Obesity is currently an epidemic for much of the world. In some countries, such as the United States of America, obesity related complications are the second highest cause of preventable deaths. Tens of millions of people are currently overweight, obese, or morbidly obese.
It is popular to blame these problems on fast food, or the food served in schools, but it really comes down to the choices we make. Anyone can eat a healthy diet. All it takes is a little commitment and a little effort.
For a teenager, being overweight is even worse. Overweight teens can face ridicule, teasing, and social ostracism for failing to conform to supposedly ideal standards. The fact that these standards can be unreasonable, unrealistic, and rarely achieved fails to mitigate the ill treatment these children face.
The good news is that getting to and maintaining a healthy weight is always possible for anyone. While there is no weight loss plan that is suitable for every teenager, every teenager is suitable for some weight loss plan.
The best step to start with is to consult a doctor or dietitian. A professional can formulate a plan based on individual needs and give practical advice for carrying out a sensible, safe plan for healthy weight loss.
A primary advantage to losing weight while young is that the body has fewer physical limitations. It is much easier for a teenager to get in shape than it is for an adult. The better shape a teenager is in, the more calories he or she will burn during daily activities.
Most schools have physical education classes, but these provide far too little physical activity for effective weight loss. Most experts recommend up to ninety minutes of moderate or vigorous exercise two to three times a week, and a gym class may only be thirty minutes long twice weekly. With doctor approval, a teenager can work out in a local gym, where he or she will have access to both cardiovascular and strength training equipment.
The important thing when beginning an exercise program is to start slowly and progress steadily. It is a good idea to regularly vary the activities in both type and intensity. This is the best way to shed extra pounds and maintain a healthy weight.
In additional to physical activity, a teenager who is attempting to lose weight must carefully watch his or her food intake. It is vital that this food intake be recorded, either in a paper food diary, on a home computer, or in an online diet tracker. Most people will under report their calorie intake on a consistent basis.
A simple, basic approach to diet is simply to eat a well-balanced diet. Meals should contain reasonable amounts of the basic nutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Overall calories for the day should be kept to a reasonable amount. If weight loss is desired, a five hundred calorie deficit is a good starting point. At no point should a male consume less than fifteen hundred calories a day or a female consume less than twelve hundred calories a day.
Another excellent solution is to follow a low carbohydrate diet. On this diet, proteins and fats are much less restricted and carbohydrate intake is severely limited. This is a great way to see quick results, but can be harder to stick to for some teenagers. Many people report greater success in following a low carbohydrate diet than in following a low fat diet. Because teenagers have different nutritional requirements than adults, it is recommended that a physician should be consulted before starting a low carbohydrate plan.
Another option is to eat smaller meals more frequently throughout the day, while restricting overall calorie intake.
The importance of getting a sufficient amount of sleep is often overlooked by people trying to lose weight. Teenagers often need more sleep than adults, and failing to get enough sleep will make weight gain easier and weight loss more difficult.
Explain to your teenager that, just as he or she did not gain the weight overnight, he or she will not lose the weight overnight either. With persistence and patient, anyone can achieve a weight loss goal.
Fadzli Lee
Advisor of Healthy Diet System
http://www.diethealthysystem.com/blog
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