5 Tips to Help your Overweight or Obese Teen Lose Weight
As an adult, being overweight is hard enough. But, being overweight or obese as a teenager is even tougher. There is peer pressure to contend with, teasing from classmates or bullies, and that overwhelming feeling of not fitting in. Not to mention how it affects self esteem, confidence and their health. Here are some ways you can help your overweight or obese teen lose weight.
- Begin by keeping healthier foods in the house. Swap out those little cakes, cookies and ice cream for healthier snacks like nuts, raw veggies and fruit.
- Challenge your teen to a weight loss competition. If you’re overweight, you two could start a weight loss journey together. Whoever loses the most percentage of body mass over a specified period of time, wins. You two can decide what the prize is, but make it fun and challenging enough to be worthwhile.
- Ask your teen to start walking with you. Not only is this great exercise, but it’s also a great way to spend time talking.
- If you can afford it, get your teen and a friend a gym membership together. Working out is always more fun with a friend.
- Teach your teen proper portion control. We are so bombarded with ads that teach us we have to eat huge amounts of food in order to feel satisfied, but the truth is we only need the actual serving size listed on the package label. One key to succeeding at this is to serve meals on smaller plates and bowls.
Obviously you never want your teen to feel as if you don’t love or accept them the way they are so approaching their weight issue should be handled with care and love. Some of the changes mentioned above can simply be done without saying a word, such as number 1 and number 5. If you’re not sure how to approach your teens weigh issue, you may find it beneficial to get some outside guidance.



