10 tips to support an overweight teen

A supporter of teen weight loss. Your 10 point check list!

Thank you for accepting the challenge to support Chris in his/her goal to lose weight . These vital tips apply to teens of both sexes, so we have called our example Chris.

You may be Chris, or someone just like him/her - overweight or even obese and wanting to change so that you can be like other teens. One thing I need to ask you – how badly do you want to change?
Very badly. Desperately?
Excellent, because without great desire to lose weight permanently, you will inevitably fail. The path you are taking will need all your grit and determination. In spite of the hype you read there is nothing easy about weight-loss.
When you find your helper, discuss this check list with them.

Let’s get down to business – these are the matters you need to talk about, and research. Do your research carefully as you investigate your options.
Although there are websites with valid plans and products, the majority promote pills or programs that are practically useless. Books are often a safer bet.
Let’s talk to your support leader (and you of course), using the Ten Tips.

Tip 1. Everyone is different.
Glaringly obvious perhaps, but many weight loss programs ignore this fact, with stereotyped advice for both eating and exercise. One "size" does not fit all when it comes to shedding fat! (In really difficult cases you may need the help of a professional such as a dietician or trainer).  If that is not possible, make sure Chris does not “under eat” which means a "starvation" diet. Do not subject him/her to some half-baked boot camp, or even severe exercise. If you do, as sure as the sun rises in the East you will regret it!  Remember easy does it,  time is on the  side of Chris and quick fixes have hidden problems the "quick fix" purveyors fail to tell you.

Tip 2. Seek out the causes. Stresses, addictions, medications etc.
You must spend time discussing this aspect of Chris’s life. It's usually the key to being  overweight.
Is there anything “different” about Chris? Medication, illness, family problems, severe stress and so on? While this is the most important task, it’s also the most difficult to ascertain. Understand the reasons why your teen friend seeks more food than is needed.

Tip 3. Discuss  health, life habits and ambitions
Take note of Chris’s current diet, and what he/she does for exercise. Research ways of improving it. Chat about a plan to improve  health and lose weight for Chris. There are many plans available (several good ones, among the rubbish).
Emphasise that your support is for a life change for Chris, not a quick fix. This means a regular pattern of exercise, no matter how simple, such as walking to school or work, and eating fruit, vegetables and reducing or“cutting out” garbage. Yes I mean no cakes, fries, and other processed fattening foods. Chris's  body is crying out NOW for healthy food and exercise.

Tip 4. Argue the case against quick fix “dieting”.
Once a diet plan is finished, the weight lost inevitably returns. Not only that, an unbalanced diet may be deleterious, lacking in essential nutrients that are vital to the health of a growing teen.  Everyone, including Chris, desires a quick weight loss. I'm very sorry - it just doesn’t work without serious risk. Slowly does it please.

Tip 5. Educate Chris – what is a good diet, and why.
Everyone's body needs correct nutrients. Without those nutrients your body cannot function – without affecting your health. One example of this is vitamin C. Before it was discovered vitamin C was needed in your diet, people whose diets were deficient in this vitamin succumbed to a horrible condition called scurvy. Three hundred years ago scurvy was common among sailors because their diets were lacking in fresh fruit and vegetables, which are rich in vitamin C.

What did they do? The problem was solved when they ate limes, a citrus fruit. Limes could be stored for long periods on board ship, providing the sailors with their essential vitamin C. No more scurvy! Because of this British sailors were nick-named “Limeys”.
Without fruit and vegetables (the fresher the better), or suitable replacements,  you cannot expect to be healthy.

Tip 6. Make exercise something to look forward to
What do you do if Chris is unused to, and hates, exercise?

Your teen may be a life-long fan of TV and the internet. The parents drive Chris to and from school so "exercise" simply means walking from one classroom to another.  It's time to change that.
Every long journey begins with a single step.

Now you have to get started, and this is where your support is most needed. Arrange to meet Chris on a regular basis perhaps 3 or 4 times a week for a walk. If it's neccessary to begin with, just walk around the house. Anything- just to keep moving for at least ten minutes. Do this regularly and gradually increase the distance. The walk can also be used for building up self awareness and esteem, so in time  Chris looks forward to the occasion.  If you think this sounds easy – it isn’t, but exercise and self-confidence is most vital to Chris's progress.
Why not form a group, and invite friends? Walking groups often work well.

Hey! If Chris is addicted to the computer or the television, the two greatest exercise hijackers of all, be quick to comment that successful weight loss depends on not being a slave to the stationary silver screens.
Proclaim “Bounce up, shake yourself and live a little!” Be excited.
Is it really that difficult? Loosen up, give it a try. It's only an hour day!

Tip 7. Snacking – The Fat-loss Thief!
When eating between meals, which most teens do, make sure Chris eats healthy food. Nuts (unsalted), vegetables, fruit with possibly a little bread or pasta. If Chris is now focussed on losing weight, it's time to teach how to follow a plan, and keep off fattening foods between meals. Teens need to eat to grow. The problem arises with the quantity and “type” of food. They are the two killer issues. Constantly emphasise you are on an adventure of a life change - "sweet" foods, including drinks, need to be drastically reduced. So, work together, make a good plan and stick to it.

Tip 8. Strategies for reducing meal size.
There is a simple equation that describes how you put on weight. If “calories in” (eaten) are greater than “calories burned” by your body, your weight increases. Explain this to Chris. and point out what calories
are, and which food have the most calories. It’s possible your teen may not understand the importance of a balanced diet.  Chris may have been brought up on healthy foods but simply ate too much and needs to plan to eat less.

Here are a few tips. They will not beat the determined eater, but will help somebody who has the right intentions and determination. Drink more water, buy smaller food plates, weigh the quantities, make use of one of the many diet plans available. Eat more vegetables. Eat less carbohydates (bread and pasta) and "sweet" foods (sugar, soft drinks, cake,  biscuits, cookies). Many foods on the market today have little or no nutritional value. Why eat them?
Make it part of your plan to eliminate them.

Tip 9. Barriers to losing weight.
Your very first goal is to have Chris's family onside. They may be overweight themselves, and not even realise there is a problem. If so, you need to be prepared. With care, show them the statistics which link obesity emphatically to many diseases – heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes to name a few. It is a serious difficulty should the family not be a strong support to Chris. You might even encourage them to participate!
There are also the “saboteurs”. Those foolish people and bullies who goad Chris into eating and leading a sedentary lifestyle by using “negative ridicule”. Handle carefully, but be firm in your support if schoolyard bullies try to stall  progress.  During a lifetime everyone encounters negative people, and so dealing with them is a part of everyone’s life skills. Unfortunately the skill often comes late in life. Chris will need strong support if confronted in this way.
A third barrier is being offered the wrong kind of food, often at the very time Chris is hungry. Strategies to deal with this situation should be thought out beforehand. Plan to have  food ready  and waiting so the temption is avoided. Easier said than done perhaps, but we are on a almost warlike mission arent we?

Tip 10. Teen self esteem. Be Positive
There is no such thing as a perfect body,  so when, on self examination Chris make a disparaging remark, or you notice Chris is “down” because of  body shape, you have to act positively. Nobody is perfect, but they can and will improve significantly under your guidance. Their improvement is measurable, and there is information about such things as Body Mass Index, which is a measure of their weight and height ratio, compared with age. Encourage Chris to chart progress, it’s always good to eyeball those pounds sliding away.

I wish you all the best. The road will be full of "bumps and bruises", but keep focussed, and give yourself at least six months to see a marked change.

Think of the hare and the tortoise – slow and steady wins the race!