Ever since Barbara Schroeder and Carrie Wiatt first introduced The Diet for Teenagers Only, the book has gained quite a following among the young people it addresses. It has earned the reputation of being a safe and inspirational authority that supplies good information, and it does it in a fun way. The authors stress the fact that teens are in the midst of the biggest and most significant growth spurt of their lifetime. Their unique conditions and circumstances must be taken into account:
Teenage girls face a relentless assault on their self-esteem: television, the Internet, and magazines all barrage young women with images of perfection — and that perfection is closely linked with being thin.
Half the teenage girls in America think they need to lose weight, and, depending on which definitions and statistics you favor, it’s possible that they’re right. Maybe 50 percent of the teen girls do need to lose weight. Or maybe it’s 47 or 44 percent, but, while trying to pin it down, people get diverted from the main subject: Many Americans in every age group are obese. Even if it were only 10 percent, that would be too high, so let’s not get hung up on statistical minutiae.
Two different dynamics are in play. Some kids are within the acceptable range weightwise, yet are dangerously obsessed with the conviction that they are too fat. Some kids really are, by any objective measure, overweight. Needless to say, both groups tend to have serious issues with food and eating, but weight and body image aren’t even the only issues at stake here. Paying attention, in moderation, to one’s eating habits could provide a person with more energy and strength — the attributes that can be put to good use in many areas of life.
The Diet for Teenagers Only includes an easy-to-follow exercise program, and interesting aids like color cutouts that can remind a person just how big a portion ought to be. There are hints on how to not allow your grocery shopping trip become a trap, but rather how to make it the foundation of your success. There are recipes and meal plans, with plenty of wiggle room to suit individual needs.
Barbara Schroeder, by the way, is a communications professional who has received the very desirable Gracie Award for her work on a mini-documentary. Carrie Wiatt heads a nutritional counseling firm, and has a four-year-old daughter to practice on. That’s important. Many professionals give advice to parents, which is all well and good, but unless a counselor is also a parent, he or she doesn’t really know what parents are up against.
Dr. Pretlow’s website for kids, which is now known as Weigh2Rock, incorporates many pages from its previous incarnation, BlubberBusters. It contains many resources, all endorsed by teens, who have used them and found them helpful. A girl who goes by the handle ShiningStar says, “See, I started off at 184 lbs in Feb. of 2006. I bought The Diet for Teenagers Only, an amazing book, and began to turn my life around. I got as low as 164 lbs in May of 2007.” Another reader says, “It gives you all the inside tips.” “Great” and “awesome” and “fabulous” are other adjectives used to describe it, and, one girl, speaking for many others, says, “I love it.”
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “The Diet for Teenagers Only,” HarperCollins.com
Source: “Books and Programs,” BlubberBusters
Screen capture of The Diet for Teenagers Only cover used under Fair Use: Reporting.
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