I have been wanting to go on a diet for a while now and I am now finally doing it.
I weigh about 165 and I should be around 135, my face gets a lot of fat so I wanna get rid of it, it really brings down my appearance, in my opinion.
But is there like some way that I can do this faster than others?
I go to school from 8-2:30 so I can usually eat just an apple and a bottle of water at school but at home, I know for sure everyones going to tell me that I have to exercise but I want to know if this is really going to help - we have this hill, a couple miles maybe? not to steep, well when you get on it its freaking hard, but I used to ride my bike down it then all the way back up, it really tears the crap out of me by the time I am back my legs can barly stand up. But would that be enough exercise daily?
Also im only 17 and I cant drive so food is basically what ever we have, which doesnt usually consist of fruit but is there some foods that I should eat that could speed this up? I really wanna lose it fast, im a junior in high school and looking back, in what 5th grade? I was a skinny little thing and I know for a fact that the reason I am fat is because I was homeschooled from there till high school and I did nothing but sit on the computer all day...
Just wish I could find some kind of diet that wasn't freaking hard or I had to go buy a bunch of fruit and run a abunch.
Exercise is a must to lose the weight and keep it off. There is no fast track to weight loss. Healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs a week. Ask your parents that you are concerned for your healthy and give them a list of healthy alternatives you'd like around the house (fruits, veggies, frozen veggies, lean meats, whole grains, etc). If not, try to eat smaller portions.
Diets are hard. Exercise can be hard. This is sometimes the biggest emotional roller coaster of your life. Also, look into adapting eating that is a healthy lifestyle versus a "diet." Smaller portions, whole grains, and drinking more water while exercising.
When I first started losing weight I started with 15 minutes of walking to WATPs and worked to 45 minutes a day.
The best advice anyone can give you is weight loss is a journey not a race. Start small, replace some unhealty foods with healthier versions, and yes excercise is important. Muscle burns more calories than fat so if you are working out and building muscle you are burning more calories when you are just sitting around. It is also important that you eat at least 3 meals a day and you should have 2 snacks as well. When we don't eat our bodies go into starvation mode and hold on to the fat in our boddies becasue it does not know when the next meal is comeing. By eating small but often meals there is a constant flow of nurishment in your body and less of need for it to hold on to things. Take it from someone with experience when I was your age I looked for the quick fix wound up fainting seven stiches and lost seven teeth, and am still paying for it today. Look around this site and check out all the diets you should find one that fits. I am partial to Weight Watchers myself.
it's good that you want to lose weight, but it's VERY important to do it in a healthy way. an apple is not enough food to make it through the day. in fact it could backfire because by the time you get home you will be so hungry you may end up binging. you'd be better off packing a healthy lunch to eat at school. can you talk to your parents about your concerns about your weight? if so, maybe they could help you by keeping fruits/veggies/healthy snacks in the house. it could also help to make an appointment with your doctor to talk about a healthy, balanced diet.
i know it can be hard to bring up the issue of weight loss with parents. but at your age, you need to keep yourself healthy as you lose. starving yourself and yo yo dieting can cause serious long-term effects that you will regret a few years down the road. if you don't have healthy foods at home, don't starve yourself. just be careful about your portions and try to make good choices out of what is available.
as far as exercise goes, any activities you can do on a daily basis to get moving should help with weight loss. even just taking a moderately paced walk up and down that hill you mentioned could help. work your way up to it and increase intensity as you get stronger.
unfortunately there is no easy road to permanent weight loss. it takes hard work, persistance, and patience.
inschool, you can lose weight without exercising..I did it my first three months..but it was a slower process than with the exercise...I think it's important for you to find something active you actually like to do...don't think of it as a workout...do you like to bike? rollerblade? dance? indoor rock climbing? ...you shouldn't ever have to be hungry if you choose your foods wisely...the poster above is so correct...weight loss is a journey for most of us..not a final destination..good luck and I am glad you are here
When you're looking to lose weight, it's very important to do it in a way that's healthy and that you can do for the rest of your life - good nutrition and exercise are really important skills at any age! Not only will you have a healthy weight, but you'll have more energy, clearer skin, healthy hair, strong teeth and bones, and you'll have more confidence (which is really attractive!).
