Negatives for losing weight in your teenage years
Negatives
for losing weight in your teenage years
If you're a teenager and considering losing your body fat, it's important to know that there are negatives to losing weight in your teens. While there are positives as well, it's important to be aware of the potential issues that can arise from adding or removing your body fat during your growing years. In this article, we'll look at some of the most common negatives of losing weight in your teen years. You may find that certain reasons resonate strongly with you — and if so, it could help to keep those in mind when you're making decisions about your health.
1. The negative effects of rapid weight loss
Rapid weight loss is a dieter’s worst nightmare. It happens when
you lose mass too quickly and is almost always a sign that you need to
change your diet. When you lose weightiness too quickly, your body loses
muscle, not just fat. In fact, you can lose up to 40% of your muscle mass if
you lose weight quickly. It can very well be the case that taking on too much
weight too quickly can swiftly lead to obesity because you’re no longer
building healthy muscle and your metabolism has slowed down.
There are a few negatives regarding
There are a few negatives regarding heaviness during your teen years. The most important one is to listen to your doctor when they tell you to cut back a little bit on the foods you’re currently eating. In addition to speed, many teens rate food quality as high as they do calories. So if you go off of calories to lose weight, you may end up cutting out healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. You may not eat as much, but you’ll likely be consuming less nutritious food overall. Berries, in particular, tend to be eaten in higher quantities than other fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, there’s no reason to encourage your teen to eat the same kinds of foods they’re eating now as they become adults.If you find that you’re eating fewer fruits and vegetables because you’re trying to cut back on calories, it might be wise to reevaluate if you need to add or remove foods from your diet. Wellness experts recommend including foods such as greens in your diet that will help your body maintain a healthy weight. Some examples of foods to include in your diet might include:
If you find yourself taking on more fat and fewer calories to the diet, your metabolism is probably slower. Your body is likely working out fewer calories than it needs to burn. This is usually an indication that the weight-loss diet you’re following is not creating enough rapid energy from your foods.
If you find that you’re eating fewer fruits and vegetables because you’re trying to cut back on calories, it might be wise to reevaluate if you need to add or remove foods from your diet. Wellness experts recommend including foods such as greens in your diet that will help your body maintain a healthy weight. Some examples of foods to include in your diet might include:
If you find yourself taking on more fat and fewer calories to the diet, your metabolism is probably slower. Your body is likely working out fewer calories than it needs to burn. This is usually an indication that the weight-loss diet you’re following is not creating enough rapid energy from your foods.
2. The negative effects of losing weight too quickly
If
you’re trying to lose weight, it’s best to lose weight slowly. Rapid weight
loss puts a lot of strain on your body and can have negative effects like
nutrient deficiencies, anemia, and muscle loss. It’s best to lose weight slowly
and make lifestyle changes that you can maintain in the long run.
If
you’re just starting to eat healthier, talk to your doctor before you start a
restrictive eating style. Restrictive eating is where you cut all of your
favorite foods completely out of your diet, like whatever food you had as a
child. Just like any diet, it’s important to ensure the foods you eat are
nutritious — and if they’re half as healthy or less healthy than the foods you
ate as a child, it might be worth getting healthier later in life rather than at
a young age.
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3. The negative effects of rapid weight gain
Rapid
weight gain can lead to a host of health issues including * Heart disease *
Diabetes * Stroke * Cancer When it comes to weight gain, it’s important to be
aware of how quickly you’re gaining weight and what can be done about it.
High
prepubescent weights translate to higher resting metabolic rates. (This is a
fancy term for how quickly your body burns calories.) This puts you at risk for
health issues when you’re in a rapid state of weight gain. For example, when
menstruation begins in a teen, a hormone surge can lead to higher
concentrations of estrogen and testosterone, which can contribute to weight
gain. While these hormonal changes may be higher in prepubescent teens, whether
the hormone fluctuations translate to a higher risk of health risks in adulthood
isn’t clear. Similarly, rapid weight gain has not been linked to longer-term
health issues, including cardiovascular disease or diabetes. However, earlier
health problems may be present in a teen who develops these issues later in
life.
