Hi! My doctor said I’m close to being at risk of being overweight. I’m 13 years old and I am 5 foot 4 inches tall. I’m not really fat but I’ could be skinnier so I just started at about 137 pounds. In just a couple of days, I’ve gone down to 134 pounds. Please give me some advice and support! Thanks! <3
Please remember to be very careful about not getting enough nutrients! At any age, people need to be extremely careful to get enough nutrients. In fact, you should ask your parents/guardians about getting a multivitamin specifically for growing teenagers like you. Also, you should make sure to talk to your doctor about whatever plan you choose, since doctor’s really know their stuff! Assuming you don’t have any food allergies or dietary restrictions, one of the best things you can do is to include some low fat or non-fat dairy products like milk to give you calcium and vitamin D. Milk is especially important to help your bones grow when you are young. Also, remember to eat your vegetables and fruits!
You could basically never gain weight eating vegetables and fruits. They are simply not very calorie dense, but they are nutrient dense! They give you huge amounts of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals, which is awesome! So, whatever you do, please don’t skimp on things like protein, dairy, fruits, and vegetables. In fact, the only things you should totally skip are things like candy bars, soda, chips, and other junk foods. The reason why they are bad is because they have a large number of calories and little or no nutrients!
Water is essential! Drink plenty of water every day! Not drinking water can make your stomach hurt, make you dizzy, make you tired, and make you feel awful! Always drink water whenever you feel thirsty! It is much better to drink water than to drink soda! If you want to drink something besides water, you should drink juices like orange juice or vegetable juice.
So, the most important things to remember is to always have vegetables, fruit, dairy (unless you have an allergy), and water! Making sure you have enough protein (meat, soy, nuts, and beans) and some complex carbohydrates (pasta, rice, etc; whole grain or brown is best) and a little bit of good fat (nuts, beans, olive oil, olives) is also important. Basically, it is best to eat lots of different foods, especially fruits/vegetables. The only foods you can totally stop eating for good are sodas, chips, candy, and other junk food.
Now, you can start writing down the food you eat and how much you eat into a journal. Then, you can take this journal with you to the doctor. The doctor can help tell you if you are eating in a healthy way. Please remember that you definitely need to eat! When people stop eating, or eat very little food, their bodies become very frail and unhealthy. Not to mention, people that lose weight by eating too little almost always gain that weight back plus some extra! Instead of not eating, simply eat more of the foods that are natural and healthy, and less junk food!
