Starting out in life as an overweight child or teen sets a bad precedent for his or her future. Whether we like it or not, we are all judged by other people in no small part based upon our appearance. As shallow as this may sound, it is a fact of life the world over. With a few minor exceptions, most people throughout the world value someone more – at least initially – when they are fit and trim looking.

What about inner beauty? Of course, the real value of who we really are is all about what is on the inside. But, as an overweight teen, it can be hard to meet others for either friendship or dating due to being judged about your weight. Overweight people are assumed to be lazy, slovenly, and undisciplined – rightly or wrongly. As much as this truth hurts, it is important to acknowledge it.

Apart from the social problems and missed opportunities faced by overweight teens, they face a number of serious health-related and psychological challenges concerning self-image. This is no way to start out in life.

If you are a teen or parent looking for a teenage diet plan, check out these 7 great teen diet ideas for losing weight and keeping it off:

1. Enlist the support of your parents and close friends:
Merely memorizing a list of healthy-for-you foods is not enough to help you meet your weight goals. Anybody can go a week or two eating a healthy diet. But, what keeps teens on the path toward good health is having a solid support structure around them. For starters, parents need to set a good example for healthy eating at home and when making food choices for the home at the grocery store.

2. Build exercise into your daily routine:
Some form of exercise should be as routine for you as taking a shower or brushing your teeth each day. You quite simply need to integrate exercise into your schedule. Even taking two, 15-minute walks each day can do wonders for keeping the weight off.

3. Eat more fruits and vegetables:
Fruits and veggies provide the vitamins, minerals, unprocessed carbohydrates and fiber you need to get through the day. Aim for having a “colorful plate” of food for at least two of your three meals. The variety will do you good.

4. Focus on whole grains:
Whole grains are very good for your health, and a diet of whole grains can help keep the weight off. Examples include: barley, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, flaxseed, oats, rye, wheat berries and wild rice.

5. Eat low-fat dairy, fish, and meat products:
Eating lean meat and dairy each day is a healthy way to get your daily allowance of protein while keeping the fat off.

6. Cut out soda from your diet:
Soda is a real diet-killer. Drinking soda means drinking loads of empty calories and extra salt that do nothing good for your body.

7. Watch those processed foods:
Avoid foods containing trans fats, processed flour, processed sugar, and corn syrup as much as you can. All of these things just pack the pounds onto your body but lack other benefits.
Bonus tip: drink plenty of water each day. Water helps to speed up your metabolism, while helping your body to flush out toxins.

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Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: Teenage Diet Plan, 7 Great Teen Diet Ideas