Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 4: Eating well
• Part 2 of 4: Getting active
• Part 3 of 4: Teaching healthy habits
• Part 4 of 4: Set goals
• Tips

If you, as a child, want to lose weight, it is especially important to focus on better health. You should try to choose healthier foods and exercise more. You can also change your habits and set goals to help change your lifestyle.

To step

Part 1 of 4: Eating well

1. Ask your parents to take you to a doctor. Before making any changes to your eating habits, you should consult with a doctor. Your doctor can help you determine how much weight to lose (if you are already losing weight). Your doctor can also help you make a weight loss plan and help you track your progress.
   • Your doctor can also refer you to a dietitian who can create a healthy diet plan for you.
2. Choose lean meats and other types of protein sources. Choose lean meat when deciding what to eat. For example, steaks, burgers, and other red meats are usually high in fat (although not always). Better choices are chicken, fish, and beans.
   • If you are a girl between 9 and 18 years old, or a boy between 9 and 13 years old, you should eat 150 grams of meat substitute per day. Boys between the ages of 14 and 18 should eat 180 grams of meat substitute per day.
   • These portions may be smaller than you are used to. For example, 30 grams equals 1/3 to 1/4 can of tuna (depending on the size), 1 egg, or 1/3 to 1/4 hamburger slice (depending on the size). With beans, 1/4 cup is considered to be 30 grams. So, for example, if you were to eat a 90 to 120 gram hamburger slice, that could be almost your portion of protein for the day.
3. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. If you are often hungry, try to eat a piece of fruit or vegetables instead of prepackaged snacks. Candy celery sticks with peanut butter, carrot sticks, or an apple, instead of cookies, chips, or cake.
   • Other healthy options include tomato slices with cottage cheese or bell pepper strips with humus.
   • If you are in the 9-18 age group, you should eat 1 1/2 to 2 cups of fruit per day. Boys between the ages of 9 and 13 should eat 2 1/2 cups of vegetables a day and boys between the ages of 14 and 18 should eat 3 cups. Girls between the ages of 9 and 13 should eat 2 cups a day, while those between the ages of 14 and 18 should eat 2 1/2 cups.
4. Try to choose whole grain cereal products as much as possible. Whole grain cereal products are products such as wholemeal pasta, wholemeal bread, wholemeal cornmeal, brown rice and oatmeal. Refined grain products, on the other hand, are products such as white rice, white bread and regular pasta. Whole grain cereals are better for you because they are less refined and have more fiber. That means they keep you feeling more full for longer.
   • Girls between 9 and 13 years old should eat 150 grams of cereal products per day, while girls between 14 and 18 years old should eat 180 grams. Boys between the ages of 9 and 13 should eat 180 grams and boys between 14 and 18 should eat 240 grams. At least half of those grain products must consist of whole grain products.
   • 30 grams of grains equates to one slice of bread, 1/2 cup of cooked rice, 1/2 cup of cooked pasta, or one cup of grain.
5. Opt for low-fat dairy products or dairy products that contain no fat at all. When choosing dairy products, however, stick to low-fat or non-fat dairy products, such as low-fat milk, cheese made from low-fat milk (for example, “light” cheese) and low-fat yogurt.
   • If you are 9-18 years old you should get 3 cups of a milk product per day. A cup can be a cup of milk or yogurt (240 grams), but also 30 or 60 grams of hard cheese or processed cheese.
6. Avoid sugary drinks. Sugary drinks can add a lot of calories to your day. Try to avoid sports drinks, soda, and fruit juice. Rather stick to water or even unsweetened herbal tea.
   • If you don't like water, you can add a slice of orange or a little fruit juice to give it some flavor.
7. Watch how much you eat. It is tempting to completely empty your plate. However, if you pay attention to when you are full, you will end up eating much less in total.
8. Avoid high-calorie foods. While eating a biscuit from time to time is okay, you should go for it every day to avoid eating high-calorie foods. This includes, for example, cookies, cakes, sweets and French fries. Let these things be a treat and not something you eat every day.

Part 2 of 4: Getting active

1. Go play. You should exercise for at least one hour a day. One way to start is to reduce the time you spend behind a monitor. Put your phone away. Get out from behind your computer. Go out with friends and do something active.
   • However, if you are not used to exercise, you can always start small. Start with what you can do and work your way up to more.
2. Consider taking up a sport. You don't have to start doing top sport right away. You can simply join the local football club or basketball club, or go outside with some friends. Ask your parents to help you find a sport you enjoy. By doing a sport you move regularly and you can also have fun doing it.
3. Try something new. Maybe you didn't enjoy exercising in the past because you didn't do the right thing. So maybe tennis isn't your thing. Then you have more than enough other options. For example, go dancing, swimming or skipping rope. Even something like archery and horseback riding will keep you outdoors and moving.
4. Take breaks to move in. Even brief moments of activity can lead to more activity per day. An example: if you take a break after studying for a while, you might often listen to some music or play a game for a short while. Instead, go for a dance. Run down the stairs or through the living room. Do some jumping jacks. Just adding these brief moments of exercise will help.

