First time -- teenager

Hey, Tyler. It's been nearly a decade since I've been a teen, but I definitely struggled with my weight during those years. You say you're on the go alot... can you cook at all? Like, you know how, right? If yes, I have a really quick & easy recipe for you that's super delicious, only took me 10 mins to prep. It will feed a family of 4 (or 2 wraps can make a hungry teen boy's eyes bulge at how full he is!)

Dr. Bork Bork's Totally Rad Cheeseburger Wraps
(you can feed your family for less than $15 with this recipe)

(This is what I paid)
4 Boca All American Grilled Patties ($3.00)
4 Tomatoes ($1)
1 Sweet Onion (50c)
1 Pickle (probably not a whole lot if you already have pickles in the fridge)
1/2 bag shredded lettuce ($1.50)
1 small block velveeta ($2.50)
1 bag flat out flat bread ($2.50)
I'm assuming here that you probably have ketchup & mustard in your fridge, too!

Slice onion & cook until golden brown & soft & juicy (I did this with a George Foreman grill). Grill the Boca patties, mash when done to resemble ground beast, and divide evenly. Dice the 2 tomatoes. Dice pickle. Cut block velveeta (as much as you think your family will need), nuke slowly in microwave until melted & creamy.
Plate 1 flat out flat bread for each person. Spread velveeta on 1/2 the flatbread for each person. Add ground boca, onions, tomatoes, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and lettuce. Go crazy on the veggies!
Fold flatbread like giant taco & relish it's candy-like sweetness. A cheeseburger never tasted so gosh darn good! Enjoy everything that falls out on to your plate as an equally sweet salad. You won't need dressing, the ketchup & mustard do that quite nicely.

Total damage: $11, and 464 calories per wrap.

I have no reason to go to a fast food burger joint ever again!

Another thing I recommend for being on the go is a liquid meal replacement like Boost, Slim Fast, or Ensure. My favorite is chocolate Ensure. It's great if you only have 2 seconds for a meal before you need to be somewhere, cuz you can just grab it from the fridge, open it, slam it down, and GO GO GO!
Another thing I did in high school was carry fruit in my backpack. I got ravenously hungry in the mornings before lunch and afternoons after lunch. I would usually carry apples & bananas, still my favorites today. Apples are fat burners. They take more energy to digest than consume! Pretty neat.

I know it's hard in high school, especially if you have open campus for lunch, with fast food temptations within walking distance, but I know you can stick with your goals! You're probably way cuter than Edward to start with anyway

Don't feel too bad about being insecure, I think most of the kids your age are insecure....in fact a lot of adults are insecure. And despite what anyone tells you everyone is insecure sometimes.

You cannot out exersise a bad diet, so you're on the right track with wanting to eat better. Log your food on MFP and get a good mathimatical feel for where you need to be.

I was a busy teenager way back in the day too. What keeps you on the move? Are you involved in any sports?

Congratulations on taking an interest in your health now! You can do fast food and watch calories, it just takes a little planning. I'm betting since you're a teen guy, you get a pretty good amount of calories per day. If you take about 10 minutes before you go to a fast food place and look at the nutritional information online, you can figure out what things you can eat and the easiest places to go. Most fast food is full of sodium, but at least watching calories is a really good start.

Some general tricks and tips to cut calories are to order things without cheese, without mayo or sauces (except mustard and ketchup or any low calorie sauces the restaurant may have), nothing "crispy" or fried, and be careful with things like salads because many of them are loaded with cheese and dressing which makes them worse than the other menu choices (unless you can take off the cheese and eat a little dressing on the side). You should also get diet soda or water instead of regular soda.

Good luck! You can reach your goals. You just have to stick with it and you will see results.

-Alison

Hey Tyler!

Welcome to mfp, I'm not really a regular around the forums since I'm only generally around here to track what I've eaten and how many calories I've burned etc.

I thought I'd welcome you after seeing your thread since I'm a teen trying to lose weight too, I'm 16, I'm not overweight, I just used to be way skinnier than I currently am, and I'd like to end up being able to wear bikinis on the beach again.

Welcome! I am 22 years old and struggled with my weight when I was a teenager and lost a lot of it then. I ended up gaining much of it back when I got to college but that is another story.
I would recommend carrying healthy snacks with you every where you go. I found that having pieces of fruit in my purse was very helpful. Some other snacks would be carrots, apple slices, string cheese, and always have a bottle of water with you.
Try to set up a exercise regimen, make a calendar with which days you can get a workout in and what you are planning on doing.
When I was in high school I began walking 1 mile everyday and eatting a lot more vegetables and fruits. I went from weighing about 140 down to 110.
You can do it!! Just keep strong and ask for help when you need it.
Send me a message if you ever have questions.

Hey Tyler!

Good for you for trying to be healthy! I am 22 but I teach high school history and see what most kids are eating during the day. A little advise from me is to pack your lunch! Don't eat at school/buy drinks. Take your food from home so you can eat healthy and know what you are eating!