Teens are busy individuals. They generally don't like to fuss around with fancy diets and follow strict regimens. Many teenagers don't like to be on diets at all. With childhood and adult obesity on the rise, teens are stuck in the crossfire to take care of themselves, exercise and eat healthily. Instead of following a complicated diet that involves calorie counting and fat-gram consumption, making simple, easy diet choices and implementing physical activity into daily life will prove beneficial to teen weight loss and overall health.
No White Diet
This diet plan is easy to follow and involves cutting out pure sugars and starches from the diet. The plan is quite simple for teens to understand and follow. They basically should eliminate any consumable food that is white completely out of their diet. This means no sugar, no white bread, white buns, white rice, white beans, pastas, white cheeses and potatoes. Teens should also avoid fast food and processed sweets. Teens can easily substitute the white items with whole grains and natural foods. This will lower the teen's glycemic index, curb food cravings and give them more energy. Teens should also have at least 30 minutes of any type of cardiovascular activity each day. Shooting hoops, skateboarding, rollerskating or walking are good examples that may appeal to teens.
100 Calorie Snack Diet
One easy diet to follow is the 100-calorie snack diet. The 100 calorie diet food option has taken commercial grocery stores by storm. There is a large variety of flavorful snacks that teens can use to build their calorie intake for the day. They can start off with a packaged granola bar or yogurt for breakfast---along with a banana or apple. For lunch, a 100-calorie chip pack along with a low-fat meal, such as a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread may be good choice. For dinner, the teenager can eat a 100- to 300-calorie, low-fat frozen meal entrée with two sides of steamed vegetables. Throughout the day, the teen can supplement her snacking habits with 100-calorie packs that include trail mixes, cracker combinations, cookies and cupcakes. Fifteen to 30 minutes of exercise a day of an activity like bike riding of rollerblading will help burn excess calories.
Cut-in-Half Diet
This diet is an easy way for teens to grasp how easy it is to portion control their meals. All they have to do is cut every meal that they would normally eat in half. For example, a cheeseburger large fries and soda. Only eat half of the cheeseburger, half of the fries and only drink half of the soda. To cut corners even more, remove the cheese and mayonnaise from the burger, substitute fries for apple slices and instead of the soda---drink water, along with eating only half of the burger. The same applies to sweets: allow one favorite snack a day such as a bowl of popcorn or a candy bar---only eat half. This, along with up to 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day will help make a difference in weight control.
School Sports
Getting involved with sports will do two things: help the student lose weight and also keep him busy so there is less chance of them attacking the snacks and sitting in front of the television when he gets home from school. Being physically active will help give the teen more self-esteem and also give him a sense of self-worth to be contributing to his school. Popular school sports that burn a lot of fat include football, volleyball, track and softball. These are easy ways for teens to stay fit without realizing they are exercising.
Fun Exercise Alternatives
There are also easy things that teens can do that don't necessarily feel like the drudgery of exercise. Many things unknowingly burn calories and may also be fun for the teen. This may include such activities as swimming, water skiing, roller skating, canoeing, fishing, bike riding, hiking or gardening. All of these activities promote being outdoors and engaging in some form of physical activity.
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