Teen Weight Loss
Losing Body Fat
development, with most experts attributing it to poor dietary habits.
When making your own assessment, you must remember that some teenagers have large frames, and consequently larger bones. Muscle weighs more than fat, so a teen who works out and has a larger frame may weigh more than what's considered the ideal weight for their height. It's also important to note that many pre-teens may still have some “baby fat” which will disappear once they hit their growth spurts. A teen weight loss program may not be necessary in these cases.
However, based on the amount of body fat you're carrying, you should know if you're overweight or obese. You also know if you don't eat healthy foods and don't have the best diet. Combine the two and you may find that it's time for a diet to sensibly reduce the amount of extra weight and fat on your body. You should have a doctor or nutritionist analyze any teen weight loss program you go on. Teens usually grow rapidly at a certain point, and go through growth spurts followed by periods of stability. Your dietary needs at your current stage of development needs to be considered when following a teen weight loss plan.
That said, a teen weight loss program may be less than enchanting to the teenager in question, as radical changes in diet and exercise may be necessary to effectively lose the weight. However, in the end, you'll be much happier with your body and will likely be sharing that teen weight loss plan with your friends.
We all know that fried and fatty foods, too much soda, and empty calories in the form of candy and junk food are major culprits which any teen weight loss program must address.
One great strategy for success is to gradually change your eating habits. Abrupt withdrawal of all your favorite foods will likely result in not sticking with the program and drifting back into old bad habits. For example, try to drink just one soda per day for the first week, and replace the remainder of the usual drinks with juices or fruit smoothies. After awhile, you may come to prefer juices over soda, especially after you see your weight coming down.
Also important to success in any teen weight loss program is the inclusion of daily multi-vitamins and supplements of vitamins A, C, E and zinc, which promote good energy levels and are great for your skin.
Boring and unsavory as it may seem, snacking on fruit instead of chips, eating lots of lean meat like fish and chicken, and consuming as many vegetables in variety as you can should be your dietary staples. In order to stick with the program, without feeling deprived and quitting, allow yourself french fries or a burger once or twice a week. You'll soon find these items to be not so appealing because they aren't helping you achieve your goal.
Exercising most days is also important to teen weight loss. Do some biking, running, weight training, or play a sport like basketball. If you enjoy your exercise, you'll certainly keep at it. Keeping the weight off now will pay dividends later in life.
Obesity among teenagers in the U.S. is reaching almost epidemic proportions, with estimates now showing that one-third of all teens are obese, while almost half are overweight. This phenomenon is a relatively recent
