Weight Loss Diets for 15 Year Olds

Teenagers go through bodily changes during puberty that affect the way they store and burn fats. Weight gain is common amongst teens who do not maintain healthy eating habits or nutritious diets. If your 15-year-old needs to lose weight, it is important for her to do so safely. Extreme diets are not appropriate for teens. Teach your child diet tips that abet long term weight control and health.

Balanced Diets

• Your teen's diet should be balanced for maximum weight loss results. This means giving your teen meals with a protein, a carbohydrate, a dairy product and a vegetable or fruit. A balanced diet also pertains to eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, with some snacks in between. Do not eliminate food groups completely, because it can have an adverse affect on your teen's growth, development and concentration in school.

Portion and Caloric Control Diets

• Some diet regimens require you and your teen to monitor portion control and caloric intake. This type of diet is based on the concept that eating smaller portions, and not exceeding a certain number of calories in a day, helps teens lose weight. Without portion control or calorie counting, it is easy for most teens to overeat. Reduce meal sizes and calories safely by checking with a physician first and finding how many calories a teen should eat in a day for weight loss. Portion and caloric control diets usually require teens to keep track of the foods they eat and the calories they consume in a journal.

Low-Sugar Diets

• A low-sugar diet does not mean replacing your teen's favorite desserts with foods that contain artificial sweeteners or sugar substitutes, such as aspartame and saccharin. Rather, a low-sugar diet is one that promotes choosing healthy sweets instead of foods and beverages that are loaded with sugar. Sweet junk foods, such as candy bars, candy, ice cream, cookies, fruit juice and soda, contribute to teenage weight gain. Replace candy with fresh fruits and replace soda with water. Sweet junk foods should be eliminated if you want your teen to lose weight. This also helps your teen keep his teeth healthy and prevents early-onset diabetes.

Low-Carb Diets

• A variety of low-carbohydrate diets exist for kids, teens and adults. A low-carb diet means cutting back on carbohydrate intake by reducing breads, pasta, rice, potatoes and other starches. This is not to say that you eliminate them completely. Carbohydrates have a positive impact on teenagers' energy, which is especially important if your child plays sports. However, certain modifications make a difference in your teen's weight. For instance, making him a half-sandwich with one slice of whole grain bread is a smarter choice than a full-sized sandwich on white bread. Substitute potatoes with vegetables. Additionally, do not load up on carbs at dinner. Try to keep the majority of a teen's daily carbohydrate intake to breakfast and lunch, because eating carbs at dinner does not allow the body to burn them off as effectively as the body does during the day.