Teen obesity is a growing problem in the United States. Approximately 9 million children, ages six to 19, are overweight, according to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. Losing weight is important to your health, reducing risk for diabetes, high blood pressure and some types of cancer in adulthood. If you want to lose weight quickly, it's important to plan regular cardio activity and make healthy food choices.
Cardio Activity
Teens need a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity daily. This might seem like a lot, but there are ways to make activity fun. Playing sports, such as racquetball, basketball and volleyball are enjoyable and burn calories. If you don't enjoy sports, ride your bicycle, rollerblade or walk the family dog. As long as you're moving, it's considered physical activity. Breaking workout sessions into shorter intervals might help as well. For example, take a 30 minute walk in the morning and go bike riding in the afternoon. Also, aim to complete three strength training sessions weekly, targeting your major muscle groups, such as the legs, arms, back and abdominals. Building stronger muscles improves your metabolism, resulting in faster fat burning.
Eat Breakfast
An easy way to boost your metabolism and lose fat quicker is eating breakfast. However, many teens skip this important meal. Breakfast gives you more energy and prevents overeating later in the day. Select a high fiber cereal or whole-wheat toast without butter. If you don't like eating breakfast, try a small handful of almonds and low-fat string cheese.
Portion Control
Measure single serving sizes to prevent overeating. Avoid eating while standing up or eating from a box. Also, focus on eating slowly. This allows your brain to recognize when you're full and prevents overeating. If you visit a restaurant, ask the server to box up half your entree to avoid the temptation of overeating. Also, reduce consumption of liquid calories. Soda and juice add hundreds of calories to your diet each week. Reducing consumption of these beverages will assist with faster weight loss.
Avoid Fad Diets
Fad diets are tempting for teens. These diets promise fast weight loss within a short amount of time. Unfortunately, many of these diets aren't effective long-term and might leave you with nutritional deficiencies. Avoid diets that severely cut calories. Diets that promote taking special herbs, powders and diet pills are a few more red flags. Many of these pills contain diuretics, which cause water loss, rather than fat loss. Also, these diets aren't necessarily safe for growing teens. Discuss potential weight loss programs with your pediatrician.
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