DR. WALLACE: You often tell teens that wish to lose weight to eat healthy foods and to exercise regularly. But that won't work for everyone! Some of us can eat relatively well and exercise for an hour or more a day and still not be able to lose much more than a few pounds.

Don't you feel that your "one size fits all" advice is worthless to some people who just can't lose much, if any weight? — Let's Get Real, via email

LET'S GET REAL: I hear and accept what you are saying, but I firmly stand by this standard, yet logical, advice. It's true that everyone has a unique body and body chemistry, but the fundamentals of eating healthy foods in moderation and adding in regular exercise remain valid.

I also advise individuals who seek to embark on a weight-loss program to seek advice from a medical professional.

Taking these steps puts nearly everyone on a positive path toward at least improving health, stamina and nutrition. From there the results for each individual will vary due to various factors. I also suggest those who have trouble losing weight seek out not only a medical professional as one of the first steps, but to also consider spending some time with a professional nutritionist and personal trainer as well. These professionals are not cheap to hire, but a few sessions with each may well be an investment that can pay future dividends.

MY MOM AND TEACHER ARE RUINING MY SUMMER!

DR. WALLACE: I'm mad at one of my teachers and my mom! I'm a guy and a decent student in high school, but there's one class I can't seem to do well in.

It turns out that the teacher I had this last year is teaching a summer school class on this same topic and he suggested to my mother that I take it. He promised to spend a lot of time with me one on one to help me pass this class successfully.

I feel that summertime is my reward for having worked hard in school for nine whole months, and now I have six weeks of summer school for two hours a day, four mornings a week. Don't you feel this is unfair? How can I get my mom to cancel my enrollment in this class? I'm 16, and the guys my age all have big summer plans and none of them are going to summer school. — Very Unhappy, via email

VERY UNHAPPY: I see this situation from a different point of view. First, I feel your teacher is actually doing you a favor. It's important not to fall behind in school, and you'll have access to a free personal tutor who is motivated to help you!

I do agree that you worked hard at school for nine months, but six weeks is only half of your summer, and your class is only two hours a day, four days a week. This is much less than the average of seven hours, five days a week that you are used to during the regular school year. This means you'll be spending less than 25% as much time in school per week for these six weeks than during the previous school year.

Hang in there and do your best to take advantage of this opportunity, and once you've completed this course, you'll still have a lot of good time to enjoy the second half of your summer vacation.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Kimzy Nanney at Unsplash