Hey everybody
I'm new here. I saw how much everyone was losing and the support for them and I knew it was for me! I've put on 30 lbs in the first two years of highschool due to never being home, two summer jobs, and a knee injury. I don't know what to do! HELP!

I put back on, barely noticing, 25 lbs. that I worked very hard to lose, so I'm in the same boat as you. For me, I know the things that I let slip, and I need to get back to them:

• always drinking lots of water before meals and throughout the day
• never drinking sugary drinks or undiluted juice
• eating refined carbs
• not remembering to say "when" and let my body get full

Do any of these apply to you? Does anyone else know their bad habits?

First of all, good for you for joining here and getting started! I'm about your height, and I would LOVE to weigh 160 right now! (not that that helps you at all ). But it's good that you're getting a grip on your weight at your age, and not waiting until you're older to do it. If you can establish some healthy eating habits now, you'll be able to lose the extra weight and keep it off. Not to mention stay healthy!

There are many ways to start a weight loss program. Everything from Weight Watchers to counting calories (that's what I'm doing). Also, all the things Viola mentioned above are good suggestions.

I've seen a lot of teens have wonderful success on Weight Watchers. It's a very easy program to follow and teaches you a lot about nutrition and portion size.

Whatever you chose though, make sure it's a healthy, long term solution, not a quick fix.

Best of luck to you! See you on the boards..