A diet doesn't need to be expensive to be effective. There are plenty of free diets out there for teens looking to get healthy. The key is to recognize and separate the fad diets from the safe and effective diets. Any diet that restricts calorie intake to fewer than 800 per day or that eliminates carbs and/or fat from your diet should be considered a fad diet, according to Teens Health. Safe teenage diets should include a well-balanced approach consisting of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy, lean meats or proteins, and fats.
Junk Food-Free Diet
One of the easiest ways for teens to begin eating healthier is getting rid of the unhealthy foods they're currently eating. This includes sugary snacks, foods containing high fructose corn syrup, soda, non-100 percent fruit juices and energy drinks. These types of foods can contain hundreds of calories in a single serving; what's even worse, these are empty calories containing little or no nutritional value. For instance, a bottle of soda can easily contain 250 calories. Eliminating your daily 20-oz. bottle of soda is the equivalent of a half pound of weight loss per week. Eliminating unhealthy foods that are high in calories from your diet can have a big impact on your overall weight-loss goals. Focus on eating vegetables, fruits, lean meats, whole grains, and low-fat or nonfat dairy products.
Healthy Lifestyle Approach
Instead of looking at it as a "diet," try viewing it as a healthy lifestyle change. This is the advice of Teens Health, which cautions teens looking to lose weight to make healthy choices instead of taking drastic measures to lose a few pounds. Teenagers need the proper amount of vitamins, nutrients and fats in their diet in order to develop properly, so any diet that limits any of these essentials is not a good choice for a teen. Teens Health offers free dieting advice to teens looking to get healthy. First, you should drink a few glasses of low-fat or skim milk each day to help improve bone, teeth and muscle health. Eat a variety of foods each day--the fresher the food, the better. When eating out, choose smaller portions of your favorite value meals. Basically, making small lifestyle changes each day will help teens learn how to live a healthier life.
MyPyramid Online Diet Tool
A quick and easy online diet tool can be found at MyPyramid.gov (see Resources). This comprehensive and free tool can help teens determine how many calories they should be consuming each day as well as the types and amounts of foods their diet should focus on. The MyPyramid tool was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture, and it is based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans---a publication updated every five years containing healthy eating guidelines for all age groups based on the latest research in regards to health and nutrition. Teenagers simply enter their age, gender, height, weight and average daily physical activity level, and the MyPyramid tool calculates a personalized diet and exercise plan for the individual.
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