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It can be hard to know what you should eat and how much. To help you make healthy eating decisions, try using a food guide like the ChooseMyPlate guide: https://www.girlshealth.gov/nutrition/healthy_eating/choosemyplate.html. These guides can give you information about what to eat based on factors like your age, your current weight, and how physically active you are. The ChooseMyPlate guide breaks down the different categories of food you need for a balanced diet and tells you how many servings of each category you should eat daily. Cutting back on fatty foods can help you lose weight, but you need some fat in your diet to grow and stay healthy. Instead of trying to cut fat out of your diet altogether, choose healthy sources of fat, such as fish, nuts and seeds, avocados, and vegetable oils. Cut back on unhealthy trans and saturated fats, like those found in butter, fatty meats, cheese, and greasy fried foods. Fatty fish, like salmon, tuna, and mackerel, are great sources of healthy fat. You can also get it from nut butters, like peanut butter or sunflower seed butter. Foods and drinks with a lot of refined sugars are high in calories and short on the nutrients you need. Try to stay away from candy, sugary baked goods, sweet sodas, juices, and sugary coffee drinks. If you have a sweet tooth, try satisfying your craving with some fruit or a small piece of dark chocolate. If you drink juice, stick to unsweetened 100% juices instead of juice drinks or fruit juice cocktails, which often have added sugar. Processed and pre-packaged foods, like chips, hot dogs, canned meats, and fast food, are often full of added salt, sugar, and unhealthy fats. Stick to eating fresh, homemade foods as much as you can to avoid these unhealthy additives. If possible, limit yourself to no more than 1 fast food meal per week. Foods that are rich in fiber and protein will boost your energy and help you feel satisfied without giving you a lot of empty calories. If you're feeling hungry, reach for a snack that's got plenty of protein and fiber. For example, try eating some whole-grain crackers with natural peanut butter or sun butter, or some apple slices and low-fat cheese. Good sources of fiber include leafy green vegetables, fruit, nuts and beans, and whole-grain foods. You can find healthy protein in foods like fish, chicken or turkey breast, low-fat dairy products, beans, nuts and seeds, and soy products (such as tofu). Your body needs a wide variety of foods in order to stay healthy and grow properly. In order to lose weight in a healthy way, you'll need to incorporate all of the food groups. A healthy diet should include: Fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of colors Complex carbohydrates, like those found in whole grain cereals, bread, or pasta Lean proteins, such as poultry breast, fish, beans, or soy Healthy fat sources, such as fatty fish (like tuna and mackerel), nuts and seeds, avocados, and vegetable oils Dairy products, like low-fat milk, cheese, and yogurt to boost your energy and feel more satisfied. As you go about your day, don't forget to drink water whenever you start to feel thirsty. Getting enough water to drink will help you feel fuller so that you don't eat as much. It also prevents you from retaining water, which can cause bloating, and it may even help your body burn fat. While the amount of water you need to drink depends on your age and how active you are, most teens and young adults should aim to drink about 8 glasses a day. If you don't like plain water, try adding a splash of lemon juice to give it a little flavor. You can also get extra hydration by eating juicy fruits and vegetables or soups with clear broth. Extreme diets that involve eating very little or cutting out entire food groups may help you lose weight in the short term, but studies show they ultimately don't work. Not only are you likely to gain back the weight quickly, but these diets are also bad for your health and your growing body. Watch out for diets that promise quick or extreme results. Stay away from supplements or seemingly magic pills that claim to melt away fat and help you lose weight fast. These products are often don't work, or worse, they're harmful to your health.
Use a nutrition guide to help you make good choices. Stick to healthy sources of fat. Avoid sugary snacks and drinks. Stay away from processed foods. Fill up on fiber and lean protein. Eat a well-balanced diet to get all the nutrients you need. Stay hydrated Avoid weight-loss fads and crash diets.