Diets for Teens

Dieting at any age can be a challenge, but diets for teens require extra care to be taken. As a teenager you’re still growing so it’s vitally important to get all the nutrients that you need, but at the same time, if you’re overweight action needs to be taken as soon as possible to prevent health problems in the future. But what are the best diets for teens, and how should you go about them? For a quick overview, read on.

As a teenager, it’s vitally important that you eat healthily. If you’re looking to lose weight you’ll need to create a caloric deficit just as you do in adult diets, i.e. you’ll need to burn more calories than you’re taking in, but it’s important to realize that starving yourself is not the answer. Instead, stick to a balanced diet that’s still packed with all the nutrients that you need, and just cut out the junk.

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Teenagers actually need to be consuming quite a lot of calories, at around 2,000 for girls and 2,500 for boys. This is to keep up with all the growing that needs to be done in a relatively short space of time, and you need a lot of fuel to support your body in daily teenage life.

When looking at diets for teens, it’s important to not choose anything that’s going to be significantly less than the above guidelines. While you’ll still need to be burning more calories than you’re taking in, try to make the deficit by exercising more. And certainly don’t go to the extremes of some adult diets that severely cut calories, as this won’t be healthy for growing bodies. Don’t try to lose more than 2lbs per week, and if you cut out the junk and eat healthily, this should be relatively easy to achieve.

Focus on healthy eating rather than cutting out food. Make sure that you plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and try to drink water instead of the usual soda, as it’s surprising how much difference cutting out calorie-filled soda can make. If you make simple changes, you should soon start to see the weight falling off.

Exercise is a vital component in diets for teens. Try to make yourself more active, and step away from those computer games. Head outside instead and play some sports; there are always clubs to join or after-school activities to take part in, and include variety in your routine to keep you motivated. While PE classes can be off-putting, doing it outside of school doesn’t have to be. If you enjoy what you’re doing it won’t even feel like hard work! Try to aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise 3-5 times per week, and you should soon start to notice the difference.

Extreme diets for teens, where food intake is severely restricted, usually isn’t recommended except in extreme cases. They can have a negative effect on growth and can even lead to further weight gain in the future, so if you can, try to avoid them. If you have to though, make sure that you don’t stick to them for longer than a few weeks at a time, as anything longer could cause damage.

The more popular adult diets aren’t always appropriate in the diets for teens selection. Atkins doesn’t encourage a healthy eating plan for teens, and cutting out a major food group (in this case carbs) and increasing fat content can be especially damaging. The South Beach Diet could be thought of as more suitable, as although carbs are lowered you can still eat low GI carbs, which are good in any diet. And the Zone diet has even created a special plan for dieters aged 8-16, comprising of three meals and 2 snacks a day that are configured according to their special ratio of carbs, fat and protein.

However, although the last two can be used for teens, they have caused controversy and aren’t always recommended. Healthy eating is by far the health professionals’ choice for teens, as this is the only way to keep getting the proper nutrients that teens need.

But, if you really need that extra push, going to a teen diet camp can help. They have specialist advisers and nutritionists on hand to offer all the advice and support needed, and incorporate a strict diet and exercise routine with various activities and healthy eating advice to continue your weight loss after you leave. In Wellspring camps, for example, you can expect to lose an average of 4.25lbs per week, and with locations in the US, Canada and the UK, there’s bound to be one out there for you.

As you can see, diets for teens tend to focus on healthy eating and exercise. Teenagers still need to be consuming enough food to function, and any specific diet plan is usually far more restrictive. As long as you learn the basics to a sensible and balanced diet, and know how to incorporate exercise into your routine, you’ll never have to worry about weight gain again because you’ll know the tools to avoid it. Sticking to a healthy lifestyle is by far the best advice, and is the best in the choices of diets for teens around.