Hi people, I am 23 years old and have been gaining on pounds and this makes me madder. The thing is that after several efforts of exercise and dieting I don’t seem to get any slimmer. There are many ways to get the fat reduced but almost all the ways are exhausted. I have consulted a few people but all of them have been telling me the same thing. It isn’t helping me and only making my fears worse.

Is there some way to make me feel better!!!

Hi Ferkints,

Welcome! I'm 24 - you might want to come say hi to us down at the 20 Something's forum from time to time

Calorie counting is what works for me - and being consistent. Health and maintenance are a life long affair.

Bottom line is unfortunately...

You must use more than you take in to lose it or Calories out must be more than calories in.

Once you find a program or method for recording food intake it becomes easy. I use www.calorieking.com.au but its an Australian site - others use www.fitday.com or www.dailyplate.com - there is also a forum for calorie counters down below.

Hey ferkints,

Tell us more about yourself. What is your current weight? How tall are you? What programs have you tried in the past? How physically active are you now? Maybe we can make suggestions.

Jay

My gosh, what have they been telling you? You've got me a bit frightened as well.

The bottom, bottom line is that you need to create a calorie deficit. By taking in less calories then you burn, thus using your "stored" fat for energy and getting rid of that said fat.

Then of course you must find a plan that you can STICK with. Because nothing in the world will "work" unless of course - you stick with it.

So what HAVE you tried and for how long have you tried it?

As far as making you feel better - know this - that losing weight IS a doable thing and that anyone, anyone CAN do it when they put their minds to it. Through hard work, determination and absolute commitment.

A sure fired strategy is . . . move more, eat less, move some more. There are no magic pills, no tricks, no gimmicks, no 'spot reducing, quick weight loss' schemes. Just determination, dedication, planning your work and working your plan. The beginning can be hard but it does get easier as you go along. Honest.

Calorie counting is easy, free, doable and gives you flexibility. You choose how your spend you calories. I don't know what types of plans you have done in the past but I've found calorie counting to be the easiest. Weight Watchers is calorie counting, they just use 'points' that have been assigned to the foods vs. using the actual calories, but it's basically the same thing.

There are so many different types of exercise that I all can say is find something you like to do and you will likely stick with it. BUT, change it up and do this frequently. Don't just stick with the same routine because your body will adjust (adaptable little bugger that it is ) and you will have to work harder and harder just to see some progress. Cardio is esstential but it's not the be all end all. Strength training needs to be incorporated as well.
Search around this site -- tons of info and people who have been or are in your shoes. I can tell you as someone who is more than twice your age, you absolutely CAN do this.

I agree with Hat Trick that calorie counting is a great way to go. If nothing else, by recording what you eat, you'll learn a ton about what the foods you eat contain - it was an eye opening experience for me. Plus, you get a ton of flexibility, and you get motivation to exercise because the more you exercise, the more you can eat and still lose weight. And, the more you eat, the more you have to exercise, so you'll think twice about that snickers bar when you think of all the running you'll have to do to work it off.

I'm another one who uses calorie counting - I like the flexibility it gives me - and the control.

And as with what the others have said: the only thing that works is, eat less and exercise more.

.

I am a calorie counter , too and plan ahead. I just got up and already know what I am going to eat today, I can change that during the day if necessary but most of the time I stay with my plan. I have an injury that makes exercise a challenge but I do what I can
In a nutshell, eat fewer calories and exercise more and you WILL lose.

Like RockinRobin I'm a little afraid to find out what they've been telling you!

The easiest way to explain it is: Eat less, move more.

But, it's often a little more complicated than just that.

Tell us about yourself, and what you've been trying. Maybe we'll have specific recommendations.

Barring a medical condition, most people are quite capable of losing weight. It isn't easy, and it doesn't come without making big (permanent) changes to your lifestyle, but it can be done.

I think if you looked into your past attempts with a critical eye you would most likely see some big flaws in your approach, such as underestimating the amount of food/calories you are really eating. Chances are good that this is what is plaguing you. (I can't be certain, though, since I have no idea what type of eating plan you followed in the past).

To see if this may be the problem, write down everything you eat for one week. That means every stick of gum, every sip of soda or nibble of an energy bar, everything. Then go back and add up all the calories (there are great websites like Calorie King to help). You will probably be shocked at how much you are actually consuming!

If you do find that you are taking in too many calories on a daily basis, then you can begin to devise better eating plans.

Good luck!

What have you tried? What have people told you? Everyone is going to tell you the same thing over and over again if you don't give a little more information about what you've tried, and why it didn't work.
Please tell us what you've tried, and how long you tried it before giving up on it. It takes time, and if you only try something for a day or two, then you won't see any positive results. I've seen people try things for a few days, get bored with it, then eat half a pizza and wonder why they don't lose weight. It's not that they can't, it's just that they aren't trying as hard as they think they are, and just can't see that.
Someone once told me that eating healthy is difficult. I told her that it's not difficult to eat right, it's just so much easier to eat badly. Oreos are much more convinient than salads, but it's not hard to eat a salad. (by the way, i love oreos but haven't had one in two years... it's not hard to resist them if they aren't in the house!)
It's also possible you aren't eating enought. I recently added about 500 calories to my daily intake, and dropped two pounds in about a week. (this is with a medical condition that lowers my metabolism, and while on a medication that is rumored to cause weight gain) That obviously wouldn't work for everyone.