Teenage girls need an adequate number of nutritionally dense calories each day in order to grow and develop properly. Extremely low-calorie diets and other fad diets are unsafe for teen girls and should be avoided. Instead, a diet rich in vitamins and nutrients, and low in sugar and other empty calories, is the way to go.
Vegetarian Diet
Vegetarian diets have been recognized as safe by health experts and several federal agencies, including the American Dietetic Association or ADA, according to KidsHealth.org. The only caveat when converting to a vegetarian lifestyle is that the vitamins and nutrients commonly found in meat products need to be replaced. According to KidsHealth.org, these essential vitamins commonly lacking from a vegetarian diet include iron, calcium, protein, vitamins D and B-12 and zinc. Especially important nutrients for teen girls include calcium and iron. Calcium helps build strong bones, while iron levels are often depleted in the body during menstruation. Foods that can help teen vegetarians satisfy these needs include leafy green vegetables, sea vegetables, nuts, fortified cereals, tofu, soy products and beans. Since vegetarian diets are typically lower in calories than meat diets, teen girls can lose weight naturally over time.
Junk Food-Free Diet Plan
Teens are surrounded by junk food in school, at home and almost everywhere they go. The high sugar content found in most junk food contains large amounts of calories but little nutritional value. These empty calories often get stored as fat in your body. By making a few simple changes to your current diet, you can eliminate these empty calories from your diet. For instance, eliminating your daily 20-oz. bottle of soda and bowl of ice cream can easily trim 500 empty calories from your diet. Replace soda with water and 100 percent fruit juice. Instead of eating sugary treats, eat fruit or fruit bars. This small change will help teen girls lose weight relatively quickly and with little impact on the foods they currently eat.
MyPyramid for Teens
MyPyramid.gov is a free online tool created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that can help teenage girls learn about proper nutrition. This comprehensive tool allows teens to get a personalized diet plan based upon their age, gender, height, weight and physical activity level. The basic food groups recommended by MyPyramid are based on the USDA's Dietary Guidelines for Americans report, updated every five years. This includes foods such as whole grains, low-fat dairy, vegetables, fruit and lean meats or protein sources. Each customized diet plan tells teen girls exactly how many calories they should be targeting each day in order to lose weight, and it shows them exactly what they should be eating in order to achieve these goals. MyPyramid also recommends an exercise plan to help speed up the weight loss and increase overall health based on the latest research and findings relating to teen fitness.
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