By Paola, 16, junior
When I decided to lose weight this summer, I realized that I needed to drastically change my eating habits. I ate junk food at least once a week and a bunch of snacks, mostly chips or gold fish, throughout the day.
On my new eating plan, I discovered that you don’t have to eat only fruit and vegetables all day to lose weight. I eat baked or grilled chicken, salad and pasta once a week. Though with salad, I only add chicken, lettuce, croutons and Caesar dressing.
I joined http://www.myfitnesspal.com to get me on the right track. This online diet and fitness program lets me eat what I want, but I must keep track of every calorie. I was set at 1,200 calories a day based on how much weight I want to lose and how much I exercise. That’s the minimum someone should consume per day, no matter your height or weight. After completing a profile, I was told how many grams of carbs, fat and protein I could consume a day.
I’ve had my account for about three weeks. So far, I’ve lost eight pounds, which is pretty good considering that the most someone my age could possibly lose in a healthy way is 10 pounds a month. I hope to reach my goal weight – 130 pounds – by December.
After learning what foods to eat and the right quantity, I checked out healthy recipes from http://www.allrecipes.com and googled recipes for a certain type of food I wanted to eat that night, such as salmon. I learned that I couldn’t eat a lot of complex carbs, such as white pasta and white bread.
Eating at least two fruits a day can increase your metabolism and help you lose weight. Apples are 90 calories, while bananas have 100 or so. Vegetables in my case are just plain disgusting. So, the only veggie I eat is broccoli. As far as protein goes, I can practically live off milk, but I make a protein shake sometimes when I do intense strength training.
Another thing that I’ve learned and really taken into consideration is strength training. The more muscle that you build, the more calories you burn. Most girls think that strength training will make you look like a body builder, which is completely wrong. Strength training doesn’t mean that you sit in the gym just working on your arms and legs, and eating protein every hour. Using weights in arm exercises and using them while running will really help more than you think. Instead of just running, you’re working your arms, which makes you burn more calories in a shorter period of time. I don’t always run with weights, but I try to do it at least two out of five runs a week.
Here are some of the healthy snacks under 50 calories that I choose when I get hungry:
• 5 olives (45 calories)
• 1 small Martin’s pretzel (50 calories)
• 1 package Original Apple Nature Valley Fruit Crisps (50 calories)
• 1⁄2 small banana, frozen (45 calories)
• 2 sugar-free ice pops (30 calories)
• 12 cherries (48 calories)
• Kellogg’s Bite Size Maple & Brown Sugar Frosted Mini Wheats (47 calories)
• 1 small orange (45 calories)
• 3/4 cup blackberries (46 calories)
• 1 cup watermelon (46 calories)
• 1 cup strawberries (46 calories)
• 7 almonds (49 calories)
• 5 Pringles Salt & Vinegar Potato Crisps (50 calories)
• 1/4 cup Cheese Puffs (50 calories)
• 5 Gummy Bears (44 calories)
• 2 marshmallows (46 calories)
• 1 medium chocolate chip cookie (48 calories)
• 1/2 tablespoon Nutella (50 calories)
• 11 Skittles (48 calories)
• 3/4 raspberries (48 calories)
• 4 animal crackers (45 calories)
• 1/3 ounce strawberries (45 calories)
• 1 kiwi (46 calories)
• 1 cup coconut water (46 calories)
• 1 cup fresh pineapple (45 calories)