Set Reasonable Goals

• Before starting any project, you need to set goals. Diets are no different. Your goals should be about you, not about looking like someone else or fitting in with a certain crowd or getting a date with a certain person. Forget all of that. Set a goal of losing ten pounds over the next six months, or exercising four times a week. Be sure your goal is measurable, timely, reasonable, and something you want for yourself.
  
  

Eat Early; Eat Well

• Skipping meals, especially breakfast, is a tempting way to drop weight. However, you must respect the fact that your body is still developing, and it needs fuel to do so. Eating breakfast prevents you from being overly hungry later in the day, when you are more prone to overeat. A low-fat granola bar, low-fat yogurt, and a banana will carry you through a busy morning of class or work. Look at all meals and snacks as opportunities to give your body what it needs to function well. At each meal, aim for at least one serving of fruits and/or vegetables, a serving of low-fat protein, and a serving of carbohydrates. Snacks should also be fruit/veggie heavy, with some low-fat protein to help you feel full. Remember that beverages are calories too. Lose the soda and pick up a bottle of water.
  
  

Get Moving

• You need to be careful with what you eat, but any diet needs to be partnered with exercise. This does not have to mean joining a gym or investing in expensive equipment. Think about the kind of movement you enjoy and regularly incorporate it into your life. If you like walking, walk to school or work. If music moves you, take some dance classes or rent dance videos. If you enjoy team sports, check out your local rec center for teen leagues. Be sure you enjoy whatever you choose, because you are much more likely to stay with it if you do.
  
  

Choose Your Friends Wisely

• Your friends can be the biggest diet pitfalls if you let them. Always remember that you are doing this so that you will be a healthier person, not to be like someone else or to please someone else. Surround yourself with people who support what you are doing and who want to see you succeed. Seek out those who have the same fitness goals and interests so that you have someone to work out with and support you in pursuit of your goals.