I am 14 years old and want to lose weight but don't know how...

Question

Hi Nicki:
I am 14 years old, 5 foot 4 and 120 pounds. I want to lose weight but don't know how and the only answer I seem to be getting is to eat right. I can't really do that because no one in my house does. My mom buys the food, which usually consists of frozen pizzas, chips, popcorn.

Anyway, I cook when I can, and I love to do it, but my mom and sister don't want to eat the things I want to cook so I am VERY limited in my choices. I have to eat what is bought or don't eat at all, and when I ask my mom to change what she buys she will only get irritated and say that I won't eat if she doesn't buy junk food (which is not true). So what do I do?

First things first, as far as your height and weight, it's really pretty healthy; I would not say you are overweight. But I certainly understand your need to eat as healthy as you can to stay healthy. A normal weight comes from exercising regularly and eating well, which is the area you are concerned with.

I think that you need to sit down with your Mom and have a very serious heart-to-heart with her. Tell her that eating well is important to you as well as your health. Consider going to the grocery store with her to pick out some things that you WILL eat. Somewhere along the way, parents bought in to the idea of buying "junk" because that's what kids like and they believe it doesn't matter because they're young. Unfortunately, that couldn't be further from the truth.

Parents, be mindful of offering your kids healthy options and don't look to junk food as a reward or as being OK -- it's not. Feeding kids junk food on a regular basis just sets them up for weight and health issues down the road. It is our responsibility as parents to provide a healthy foundation for them and that includes healthy nutrition options.

Let me know how it goes! Good luck!

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