Teen Diets and Weight Loss
Nutrition for kids, children, pre-teens, and teenager is important - due to the significant amount of growing that is going on during this phase of their life.
Getting Help For Your Overweight Child
There are a number of excellent holistic programs out there to assist parents in helping their overweight child.
SparkTeens RECOMMENDED
A great program from the developers of SparkPeople is SparkTeens. This free program has all the effective features of SparkPeople, but is geared to relate to teens and their lifestyles. There are also sections for parents and for teachers to help them assist teens in getting fit and losing weight.
Since overweight teens can often endure bullying and teasing at school, SparkTeens, is a great platform for overweight teens to connect, support one another, and share their successes and hurts. What's better is that all of these resources are available for free!
Sample Meal Plan (Slimkids)
This meal plan was written by Laura Kraemer of Slimkids.
You may substitute any type of food for the ones listed as long as they are the same type of food!
For example: Instead of chicken salad sandwich, you can choose any kind of sandwich you would like. That goes for the vegetable and meat choices. We limit pasta, rice, and macaroni and cheese on the program because the portion size is so small (½ cup). You can reintroduce those foods later after you have lost the weight. Kids can still have hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries (baked), cereal, and other kid foods and still lose weight! Children under 11 years old can lose one pound a week. Kids and teens over 11 years old can lose 2 pounds a week when they follow the program.
The program shows you exactly what to do to lose weight the healthy way-it's easy, and it's written for the child (over 8) or teen do on their own using words they understand. Parents will help the younger child follow the program.
| Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
|
1 large egg scrambled or fried, use a pan sprayed with oil spray. 1 slice whole-wheat toast with 1 teaspoon butter or reduced calorie or margarine ½ grapefruit 1 cup skim or 1% milk |
1 chicken salad sandwich made with 3 ounces cooked chicken breast, celery, lettuce, 1 teaspoon mayonnaise, pita bread or 2 slices whole-wheat or white bread. (remember-you can trade any type of sandwich for what's on the menu) 1 apple (or other whole fruit) 1 cup mini fresh carrots, or large carrot cut up with 2 teaspoons of non-fat dip on the side for dipping. 1 juice pack drink |
3 ounces lean roast beef, broiled (other lean protein source)
½-cup mushrooms, fresh or canned, served hot over beef 2 cups tossed salad with 2 tablespoons reduced calorie salad dressing 1 cup cooked broccoli 1 cup skim or 1% milk |
| Snack | ||
|
2 cups popped light popcorn 1 chocolate milkshake (recipe included in the program) |
||
Approximate totals for the day: 3 milks, 4 breads, 3 fruits, 2 servings of protein, 4 vegetables, and 3 fats.
If you don't like a food on the menu, you may substitute any type of food for the ones listed as long as they are the same type of food and is the same portion size!