6. If your teen snacks, teach them to snack wisely It may be difficult for your teenage child to make healthy choices when they are at school, as often the hallways are lined with vending machines, but it is possible. Why not try and encourage them to replace even one bag of chips each day with a much healthier grab and go option from home, such as frozen grapes, an orange, strawberries or other fresh fruit? They may even like to take some sliced red, orange or yellow peppers, a few cherry tomatoes or baby carrots instead.

7. Watch the Size of the Portions of food that they have each meal When it comes to the portions that a teen eats, size really does matter. If you can, encourage your child to cut back and to stop eating when they feel full. You may find that just one slice of pizza, or half the pasta on the plate is enough to make them feel full.

8. Look at the Calories in the drinks that they have An average 12 ounce can of soda has 150 calories and 10 teaspoons of sugar in it. Also, the calories and sugar that you find in fruit juice, specialty coffees and other drinks can also add up quickly as well. So getting your teenager to drink more water, instead of soda and other sugary drinks, will save on the calories and their sugar intake as well. Why not suggest that they drink flavored water, seltzer water or unsalted club soda instead?

9. Let them have the occasional treat Allowing your teen to have a late night pizza whilst at a friend’s, or some nachos when at the movies, need not derail your teen’s healthy eating plan. Instead, suggest that when they are out, they have a breadstick with sauce instead of garlic bread…or that they share a snack with their friend, instead of having an order to themselves. It is important that you let your teenager know that they are in control, and the occasional treat is okay. The most important thing is getting them to lead a healthier lifestyle.

10. Ways of getting the Whole Family Involved Rather than just singling out your teenager to lead a healthier lifestyle, why not adopt these healthy habits for the whole family? After all, not just eating healthier foods, but getting more exercise is good for everybody. a. Why not encourage the whole family to eat more fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains? It is important that you set a good example for all your children. b. Forget the junk food, and although healthy foods often cost more, it is a good investment in your child’s life. c. Why not try out new recipes or healthier alternatives to those family favorites? d. Don’t allow anyone to eat while sitting on the couch, as this will curb mindless eating at other times that they sit watching the TV, or when on the computer. e. Arrange some family activities, such as walks in the evening, or visiting a local recreation center at the weekend.

11. Be Positive in your Attitude when helping your teen to lose weight Being overweight does not always lead to a lifetime of low self esteem, but your acceptance of your teen’s weight problem is critical. Remember to listen to your teen’s concerns regarding their weight, and comment on their skills, efforts and accomplishments. Make it perfectly clear to your child that your love for them is unconditional, and not dependent on how they look. Why not help your teen learn to express their feelings in much healthier ways, say by writing down what they feel in a journal? If your child is struggling with low self esteem, and finding it difficult to cope with their weight in a healthy way, then consider looking for a support group, formal weight control program or professional counseling to help them. There are many support groups around which will provide your teen with the tools to counter any social pressure and cultivate a positive attitude with regard to their self esteem. This will help them to take control of their weight. These benefits will then last them a life time.

About the Author:
This article was written by Miss. Britney Anna, a Author at UniqueArticlesDirectory.com. You can read all Miss. Amitha Laila teenagers weight loss articles teenagers weight loss I article series and teenagers weight loss II article series. Miss. Britney Anna love to write any article related to teenagers weight loss.

Losing weight as a teen is far different from losing weight as an adult. Weight loss in a teen depends on their age, the metabolic rate, their eating habits, as well as the type of lifestyle they lead.

For many teens, losing weight is easier than as an adult, as the body burns calories much easier, as well as quicker. Often, teens lead a much more active lifestyle; they enjoy doing exercise, walking, jogging or participating in some form of sport. These types of exercises will only help to boost a teen’s metabolism, and also increase the amount of calories that they burn.

Teens could start with one of the many fad diets that are around, but they should only use these for about a week (anything longer will cause damage to their bodies). After a week of using a fad diet, they should then continue on a much more healthy diet regime, and one which allows them to lose weight more slowly (which is the best way to lose weight healthily).

When on a diet, a teen should also lead a more active kind of life; they can do this by exercising whenever possible, or participate in some sporting activity. This is especially important for teenagers, as they are still growing, and they need more food while they are still growing. So they need to exercise in order to help remove some of the extra calories they are gaining from the extra food they are eating. So, get out and exercise. If they sit around at home watching TV or playing on the computer, they will soon find that their weight has increased.

As a teenager, you have much more energy, so why not put it to good use by taking up exercise or some sports activity. It is best that a teen that plays a sport or does some physical activity, should choose one that they enjoy and will have fun while doing it. The best benefit is that they are not only exercising their bodies, but the will also be burning off the excess fat and calories, and so improving their health.

