Is your teen overweight? Are their eating habits out of control? Teen weight loss issues in the US are at an all time high. Lets face it; this generation is the product of the fast food lifestyle and its no wonder why so many teens are overweight and on the verge of obesity. But why exactly are so many teens overweight and dealing with weight loss issues?
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Teen Emotions
Just like adults, teens use food to cope with certain emotions. When they are having a hard time with life and are feeling depressed or lost, food is a great escape and goes great with video games! If you are reading this right now I am sure you have seen your teen reach for some food or the Xbox when they want to escape life and not have to face something.
Author note: First let me say that this subject matter is very personal to me. Growing up as a kid I had a lot of emotional issues that I suppressed by eating. And I was easily twenty to thirty pounds overweight from ages eleven to fifteen. Thank goodness my mom did not have that much money otherwise she probably could have afforded more food.
Food is a drug
Lets face it, your overweight teen is addicted to one of the most harmful drugs on this planet and is considered by most the other white drug: sugar. Its unfortunate that in our society that it’s ok to just pump this chemical into so many foods. It is one of the most addicting drugs out there and it’s going unnoticed because it’s “normal” or “accepted”.
Author note: When I was eleven, I got caught stealing bags of candy from my local grocery. I used to stuff my backpack fool of different types of candy every day. This is how addicted I was to sugar and junk food. I would also need to have McDonalds or Burger King at least twice a week.
The solution for your overweight teen
First, you are going to have to start weaning your teen off of the hard stuff with healthier stuff. I’m not kidding when I say this junk food is a drug and you need to address it as such. It’s amazing how there are tons of healthy foods out there now that taste great and don’t have as much of the junk in it. At the Teen Support Institute, we also support healthy lifestyle changes and have in-house nutritionists and personal trainers.
Author’s note: To this day I am still dealing with my addiction to sugar. That’s how bad it is.
Second, you need to get to the root cause of why your teen is suppressing their emotions with food. And generally this has to do with being excited about life. Lets face it, if anyone is really excited about life and what they are doing; food is the last thing on their mind. When was the last time you saw someone who was so passionate about their project, work, or life in general that they were also overweight?
Here at the Teen Support Institute, we love to help overweight teens get excited about their life. We want to show your teen that there are more “sweet” things about life then just candy and junk food. Once your overweight teen sees this, I guarantee the weight will start dropping off. And most importantly, it will stay off!