Overweight and Im only 13.?

Question

I turned 13 in october and I weigh 9st 8. and am 1.53 metres tall. I know this is far too much weight for a girl of my age because all of my friends look much slimmer than me and weigh at least a stone less than I do. I also checked out my BMi and i am over the healthy weight of a girl my age. I find it hard loosing weight because I hate exercise and love chocolate. Its really getting me down and I know I've put on weight since Christmas because my clothes feel tighter. My mum keeps pressuring me to loose weight but I know I have to do it for me, not for her. I dont want to become an overweight or obese adult so please can someone help me. What can you suggest to help me loose weight fast?
Thank-you.

Answer 1

Please understand that a healthy lifestyle is the most important thing for you. Being overwieght will put you at risk for things like diabetes, and heart disease.

Ask yourself the questions...What am I eating, How much am I eating, and how much exercise am I getting???

A girl your size should eat a well balanced diet but not more than 1800 calories per day. You should also be getting at least 1 hour of vigorous excersise two to three times per week. Compliment it with strength training two times per week for twenty minutes. Try training large muscle groups such as the legs, they take more energy to build and that energy comes from fat stores in your body. If you can't get to a gym, try leg lifts in all directions until you feel your legs burning.

Learn about labels on food. If you look at a label and something is high in carbs or high in fat...turn it away. Say to yourself..."A moment on the lips..A lifetime on the hips" That phrase usually helps with the mind over matter part of a diet.

Remeber that it takes 17,500 calories to gain or lose 5 pounds. So if you cut out 500 calories per day, you can lose 5 pounds in the first 30 days.

Avoid potato chips, fast food, and sweets. Eat more "catabolic foods". Catabolic foods are the ones that take more energy to digest than they actually give you... This includes carrots, celery, and cantalope...among other high fiber fruits and veggies.

There is no ultra fast way to lose wieght and anyone that tells you different is usually pushing something temporary and unhealthy. It is a long term effort but the atvantage is that long term efforts usually provide you with long term results.

This is the same type of advice that I give to my patients in clinical practice.

I hope this is helpful to you
Michelle

Answer 2

If we assume you have no medical reason for being overweight, then be encouraged by the fact that you are still very young and can, with a little willpower (sorry - you have to have that!) lose weight fairly easily and keep it off. I have a niece who was in your position less than three years ago - now, at 16+, she is a beautiful, well proportioned young woman. How did she do it? Well, the first thing was she did not go on a 'fad' diet since they often do not keep off the weight lost. Like her, you will have to start off by accepting that, in order to lose weight, "Energy In" has to be less than "Energy Out". If you are unwilling to acknowledge this basic scientific fact then you will _not_ lose weight... it's as simple as that!
So it's a matter of eating the right foods (I'm sure you know what they are - and if you don't, then ask Mum, or consult an appropriate book). Even though you will be on a sensible eating plan, you can still have an occasional treat, such as a couple of bits of chocolate - just don't eat a whole bar in one go! Then, to make sure you do expend energy (you say you don't like exercise, but you _must_ make a bit of an effort here!), ride your bike or walk the dog for at least 15 minutes per day initially (get your heart racing a bit), then extend this until, say, after 3 weeks you can do 45 minutes or so. If you find the idea of walking and/or cycling too boring, then go to your school gym and play badminton, or perhaps go for a swim. The main thing to keep in mind is that you _must_ strive to use up more energy than you are taking in by eating. That way your body will start to draw on its reserves and the amount of excess fat will start to go down - hence your weight will fall. By adopting this 'slow but sure', and very methodical approach, you will not only lose weight, but it should stay off, too. NB. Aim to lose about 2 lbs (or around 1kg) per week. This might not sound much, but in 7 weeks (less than two months!) you'll be a whole stone lighter. Isn't that worth a bit of effort? Good luck anyway - and start looking at some new (smaller size!) summer clothes to encourage yourself.

Answer 3

OK, I've been there. You hate exercise and you love chocolate? But you also hate being nagged about losing weight, don't want to be overweight as an adult, and so on. And I'm sure you hate not looking good and feeling proud of yourself. You have plenty of likes and dislikes, after all.