It is imperative, therefore, for those teens to lead both an active life, and have a healthy diet, in order to achieve maximum performance and productivity. Many teens who lead such lives, find that they are able to do everything they want, and do not suffer from fatigue or weakness when doing things.

About the Author:
This article was written by Miss. Britney Anna, a Author at UniqueArticlesDirectory.com. You can read all Miss. Amitha Laila teenagers weight loss articles teenagers weight loss I article series and teenagers weight loss II article series. Miss. Britney Anna love to write any article related to teenagers weight loss.

There have been studies carried out that indicate a child who is obese at the age of 6, will have a 50% chance of becoming obese as an adult. Also, if one or both of the child’s parents are overweight, then the chances increase to 80%. These are very sobering and scary statistics for a parent whose child is overweight.

However, there is good news that, with help from the adults in their lives, these children can be helped. They can be taught healthier behaviors, which relate to both their eating habits and improving the physical activity they do, and this will help them to lose the weight.

The following 4 steps will not only help to facilitate healthier eating habits, but will also increase the amount of physical activity that they do.

1. Assessing the Health of Your Child and whether they are overweight Before you make any personal or environmental changes in your teen’s life, take a few minutes to survey what your home life is like. Do you allow them to lead a sedentary life, and are they given plenty of chances to over eat at any time? If you do, then it is important that you bring any changes in to these areas of their life gradually. First, look at just how many hours your teen spends either watching TV, or sitting at their computer. A teen can spend up to 24 hours a week watching TV. Log any time that they spend doing either, watching TV or on the computer, and try to reduce this by half. When you have meals, does your family gather around a table, or do you eat most of your meals sitting in front of the TV or computer? If you do, then try and make it a family rule that, in the future, all food (including snacks) will be eaten in the kitchen or in the dining room at a table. Such a small change has been shown to significantly reduce the amount of over eating that takes place in the home. Next, you will need to take a close look at your fridge and food cupboards. Which foods do you have that you are most likely to eat when hunger hits you? If the foods are high in fat, sweetened or low in nutritional value, then why not try to find healthier alternatives instead, such as fresh fruit and vegetables?

2. Do Not Shame your Child into Losing Weight Neither adults nor children can be shamed into losing weight, and an overweight teen will know that they weigh too much. But what a teen does not know, is how they can achieve a normal weight, as well as increase their self esteem. Teens like to know that their parents love them unconditionally, whether they are fat, thin or normal. For any parent, mastering the fine art of loving our children just the way they are, while helping them to achieve a healthier body can be difficult. Any parent must learn to “give time” and believe that the lessons we teach them will one day come to fruition. This means that we can teach our youngsters to visualize that healthy plate (one which is half salad or vegetables, a quarter of starches and the remainder are made up of protein such as fish, meat, poultry or soy). But you also know that at some point, they will sneak either sweets or cookies into the home, and upset the balance that you have achieved. A parent can persist in teaching their teens to see their plate before any food is put on it. This is helpful, as it creates a sense of portion control that is helpful when the parent is not around to monitor what food they are actually having. This portion control can also be practiced not just at home, but when visiting a restaurant as well.

3. Take up some type of Physical Activity as a Family The recommended amount of physical activity to be done by an adult is 30 minutes, and 60 minutes for children, which should be done several times a week. However, if you are looking to lose weight, then more physical activity may be necessary. A great way of breaking the pattern of the lives that many families lead is to arrange activities that involve plenty of movement for the whole family together. Not only do these types of activities burn calories, they can also serve as a setting for parent and child communication. It is especially important in a child’s teen years, when such opportunities for a parent to interact with their teen are at a premium. Also, there is little or no financial cost involved in going for a walk or having a bike ride, and many communities now have either indoor or outdoor swimming pools which do not cost to much to use. Just taking the family dog for a walk in the evening not only makes the dog happy, but will help to increase the family’s metabolism.

4. How to encourage the right sort of behavior in your teen The best way to help an overweight or obese teen is through your own behavior. Too often, teens will do as an adult does, rather than what we tell them. No parent can ask their child to turn off the TV when we are actually watching it in another room, or to stop using the computer when they are spending hours themselves surfing the net. Nor should they restrict the portions of food they eat, when they, themselves, do not watch what they are eating. Why would any child want to drink water or munch on fruit or vegetables, when they see the adults around them drinking sugar laden soda or having a bag of potato chips? When looking to lead a healthier kind of life style, it should be done one day at a time, and the end result will be well worth the effort.

About the Author:
This article was written by Miss. Britney Anna, a Author at UniqueArticlesDirectory.com. You can read all Miss. Amitha Laila teenagers weight loss articles teenagers weight loss I article series and teenagers weight loss II article series. Miss. Britney Anna love to write any article related to teenagers weight loss.