10 Steps to a Healthy Teenage Diet Plan

The best teenage diet plan is one that fits the real need.

As a teenager it is very hard to be overweight, even if it is only slight or just ‘puppy’ fat - fat kids have a tough time.

You probably feel self-conscious, clothes don’t hang quite right and maybe you’re even getting teased or nagged!

Don't despair - we have a great teenage diet plan that's going to work if you follow it consistently.

There are many ways to lose weight and get the shape you want. If you’re a parent or friend, then this page can help you to help your overweight teenager.

But you need to find out what is an ideal weight for your age, for a boy or a girl, and then look at what the best teenage diet plan for your particular needs and challenges. Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa are common in the teens. This is attributed to peer pressure, low self image and fear of self.

As a teenager, you need to create an image of your own.

Scroll down to find a simple and free teenage diet plan you can use to guide your eating and exercise habits.

First some basics ...

Why teenagers might wish to diet?

Fad diets and teenagers often go together. Teenagers are constantly worrying about the appearance, not helped by peer pressure and the celebrity images that make skinny seem like the norm rather than the exception.

In fact, this can lead even teenagers and kids that don’t have a weight problem to take drastic steps to eating less (starvation, fad diets, vomiting etc).

And the worst teenage diet plan is skipping meals - not good at all!!

However, the average teen doesn't need to diet.

Mostly, a good teenage diet plan is one where you eat healthy food and engage in moderate exercise. Just by eating nutritious meals and staying away from junk food, which has nearly zero nutrients, your weight will improve.

What is an ideal weight for teenagers?

Keep in mind that being a little chubby is common in kids and teenagers. Most will lose the extra weight naturally while they grow. People come in all shapes and sizes and grow at different paces, so there’s not an ideal weight you should be.

What might be a good weight for one person might not be right for you. Even among teenagers who are the same height and age, some are more muscular or more developed than others. Avoid trying to be a shape that is just not genetically likely. Are you a family of tall, well built people? What’s the norm?

It is also quite normal for teenagers, especially girls, to carry a bit more fat during adolescence. This is just the usual physical effects of puberty.

So bearing in mind that the whole puberty thing mean there’s a huge variation in what is considered ‘normal’.

Using BMI [body mass index] for kids between 2- and 20 years old and taking the 50% percentile line – if you are over the 85% percentile you might be considered overweight - a healthy weight range for teenagers is given here:

What’s different about teenage diet plans?

The best teenage diet plan is one where you lose weight in a healthy and safe way.

In this regard, a teenage diet plan is not too much different from an adult weight loss plan. However, there are a few crucial aspects to bear in mind.

Teenagers are still in the growing process and it’s vital that they get enough needed nutrients in their diet.

This is not only for proper growth and development, brain function and so on, but it also will help avoid health complications and long term weight problems later down the line.

Teenagers with a specific medical condition, such as diabetes, diabetes, epilepsy, PCOS, thyroid problems, and maybe one that is contributing to weight gain, you'll want to see your doctor before beginning any restrictive diet or exercise plan.

How can parents or others help?

You think she's beautiful, but she thinks she's fat.

As a parent or carer, you want to help your overweight kids with their self-image. If they are not at an ideal weight, you need to help them develop a healthy diet mentality and to find a safe and effective teenage diet plan. The more on-board you are with your teenager, the more you can listen effectively and advice will be taken.

First you must consider whether or not your son or daughter is genuinely overweight, as above. Any teenage diet plan can pose a potential health risk. So it’s important to take medical advice if you have any concerns.

The best way you can help is to encourage good eating habits by being a role model for your teenager. Parents hold a lot of responsibility in teaching teenagers to make right choices.

Go here for my Healthy Eating Guidelines

Go here for my Healthy Meal Plans

Talking about some of the most nutritious foods helps your kids, as does putting healthy meals on the table and involving your teenager(s) in preparing and cooking family meals and snacks.

Eliminating junk foods from a teenager’s diet is not easy, especially when they are out and about with friends – they must make the decision themselves to do that. The maximum that can be done is to prevent having junk and processed foods at home. Having healthy meals together with the entire family will also help.

