You want to lose weight but you're not sure how many pounds you should lose or how you should go about losing them. If your main priority is to be "bikini ready" for summer vacation by shedding 25 pounds in two weeks, you may need to reassess your plan. On the other hand, consulting your doctor or a dietitian can help you to come up with healthy and realistic weight loss goals. Following some basic strategies will help you to meet them.
Body Mass Index
When you discuss your body weight with your doctor, she will likely use a formula called body mass index, or BMI, as part of her assessment. BMI will be used to estimate how much body fat you have based on your height and your weight. The doctor will place your BMI number on a chart that compares you with other teens of the same age and gender. If you're at the 5th percentile and under the 85th percentile, you're considered to be at a normal weight, but if you're under or above that range, you may need to modify your habits, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Your doctor may also inquire about your diet, activity levels and family history to get a better overall picture of your health. If she decides you could lose some weight, she may recommend that you make some lifestyle changes that will help you lose weight at a healthy pace.
Weight Loss Journal
Feeling bad about your body and your lifestyle is a major way to impede a healthy weight loss plan. Consider starting a weight loss journal, wherein you can discuss your health goals, develop plans to avoid future pitfalls, applaud every success and use upbeat language to stay motivated. If you struggle to stay positive and consistently feel unmotivated, the Mayo Clinic recommends joining a support group, a formal weight-control program or consulting a counselor for that additional boost.
Physical Activity
Teens need about 60 minutes of exercise each day, according to the Mayo Clinic. However, you needn't get that much exercise all at once. Getting 60 minutes of exercise, even in short bursts, should help you lose weight. No need to stress about joining that sports team, either. Just by biking to the mall, walking to school, walking your dog and taking a dance class you will have likely gotten in your recommended 60 minutes.
Dietary Changes
Making some small changes in the beginning, such as cutting out a can of soda every day or reducing your portion sizes by a quarter, will help you stick with your weight loss plan. Also be careful about what you eat as snacks. To ward off vending machine temptations, load your backpack with healthy snacks such as an apple and celery sticks with peanut butter. Eating healthy snacks on a regular basis will help you get your five fruits and vegetables a day and help you eat less during your main meals of the day.
Warning
Nemours recommends never banishing your favorite foods, even if they're highly caloric, because you may start to feel deprived, crave them more than ever and eventually binge out of frustration. It also recommends avoiding fad diets that tell you to cut out certain nutrients or promise that those 25 pounds will "melt right off." Healthy weight loss shouldn't be more than about a pound a week, or 500 extra calories lost per day.
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