This is my first post. I've tried SO many times to lose weight but I have absolutely NO discipline!!! (I am a teenage girl, often stressed, and I like to eat) I'll do really good for a day or two and then snack on some kind of relatively healthy but highly caloric snack (like nuts or dark chocolate). A while back I got into the habit of asking myself first before I eat something if it is worth the calories, but I end up convincing myself that it is until after I eat it and I regret it. Also I eat when I'm not hungry just because I feel like it.
Also, does anyone have any ideas for good motivation? Like something that I can look at or carry around to remind me not to give in?
Thanks in advance!
Last edited by olliepop96; 03-07-2012 at 12:13 AM.
Congratulations on your desire to be healthy. That said I have several pieces of advice.
First of all I don't know how tall you are but 120 lbs is not very heavy for anyone who is a teenager and therefore I assume over 5 feet tall. You may first want to get a more realistic understanding of what a healthy weight for you would be before you come up with a goal weight of 105.
Second, I can only assume that you want to have the "ideal" body. If you're not aware let me be the first to tell you that photoshop is heavily utilized in almost all photography of models. Even professional fitness models are not always stage ready because as a woman maintaining a low body fat is practically impossible. They look the way they look on stage for ONE DAY after months of exceedingly difficult preperation and then they start eating again.
Third, If you want to have the more "ideal" body than you have now a good regular exercise program will do far more for you than the "ideal" diet.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you should understand that while you're going through puberty you can permenantly screw up your metabolism by under eating. So if you don't want a lifetime of difficulty you should focus not on your weight and certainly not on having what you perceive as perfect diet or perfect weight.
My suggestions would be if you want to be healthy just try to avoid processed foods. While you have the time as a young person learn how to cook and prepare food that is both healthy and tastes good. Find an activity that you enjoy and use that as your exercise.
I agree with John. At your age unless you are on the very short side 120 doesn't sound like you're overweight by much if at all. The best thing that you can do at your age is learn what is HEALTHY - i.e. proper exercise and a balanced diet rich in whole grains, lean meat, fruits and vegetables (prepared without oil/butter preferably), and low fat dairy (cheese, milk, etc). Maybe you should try out some healthy recipes if you feel like you enjoy eating in bulk such as baked kale "chips", or roasted and seasoned chick peas. When I was a healthy weight in high school I always thought I was "sooo fat" and I now realize that I was beautiful and I sabotaged myself. If you feel like it is tied in to your self esteem maybe talk to your parents about seeing a therapist, I wish I had (not saying that this is your issue). Portion control is important, know what you should be eating and how much. It is possible that you aren't eating enough of the right vitamins and your growing body is craving what it needs but not communicating those needs appropriately. I wish you the best!
Sorry for not being detailed enough. I am 5'2'' and I have always been very athletic and have a muscular body that does not function well with extra fat (I get a lot of fat on my stomach). My weight goes up and down often (like I said, I have no discipline and I can't stick to a diet) and several months ago I was the same height I am now and I was 105 pounds and I was perfectly healthy and happy. I am not self conscious or anything but I am slowly but steadily gaining weight and I can feel what the extra fat is doing to my body. Don't worry, even though I am young I understand when to stop and I would never develop an eating disorder. I just feel stronger and healthier at a lower weight.
Sorry one last thing. I also make sure I eat enough protein and vegetables and stuff and i try really hard not to eat anything artificial or that has trans fats. I just eat a lot and frequently and I crave snack food like nuts and chocolate.
Do you have some hobby that you can distract yourself with? I paint, listen to Pandora, etc. Thanks for the extra info, I know what you mean now Do you crave more when you're bored? If so maybe you can call a friend. I also find not buying the food that I crve very helpful. I love nuts and can eat so many calories in one sitting. One way to help that issue is make your own "hundred calorie snack packs" with nuts dark chocolate morsels (the kind for cooking) and dried fruit.. that day you know when your snack pack Is done u should stop eating, if you're still hungry have a banana. There are healthy way s to incorporate chocolate and nuts. You can peel a banana and roll it in coco powder then slice it and top it with almond butter and coconut (shredded). You can also make egg white meringues and top them with sliced almonds. I struggle with self discipline and I have found that planning my daily meals and snacks along with counting calories helps a lot. I also made a binder with a picture of myself in tight clothes a t the end of every month then printed my measurements and weight on the pictures. I made myself a hemp promise bracelet, I wear it on the arm I use to eat with as a reminder. You can do this, time is on your side.
Last edited by TiffNeedsChange; 03-07-2012 at 01:44 AM.
Girl, you are 5.2'', 120 pounds and what 16 years old?
Go hang out with your friends. If you are worried about your weight, then just do something active while you are out.
I dont see any reason why you should be worried tho!
