How does one motivate a 15 year old boy to lose weight.?

Question

I have talked him around to admittance of a problem. But he still eats everything not quick enough to get out of the way and any quantity available. He has no self esteem and no self motivation. But today asked what he needs to do to lose love handles. Other members of the family are not overweight and are active Whenever I have tried not buying much in the way of food we have all lost weight except him who has gained anyway. Cutting other kids short has caused resentment without positive results. He seems to be a big cuddly teddy bear everyone except him loves to bits but he doesn't see it and thinks himself a failure either hated or barely tolerated. We are an open family and would all rather argue than walk away and let things smoulder. We are close and all would do anything to help. We have tried everything that we can think of. He is in grade 11, very intellligent and failing because of motivation. He is hiding from life. He will not go to a gym or take outside help.

Answer 1

the only way to get kids to lose weight is for a whole family to start eating wright and exwecising together - it will make you all healthy and happy.

find calorie/fitness calculator on the net, enter all your stats and it will tell you how many calories you need a day to maintain, take off 300-400cal off that number and thats how much you need to lose.
eat 5-6 small meals a day (eat every 2-3 hours)
5-8 servings of fruit and veggies a day
8 glasses of water
have complex carbs for breakfast - they give you energy
have lean meat (protein) for dinner - repairs muscle
cardio exercise 4-6 times a week for 30-50min, light weight training
dont consume foods that are made of white flour (white bread, cakes, past etc.), sugar loaded foods (cookies, icecream, candy etc) and nothing fried, oily.
ofcourse you can spoil yourself once in a while with a little treat:)

Answer 2

Hi! 1. It's better to run a little faster if you can for a little less long, your heartrate will be faster therefore you'll burn more calories and fat. Slowly build this up till the time you used to run for, then run a little faster a little less again and build up. 2. Jumping jacks and any kind of aerobics work very well to start up and slow down your heart rate both before and after your workout. 3. Yes, this is very normal. If you are not feeling very fatigued, maybe try doing some exercises a little longer or faster. 4. Yes, it is a good way to keep your hydration level up. You can do this test to see if you are dehydrated: Pinch your arm. If it continues to be lightly coloured/yellow, you are dehydrated and should drink water. Remember, when you're feeling thirsty, it is a sign that you are already dehydrated! 5. Try having some music or a portable DVD player with you! Hope I helped and best of luck! XxX Aha

Answer 3

this is a tough problem and i am one who can relate. not because I know someone like this, but basically i was the same exact way myself. If you're a close family start doing outside activities that require some physical activity. don't try to pressure him into joining in, just ask and if he says he doesnt want to, then lightly express the fun he has missed out on afterwards. If he plays a lot of video games or stays in reading i would try to get him to go out and do more. My sisters son spends a lot of time playing video games and she enforces activities that require a physical workout before he can play them. it has done a good job of making him well rounded. self esteem problems can be a bad cycle. you feel you arent popular and you dont look the way you want so you put yourself down and it makes things only that much worse. i would spend a lot of time boosting his self esteem. i am sure you already do, but continue working on it as it is a slowly moving process. once he feels better about himself he will want to work on his weight problems on his own. getting my self esteem up is what really helped me start taking care of myself better. sorry if this was extremely long, hope it helped.

Answer 4

I was in my late 30's when I tried losing weight, got into a self help training weight loss program which made me lost 30kg and a whole new mentality.

Get him into a program, but make sure you understand what the program does first before doing so.

Answer 5

Just be supportive, be there for him and dig up answers when he ask. Start reading ingredients of foods with him when no one else is around, pick foods that are naturally low in fat. My son was this way also, until we enrolled him in karate. This teaches discipline as well as motivation. Getting him to the first class will be like pulling teeth, because he will have it in his head that everyone else in the class will be slim, he will be surprised.
It is also very enjoyable.
Good luck

Answer 6

Have you tried to exercise with him? if he is overweight he is definately going to have low self-esteem and isn't going to want to go at it alone. I would focus on trying to get him active. Maybe a fun sport outside, trampoline, bike ride. Do something as a family. Take a walk through hiking trails, etc. If you engage the family he might be more willing to want to do it. Sad thing is, he has to be the one to want to do it. Forcing him is only driving him away from it and you will never see any results that way.

Answer 7

Stop bringing junk foods into the house and switch to low fat products. Go with him for walks after dinner each night or make him walk to and from school each day. The weight should come off then.

Answer 8

Sounds like his problems are deeply rooted, probably something that you are unaware of. Get him to a therapist before he wastes any more of his life. Clearing his mind will help him improve his self esteem, which in return will give him the will to improve his health, etc... You definitely don't want him to go to college or to work with this attitude. He will never succeed in life!!

Answer 9

Have you tried reminding him of the health benefits by slimming down.Maybe you could encourage him with new clothes when he loses.Also let him know you love him for who he is.Try changing his food gradually by cutting down on fatty food to fresh fruits .Encourage him and praise him for all his victories.The rest his up to him.If a certain young lady comes along that he likes that would also help.

Answer 10

my brother was basically the same way. he grew out of it and was tired of being overweight. my parents got him a weight set and he started doing push ups and working out. he also rides his bike, plays basketball, and football. try and motivate him to do outdoor activities and eat right. good luck.