wikiHow to Lose Weight As a Teenager

Are you tired of feeling down about your weight? Or perhaps your parents/peers are bugging you about your double chin? Lose weight, read this article and take the advice into consideration. It may be harder to lose weight as a teen because of all the goodies you see in the lunch room, or when you see your friends eating pizza. It is going to be hard, that's for sure, but if you are really determined and motivated, then you can do it! Follow these simple steps and you will be there in no time at all! But remember, don't overdo it because that is unhealthy! Be strong, not weak! Do it and don't give up!

Steps

Method 1 Pre-Weight Loss

1. 1 Make a Goal! Start with something simple, don't start off with a ridiculous goal that you'll never achieve, as you'll just feel bad when you don't get there.
2. 2 Make a plan. Find some spare time after school or at sports practice, and add an exercise routine to fill the gaps.
3. 3 Start your diet tomorrow when you wake up. Fresh starts often help once you only have one fresh start! The night before, prepare yourself. Plan out the next few weeks or months.

Method 2 Healthy Eating

1. 1 Consume healthy foods and do not skip meals. Eat five small meals each day, every 3-4 hours. Your blood sugar level will be steady, and you will not feel as hungry.
2. 2 Do light exercise before breakfast, even if it is only stretching. Do not push your body too far until a couple hours after breakfast. Your body most likely will have very low energy stores, and this will result a loss in muscle before your body uses fat. You need fuel in order to burn fat, otherwise you're just using muscle as energy. Do "not" skip breakfast. It gets your body and metabolism moving and stops cravings later on. So even if it's just a banana and a cup of tea, it will do so much more than if you had nothing to eat.  
3. 3 Avoid buying food in the school cafeteria or shop. Bring a packed lunch and no money for food. That way, cravings are resisted. In your lunch, you should have sandwiches, two pieces of fruit and water. No sweets or fatty food.
4. 4 Eat at the table, not standing up. Have one specific place where you will eat all your meals (unless you are out with friends). This keeps you from eating food mindlessly in front of the TV. Take time to chew, count to 30 for each bite. Chewing more can help you lose weight. You will find that you will get full faster, and will not have to eat as much.
   • Remember that it takes at least 20 minutes to actually notice that you're full or not hungry anymore. Try not to overeat, when you feel satisfied stop eating and don't let yourself eat anymore if you're not finished.
5. 5 Don't eat from 9pm to 6am. This will keep your body on a schedule. Because your metabolism isn't high at night (especially when you are sleeping), it also means your body won't be eating food when it can least digest it.
6. 6 When you snack, choose healthy fruits and vegetables rather than candy or chips. If you really hate veggies, have some hummus or peanut butter with it, or instead, opt for a handful of unsalted nuts. Greek yogurt helps boost up your metabolism and tastes great (plain with honey and berries is an excellent choice). Popcorn, minus added salt or butter, are excellent munchies. They are full of fiber.
7. 7 Before you go to a restaurant, look at what there is on the menu online if you can, and choose what you want there (sometimes they even show you the nutritional information). Not only does this mean that you can choose something healthier, it also means that you aren't likely to give in to cravings and choose something you just can't eat.
8. 8 Ask for smaller portions at meal times. It's easier than trying not to eat everything you get because it's an automatic habit to finish your meals.Try eating on a smaller plate, too. It tricks your brain into thinking you've eaten more than you really have.
9. 9 Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. You do not have to drink them down all at once, but keep sipping all day. Do whatever is comfortable and convenient for you, as long as you drink that amount of water. This will help you feel more full.
   • Other than water, almost anything you drink will contain calories. Learn to love the taste of water, and take in more fluids daily to improve your health and digestion. Fruit and vegetable juices, which are deprived of their fibers, are inferior to eating the fruits and vegetables themselves, so try to avoid juices. Unless you are making your own juice at home with a juicer, this is a great way to get tons of nutrients and adds in weight loss. It has also been proven that drinking three liters of water a day inhibits the loosening of skin, resulting in the formation of less wrinkles.

Method 3 Exercise

1. 1 Walk as much as you can. The average person burns about six calories per minute walking. Try to walk at least one mile a day to start. Each day walk a little further. Walk at a brisk pace, and if you find you are getting out of breath then slow down. In the beginning it is more important that you at least walk, rather than walk fast.
   • Take the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
   • Walking just 15 minutes a day increases life expectancy by three years, studies^[1] say.
   • Dance by yourself to the music on the television or your MP3 player. Any movements will make you lose weight, so have fun and dance your way to a thinner you!
2. 2 Exercise. It doesn't matter if you lift weights, walk around your neighborhood, swim, or jog on a treadmill, you will lose weight, as long as you exercise 3-4 days a week, and burn more than your calorie intake. If you don't have a treadmill, find a pool, walk into waist deep water, and run in place, this burns just as many calories as running on a treadmill.

Method 4 Other

1. 1 Weigh yourself every week on a certain day in the morning before you eat and after you go to the bathroom. This will show you've lost weight rather than weighing every day. If you are still growing, then your weight should not change at all. You will think that you have gained weight in fat but you really just have grown a bit or gained muscle. Measure around your waist instead. That way you see if you have lost fat.
   • Weighing yourself daily can lead to what some people call "scale obsession," or an unhealthy fixation on daily results. Water retention in the body can be as much as five pounds per day, so the scale can also be somewhat misleading.
   • Remember to think of weight loss as an ongoing process. Your hard work and determination will pay off, however, so long as you keep your spirits high and your outlook optimistic. Very few people are completely satisfied with their bodies, but try to love your body as much as possible. It will definitely love you back.
2. 2 Record your progress. This way you can notice any major changes. Keep a log of everything you eat, every exercise you do, and how many inches your waist is (or whatever kind of body part that needs weight loss). Add up your total calorie intake of that day (try to keep it at a maximum of 2000) and how many calories you burned (most exercise machines will give you an estimate of how many calories you burned). If your diet or exercise changed you can see what plan worked best for you.
   • Also, if you record the calories you have eaten, you can input them in websites that will then calculate whether you should have eaten more, or fewer calories that day, and you can plan from that.
   • Download an app. There are some great apps that are free to download that can help you track your progress, such as MyFitnessPal and MapMyFitness. Check out your apps store and see what's on offer to help you.
3. 3 Be confident. If you are confident about losing weight you will be more likely to have some great progress! It actually works!
4. 4 Don't be too hard on yourself! If you spend a day in your pajamas and watch a few movies for the day, don't sweat it. If you have a big feed of junk food one day, don't worry! Just get back on track the next day!

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