There's a good chance that at least one of your friends could be dubbed "the human calorie counter." Many teens get obsessed with counting calories, trying to reach lower and lower levels every day. At an age where you're more susceptible to eating disorders, it's best to take a looser approach to calorie counting, and instead focus on great nutrition. You don't want to rob your body of important nutrients necessary for your growth, so cutting back too much isn't a smart move.

Rather than count calories, you should make an effort to count 'servings.' This takes you away from the calorie mindset, and instead allows you to focus on a mixed diet that'll get you to your best bodyweight. Taking control of your nutrition and meal preparation will ultimately determine your success, so let's get you acquainted with the basic principles of fat-loss nutrition. While you might see your friends go for hours without eating, the real secret to staying slim is actually eating more frequently. Going for hours without food may seem like a cool way to save calories, but often it comes back to get you at the end of the day. By day's end, all you want to do is snack, snack, snack. Usually, all that snacking is on anything but healthy food.

Instead, get into the habit of eating six times a day - three smaller-sized meals and three quick snacks. If you want a speedy metabolism, this is something you must start doing. It might seem hard at first, and we know you'd rather sip on your favorite blended coffee and skip breakfast. However, if getting slimmer and developing more muscle tone is important to you, you need to make the effort! After a week or two, you'll find that you actually look forward to your small meals and snacks, and wouldn't have it any other way. Plus, when you see how it helps change your body, you'll wonder why you went so long starving yourself for hours in the first place.

To eat every few hours, you'll need to be prepared. No more horrible cafeteria food or vending machine meals. Don't be afraid to bring a small cooler or lunch bag to work or school-once people see your amazing results, they'll do it too! Focus on your goals, and you'll hit every single one of them. Bring a few meals to school so you can always have quality food. Make meals ahead of time, and your fit physique will be within reach. Remember, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. You keep up on all the latest celebrity gossip, and you might think that if you want to look like the stars, you should start cutting out carbs. Before you start clearing out your pantry like you do your winter wardrobe when summer's coming, it's important to realize that carbohydrates aren't the evil they're made out to be.

If you want to have energy to workout, you need carbs. If you want to feel energized at the end of a long week and still be able to go out on Friday night with your friends, carbs are essential. If you want to help you team win the game at the soccer championship next month, carbs will help get you there. Unrefined carbohydrates aren't your enemy, but you should stay away from most simple sugars. When you see all your friends choosing low-fat chips, sugary granola bars, and pimped-up candy disguised as 'real fruit snacks,' try your best to turn away.

Instead, you need to make smarter selections that include fresh fruit and vegetables, oatmeal, whole grain bread, low-fat popcorn, brown rice, and baked potatoes. The calories in these are much healthier for you, and these snacks won't leave you on an energy yo-yo. After you eat them, you'll kill the hunger bug, and it won't feel like it's harder than your last calculus quiz to make it to dinner without snacking.

Eat a palm-size portion of carbs with every meal of the day. If you want to kick your fat loss into high gear, have vegetables as your only carb source with the last two meals of the day. Veggies have plenty of fiber to keep you full and are low in calories, perfect for your fat loss nutrition plan! Next up is protein. Protein is often one of the trickiest nutrients for teen girls. Unless you make it a habit of cooking up an entire chicken on the weekend, you typically aren't choosing protein-rich foods. Start eating a palm-sized portion of lean protein with each meal. Great sources are low-fat dairy (yogurt, cottage cheese, and milk), fish, egg whites, chicken breast, and any low-fat tofu or soy products.

To make things even easier, have a look at some of the high-protein snack foods here on Bodybuilding.com. You can grab convenient, delicious protein powders, ready to drink shakes, and bars. It's going to make meeting your nutrient needs far easier, and will make sure you get that flat, attractive stomach you're after. Also, you'll want to have a few tablespoons of healthy fat every day. Good fats are crucial for best health, and they provide nutrients that help with healthy skin and hair. It might sound strange, but to lose fat, your body needs healthy fats! Good sources of fat include nuts and nut butters, olive oil, flaxseeds, avocado, and fatty fish like salmon. Try and stay away from saturated and trans-fats as much as possible, which are unhealthy fats. Finally, don't forget to drink plenty of water! Water is crucial for peak performance and great health, so get at least 8 glasses a day.

On weekends, it can be really tough to stick to your goals. If you're going out with the girls, just make sure you make smart ordering choices. Ask for sauces on the side, choose grilled meat over fried or battered, and swap pasta or white rice for vegetables. You can always share with a friend, or eat half the meal and box the rest. For drinks, try and stick with water. Unnecessary sugars from soda will add up quickly. These small tips will go a long way: you'll be able to enjoy yourself without throwing off your program.

As you progress, you may notice weight loss slowing down. At this point, you can always reduce the size of your meals a little bit. Shave off some carbs from 3 meals, and you should get back on the right path. Since you need each and every meal to keep your metabolism high, never completely remove a meal. However, remember that you can always make adjustments.

Also, keep in mind that the scale isn't always your best critic. It is possible to cut fat without a huge change in weight. If your weight isn't dropping but your body looks great, you might be losing fat while adding muscle. Because this can happen, the mirror will be your ultimate judge. Don't worry about the numbers too much. Instead, focus more on how you look and feel.

Before we finish off the topic with what you should eat for your new body, it's important to mention eating around your workouts. You must provide fuel to your body because if you don't, you won't exercise as hard and won't firm, tighten, and tone all the muscles in your body.

Before and after your workouts, you really want to focus on getting in a protein-rich food along with some fast-digesting carbs. The easiest and most convenient way to do this is to make a protein shake. Grab a whey protein isolate from Bodybuilding.com, and power-pack it with some low-fat yogurt and frozen fruit or oats. You want to get in about 20 or 25 grams of protein powder, and another 20 to 25 grams of carbohydrates as well. This is the amount in a medium-sized banana, two cups of berries, or 1/3 cup of oatmeal.

Have your pre-workout meal about 1-1.5 hours before you train. Then, immediately after you're done lifting, have another quick-absorbing shake. This will ensure that your body is fuelled going into the session, and recovers quickly after.