Safe Dieting for Teenagers

Safe dieting for teenagers means staying healthy. Since teens are still developing, they need nutrients to foster this growth. If you're a teen looking to lose weight, you have many options to finally get to that goal weight you've been striving for.

If you're searching the Internet looking for the best fad diet for you, stop now. Most fad diets are not healthy and will deprive your body of the nutrition it needs. Try to ignore the reports from people saying that they lost 10 pounds in one week. Most of these stories are false and if they are true, many of these people end up packing on the pounds shortly afterwards.

Losing weight isn't about cutting out meals, it's about changing the way you eat and increasing physical activity. While this may seem much more difficult for you than not eating, changing your eating and exercise habits will help you keep off the weight you lose and benefit your health for a lifetime.

Since fad diets are not suitable for teenagers (and for most adults), you may wonder what you really need to do to lose weight. Safe dieting for teenagers consists of changing what you eat and how you exercise.

• Make better food choices

Think about what you ate today, yesterday, and the past few days. What did you eat that wasn't healthy? Now, think about what you could have eaten that would have been a better choice. The first step in changing your eating habits is to think about your food choices. Instead of just grabbing a bag of chips without thinking about its impact on your body, stop and consider if you should really eat it. Then, put it back and make a better choice, such as some grapes or other nutritious food.

• Eliminate temptation

Another way to make better choices and avoid temptation is to rid your house of all unhealthy foods – you can't eat what you don't have. This is a great way for you to get your whole family involved in eating healthier.

• Have accessible health food

Make health foods as easily accessible as junk foods. If you don't feel like cutting up celery, washing grapes or other fruit when you are ready for a snack, do it ahead of a time. That way, you can just grab something as soon as hunger strikes, just as you would with junk food.

• Pay attention to portion sizes

Pay attention to how much you eat. Often times, your eyes are bigger than your stomach. That means you will take bigger portions than you really can or should eat. When you serve yourself, pay attention to how much you are putting on your plate. Once you eat that, don't immediately grab another portion, sit and talk and then survey whether you are still hungry. If you are, eat a little more until you are no longer hungry.

• Listen and respond to your hunger

Eat when you are hungry. Don't limit yourself food when your body asks for it. Choose something healthy to eat every time you feel hunger. You may feel like you are always eating, but the total amount of calories you consume will be less than what you would have consumed if you ate junk food instead or binged on food later because you hadn't eaten all day. In addition, if you don't let yourself get too hungry, you will make better food choices.

The best type of exercise to lose weight is aerobic or anything that gets your heart rate up. If you dread standing in front of your television following an exercise video, or you don't want to join a gym, there are things you can do to increase physical activity that won't make you feel like you are working out.

• Pass on the escalators and elevators; instead take the stairs wherever you can.
• Choose a parking space far away from an entrance to a building so you get in an extra walk.
• If it's a nice day out, ask a friend if he or she would like to go for a bike ride through a park or to a favorite destination like a music store or mall.
• Play a sport that gets your heart pumping like tennis, football, baseball, etc.
• Take your dog for a walk twice a day or if you are looking for a fun summer job, start a dog walking service!

The key to safe dieting for teenagers is burning calories that you consume. Calories you consume from healthy foods are used much more efficiently, which are easier to burn off when you exercise. As you get better at your food choices and increase your physical activity, you will soon see the scale go down while feeling better physically and emotionally.

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