If
your teenager’s weight gain isn’t coming from excessive calorie intake, take
heart. While excess calories, in and of themselves, may not be the cause for
concern, overconsumption of unhealthy foods or oils may be, especially during
your teen years. Working with a licensed health professional to determine the
cause of excess weight gain is vital. If excess weight is coming from poor
nutrition in and of itself, it’s important to find a nutritionist or clinical
dietitian to help you implement a healthy eating protocol. (To find a
nutritionist, call the National Association of Nutrition Services or visit your
local library or health education center.)
By
the time you find out your teenager is gaining weight, it may already be too
late to alter the self-care she’s already implemented. If she’s already engaged
in a healthy exercise regimen, finding ways to increase the intensity of that the program may not be a challenge — especially if it has already been working for
her for a few months.
4. The negative effects of losing weight too slowly
When
you lose weight too slowly, you’re doing damage to your body. You’re slowing
your metabolism down, and you’re putting a strain on your organs like your
heart and liver. Being under a lot of stress affects your glucose regulation
and energy, contributing to the tracking symptoms of Type 2 diabetes as well as
depression. Weight loss should feel enjoyable and you should be able to stick
with it for a long time. If you’re not having fun doing something that helps
you feel better, join a sports team, join a virtual workout group, or take up a
hobby like cooking.
It’s
not unusual to experience feelings of guilt (and even shame) when you hit the
scale and realize you're feeling the strain of an eating disorder, depression, or anxiety. It may be tempting to delay weight loss, particularly if you’re
stressed, but these negative emotions are very real, so resist the urge to
postpone them. Distance yourself from sources of stress (like social media or
video games), and reach out to friends and family that have support systems and
healthy habits.
Weight
fluctuation or loss is normal, especially in your teenage years. There’s a wide
range of the average weight range, and fat areas can be under-observed. What’s
more concerning is when the weight drops off too rapidly or picks up — this is
known as an adaptive diet. Often the reverse happens as you move through puberty,
producing higher levels of testosterone and an increase in appetite. As a
result, we place more emphasis on building muscle and building fat. hydrate, and
less emphasis on building muscle, and losing moisture, namely from the skin,
hair, and nail beds.
It’s
important to get your thyroid checked and to talk to your doctor about other
issues, like kidney or heart problems, that can seriously affect both your
physical and mental health.
5. The negative health ramifications of extreme dieting
Extreme
dieting can harm your health. When you’re dieting, your
body gets confused because it doesn’t know whether or not it’s in a famine situation.
It thinks you’re starving and so it slows down your metabolism and stores
fat. The best diet in the world won’t help if you can’t stick to it, and right
now, there are literally no easy tricks to lose weight if you’re struggling
with your metabolism. Expect to see changes in your body after a few weeks and
months of consistent dieting.
When
your diet in your teens may have trouble remembering to eat nutritious
foods and instead plan out your meals around “good” or “bad” foods. This makes
it easier for your body to forget what it needs and allows you to overindulge
in certain foods — which can have unforeseen consequences.
When
I was in high school, I would sneak into the dining facility after classes to
grab a quick snack. Usually, I would order a chocolate praline bar and eat it
within an hour, thinking that I was being healthy and not eating too much. I
wouldn’t be concerned about my food intake if I just ate chocolate praline bars
during the mid-afternoon; I’d just have a snack and move on with my day.
It
took me a long time to realize that the fix was in the rest of my morning, not
my snack time. Now, when I need a big lunch in class, I wake up earlier and
have a healthy, filling lunch.
If
you slip up and eat a candy bar in your teens, it’s easy to eat more food once
you realize you’ve eaten something bad. Again, this can result in overeating.
So don’t give yourself a free pass just because you have a youthful metabolism.
There’s
absolutely no healthy way to eat a protein shake in your teen years if you’re
trying to lose weight, but that’s how some people do it.