fasting diet for teen

[leandro sagat]

I was wondering if this type of diet is safe for a 17 year old kid, my son, he is very over weight and started having joint pain problems because of his weight.

 

[SteveMobsterG]

It's a bad idea. Any extreme dieting - including fasting where you essentially eat nothing - is likely to give quick weight loss. Unfortunately slow and steady wins the race.

 

[Steviemh]

I can safely assume you are talking about "intermittent fasting", since this is the big craze now. The people you see this working out so well for (for the most part) are people that have eaten and trained for a long time. As Steve stated above this is a very bad idea for a 17 year old. Get him eating clean (not counting macros or anything that extreme) and drinking nothing but water. Ditch sodas and junk first

 

[SteveMobsterG]

At 17, as per stevie, he needs to develop good habits. Small changes to begin with. As per a reply elsewhere I had an ex drop 4lbs in 4 weeks just by changing to sweeteners from sugar in her coffee and tea.

 

[stevesmi]

prolonged fasting is not what he needs right now man. that is for advanced people.

i would like to know what he is eating/drinking? and also his lifestyle in terms of time watching tv/video games vs. exercising. this type of thing can be reversed with lifestyle changes but you realize that he is 17 and it is your job as a parent to live the life yourself and set an example otherwise he isn't going to get it.

maybe both of you can set a goal together

i can tell you from my own experience that i didn't 'get it' when it came to nutrition till i was in my mid 20's.

 

[Lev Butlerov]

I would recommend you to teach him the kind of diet that can become part of his lifestyle, and which will not be restrictive. Check out the carb cycling diet (https://www.evolutionary.org/cycling-carbohydrates). It works great, and it is rather easy to follow. Add to that exercise, and your kid will be fine really soon.

 

[bblifer]

Intermittent fasting is okay and is safe, but I wouldn't recommend it.

The tried and true method of simply slowly and methodically reducing calories and adding exercise is what most high level and successful low level athletes do for a reason, it works.

 

[muskate]

There is nothing wrong with intermittent fasting but I think teaching it to a teenager might give him the wrong mentality. It might give him a 'starvation' mentality that he keeps for the rest of his life.

My advice would be to teach him exactly what food is - it's nutrition. There is no such thing as bad foods, just foods you shouldn't eat often.

I would take him grocery shopping with you and teach him how to cook. Educate him on how to make healthy food choices.

 

[billyLMC]

help him like the exercise. and healthy life style

 

[MasonicBodybuilder]

At his age I think it would be better if he just calculated his TDEE and ate in a caloric deficit every day. Then add in any exercise that he is able to do. Nothing too drastic but being in a deficit is what is proven to work.