Part 3 of 4: Teaching healthy habits

1. Let your family participate. Most people could be a bit healthier. See if your family wants to join the promotion. Talk to your parents about healthy changes that can benefit the whole family.
   • For example, you could say to your parents, “I don't think I am a healthy weight and I would like to change that. How do you feel about getting the whole family involved? I think we could all be a little bit healthier. "
2. Hide junk food. It is best, if possible, not to have junk food at home at all. Of course, you can't do this if other people in the house are still eating it. However, you can ask them to hide it from you. Maybe the rest of the family could use a special cupboard to store junk food that you don't get close to, or maybe they could keep special snacks in their rooms whenever possible.
3. Forgive yourself. You will occasionally do something you should not do. It is the nature of man. It is important to do such things in moderation. If you try to do the right thing about 90 percent of the time, you're fine. Giving yourself up for it will not contribute to the situation.
4. Take time for meals. It is best if you can have a quiet meal with your family, because then you can all enjoy a healthy meal together. Even just sitting down when you eat, instead of eating standing up or in front of the TV, will help you focus better on what you are eating and help you learn not to work through your food mindlessly .
   • If your parents don't really cook much, you may be able to learn to make some simple, healthy meals yourself and make them for your family from time to time. For example, it is quite easy to bake fish in the oven, and maybe you can learn how to cook vegetables too. If you are interested in this, you can ask your parents if you can take a cooking course.
5. Don't skip breakfast. Breakfast gives you the energy to start your day. You will also be less hungry later in the day when you have breakfast. That in turn means that you will feel less of a need to snack during the day.
   • Add some proteins, whole grains and some fruits or vegetables where possible. For example, you can see how a bowl of oatmeal with some low-fat yogurt and blueberries tastes. You can also have a whole grain toast with boiled eggs and some strawberries.
6. Get enough sleep. This step is easy unless you are very busy or are a real night owl. The bottom line is that getting enough sleep can help you be healthier and lose weight. When you go to school, you need 9 to 11 hours of sleep every night.
7. Take time to de-stress. Admit it, a child's life can be difficult at times. You already have school and friends and family to worry about. But stress can also cause you to gain weight or not to lose weight. You probably won't be able to make the stress go away completely, but you can learn to deal with it.
   • One way you can deal with stress is to write about it. Keep a journal and at the end of the day, write down what you are worried about that day. Simply writing it down can take the stress out of your head.
   • You can also meditate or take a deep breath. It's not as strange as it sounds. By breathing in and out deeply, you focus on your breathing. Close your eyes. Only focus on your own breathing. Slowly inhale through your nose, counting to four in your head. Hold your breath for a count of 4 and then breathe out slowly. Try to banish any other sensations or thoughts from your mind. Continue to breathe this way for several minutes until you feel yourself calming down.

Part 4 of 4: Set goals

1. Decide what you want to change. You now know which habits you need to change in your life. One way to start change is to set goals to bring about those changes. For example, you may want to eat healthier or exercise more.
2. Chop your goals into manageable pieces. A goal such as “eat healthier” is far too great. You probably have a vague idea of ​​what to do, but it's not something you can start right now. Instead, try to set goals that involve actions.
   • For example, instead of a goal like, "eat healthier," you could set goals like, "replace one sweet snack for one piece of fruit every day," "eat three servings of vegetables a day," or "remove three cups of soda every week. from your diet ”.
3. Write down the benefits of your goal. By repeating the benefits to yourself, you can ensure that you stick to your decisions. If "get rid of three cups of soda from your diet every week" is your goal, you could write that "I:" I don't want to have that many sugar dips. I'm going to eat less sugar. I want to take in fewer calories. Get it in. I'm going to be able to make sure that I lose weight. ”
4. Remind yourself of your goals. Post your goals where you can see them. Repeat them out loud every time you get up. Making sure you can see what your goals are can help you stick to them.
5. Understand that it takes patience. You won't be able to change all your habits just like that. Even changing one habit can take a while. Just keep working on it and you will eventually have new healthier habits. Once you've changed one or two habits, you can start working on others.

Tips

• Ask your friends for support. They can go for a run or do a bike race with you. Keep the fun in!
• Try to keep yourself busy. If you want to snack because you are bored and not because you are hungry, then you should do something else.
• Don't think about food, especially if you're not hungry!