Learning About Easy Weight Loss for Teens

Learning About Easy Weight Loss for Teens
Learning about easy weight loss for teens is crucial when
you have an overweight teenager. Not only does being
overweight as a teenager have long-term emotional
consequences, but more and more studies are determining
that our future cardiac health depends a lot on what we do
to our bodies as adolescents. Easy weight loss for teens
involves understanding the peer pressure your overweight
teen may be facing and learning about the basic principles
of weight loss.

Being overweight as a teen can be a brutal experience.
Teasing and peer pressure is at a peak during these years
as our children move from childhood to adulthood. It can
be difficult to form positive attitudes that will benefit
your child as an adult when he or she is constantly
ridiculed for being overweight. The negative comments they
receive will either be held inward or projected outward at
society or people in general. Teens that are overweight
may develop a poor self-image and resort to fad diets and
starvation to attempt to achieve the body that so many
celebrities have set as the "ideal" body. Anorexic models
and extremely thin starlets are splashed all over the
magazines many teens read. The diets that these
dangerously thin celebrities follow are available on the
internet as easy weight loss for teens.

It's imperative that you help your teen understand what
easy weight loss for teens is really about. Just as with
many subjects such as sex and drugs, if they don't hear it
from you, they may follow misinformation from their peers
or the media.

Help your teen understand the basics about proper
nutrition. Easy weight loss for teens does not involve fad
diets or starvation. You might need to educate yourself
first on this subject. There's a lot of misinformation out
there regarding weight loss and proper nutrition. No
carb's, lo carb's, maple syrup, high protein... it's an
unending list, really.

Easy weight loss for teens can be found within a simple
equation. Weight maintenance dictates that calories
consumed must be equivalent to caloric output. Therefore,
if weight loss is desired, the equation must be shifted to
have a caloric deficit. This can be achieved by lowering
the amount of calories consumed, increasing caloric output
via exercise or best of all, doing both.

Your teen needs to understand that easy weight loss for
teens doesn't mean fast. A healthy goal for weight loss is
around one to two pounds per week. Drastically lowering
calories will achieve quicker weight loss, but the
trade-off is that metabolism is lowered, thus making it
more difficult to lose weight in the future.

To begin easy weight loss for teens, use a calorie
calculator to determine the appropriate amount of calories
for your teen based on height, weight, age, sex and
activity level. Calorie calculators can be found free of
charge on the internet. From there, set up a plan that
will create a calorie deficit of 500 to 1000 calories per
day to achieve either a one pound or two pound per week
weight loss goal. It's imperative that your teen achieves
this deficit through diet and exercise.

For calorie information, read food labels. Your teenager
needs to read these labels and learn how to properly
portion food. We live in a super-sized country. Seeing
what a real portion looks like can be surprising at first.
Easy weight loss for teens, however, cannot be achieved
unless they understand portions and learn approximate
caloric values of different foods.

Consult the food guide pyramid available at
www.eatright.org for information on what types of foods
your teenager should be eating. The misguided notion that
carbohydrates are bad has created a lot of confusion. As
long as the majority of carbohydrate consumption is whole
grains, fruits and vegetables as opposed to simple
carbohydrates like sweets and white breads and pastas,
carb's are okay and should be a regular part of your
teenager's diet. Choose lean meats over high fat meats and
try to incorporate fish into your easy weight loss for
teens plan. Dairy is also an important food group. Just
remember to choose low-fat or fat free dairy products.

Above all, in learning about easy weight loss for teens
don't forget to be a positive and encouraging part of your
teen's weight loss. Try not to pressure them. They're
feeling enough pressure at school and from themselves. On
a bad day, an encouraging smile and a big hug may be all
they really need.

----------------------------------------------------
From a sickly little girl to a healthy chef to the stars,
Darlene Nicholson transformed herself into The "Kick in the
Butt" Healthy Lifestyle Expert and creator of the popular
DVD "The Healthy Grocery Store Tour". Visit her website
http://www.lifechanginghealthysoutions.com or grab a copy
of her free ebook "4 Steps to Permanent Weight
Loss"...guaranteed to open your eyes to how easy weight
loss can be with the right plan of attack.
http://free-weightloss-book.com/