Are you looking for weight loss programs struggling with obesity that is both healthy and simple? The following 5 tips will help them lose weight in a manner that’s not only healthy, but also sustained.

1. Make it a habit, not a “diet”

Crash diets don’t work. Period. In fact, people who lose a lot of weight quickly tend to not only gain it back just as fast, but also add a bit extra. Besides the obvious frustration of failure, this weight gain/loss yo yo effect is not good for the heart.

So, the first step to weight loss programs should be committing to a lifelong habit of healthy habits and a gradual weight loss that doesn’t exceed 1 to 2 pounds each week.

2. Cut Down on Sugary Drinks

Soda and sugary juices are killers for a young person’s weight. One can of soda usually consists of 130 to 180 calories, which is over 10 percent of one’s daily requirement and doesn’t even take into account the impact that sugar has on the body’s metabolism.

If your child is a fizzy drink addict, try cutting out one can per day at the beginning and replace it with water or sugar-free juice. Eventually, work up to a soda-free lifestyle.

3. Get Moving

Teens typically need about 60 minutes of physical activity per day for general health. That doesn’t mean they need to do all 60 minutes at once or spend the entire hour sprinting. It simply means the body needs to be routinely moving throughout the day.

So, consider having your son or daughter put the car ride to school aside and replace it with walking or biking to classes most days. Or alternatively, instead of plopping down in front of the television after school, they could develop a new habit of shooting a few hoops in the driveway, jumping rope or walking to the mall with friends.

4. Eat Breakfast

Thin people eat breakfast. It gives one’s metabolism a major boost in the morning, meaning the effort will help to burn more calories throughout the day. It also assists in stopping your teen from loading up on empty calories at lunch or during a mid-morning sugar crash.

Instead, opt for healthy breakfast like a bowl of cereal, a bit of fruit and bread or some granola sprinkled over yogurt.

5. The next time you head out grocery shopping, ask your teen to join you. Talk together about avoiding the pizzas and chips, and instead purchase healthy snacks like baby carrots, grapes, cherry tomatoes, pretzels, string cheese, hummus or other easy after-school snacks that are tasty, but healthy.

The truth is, you don’t need an instant-fix weight loss programs instead, you need a sustained lifestyle change. That means snacking smart, eating breakfast, getting moving and cutting out empty liquid calories

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This entry was posted on Saturday, November 29th, 2008 at 3:44 am and is filed under Health and Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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