Steps to Healthy Weight Loss
There are no short cuts to losing weight effectively and safely. Weight gain and loss is directly related to the balance between how many calories you eat every day and how many calories you burn every day by daily activities and exercise. If you eat more than you burn, you will gain weight.
A government-sponsored task force recently reviewed the multimillion-dollar industry of fad diets that guarantee quick weight loss using everything from vibrators to pills. The task force concluded that although some of the diets may help you lose weight, none of them helps you maintain weight loss (keeps weight off once you lose it).
The best hope for losing weight and keeping it off is to eat less fat (meat, cheese, and whole milk, for example) and eat more complex carbohydrates (fruits & vegetables, whole grain breads, cereals, pastas), and have regular aerobic activity.
The only goal in losing weight is to lose excess body fat - not water or muscle. Water and muscle loss is not healthy and does not improve performance or appearance.
Eat Right
Most teens need 1,700 to 3,000 calories a day just for normal daily activities and to support growth. The minimum number of calories varies somewhat depending on a person's weight:
| Weight (Pounds) |
Calories/Day |
| 100 |
1700 |
| 120 |
2000 |
| 135 |
2250 |
| 150 |
2500 |
| 165 |
2750 |
| 180 |
3000 |
These minimum calorie requirements support only usual daily activities. You must consume additional calories if you participate in aerobic activities such as athletics, dancing, or strenuous work. An average 30 minute period of aerobic exercise, such as jogging, burns about 350 calories; an intense two-hour sports practice can burn more than 1,000 calories. The number of calories burned can vary to some degree depending on your weight and how long and intensely you exercise.
| Calories Burned by Various Activities |
| Activity |
Calories Burned/
60 Minutes |
| Aerobic dancing |
470 |
| Backpacking (40-lb pack) |
670 |
| Badminton |
440 |
| Basketball |
630 |
| Bicycling (10 mph) |
450 |
| Circuit weight training |
420 |
| Cross-country skiing |
650 |
| Racquetball |
800 |
| Rope jumping |
775 |
| Running (7 mph) |
880 |
| Swimming (slow crawl) |
600 |
Volleyball |
228 |
Walking
3.5 mph
4 mph (with 5 lb hand-held weights)
4 mph (with 5 lb ankle weights |
350
590
540 |
Chores
Digging ditches
Mowing (push or power mower)
Sawing with a hand saw
Weeding |
660
510
550
330 |
(Values vary based on intensity of activity and weight of person. These values are for a 167 lb. person.) |
Teenagers need to eat a balanced diet of carbohydrates (55%), fat (20-25%), and protein (15-20%). Teens who are healthy and eating a good diet do not need nutritional supplements. Eating a high-carbohydrate meal four to six hours before a sports competition can improve performance and well-being.
Don't forget to drink enough water, which is the most important nutrient, making up 60% of the body. During exercise, you should drink ½ to 1 cup of water every 15-30 minutes depending on the heat index and the intensity of the exercise.
Avoid "semi-starvation" diets - those in which the number of calories you consume during a 24-hour period is more than 500 to 1,000 below the number of calories you burn. Deficits greater than 500 to 1,000 calories usually result in very limited additional loss of fat, but do promote loss of water and some fat-free tissue (muscle). Most people on such diets tend to regain weight quickly.
Severely reducing the number of calories you take in causes your body to lose large amounts of water, electrolytes (such as sodium and potassium), and minerals. In addition, the body looks for sources of energy other than fat and finds it in muscle and glycogen (carbohydrate stored mostly in the liver), which it then uses to produce energy. This decreases your strength and endurance.
Get Enough Exercise
Adequate exercise, along with moderately reducing the number of calories you consume, promotes the most efficient loss of fat while preserving muscle. The minimum amount of aerobic activity necessary to benefit from this efficient fat loss is 30 minutes 3 times each week of an exercise that burns about 350 calories in one workout (such as walking at 3.5 mph for ½ hour).
Studies suggest that you must burn 3,500 calories to lose one pound of fat. You can therefore lose 1 or 2 lbs of fat a week by burning 500 to 1,000 more calories a day than you take in (Remember that burning more than 500 to 1,000 calories beyond what you take in leads to loss of fat-free tissue, such as muscle, which decreases strength and endurance. And you will tend to regain such weight loss quickly.)
Maintain Your "Natural Weight"
You should strive to maintain a "natural weight." Natural weight is your weight when you are eating a healthy, balanced diet with enough calories to sustain growth and usual daily activities and when you are getting 30 minutes of aerobic exercise at least 3 times a week. Your doctor can help you determine your natural weight and body fat composition (what percentage of your weight consists of fat).
For most boys (with some variation), the normal range of body fat composition is 7-20%. A body fat composition of 10-15% is considered excellent. For most girls (again, with variation), the acceptable body fat range is 12-25%. A range of 15-20% is ideal. Abnormally high body fat composition can lead to health problems such as high blood pressure, a high cholesterol level, heart disease, diabetes, and gall bladder disease.
Too little body fat, like too much, can be bad for your health. Body fat below 7% for boys can interfere with growth, strength, and endurance. Body fat below 12% for girls can be associated with problems such as missed menstrual periods, weak bones, and eating disorders.
