I made a thread earlier about being on my 2nd day on low-carb. Im a junior in high school (17 yrs old) and was wondering if it would be a bad idea for me to continue on this way of eating. I was just very interested in how this worked and I need to lose weight so I though that I would give it a try. My mother seems to be concerned about me not getting enough calcium, vitamins, etc even though I am taking the dialy vitamins. She also says that she's worried because my body is still developing. Should I/she be worried? Should I discontinue this way of eating?

Is this something you've discussed with your doctor? You might try that. I have two daughters, 18 and 15, who have been following Atkins for almost 11 months. Considering their ages I scurried them through Induction and make sure they get proper calcium with Hood's Carb Countdown, cheese and sugar-free yogurt (they mix berries into the yogurt and sweeten it with Splenda). They also eat more in the line of whole grains and such than an adult with a slower metabolism.

The thing is, if Atkins is used properly a person is going to get excellent nutrition. Contrary to popular belief, our bodies don't need processed flour and sugar. If your metabolism can handle grains and the like what could be healthier than whole grains vs. the processed junk (like whole wheat bread vs. white bread, or Scottish or steel-cut oatmeal vs. instant oatmeal)?

I believe most teens would benefit greatly and lose weight in the process simply by cutting out the junk food (sugary sodas, cookies, french fries, chips, processed cereals, etc.).

Personally I think it's safe, but maybe only do the induction for 2 weeks and then move on to owl & adding more carbs each week. I would think because you are at an age where you are still growing to use some caution & make sure that you are getting the proper nutrition. There are other low carb plans besides atkins which allow more carbs & may be something you want to look into. If you want to do Atkins I would definately read DANDR first. Because you are a man, they generally lose weight much easier than us women. This isn't always the case, but you are young and male and you may very well be able to take off the weight more easily. This might mean you won't need to be as restrictive with the carbs, as one might with atkins induction.

I know plenty of people here do induction for long periods of time, but for me I don't feel all that great when i'm under 20 grams daily carbs. I feel at my best health wise between 40-80 carbs.

This is just my opinion, I imagine there may be teens here who could give you better first hand experience. I think there is even a teen forum here if I'm not mistaken.

Good luck & good health

My SD is 15, and wanted to lose some weight. I put her on Atkins, and she lost 10 lbs in a month. I told her the best way to continue was to CONTROL her carbs, and since she was young and active, the weight would continue to come off as long as she stayed away from snack foods, french fries, sweets, and too much bread.

I know the experts say not to tell a teen to diet, it will destroy their self esteem and they should never be told they are overweight/fat. I'd like to know what moron thinks that the teen doesn't already know they're overweight and feels horrible about themselves already, or that their "friends" have already done the job of destroying their self esteem?

And there are sensitive ways to encourage better eating habits. I say successful dieting would give them a sense of empowerment and a better self image. Of course, successful dieting all depends on the kid, and how much they want the weight off. When something like this backfires and the kid ends up cheating/gaining, that's when you hear all sorts of I told you so's.

And of course a low carb diet makes everything easier, because of the lack of portion control and the ability to control cravings.
Sheesh, I'm rambling...
Vicky

I would urge you to keep going, and not worry about too much about carb levels as long as you are eating good, whole foods. I was amazed...my nutrition profile IMPROVED greatly by eating this way.

If you are hungry, eat! Since you are still growing and maturing, this is probably good advice.

A great way to show yourself and your mom how well you are doing nutritionally is spend some time entering what you eat into Fitday. It's free and pretty easy to get the hang of:

www.fitday.com

I did it for a month, just to get an idea of how I was doing with carbs, calories, and nutrition. I was pleasantly surprised.

This is a very healthy way to eat, and good for life.