Obesity in teenagers is a harmful and increasingly common condition, the Mayo Clinic reports. However, teens often try extreme diet and exercise plans to lose pounds even though they are already at a healthy weight. Talk to your doctor before you attempt to lose weight. If he says you could lose a few pounds, following some basic lifestyle changes will help you reach a healthy weight.
Warning
Losing pounds and staying at a healthy weight involves making a lifelong commitment to healthy choices. Going on fad diets --- diets that typically require cutting out important nutrients --- can impede your development, while and diet pills can make you sick, KidsHealth warns. Seemingly harmless, over-the-counter herbal diet pills and quick diets can also be detrimental to your health in the long term.
Daily Activity
Teens should get around 60 minutes of exercise every day, according to the Mayo Clinic. If running an hour on a treadmill doesn't appeal to you, you have plenty of other options. A few 15-minute periods of exercise throughout the day also count toward your daily activity needs; you don't need to set foot in a gym or join a sports team if you'd rather not. Commit to having a more active lifestyle and exercise will fit naturally into your day. Ride your bike to school and back, stretch your legs and walk during free periods and other break times, dance while you do chores and walk your dog after you're done eating dinner.
Focus Foods
A well-balanced diet consists of five or more servings of fruits and vegetables, lean, protein-rich foods such as chicken and beans and whole grains such as whole-wheat pasta and brown rice, KidsHealth explains. Top off your diet with some low-fat dairy and four to six glasses of water a day and you will be less likely to have room for foods that pack on the calories but provide few nutrients.
Healthy Snacking
By eating a few snacks between meals, you are more likely to make healthy meal choices and less likely to overeat, according to KidsHealth. Avoid vending-machine snacks whenever possible. Save money and skip unhealthy calories by bringing your own snacks; the Mayo Clinic suggests string cheese, low-fat yogurt, an orange, a bag of washed strawberries and pretzels.
Unnecessary Calories
Soda and sugary drinks are a top source of empty calories for teens. You can lose a pound a week if you eat 500 fewer calories a day or burn off 500 calories through exercise; simply replacing a can of soda with a glass of water will save you 150 calories, the Mayo Clinic notes. Small changes like these are the best way to go, as you will be less likely to feel deprived and to give up on your weight-loss regimen. Another way to reduce your caloric intake is to pay attention to your feelings of hunger and fullness throughout the day. If you eat out of boredom or overeat because you're too busy watching television to pay attention to how you feel, you may easily take in more calories than you need.
Member Comments