Losing weight for teens is all about finding a balance between diet and physical activity. If you eat more calories than you burn each day, you inevitably gain weight. Of course, the reverse is true for eating fewer calories, so changing your diet and level of physical activity can help you shed excess pounds. The amount of weight you can healthily lose in a month, however, is limited. A good goal is no more than 1 lb. a week.
Step 1
Incorporate healthier foods into your diet, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains. Not only do these choices contain many of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients essential to your health, they’re also naturally low in calories.
Step 2
Cut calories from your diet by limiting your portion size, suggests MayoClinic.com. Even when eating healthier foods, you still need to pay attention to the number of calories you’re eating each day. Limiting portion sizes can reduce your caloric intake enough to create a caloric deficit to shed those excess pounds.
Step 3
Pay attention to your hunger. As soon as you feel full, stop eating, recommends the Center for Young Women’s Health at the Children’s Hospital in Boston. Your body will often tell you when it’s full. However, you’ll probably need to slow down your eating to recognize the signs.
Step 4
Avoid skipping meals, especially breakfast. The Mayo Clinic explains that your first meal of the day helps to jumpstart your metabolism. It can also prevent you from overeating later in the day, sabotaging your weight-loss goals.
Step 5
Drink water at meals and when thirsty, advises the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. A can of soda can contain upward of 150 calories, while a small glass of juice often has 100 calories. If you’re drinking a number of sugar-sweetened beverages each day, you’re increasing your caloric intake without doing anything to satiate your hunger.
Step 6
Give yourself some room for indulgences. It can be difficult for some teenagers to change their dietary habits overnight, so don’t get down on yourself for having something you enjoy. Just remember to eat it in moderation.
Step 7
Make time for exercise each and every day. Teenagers need roughly 60 minutes of daily physical activity. Sports is probably one of the easier ways to increase your level of physical activity, but you can also start walking, hiking, jogging, swimming, biking, cross-country skiing, kayaking, dancing or doing a combination of athletic pursuits to increase your energy expenditure. The more energy you expend, the more calories you burn, which can translate into weight loss.
Step 8
Integrate strength training into your exercise routine. Even if you’re trying to lose weight in a month, you should work in some strength training activities, like lifting weights or using resistance bands. Strength training helps improve lean muscle mass, which burns more calories than fat.
Tips and Warnings
- Talk to your doctor before staring any weight-loss program. Even if you only plan on changing your diet or increasing your level of physical activity, speak to a health care provider. Medical professionals may have other recommendations to improve your results, both short- and long-term.
- Avoid fad diets. They tend to limit your intake of vital nutrients and rarely provide long-term results.
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