Weight Loss Diet Tips
Teens should not be on a 1,000-1,500 calorie diet that magazines and weight-loss books often promote. Adults may be able to participate in such a diet, but most teens need 2,500 to 3,000 calories a day to support pubertal growth for physically active female and male teenagers, respectively.
Most teens that are 10-20 lbs or less overweight can lose this weight with just a few adjustments in their diet (decrease the amounts of "junk" food and desserts, and change the types of snacks) and exercise (decrease the time spent in front of the computer/TV/video game).
If you are more than 10-20 lbs overweight, consider Weight Watchers. It is an excellent program and there is a Teen Weight Watchers program. It helps you learn about foods and their nutritional composition and it functions as a support group as well as an accountability method.
Try to establish healthful eating habits that you can continue when you've reached your "Natural Weight". Check under Eating Healthfully for Tips for Healthy Diets and ideas for Healthy Snacks.
Change your unhealthful eating habits a few at a time. Too many changes too soon are more likely to discourage you and be difficult to maintain.
You might want to keep an honest record of your usual eating and exercise habits for 2 weeks prior to beginning a diet. This will allow you to find your "problem areas", and allow you to make a plan for changing your habits a few at a time.
An effective weight loss program must deal with a number of problem areas common to teens, including:
- Eating too much - such as second helpings, keeping food in the bedroom for snacking.
- Irregular eating habits - some teens eat one large meal a day and then snack frequently at other times.
- Unhealthy food choices - sweets, fried/oily foods, sodas, etc.
- Eating while bored or depressed and eating alone.
- Limited exercise.
Try to lose only 1-2 pounds per week. Losing more than that requires a drastic reduction in calories or a drastic increase in exercise. And you will lose non-fat tissue such as muscle, which will effect your strength and endurance. And you are more likely to rebound back or above your pre-diet weight.
Once you've lost your weight, maintain your "Natural Weight" for 3-4 months to "reset your body's weight thermostat".
Don't weigh yourself more than once a week.
Pack a lunch. Most cafeteria food and almost all fast food is higher in fat and lower in complex carbohydrates than a sack lunch. If you're too rushed in the mornings, make your lunch the night before.
Don't skip meals. For most people, it's easy to skip breakfast and lunch, but then they're ravenous by after school snack time and/or dinner. In fact, it's better to eat 4-6 small meals each day.
Drink water!!
Avoid diet sodas. Develop a love of water. Keep a pitcher of water in the refrigerator. Add a few slices of lemon for flavor. Or develop a habit of drinking herbal teas (no sugar!!).
Avoid chewing gum. It does not decrease your appetite, in fact, it may stimulate your hunger.
Don't snack or eat when you're bored or sad or watching TV or doing homework or alone.
Learn to cross stitch, knit, crochet, etc, when watching TV. When your hands are busy, you can't be snacking!!
Have hor d'oeuvres before dinner: low calorie munchies (raw vegetables, apple slices) and water or fruit juice. This will take the edge off your hunger when you do sit down to eat.
Try to have family dinners -- not in front of the TV, but at the table.
Sit down at the table to eat. We eat more, and often less healthful types of food, when "on the go".
Don't put the food on the table. Dish up the food in the kitchen, and learn to take less than what you think you want.
Consider eating in courses and make the first course salad or vegetables (choose low-fat dressings for salads and avoid butter or margarine on vegetables - try a little soy sauce or lemon juice and pepper).
Ask to be excused to get seconds. Try to take seconds of more vegetables or salad, and less starch or main dish.
Cut down on the "comfort foods" -- fat & starch combinations like mashed potatoes & gravy, French fries, pastas with cream sauces, bread & butter, etc.
Eat slowly. Chew your food. Put your fork or spoon down between bites. Engage in conversation with your family.
Exercising Tips
Exercise helps suppress hunger pangs, helps you feel good about yourself, and helps take away the normal teenage "blues".
Choose exercise that you enjoy. If you can't find any that you enjoy, than focus on how it helps you feel better when you're done, rather than focusing on how much you don't want to do it.
Plan an exercise program that includes both aerobic exercise (walking, swimming, bicycling, running, etc) and strength training using simple exercises or light weights (2-5 lb dumb bells) with many repetitions - not heavy weights.
You don't need fancy exercise equipment - a jump rope or jumping jacks for aerobic exercise, and simple exercises such as abdominal crunches (not sit-ups), leg lifts, lunges, push ups, pull ups, etc., for strength training, are very effective.
Remember to do stretching for warm-up and cool-down. Don't bounce when you stretch - stretch slowly and hold position gently. Don't stretch too much too soon. "No Pain No Gain" does not apply to stretching!
Walking or exercising with friends can make the exercise enjoyable rather than torture!
Walk to and from school. Even in January! There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing!! Bundle up, carry an umbrella, enjoy the walk!!
Walk the dog. If you don't have a dog, ask if you can walk the neighbor's dog. A dog on a leash will help you to really walk rather than just stroll.
Avoid taking an elevator - try to always take the stairs.
Don't park the car as close to the store, etc, as you can - park further away and walk.
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