Teens are at a point in their lives when proper nutrition is essential for healthy growth and development. Teenagers should, therefore, avoid any fad diet that limit carbohydrates, fats or other nutrients. A healthy diet is one that recommends well-balanced meals full of vitamins and nutrients and that provides a balanced way for teens to lose weight.
SlimKids
Teenagers need to get an adequate number of calories from nutritionally-dense foods each day, and that's the basis of the SlimKids diet plan for kids and teens. This program was developed by Laura Kraemer, R.N., B.S.N., C.P.N. back in 1995 in an effort to help kids and teens learn about how to eat healthy. The food groups recommended in the SlimKids plan are based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines for Americans, although many of teens' favorite foods are still included, such as hot dogs and hamburgers. The key is to teach teens about proper portion control.
The SlimKids meal plan is based on a four-meal-a-day plan totaling about 1,500 to 1,800 calories. Each meal is filled with nutritious foods, like vegetables and fruit, and is low in calories. Teenagers still get all of the vitamins and nutrients they need to develop properly, but without the foods and drinks that contribute unnecessary calories to their diets, such as soda and salty snacks.
Junk Food-Free Diet
Junk food is so readily available at school, home and popular teenager hangouts that it's no wonder so many teens are consuming so much each day. Junk food can be viewed as any food or drink that contains empty calories containing little or no nutritional value. In other words, these are calories that enter the body and do nothing more than get stored as fat and/or contribute to blood-sugar spikes. Foods that should be avoided, or at least limited, include soda, sugary snacks, high-calorie salty foods, less than 100-percent fruit juice, energy drinks, ice cream and other sugar/high-fructose foods with corn syrup.
A good example of how eliminating junk food can help a teen lose weight can be seen with soda. A 20-oz. bottle can contain over 250 calories from sugar alone. A teenager who drinks just one of these per day is adding 1,750 calories per week to her caloric intake totals. Eliminating this one-a-day soda habit gets rid of these empty calories, which is equivalent to losing a half pound of body weight per week.
MyPyramid for Teens
The USDA has made it simpler for teens to get on the right track when it comes to eating healthy. Its simple MyPyramid meal-planning tool allows teens to get a free personalized diet plan based on their age, gender, body type and daily physical activity levels. Each customized report shows teens exactly how many calories they should be consuming each day in order to lose weight at a healthy rate.
Also, MyPyramid teaches teens how to eat right by providing them with the types of food groups and quantities they need to focus on to help improve their weight-loss success. The primary food groups recommended by MyPyramid are nutritious sources for teenagers, including vegetables, fruits, low-fat dairy, whole grains and lean meats or protein sources.
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