Thighs Be Gone is right about the exercise - it can be something fun and something you do with friends. A good place to start for some general nutrition information is the food guide, because it tells you what kinds of food you need to stay healthy. A good "diet" usually has the same foods (like whole grains, fruits and vegetables) because most healthy foods are also low-cal! Not eating enough during the day makes it more likely that you'll eat too much later (because you get very hungry), and eating very little in general can slow down your metabolism, and make it harder to lose weight now and years in the future. Breakfast is very important to keep your metabolism up through the day.
If you learn to eat nutritious foods, not overdo the pop, chips and sweets, and get some fun exercise in your life while you're just 17, you'll lose weight healthily and will be set to look fabulous both now as an adult! If you try to restrict yourself to very little food so that you can lose weight fast you will be really hurting your body, and there's a good chance that you will gain all that weight back (and more). Also, extreme restriction for a long time period(aka starvation diets) can lead to things like hair loss, trouble concentrating, and growing a little "fuzz" on your body (to insulate you because your fat is gone!). A lot of times people with eating disorders have these side effects among some other really scary ones.
This way is so much easier than extreme dieting because you feel pretty full and healthy, get to enjoy life, and don't have to get any special foods. Good luck and please stay healthy!
All of the advice given is the absolute truth! Be smart and not so much in a rush. Take it from someone who's been in a very similar situations like yours. I can definatly relate to what you are going through.
As stated by others, if you cannot go out and get 'healthy' foods, at least cut down your portion size, chew slowly, eat until you are comfortably full, and make sure you eat 5 to 6 times a day to keep your metabolism in optimum gear to burn fat. As for exercise, start out slow, you will eventually build up endurance and you will be well on your way. Every little bit helps and can make a difference.
the other posters gave you good advice on exercising and that this is a life time change, not a race.
if you can't always have fruits and healthy foods around the house (hopefully you eat more than just fruits), you can always still do calorie counting. you can eat anything if you are watching your calories and portions, so there is no excuse.
you have access to the computer and internet, there's plenty of free sites with calorie info and tracking , for example calorieking.com and sparkpeople.com, find out how much you need for your age, height, exercise level and stick to those numbers for awhile and tweak as necessary, I think someone your age would probably be taking in 1600-2000 calories, maybe a little less if you aren't active, but don't go too low, since that will slow you down.
Last edited by ringmaster; 08-20-2009 at 01:05 PM.
I just want to gently remind that something else besides homeschooling happened between 5th grade and age 17 - Puberty! It's completely, utterly, crazy unrealistic to compare your body to a skinny 5th grader's body. In any way.
In my opinion, some short brisk walks and sensible eating would be fine.
I realise it's not the quick fix you're asking for, but I think if you tried it for a bit, you would lose weight and feel better about yourself simply from being more active, it's then easier to continue with too. Sometimes we need to give things the benefit of the doubt.
I first posted on this site when I was 17 too, I received a lot of sensible advice, like in this thread. However it wasn't exactly what I'd hoped to hear, and I ignored it. I went off and dieted 'my way' to lose weight very fast, and in the wrong ways. Now I really wish I could rewind time and take heed of what was said to me on here.
An apple is absolutely not enough to give you energy, especially to focus in school. Even if you can avoid eating other foods, the only thing you're achieving is hurting yourself. Please don't subject yourself to crash dieting, it opens the gates to all kinds of strange eating behaviours. You are worth much more than punishing diets.
Eat sensibly, find something active you enjoy and you will lose weight, you may find some of the posts on here are useful to you as well. You don't say how tall you are btw, 135lbs seems a healthy weight, but if you are on the taller side, you may find you carry 140lbs or so just as well. Just don't be too hard on yourself
It is so easy to get caught up in losing weight, associating thinness with happiness etc. I hope you will succeed the smart way
Is there an easiER way to do this?
, start out slow, you will eventually build up endurance and you will be well on your way. Every little bit helps and can make a difference.