10 Steps to a Healthy Teenage Diet Plan

1. Eat enough calories

Daily calorie intake recommended for teenage girls is between 1800 - 2100 calories and 2,200 - 2,700 calories are necessary for teenage boys. If you are more than an average school kid amount of exercise, you might get away with eating more calories than this.

The trick to keeping a healthy weight is to get those calories from nutrient dense sources rather than quick fixes.

Start with a healthy breakfast!!! To lose weight, you’ll need to cut back around 20%. Effective weight loss is best done slowly! So don’t cut back too drastically, or you will actually lose muscle rather than fat.

This has the opposite effect long term as it ruins your body’s capacity to burn calories and you’ll tend to put weight on more easily than before.

2. Avoid high carb, sugary foods

It is very important that you avoid foods that lead most easily to fat storage. If you add extra calories to your diet that you are not burning up through daily activity and exercise, you will store these as fat.

So make a discipline of avoiding high carbohydrate foods, fast foods and processed packaged food, including sugar-based foods such as crisps, fizzy drinks, sweets and chocolate bars.

There is very limited nutritional value in them; and they give you spots! While these foods are easy to digest and so give you a quick energy buzz, they will turn very quickly into fat.

3. Do drink plenty of milk.

All teens should be getting masses of milk as you need to the calcium for growing bones! Choose skimmed (1% fat) milk or soya as it has less fat then whole milk and in some brands actually contains extra calcium.

4. Don’t cut out lean meats in your diet plan.

A growing body needs protein as its building block. AND if you maintain a healthy muscle mass you’ll burn more calories!

If you are vegetarian, it’s even more important to find foods that are rich in protein, such as nuts, beans, lentils, tofu. If you include dairy, you should eat plenty of eggs and cheese as good sources of protein.

5. Do eat plenty of fresh fruits and veggies.

This is important because they are full of antioxidants and other healthy substances.

6. It’s ok to eat fat!

Fat is a vital component of every cell in your body and vital for making certain hormones needed for healthy growth and development.

So for teenagers still growing, it’s really important you get a good intake of healthy fat. What that means is to include in your diet, the ‘essential’ fats for healthy cell growth and hormone functioning.

So don’t be too worried about low fat products – look to the calorie content more than the fat level.

High protein, normal fat foods will tend to fill you up longer than high carb, low fat products, so will actually help control your appetite.

7. Drink plenty of water.

Teenagers should also replace any fizzy drinks and fruit juices with water or at least low-sugar drinks. As you know water is the best hydrater for the teenage body. This also has the great benefit of keeping your skin clear and healthy and so help reduce problems with acne, break out spots and blemishes!

8. Avoid junk food.

You knew that one was coming, yeah?

It’s also ok to eat a little junk food from time to time, but try to make this few and far in between. It’s fat and calorie dense and nutrient light. You get a very short-lived ‘full’ feeling and end up craving more carb type foods later on, which will mean you cannot lose weight eating like this.

9. Eat small, frequent meals whenever possible.

Test out a few days first of all, but try to eat at least 4-5 times per day because this gives a boost to your metabolism through the day, and actually helps to burn fat.

10. Educate yourself.

Referring to healthy diet magazines and books will be very helpful to get ideas for your healthy teenage diet plan.

Check out What Color is my Diet.
It's quite inexpensive and you can order it from Amazon below.

Dr Heber explains in an easy language the ways in which fruit and vegetables that cover the range of colours give you the full set of nutrients and antioxidants for a healthy body and longer life.

And of course ... and sign up for my weekly ezine and get tips straight into your inbox with Real Weight Loss Tips!

EXTRA BONUS STEP!

Not strictly part of a ‘diet’ plan, I’ve added this extra step.

If you want to lose weight, as part of your teenage diet plans, you should increase your general level of activity and start some exercise you can enjoy regularly.

If you do this, any healthy teenager should start seeing some weight loss. This is sometimes all you need to do. Exercise builds up muscle tissue, which is a natural calorie burner.

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