for their children. But this should not be. Fastfood is considered to be one of the reasons why most teenagers are getting fatter. Fastfood is considered junk food since they are not able to supply all the nourishment that growing kids need. But fast food can really be fattening with the great amounts of fat and carbs that they contain. It is a bad choice if you wish to help your child stay at a healthy weight as he or she grows up. Your concern to see to it that your teenagers grow up to be healthy and fit individuals is the first step in keeping their weight down. Always bear in mind that teenage obesity is a dangerous and a growing problem in this country. But you can do something about it. You can make effective use of your concern about your teenager's weight by putting it into action. You can help show your teen the way by following a practical plan for success. There's no easy way for teen weight loss. The most important thing that you can do is letting your teenager adopt healthy habits that can last a lifetime. Here are some tips: 1. Start with a heart-to-heart talk. If your see that your teen is getting overweight, chances are, he or she is also concerned about the excess weight. Aside from bringing in lifelong health risks such as high blood pressure and diabetes, the social and emotional consequences of being overweight can have a devastating effect on your teenager. Talk to your teenager about it. Try to offer support and gentle understanding and make him or her verbally aware that you really are concerned. Try also to add in a willingness to help your teen take control of the weight problem that he or she is facing. 2. As much as possible, resist looking for quick fixes. Make your teen realize that losing and maintaining an ideal weight is a lifetime commitment. Encouraging fad diets may rob your growing teen essential nutrients essential to his or her continuing development. Buying weight-loss pills for your teenager and other quick fixes won't be able to address the root of the weight problem. The effects of such quick fixes are often short-lived and you teen may likely balloon back. What you should be able to teach is adopting a lifelong healthy habit. Without a permanent change in unhealthy habits, any weight loss program will only remain a temporary fix. 3. Promote and encourage doing more calorie-burning activities. Just like adults, teens also require about an hour of physical activity everyday. But that doesn't mean sixty solid minutes of pure gut-wrenching activity. You can plan shorter, repeated bursts of activity throughout the day that not only can help burn calories, but also become an enjoyable, fun and worthwhile affair. Sports and hiking can be probable options.

Weight Loss for Teen Girls That Don't Work

There are a lot of books and articles out there that serve as a guide for teen girls who want to lose those excess pounds. For a change, here is something that people should read about to know what are some the things the individual should not do. The most effective way for a teen to lose weight is to go on a diet. Unfortunately, the definition of a diet for some is so extreme that the person would rather starve to achieve the desired results. Is this good? Definitely not because it robs the teen of the much needed vitamins and nutrients while growing up. Studies show that the starvation diet also leads to weight gain. This is because the body is not used to shortage of food entering the system and will force one to engage in binge eating to recover on the losses. The same report also shows that the so-called weight loss is not really fat but rather is the lean muscle which gives the teen strength. This is because the food being eaten contains calories that are much more needed by the muscles in the body. The calorie intake increases as the teen gets older. An 11 year old boy for example will need a daily requirement of 1800 calories while someone at the age of 18 will need close to 3000. Those who decide to go below that are susceptible to nutritional deficiencies, fatigue, bone weakness, hair and skin loss and hormonal problems. One report shows that some kids have even resorted to laxatives to make this happen. This is also not a good idea because it doesnt lose fat but rather water in the system. This means someone can suffer from dehydration and may even cause problems in the colon. So what should be done to avoid this? For starters, the teen should not panic. There is a safe way of fighting weight loss and this can only happen with the help of a professional. A doctor can examine the patient and see what improvements can be done. Going on a diet is one way of doing it but not at the expense of skipping meals. This simply means cutting down on the food being consumed. The teen may have to give up eating snacks and replace this with fruits. Others will skip the in-between meals and then just concentrate on the three most important meals of the day. Cutting down the food intake will not make the teen lose weight. The best combination for any diet plan is exercise. It may involve walking or jogging a few miles a day to engaging in a sport. This will really depend on the physical condition of the teen since there are some that are already known to be obese. There is no overnight solution for teenage girls to lose those excess pounds. This has to be done gradually by getting into a well thought out plan. The first results will probably be seen in just two weeks as the person's metabolic rate increases. This may dip a week later so the doctor must try different things so the body will not be able to adjust to it. Changes will happen and this varies from one teenage girl to the next.

Weight loss diet for adults not right for teens

Teens do experience what we could call "teenage weight pressures." At the age of 16, teenagers are still too self conscious of their appearance that they are easily affected by jeers by classmates and peers when it comes to how they look. Being stereotyped because they are a little overweight can be really demeaning which could cause other personal or even psychological problems later on. But the thing is, if a teenager has been eating and exercising right their bodies will be where they should be at their age. And when teenagers find themselves overweight, impatient as they are, they tend to go overboard often taking the drastic route to loose weight. They try skipping their meals or limiting food intake the wrong way. Because teens and preteens are still growing, the practice of skipping meals is not such a great idea. Even adult weight loss programs do not arbitrarily recommend skipping meals. The right diet is eating the right food that covers teenagers' nutritional needs for their body's further growth and development. More often than not, dietitians recommend that teens follow an eating plan that will help reach their ideal weight and keep it there. They complement food diets with lots of physical activities. They find that cutting back on calorie intake is not the best option for teenagers to take. Being effective "calorie burners" seems to be the right path that teenagers should take. By exercising a lot they will reduce body fat and build their muscles at the same time. As teenagers, they should also be encouraged to try all types of sports. By increasing their physical activities they will develop tons of energy as well as strength and stamina. Their bones will grow better and stronger. The will have better and healthier skin and will have a general happy outlook in life. However, for some teenagers a customized diet program is needed and is suggested to be the most effective. But this is in a case to case basis. Not all situations and circumstances are alike. These diets are normally designed by diet and nutrition experts. Included in these customized diet programs are itemization of particular food groups and proper proportion you child or teen should eat. These diets focus on reducing the intake of foods loaded with saturated fats. Reducing fat in one's diet will make him/her healthier and will make it easier to maintain their body weight. Under these programs, daily food consumption should not have more than 30 grams, or 10 ounces, of fat. You need to, therefore, spread out your intake of fat for each meal if you eat. It is generally recommended that persons on a diet should avoid fat laden snacks like potato chips or buttered popcorn. In your teen's eating habits, probably the biggest obstacle that they will face is when they eat at restaurants or dinners with friends. Foods in restaurant are served in big portions and more often than not contain too much salt, fat, and calories. Part of a diet program should be instilling discipline and self control. One can still join their friends when they dine out but they should learn to choose the right food and ask for the right servings. You are what you eat. If you eat too much fat, then you'll probably end up fat. Always remember to eat foods like fruits, vegetables, low-GI foods, and foods with low fat contents. If you have been accustomed to eating fatty and salty meals and junk foods, then your body might tell you that fruits and vegetables don't taste that good. You then have to retrain your taste buds and body by eating as many fruits and vegetables as possible. If you keep eating them, you'll start to enjoy them later on.