Teen Diet Plans - Can Teens Use the Medifast Diet to Lose Weight?

Are you are teen or do you have a teen in your household who needs to lose weight? If you have used Medifast yourself, or you've seen the ads for it on television, you might be wondering, "Can teens use the Medifast diet to lose weight?"

I expect you will be happy to learn that teens can use Medifast too. You will want to look over the program for teens though, because it isn't the same as the adult diet plan.

The adult diet program is called the 5 and 1 plan. On this plan, you eat five Medifast meals each day as well as an additional meal that they've dubbed the lean and green meal. This is the only meal that you eat non-Medifast food and your servings are restricted to lean protein and fresh vegetables.

The teen plans, however, have a lot more regular food on them and they cut back on the number of Medifast products that are eaten throughout the day. The teen weight loss plan includes three Medifast meals per day, instead of five.

Because teenagers have different nutritional needs than adults, due to their growing and changing bodies, the Medifast diet for teens includes whole grains, fruits and dairy products. These are things you won't see on the adult plan, but they are crucial for teens.

Of course, the teen plan also includes lean protein, such as lean meats and meatless proteins (such as beans and tofu), and lots of fresh vegetables. The fruits and vegetables part of the diet follows standard guidelines, five servings per day. Also, there are a few differences between the plans for teenage boys and teenage girls, with the boys' plan adding some additional quantities of whole grains and fats.

A big aspect of the plan for teens is using the Medifast plan to make a lifestyle change, so there are lots of tips for eating a healthy diet and how to incorporate better meals into a teenager's day. Plus, exercise and being active outdoors is important as well, so there are suggestions for adding more activity to each day. An hour a day of exercise or some kind of sports activity is the usual recommendation, but for sedentary teens, you may want to start just adding 30 minutes of exercise three to four times a week and add more time each week.

Also, while you can order variety packs of Medifast foods, picky teen appetites might appreciate customizing their orders. My hubpages.com/hub/Medifast_Food_Reviews Medifast review covers most of their product line, with tips on what to order and what to avoid.

For more about the weight loss diet for teens, my overview of dietinspector.com/2009/is-the-medifast-diet-appropriate-for-teens Medifast for Teens should provide all of the information that you need.