Erin Jack
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle by eating proper food, getting enough sleep, indulging into a legitimate workout routine and staying away from sodas and packaged food are some of the methods which speed up the weight loss process in teens.
Teenage life is definitely a demanding one with all its peaks and valleys. This is the age when you have a mountain of assignments to finish and a huge study load. You also have to deal with exam pressure, peer pressure, heartbreaks and much more. You also have to endure many emotional rollar coasters. This is also the age where your body is constantly changing, mentally as well as physically. In today’s day and age with the rise of social media platforms such as Instagram and Tik-Tok, there is always a pressure, a need and the desire to look a certain way and be presentable to keep up with the ongoing trends. Amidst all this stress, staying healthy becomes an utmost important task.
Focus on being healthy is vital. It is important to do the entire process in a proper and methodical way. We see many teenagers going to an unhealthy extent and using improper ways to lose weight prove to be harmful to their bodies in present as well as in future. These teenagers usually tend to follow some viral trend or some new instant diet to lose weight instantaneously and such methods usually backfire.
The obesity percentage in teenagers has increased to a considerable extent according to a report and study by WHO.
But all of the negative effects can be nullified by just losing weight in a healthy manner.
Here are some of the ways in which teenagers can lose weight fast
It’s all about your food habits
Pizza, burgers, fries and so much more – teenage meals are full of all this junk food. Your first step towards losing weight should be cutting down on all the oily, greasy, unhealthy junk food. Consumption of these food items result in the accumulation and formation of stubborn fat which is extremely difficult to lose. Besides that, if not shed in teenage, this stubborn fat becomes a problem in your adult life as well.
As this is the age where you body is still in its growth phase, teenage years are your formative years in a true sense hence you need to provide your body with proper nutrients, proteins and necessary fat. These help in the development and progress of your bones, tissues, various organs, hormones as well as the brain. Many teens are misguided by multiple options hence they make poor food choices.
Try cutting down on sugar as well as greasy and fatty food. We are not asking you to stop it entirely but make sure you do not consume it in excess as excess of anything is always harmful for the body.
It is a must to have proper meals at proper time. Meals that include sufficient vitamins, minerals, proteins and many essential nutrients for the desired progress of the body mentally as well as physically.
Ditch the packaged food. These packages usually contain processed food items which contain sugar. As teenagers it is ok to indulge in a bit of snacking but don’t go overboard. Unrestrained consumption of snacks such as salty crackers, sweetened cereals, chips and deserts may cause serious health issues.
Exercise – Keep that body constantly active
We can’t stress this enough – exercise is an absolute must for a teenage body. Teenage is the foundation of your adult life and the foundation needs to be as strong as possible for a healthier life. In your teenage, your body needs to be active. Don’t get so engrossed in assignments or drown yourself so much in a pool of home-work that you don’t get time for your body. If your body is not healthy or active the after effects will be seen on your brain and thus your studies. So make sure you indulge in some form of physical activity be it sports, or a jog or a proper workout routine or even just brisk walking. All these physical activities make your body stronger and fitter and help you to lose weight faster.
Water instead of soda
Sodas or aerated drinks contain large amounts of sugar or caffeine. Both these ingredients if consumed in excess are extremely harmful for your body. Due to the sugar or caffeine content these sodas or aerated drinks can even cause addiction by making you crave for them. Excess consumption of these drinks can cause early onset of many diseases such as diabetes, blood pressure, dental problems and it might even weaken your bones. All of this together leads to weight gain. So if you want to reduce weight faster you better give up your sodas and replace them with a lot of water. Gulp down your food with water instead of sodas. This will reduce your calorie consumption and automatically help you loose those extra kilos faster.
Staying hydrated is the best gift you can give your body. Sufficient amount of water in the body maintains the optimum bone health and also keeps your dental health in check. Consuming lot of water also keeps your tummy full and prevents you from unhealthy and unnecessary snacking.
Don’t follow tedious or fad diets
Fad diets are a norm these days. Internet is full of those click bait articles and videos of fad diets which talk about weight loss in just few days. These fad diets do not work in the long run and rather have pernicious effects on your body. Some of the crash diets have the potential of making you seriously ill. Your diet should be something that you can follow most of your life. The uniformity and consistency in the healthy food routine and diet helps you to maintain your weight not only in teenage but through out your life. The food that you eat should provide your body with enough essential nutrients required for ideal functioning. These fad diets are usually very restrictive and hence you won’t be able to stick to them for a longer duration. Do not focus on such short term weight loss options because you might lose weight in those 3-4 days but you’ll gain it all back in no time.
Stop the comparison
We see that many teenagers today suffer from body image issues. Be it social media, print media or television shows, unfortunately most of these propagate a certain body type as attractive or perfect and this creates a lot of issues amongst teenagers who do not have that ‘said’ body type. This makes them be disappointed with their own bodies. Many teenagers across the globe suffer from body image issues and this is one of the causes of depression and anxiety amongst them.
Everybody has a different body type and every body type has a different way of losing or gaining weight. Try not to compare yourself with any particular celebrity or Instagram influencer or make their body type as your goal. Do not make your weight loss journey about trying to be like someone else. Your weight loss journey should be all about you. The methods you utilise should cater to your needs and the primary aim of your weight loss journey should be to become the healthier more confident version of you. When you walk towards your goal with such positive and healthier mind set you see quick results as opposed to when you try to hold yourself up against unrealistic body standards built by the media and the photoshopped images.
Sufficient sleep is a must
Your body is constantly working, either physically or mentally hence it requires sufficient amount of rest. Sleeping 7 to 8 hours a day makes your body and mind fresh and ready to take on the day and all the activities and tasks in it. These days many of the teenagers are distracted due to various external factors. Their bed time is preceded by countless Instagram scrolling or internet surfing and that has an adverse effect of their sleep cycle. Exams or major career decisions or even peer pressure are some of the reasons that cause intense stress amongst teenagers and this causes insomnia or sleeplessness hence it necessary that they should’nt stress much about all these things and just be consistent in their efforts.
Studies have shown that teenagers who are well rested and get enough sleep lose weight faster as compared to teenagers who do not sleep well. When you are asleep, the sleeping state helps your body to recharge itself and hence you feel fresh after a good nap or sleep. This fresh feeling boosts your energy levels and makes you ready to workout or put on those shoes and go for that jog. We have already established that to lose weight exercise is a must and to have the energy to exercise you need enough sleep.
What if all of the above doesnt work?
If you are diligently following all the above and still not losing weight then you should get a medical check up done.
Many of the disorders such as thyroid disorders, PCOS, various eating disorders are the major obstacles in the weight loss journey. So get diagnosed and get proper treatment for all these diseases and it should help you come back on track and lose weight faster.
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