Managing your weight can be tricky when you're 15 years old. While juggling homework, school, after-school activities and social events, it's easy to bypass a well-balanced meal and a trip to the gym. But if you're trying to lose weight, don't be lured in by diets and pills that claim to offer instant weight-loss results for no effort. You will need to put in some extra time and effort for true results, but even simple changes will make a difference.
Healthy Numbers
Ask your parents to take you for a doctor's visit before you try to lose any weight. Your doctor will take some simple height and weight measurements. Use them to determine a number called body mass index. She will then compare your BMI number with averages for all 15 year olds of your gender. An average BMI for 15-year-old girls is somewhere between 19.93 and 20.41 and for 15-year-old boys it's between 19.86 and 20.50. However, you're generally in a healthy weight range if your BMI falls between the 5th and 85th percentiles on the BMI-for-age chart. You may need to lose some weight if you are at or above the 85th percentile, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Calories Count
Depending on activity level, most 15-year-old girls need between 1,800 and 2,400 calories and most 15-year-old boys need between 2,200 and 3,200 calories per day, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005. However, if your doctor says you should lose some weight you would need to cut back on your current intake. Typically a healthy goal is to lose about 1 lb. every week by cutting back about 500 calories per day.
Cutting Back
One way to cut back calories is to make each meal size smaller. Slow down by chewing each bite and pay close attention to how your stomach feels when you're eating. Don't eat the extra slice of pizza if you're not hungry anymore and add an extra scoop of vegetables rather than another fatty cut of meat if you still feel hungry. Also focus on eating greater quantities of low-calorie nutritious foods such as vegetables, fruits, lean protein such as beans and skinless chicken, low-fat dairy and whole grains such as oatmeal and brown rice.
Active Living
Getting up off the couch is an important way to stay healthy and a helpful way to shed the excess weight. At 15 years old you need about 60 minutes of exercise on a daily basis, but it doesn't have to be in a single long session, and you never have to choose an activity you don't enjoy, according to MayoClinic.com. For example, skip the sports if you're not an athlete and instead opt to walk your dog every morning, ride your bike to and from school and play an active dance video game when you get home.
Tip
Ask your folks to join you in making healthier choices. Teens who get weight-loss support tend to be more successful in losing weight, according to TeensHealth. If your family is up for it, come up with a list of ways you can all work together to be healthier. You may, for example, decide to limit TV time to two hours per day, skip empty calories such as soda, cook together and limit fast food to special occasions, include fruits and vegetables in every meal, go on evening walks together and reward your healthy lifestyle changes with active rewards such as camping trips and ice skating adventures.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: About BMI for Children and Teens
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Body Mass Index for Age Tables, Children Ages 2-20 Years, Selected Percentiles
- TeensHealth: How Can I Lose Weight Safely?
- Mayo Clinic: Teen Weight Loss: Healthy Habits Count
- HHS and USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2005: Estimated Calorie Requirements
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