Teenagers on Forum page 3

[Dhartanya]

Legally wise, I thought there had to be an "age limit" (at least 13 or more). Though that's not to say teens aren't gonna lie.

[jenn26point2]

Because teens are not done growing and need more constant nutrition than an adult. If it's ok for a teen to fast then it should surely be ok for an infant to fast, right? Probably not so much.

Your bodies are changing so much every day. Your hormones change. Your bones grow. Your muscles grow. Your brains grow. You can't starve those systems or you could likely "stunt your growth", pun intended. It's a well known fact that people continue to grow until they hit somewhere between 18 and 21 (typically). Until then, I think fasting is a bad idea.

And the reason I don't think anyone under the age of 18 should be here is because teens are more prone to eating disorders (maybe not statistically, but that's how it appears) - maybe not guys, but most certainly girls. Looking at me now you'd know I was never one of those girls (hehehe).

It's just not a good idea in my mind to be touting diet advice to a teen because most times the advice is bad or is taken out of context and causes problems.

[paleo-bunny]

Do you have a desire not to grow taller?

[jenn26point2]

And if you look at any 'diet pill' it even says "not to be used by individuals under the age of 18"... why would a weight loss/specialized nutrition site be any different? Besides, he (Mark) didn't talk about Primal for teenagers, leading me to believe he either has no opinion on the matter (under 18 adopting primal safely) or disagrees with it.

[nixxy]

I'm a newbie in this forum and I don't really want to be the douchebag to say this but....

Obviously this thread refers to Gadsie, and he obviously knows it.

To be honest, in the short time I've been here, and with the small amount of posts I've seen by and about Gadsie, I've found it really frustrating. It's the same content over and over. It actually is to the point where I won't open threads I would've otherwise been interested in, because I can see who last posted.

I don't mean to be insensitive about it, but that's how I feel, it's hugely frustrating and I don't come to the forum to get stressed out.

Gadsie... I'm only 20. Trust me, there's a gigantic difference between 15 and 18, especially when you're a male (lol). No, when you're a male and female, the difference is huge. When you're 18 you'll think back to some of your thoughts from when you were 15 and think you were so off about so many things. Of course you can't understand that now, but trust me, it will happen.

Just go out and be a normal teenager.

[jenn26point2]

I'm not saying Primal would be bad for a teen, as long as said teen was eating enough of the right foods to satisfy their growing bodies (I mean, Paleo Parents made a cookbook for kids)... what I'm saying is giving advice to a teen about diet is a bad idea unless you're knowledgable about teens, anatomy and medicine.

Additionally, I think that fasting as a teen is a bad idea. Immature brains (and regardless of what you think of your maturity level, your brain is young, thus immature) don't always make the best decisions. Adults either, but they're better equiped to make the right decision than teens are.

[NobleSavage]

Alright, im seeing two camps here:
The concerned-lets-make-more-rules camp: Kids under the arbitrary age of 18 are intellectually unfit to access the internet freely and cannot conciously discern between advice for overweight adults and growing teens - Solution: Lets limit their access to the internet!
Am i the only one seeing the utter and plain erh, wrongness, of this attitude?

the moderate camp of: Lets just be generally more responsible and elevated in our answers

Now thats a sensible goal imo.

The inherent problem here is, in my opinion, not one of age but one of attitude. Giving advice to anorexics and people with eating disorders in general can be hard. These types may prevalently be found amongst teens but they certainly are not limited to this segment. So whattya all wanna do? invent a thought-police and limit THEIR internet access? please ...

EDIT: Also i believe the argument 'i am older and therefore smarter' is completely invalid. If you have an argument and cannot win it without pulling the 'age card' odds are its because you're wrong.

Second EDIT: I'm 18 now, and so a bit biased on the 'teenage' discussion. I agree with nixxy. There is a huge difference in just a few years for males. But the solution here isn't to encourage Gadsie not to post. I can relate to alot of the worry, and (nutritional) insecurity that i gather from Gadsies post. How can the 'obvious' solution to this be limiting his possibility of venting this stuff? He (and i too) am lucky that a place like this exists on the internet. A place with well intentioned sensical advice on nutrition. You'd rather have teenagers visiting the borderline-anorexic vegetarian sites?
Also how can paleo/primal/LCHF NOT be for teenagers? The whole point of this is that we were evolved to eat like this. Its obviously for every age. If it wasn't it'd be a fad like so many other 'diets'.

[sbhikes]

I think it's pretty normal for teenagers to do intermittent fasting without even considering it intermittent fasting. Many teens do not eat breakfast. If you are that way, normally your family hammers that out of you with begging you to eat "the most important meal of the day." Never mind that most teens aren't hardly even awake at breakfast.

I honestly think that skinny, active boys should just eat as much as they possibly can and shouldn't eat breakfast if they don't want it. They shouldn't fast for the sake of fasting because of anything they read somewhere. Girls shouldn't fast because they are so prone to anorexia and bulimia. Boys like Gadsie who seem on the verge of anorexia shouldn't be encouraged to fast because it's likely that someone as obsessive and skinny as him will probably be as prone to anorexia nervosa as any girl could ever be.

[Baloo]

In general I see primal as being exercise, play and eating natural wholesome foods. As NobleSavage says, how can that not be good advice for teens as well as adults?

I see the main concerns about fasting and how much to eat, that surely only takes a little consideration about who you're posting to and what their situation is. To me that consideration should come in regardless of age, the general principles of exercise, play and eating the right stuff should go for everyone. Things like fasting, portion sizes e.t.c. are dependent on your situation and any advise should be given based on that (things like age, sex, build, trying to lose weight, trying to gain weight e.t.c.).

[Baloo]

I think it's pretty normal for teenagers to do intermittent fasting without even considering it intermittent fasting. Many teens do not eat breakfast. If you are that way, normally your family hammers that out of you with begging you to eat "the most important meal of the day." Never mind that most teens aren't hardly even awake at breakfast.

I honestly think that skinny, active boys should just eat as much as they possibly can and shouldn't eat breakfast if they don't want it. They shouldn't fast for the sake of fasting because of anything they read somewhere. Girls shouldn't fast because they are so prone to anorexia and bulimia. Boys like Gadsie who seem on the verge of anorexia shouldn't be encouraged to fast because it's likely that someone as obsessive and skinny as him will probably be as prone to anorexia nervosa as any girl could ever be.

Couldn't agree more with your post here sbhikes. I never really enjoyed breakfast growing up, never felt hungry so half the time I didn't have it. No I'm older and skipping breakfast is simply part of my IF.