The abundance and convenience of fast-food restaurants, packaged foods loaded with calories and lacking nutrients, and high-calorie "energy" drinks and carbonated beverages make it easy for teenagers to consume a less-than-healthy diet. The lack of consistent, nutritious, well-balanced meals coupled with a sedentary lifestyle can cause teens to become overweight or even obese. Even those who do not gain weight may be indulging in a diet lacking in good nutrition. Learning some useful dieting tips can help teens safely lose extra weight or maintain a healthy size.
Portion Control
Teens can switch from a "large" plate to a smaller 8-inch plate to help control portion sizes. When eating out, it is helpful to mentally halve the generous portion most restaurants dole out. Ask for a "to go" box at the time of order. Put the "second" half out of sight and save it for another meal.
Food Pyramid
Teens should review the USDA's food pyramid for guidance on planning healthy balanced meals to help them meet their dieting goals. The pyramid is a visual graph indicating how many servings of grains, vegetables, milk, fruit, meat and oils should be consumed each day (see Resources).
Use Technology
Teenagers who love their gadgets can track their intake of calories as well as garner fat grams and other nutritional components of thousands of everyday foods by using a computer application, such as Microsoft's "Diet Planner Pro" for Excel (see Resources).
Support Network
Young people seeking to eat well and achieve or maintain a healthy weight should find peers who have similar goals. Teens can form little networks of "dieting" pals who get together to eat healthful meals and snacks and discuss progress and share tips.
Cooking Classes
It can be helpful for teens who wish to lose weight to take a class in cooking low-calorie nutritious meals. By learning to cook for themselves and their families, teenagers begin to take control of their own nutrition, which can be helpful when they establish their own homes.
Increase Activity
Losing weight is best accomplished by lowering calorie intake and increasing aerobic activity. Teenagers are fortunate in having many opportunities for exercise, including school-sponsored sports. For those not interested in competition, there are plenty of recreational outlets, such as formal exercise and fitness classes, dance, swimming, skateboarding and indoor rock climbing.
Set Goals
Setting goals is important in achieving any endeavor. Teenagers should seek guidance from parents and a physician or nutritionist in setting reasonable expectations for dieting. Setting small goals, such as a 5-lb. loss in a month or dropping a clothing size during a semester, can provide increased motivation.
Be Prepared
When teens are away from home, it is important for them to be prepared in terms of their diets. Carrying low-calorie snacks, such as fresh fruit, a packet of whole-wheat crackers or cereals, or a turkey or tuna sandwich, can help a teen avoid fattening offerings at mall food courts or vending machines.
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