Heylo there,
i'm 16 (17 in two months) and i've been on diets on and off my whole life, always giving up because of frustration..well recently i've been looking into the military and now i've chosen the Army National Guard, and there weight limit for my height is 133 lbs, good gracious you can't be chunky in this world and do anything! sheesh! whats a girl to do? well. loose the weight. I'm around 200 lbs so 67 pounds of it. i'm not sure what diet i'm going to to, so if anyone has any suggetions that would be great! but i know i MUST start running, doing push ups and situps, for the army. cause i will die if i don't start now, once i'm 17 , i'm planning on seeing a recruiter but i'd like to drop 20 lbs before that. sooooooo. here i am, needing this more than ever.

Hey, you're 16 and still growing. This is not a time to damage your metabolism, you are going to need food to grow into a healthy, adult body.

I find it difficult to give you "diet" advice since your needs as a growing teenager were very different from my needs as a 35 year old adult who wanted to lose weight. You might want to consult with a registered dietician (not a plain old doctor and not a nutritionist - registered dieticians have the appropriate degree to assist you).

Definitely increase your physical activities. If you want to join any branch of the military, you're going to run...a lot at boot camp.

Eat healthy foods, limit crap. 5 servings of fresh vegetables, 2-3 servings of fruit, whole grains, lean protein, healthy fat (olive oil, avocado, salmon, nuts). Drink plenty of water, avoid emtpy calories (soda, fast food, fried foods, cream-based foods) and move your body.

If you've been "dieting all your life" at age 16, I would wonder if you've already mucked around with your metabolism. You need to eat enough to get it burning hot again. You may gain a lb or two in the process, but it will be SHORT TERM and worth the long term investment in your health.

Good luck!

When I was your age (only 20 now) a diet never worked for me. I thought of it too much of a diet and I always did something stupid. Like Slim Fast - sure it worked while I did it - but it didn't last long before I got hungry and then ate something I shouldn't have.

My suggestion to you is - don't diet. Exercise and eat healthy. No more fast food, no more french fries, chicken strips, etc. Stay away from white bread, pasta, pop (I switched to diet pop when I was your age and that really helped me). A cookie or whatever once and a while is not going to kill but dont blow it. If you want a cookie have a cookie not a whole bag. And don't go to Micky D's later for dinner. This is not a diet, this is a new way of life. You have to pick something you can stick with for the rest of your life.

Lots of us here do calorie counting, myself included. The weight doesnt come off as fast as it did with Slim Fast, Atkiens, and Weight Wacthers. BUT I have stuck to this for 3 months now and I don't feel like I am on a diet. I can eat what I want I just work it into my day. I stopped eating the fattening foods and I no longer crave them.

And like Glory87 mentioned you are still growing - you have to stay healthy. I would recommened just eating healthy (don't starve yourself) and exercise. That is the key to a healthy lifestyle.

And remember - the slower you lose the weight the more likely you are to keep it off.

Oh no! Not another pasta basher

Pasta and carbs aren't the enemy. Excess calories are the enemy, regardless of where they come from.

I wholeheartedly believe in BALANCE. If I have pasta for lunch, I avoid it at dinner. If I know I'm having pasta for dinner, I avoid it at lunch, nor do I eat pasta every single day. Just like I avoid eating too much fat for one meal or in one day. My point is I still eat it, I just don't load up on it all day long.

But eliminating certain foods completely isn't the answer. Unless, of course, it's deep-fried crap. Nobody should eat that stuff. But pasta is NOT a bad food. Granted the whole wheat pasta is better nutritionally than the regular, but telling someone to stop eating pasta, to some, is like yanking an ice cream cone out of a 5-year-old's hand.