No matter what your age, losing weight is a matter of lifestyle. It involves a balance of eating right and getting in an adequate amount of physical activity daily. In your teen years, extreme diets, fad diets and selective food diets rob your body of the calories, fat, vitamins and minerals that are integral to your growth. You're much better off adopting a reasonable, daily plan to lose weight slowly and consistently, and to keep it off.
Healthy Eating
Start your day with breakfast, even if you have to eat it on the go. It doesn't have to be a sitdown meal of toast and eggs. Choices such as fruit or cheese will spark your metabolism for the day and curb your appetite when you get around to lunch so you don't overeat.People who habitually eat something for breakfast tend to maintain their ideal weight better than those who do not. During the rest of the day, forgo high-calorie snacks and those with "empty" carbohydrates and replace them with raw vegetables that give you the satisfaction of chewing, or yogurt or fruit. Balance your plate at mealtimes with lean protein, whole grain pasta and rice and vegetables.
Liquid Calories
Many people don't realize how many calories they take in through liquids each day. One soft drink can contain upward of 150 calories, and those calories count just as much as if you got them from solid food. Specialty coffees and sports drinks can also make you pack on pounds. Drink water instead. Ideally, you should have four to six eight-oz. glasses of water per day. Balance water with fat free or low fat milk which will supply protein and calcium for your growing bones.
Exercise
Teenagers should strive for about an hour of exercise a day, but you don't necessarily have to carve an entire hour out of your busy schedule to achieve that. If you take a physical education class at school daily, that counts toward your total exercise. If you also participate in school sports, you've most likely achieved your quota without doing anything more. If you don't, you can walk, skate or bicycle in 20-minute sessions whenever you can fit it into your daily routine. If you get a proper amount of exercise, you may find that you do not even have to worry about what you eat, but you should still aim for healthy foods over chips and sweets. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises not strenuously restricting your diet during the season if you play organized sports.
Peer Pressure
You are not your best friend and you should not gauge your weight by hers. Your bodies are not identical and what is healthy -- or unhealthy -- for her may not be right for you. If all your friends tend to be a little overweight, that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to eat better and get some exercise. Likewise, you shouldn't mimic any starvation diets they might be on.
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