Society sends teenage girls conflicting messages about weight. On the one hand, fashion magazines glorify thinness, while on the other, fast food and plus-sized clothes abound. When trying to lose weight, don't go to extremes, but work on developing a lifestyle that supports healthy weight loss. After the pounds come off, you'll find it much easier to maintain your slimmer figure.
Break Bad Habits
The enemy of a slim body when you are a teenager is bad habits. Grabbing pizza after school with friends, eating a bag of chips while watching television and drinking a soda when you feel thirsty are all habits that will cause you to pack on the pounds. Before eating, ask yourself if the food you are about to consume will help you to meet your weight loss goals. Being aware of your bad habits is the first step to breaking them.
Have Fun Moving
Spending lots of time every day talking on the phone, watching television or even reading books can cause you to pack on the pounds. In order to lose weight, you need to get moving. The best way to do this is to choose activities that are fun to do. If you live near the coast, consider taking surfing lessons -- a sport that has more teenage girls joining every year -- which burns over 200 calories an hour. Practice your dancing skills, as busting a move can burn over 400 calories an hour. Any activity besides sleep will burn more calories that sitting or lying around.
Eat Plenty of Fruits and Vegetables
Chances are you've never heard someone complain that they gained weight because they ate too much broccoli or can't quit snacking on grapes. The reason for this is that these foods hold plenty of water, which helps to fill your stomach before you eat too many calories. The nutrients in fruits and vegetables can help to give you more energy as well -- you won't get the "slowed down" feeling you can get when you eat pizza, hamburgers and many other foods that are high in fat and calories.
Warning
Some teenage girls resort to extreme weight loss methods, such as severe calorie restriction or diets that include only one or two foods. This approach to weight loss can cause problems, as you will not feel like being as active on a very low calorie diet, and can lose muscle tone. This can give you a flabby appearance. Eating an unbalanced diet can also lead to nutritional deficiencies and health problems. Don't rob yourself of your youthful vitality by adopting these diets as a quick fix. They're anything but, as this type of dieting often leads to weight gain later in life, according to Janet M. Liechty, professor of social work and of medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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