Michael F. Roizen - YOU(r) Teen: Losing Weight: The Owners Manual to Simple and Healthy Weight Management at Any Age

Also by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz

YOU: The Owners Manual

YOU: The Owners Manual for Teens

YOU: On a Diet

YOU: Losing Weight

YOU: Staying Young

YOU: Being Beautiful

YOU: Having a Baby

YOU: Raising Your Child

YOU: Stress Less

YOU: On a Walk

YOU: The Smart Patient

DISCLAIMER

This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its authors. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subjects addressed in the publication. It is sold with the understanding that the authors and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, health, or any other kind of personal professional services in the book. The reader should consult his or her medical, health, or other competent professional before adopting any of the suggestions in this book or drawing inferences from it. The authors and publisher specifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

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www.SimonandSchuster.com

Introduction copyright 2012 by Michael F. Roizen, MD, and Oz Works, LLC

Material in this book has been previously published in YOU: The Owners Manual for Teens: A Guide to a Healthy Body and Happy Life 2011 by Michael F. Roizen, MD, and Oz Works, LLC and YOU: On A Diet Revised Edition: The Owners Manual for Waist Management 2006, 2009 by Michael F. Roizen M.D. and Oz Works LLC, f/s/o Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Free Press Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Free Press trade paperback edition January 2013

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ISBN 978-1-4767-1357-1 (print)

ISBN 978-1-4767-1358-8 (ebook)

SimonandSchuster.com

COVER DESIGN BY ERIC FUENTECILLA
COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY JAMES ROBINSON

To all those who think regaining your life is hardwe hope this makes it much easier. You are worth it.

Every stage of life has its share of obstacles. As a middle-aged adult, you may experience all kinds of life stressfrom emotional to financial and everything in between. As an older adult, you may have a little more trouble walking or seeing or doing any number of things that you used to be able to do. As an infant, it would be nice if you could articulate (in a way other than wailing your brains out) that, yeah, you could use a diaper change right about now.

But of all the stages in life, many folks would argue that the teen yearswith all of the ups, downs, and in-betweens of freaky and fiery hormonescan be, well, more complex than a rocket engine.

Of course, at this age there are plenty of joys and triumphs, and life is full of energy and possibilities. But it is also tricky to navigate the physical and emotional waters of school, of sports, of trying to fit in, of deciding between the blue or purple shirt, of wigging out about the fact that now is not exactly the best time for a nose zit to take center stage.

For many of us, its hard to rememberand really appreciatethe angst that teenagers go through every day.

When you throw in an added elementthat of being overweight or obese, which some 40 percent of teens in our country areyouve just swirled up that emotional concoction and put the blender on high.

Thats what YOU(r) Teen: Losing Weight is all about: slowing down the blender and learning to put all the pieces together to help your teens live a healthy life.

We want to help. We want to give you a quick and simple-to-navigate guidebook that will teach you the ins and outs of fat, nutrition, exercise, emotions, and all of the important elements that go into a weight loss system. We know that this is a hard thing to talk about. You dont want to talk about weight, ask for help, or ask for tonights dinner to be carrot burgers and spinach because thats whats most healthful.

But you do want to change.

And the great newsto contrast with many of the other challenges that teens haveis that if teens are able to make a change their bodies are more plastic (more responsive) to that change than your body may be.

So what our goal is here is to teach you not only what works in terms of weight loss but how to create an environment so that weight loss isnt a struggle but rather something that comes as naturally as that aforementioned pimple (but with more desired results). As a bonus, of course, many of these strategies are things that will work for anyone trying to lose weight, so it can also be used as a way to help the whole family change if need be.

In this book, well first take you through the biology of weight gain and loss, because we always feel that the why element is an important precursor to the what. We dont especially think you need to dole out biology lessons across the dinner table every night (Pass the broccoli, and lets activate some GLP-1!), but we do believe that being armed with this information will give you teaching moments to discuss the body and how it works. After learning the biology, well give you the strategies and tips that you can employ to lose weight. At the back of the book, well provide some great recipes, a sample two-week diet plan, and three workouts that will help burn calories and build stronger bodies. Hey, maybe your teen will even let you work out with her.

Theres little doubt that were a country that has some tremendous health issues. We want to set you on the right track with behaviors that will help for a lifetime. We believe that dieting doesnt have to be hard (though we know that getting through to any teen can be more difficult than trying to hammer a nail with a banana) but rather has to be smart. And we hope thats what you will get out of this bookthe knowledge that can make it easier to sustain your weight lossand that can lead to motivation that can lead to action that helps you achieve and sustain the weight you want.

And thats what can lead to a healthy, happy life.

Before any discussion about how hunger and exercise work, its important to take a look at the offender thats at the center (quite literally) of this whole issue: fat.

Of course, for overweight folks, the extra fat is sure to manifest itself in some outward side effects, such as lack of energy or lack of self-esteem. But many of the risk factors associated with carrying too much fat dont have any outward symptoms at allmeaning that the only way to tell whether being overweight is threatening your life is by taking a microscope underneath the flub and chub and focusing on whats happening at your bodys core levels. This is especially tricky for teens, who typically dont focus on the future but rather have the mentality What have you done for me lately? So they dont see the dangers lurking in their bodies. But theyre real, and they need to be understood before starting any discussion.