Do you have some hobby that you can distract yourself with? I paint, listen to Pandora, etc. Thanks for the extra info, I know what you mean now Do you crave more when you're bored? If so maybe you can call a friend. I also find not buying the food that I crve very helpful. I love nuts and can eat so many calories in one sitting. One way to help that issue is make your own "hundred calorie snack packs" with nuts dark chocolate morsels (the kind for cooking) and dried fruit.. that day you know when your snack pack Is done u should stop eating, if you're still hungry have a banana. There are healthy way s to incorporate chocolate and nuts. You can peel a banana and roll it in coco powder then slice it and top it with almond butter and coconut (shredded). You can also make egg white meringues and top them with sliced almonds. I struggle with self discipline and I have found that planning my daily meals and snacks along with counting calories helps a lot. I also made a binder with a picture of myself in tight clothes a t the end of every month then printed my measurements and weight on the pictures. I made myself a hemp promise bracelet, I wear it on the arm I use to eat with as a reminder. You can do this, time is on your side.
This is my first post. I've tried SO many times to lose weight but I have absolutely NO discipline!!! (I am a teenage girl, often stressed, and I like to eat) I'll do really good for a day or two and then snack on some kind of relatively healthy but highly caloric snack (like nuts or dark chocolate). A while back I got into the habit of asking myself first before I eat something if it is worth the calories, but I end up convincing myself that it is until after I eat it and I regret it. Also I eat when I'm not hungry just because I feel like it.
Also, does anyone have any ideas for good motivation? Like something that I can look at or carry around to remind me not to give in?
Thanks in advance!
Figure out what's going on when you decide to eat the highly-caloric snack? Is there some kind of trigger you need to deal with? Also, stay with the habit of engaging your brain and questioning before eating. It's easy to get tunnel vision when craving foods and interjecting deliberate and conscious thoughts can help curb that. Lastly, figure out what's common in situations in which you "just feel like it". There may also be some triggers in those situations that you're not aware of.
If you are still a growing teen 5'2" may not be your final adult height! So restricting diet too much could affect your growing.
A 16-year-old girl should consume 1,800 and 2,400 calories daily, according to USDA. You sound pretty active and your weight is already normal at your height. I wouldn't restrict that too much at this time -- the calories. Stay in the 1800-2400 bracket.
There's no harm in wanting to STAY healthy though as you transition into adult world. So rather than obsess too much about calorie count, consider nutrition QUALITY and consider your emotions while in this transition phase of your life. When things feel out of control (Who am I? What am I here FOR? What kind of job should I study for and get? When will I get financially independent of my parents?) it's very tempting to want to treat the body as something you CAN control. But we don't control our bodies -- we nourish and care for our bodies.
Nuts and dark chocolate as part of a larger varied diet is just fine as a treat. Don't beat yourself over that. Keep it real with the portions and then just enjoy the treat as a treat. Don't be laying guilt trippage on yourself over it!
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Also I eat when I'm not hungry just because I feel like it.
This paired with the guilt trippage? I'd be more concerned about you getting all caught up in emotional eating or body image woes or body bashing talk as a "bonding thing" among friends. That's a real risk for people your age and stage. Guard against it.
It's nice to feel part of a group, but not if you are bonding by body bashing selves or others with talk like "I'm so fat!" or "She's so skinny!" That takes a toll on mental health.
Emotional health is another thing -- building good emotional skill is another bucket. Sometimes people don't build the skills and use food to escape their problems or try to stuff down anger or anxiety so they don't have to feel it.
So... why do you eat when not hungry? Bored? Lonely? Stressed? List it out. Then maybe we can help you come up with non-food strategies to cope emotionally.
It sounds like you don't need to lose weight, you just want to recompose your body. The best way to do this is through weight-bearing resistance exercise programs (either bodyweight or freeweights).
Would your parents be willing to get you a gym membership somewhere with a personal trainer to get you started? For example, the local YMCA - around here the teenage memberships are only $10/month. Ask to be shown how to use free weights - NOT machines - to properly do the basic exercises with good form. Check out a program such as Starting Strength, Stronglifts 5x5, etc. All of these programs have variations for women (which really just means smaller starting weight - there is no difference between how women and men should perform these exercises, just that women tend to start out with less strength and build strength more slowly than men). If a gym isn't an option (or just isn't appealing), try something like Convict Conditioning or Bodyrock.tv (free site with hundreds of HIIT workouts posted, most require little to no equipment and can be done at home).
I don't know how else to say this... I am not self-conscious about my body and I do not have any tendencies for an eating disorder. I am reasonable and I won't get carried away with weight loss. I just feel a lot better at a lower weight. I am speaking from experience--just several months ago I was the same height but I was 105 lbs and completely strong, happy, and nourished. I also have small bones and I do not have hips or a butt or anything. I do not have the body shape that can hold lots of fat, it all goes on my stomach which is not healthy. I am an athlete and I have a lot of muscle I just do not have a fast metabolism and my body is sometimes too efficient for my own good (I have done cardio but it doesn't really help much) so I have to focus more on my eating habits. The reason why I want to get healthier is because my eating (snacking) habits are getting worse, partly because of stress, and I want to take control of this before I go off to university. Please if you are just going to tell me that I will be underweight (I know for a fact that I wont) or that I need to join a sport (which I already do) save yourself the time because what I asked for were tips on being disciplined and being controlled and stuff.
how can i have more discipline?
