There are a number of reasons why teens could gain excess weight, ranging from puberty to less physical activity, unnecessary calorie intake, genetic factors, to name but a few.
However, the basic thrust of this article is to share with you some weight loss tips for teens.
These includes but not limited to the following:
1. Fuel Your Body with Nourishing Foods
Nourishing foods are foods that contain excellent amount of vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
Since teens are still growing, their body requires higher amount of certain nutrients than older people.
For teens who want to lose weight faster, it is imperative to consume nutrient-dense foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, and other nutrients that encourage weight loss.
Foods like this are typically excellent source of vitamins and minerals and contain low calories – all of which could help you feel full for a longer duration and may prevent overeating of unnecessary calories.
2. Cut Back On Sweetened Beverages
Cutting back on sweetened beverages is perhaps one of the easiest ways to lose weight fast for teens.
To begin with, sweetened beverages such as sodas, energy drinks, sweet teas, and fruit juices are loaded with added sugars and empty calories.
Research shows that excess sugar consumption can cause weight gain in teens and may also trigger certain health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, tooth decay, heart disease, acne, gum disease, and certain cancers.
These and more are why teens are advised to drink water or other sugar-free drinks instead of sugary juices and sodas that could affect their overall wellbeing.
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3. Add In Physical Activity
Physical activity can never be overemphasized as far as weight loss is concerned.
The fortunate thing is that you don’t need to hit the gym or get listed in a sports team to become physically sit.
All you need do is to switch to a non-sedentary life; sit less and move more – it will help shed excess fat from your body.
For instance, you can try a new sporting activity week in week out. This could be hiking, biking, swimming, etc.
You can also engage in active hobbies that increases your activity levels.
Part of the benefits of increasing your overall daily activity are that it can help improve your muscle mass, which in turn helps the body to burn calories in a more efficient manner.
4. Limit Added Sugars
Teens in most cases like eating foods rich in added sugars, such as sausage rolls, pasties, cakes, biscuits, popcorn, etc.
That said, cutting back on added sugars is important for weight watchers.
This is majorly because such foods usually come with low content of protein and fiber, which could lead to increased hunger and food cravings.
According studies, people who consume a high-sugar food in the morning are likely to feel hungrier and consume more food than those who eat low-sugar food.
Read Also: 10 Best Healthy Fat Burning Snacks for Effective Weight Loss At Home
5. Don’t Avoid Fat
As earlier highlighted, teenagers require higher amount of fat than adults, since their bodies are still yet to finish developing.
In an attempt to accelerate your weight loss goals, you may want to stop consuming dietary fat due to their calorie content.
This is a grievous mistake because when you cut out too much fat, it can impact your growth and development as a teen.
Instead of drastically reducing fat intake in teenagers, it is best to opt for healthy fat sources, such as nuts, seeds, avocados, olive oil, fatty fish and other foods that promote healthy weight loss.
6. Cut Back on Processed Foods
One of the habits peculiar to most teens is having a treat now and then.
However, the plain truth is that eating too many processed foods is totally unhealthy and can increase the risk of weight gain.
This is because most processed foods, such as desserts, candy, chips, fast food, and sugary baked goods are typically rich in calories but contain lower amount of important nutrients like fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals.
If you keep consuming the aforementioned foods, there is high tendency that you will add extra pounds or even develop certain health conditions.
Rather than consuming unhealthy, weight watchers can prepare homemade meals and snacks using whole, healthy foods. This will help control what goes into your food.
Additionally, healthier foods such as vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and proteins should be consumed instead of these unprocessed foods that pose a number of risks on the human health.
Note: If you must eat chips or other sweetened foods, be sure to eat it only on occasional treat and not on a daily basis.
Read Also: Weight Loss Diet: 7-Day Ketogenic Diet Meal Plan to Lose 10lbs in A Week
7. Eat More Vegetables
Vegetables are excellent sources of important nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber.
They also contain antioxidants, which help to shield the human cells from potentially harmful free radicals that can trigger serious damages in the body.
More importantly, it might interest you to know that vegetables are packed with fiber and water, both of which can help enhance weight loss simply by increasing satiety and reducing hunger levels.
Read Also: Low Carb Veggies: 10 Best Low-Carb Vegetables You Can Eat On a Keto Diet
OTHER TIPS TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST FOR TEENS
- Stay Properly Hydrated; drink approximately 2 litres of water daily.
- Reduce Stressful activities
- Get Enough Sleep; at least seven to eight hours per night
- Getting enough sleep is essential for maintaining a healthy body weight.
- Avoid night snacking
- Take a Walk
- Eat whole, unprocessed grain
COMMON HABITS TO AVOID
Below are some of the common unhealthy practices you should avoid:
1. Skipping Meals
Skipping meals can be costly at times as it may prompt you to consume more unnecessary calories at your next meal, which could eventually lead to excess weight gain.
2. Fad Diets
There are a number of reasons you should avoid fad diet.
Part of it is that your body may not get enough calories, which may eventually end up sabotaging your efforts to lose weight.
That’s not all; you may also experience rapid dehydration, develop serious digestive problems, get tired easily, inadequate vitamin and mineral levels, to name but a few.
3. Diet Pills
Most of the diet pills on the market are not regulated and may trigger serious side effects when used.
That said, it is equally important to bear it in mind that there is no pill that can help lose weight in a permanent, safe and effective manner.
Before taking pills or other related products at all, be sure to consult your physician for professional advice.
4. Fat-Burning Supplements
The vast majority of the fat-Burning Supplements we have around are not scientifically-proven to be safe and effective for losing weight.
Again, some may also interfere with other medication, or even expose you to serious health conditions.
This is why you need to avoid taking fat-Burning Supplements and the likes, unless it was prescribed or recommended by your doctor.