Thirteen is a very good age to start taking control of your body and getting it into the shape you want. A great way is to find FUN things to do which are good exercise. You may not like the way you look in a bathing suit, but you probably like swimming, if you're like most of us. So resolve to spend some significant time swimming even though you don't like the way you look, and the next thing you know, you will start looking better. Or dancing. Or an active sport; if you try several you may find one you like.

Fact is, you will have to choose sometimes between bad and worse rather than between good and better. So it goes. You are right to want to avoid being an obese adult: I learned too late that the older you get, the harder it is to lose.

You are apparently in the UK, so I don't know if you have such a thing, but what worked best for me was Overeaters Anonymous, an organization derived from Alcoholics Anonymous and using the same 12-step program. Of course, the catch is we can't just give up eating the way alcoholics can give up drinking alcohol. But we can give up OVER eating: eating more than your body needs. It's done one day at a time, one meal at a time, sometimes even one bite at a time. But there are some very valuable ideas you can get to making it easier, and there is the support of others who have been there and really do know what it feels like.

The one big thing you need to avoid is self-pity. Why do I wear every ounce I eat, while that girl over there stuffs herself with a hot fudge sundae and doesn't look like she's eaten in a week? Well, honey, being the opposite is no good, either. My Steve needed to eat as much as he possibly could to keep his strength up, because his metabolism was so very fast. I used to envy him until he pointed out that he often ends up eating something he used to love with loathing, because he's had it too many times. And he could not eat sugary foods, because they would fill him up too much and he would not be able to eat the high protein food he needed.

We all make compromises, we all make choices, and we live with the consequences. I strongly recommend you take the advice of someone who did not learn control until too late, and start now to make those decisions with your mind, not your taste buds.

Answer 4

If you really believe you are over-weight, the best thing to do would be to arrange to see your school nurse, or go to visit your doctor. They can help you to plan how to eat more healthily, so that you can lose some weight in a healthy way without damaging your body.
Don't worry or stress about it, lots of young people are unsure of how to eat a balanced diet, or the best kinds of exercise to do. The key thing is to make sure you get advise so that what you do is safe - you don't want to end up damaging yourself by going on a crash diet or starving yourself.
You have done the right thing by asking for advise in the first place, now you just need to ask the right person.
Also remember, your friends like you for who you are, not what you look like, so have confidence in yourself.
Good luck!

Answer 5

you don't want to lose weight fast because as soon as you've lost it you will most likely put it all back on again and maybe even more. Firstly you shouldn't see it as dieting and exercise but as a healthy lifestyle, start off by just cutting down on the foods that are bad as if you tell yourself you cant have them, you will want them more so maybe have one SMALL chocolate treat a day. And with exercise it not all about running miles a day, when i was your age i used to dance in my room for hours and that used to keep me fit so try doing fun things that interest you. But please don't worry about it too much as you're still young and your body has lots more growing to do,hope this helps x

Answer 6

Hi there, I`m 25st and I'm not that tall to pull that off,
I`ve try-ed all the diets and tables that are out there, None of them have worked for me,

But over the last month i have started to drop a few pounds, I`m just eating that bit more healthfully and exercising a bit more.

I`ve also had a lot of positive encouragement from my family.

Just try hard, its easyer to lose weight when your younger

Blobby1 xxx

Answer 7

Eat nourishing food with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables being part of it. Chew each morsel at least 32 times. This will activate signal to the brain as soon as u have had enough. Besides this change in eating style, take regular light exercises and brisk walks every day. U will be able to gain/shed all extra weight gracefully and in a reasonable time span.

Answer 8

Good ol' fashion diet and exercise works wonders. Go out and get at least 1 hour of physical activity a day. Also, eat breakfast, drink lots of water, and cut out junk food for best possible results.

Answer 9

im glad you want to lose weight for youself and not to make your mum happy.Have you ever thought about buying an exercise video , maybe a dance one lots of girls your age love to dance and if its fun youll enjoy it and lose weight at the same time.Also try to eat healthily and never skip breakfast, and drink water at every meal as this will help you to feel satisfied.If you want chocolate have it but just a little.When you start to lose the weight ask your mum to to reward you by giving you a £1 for every pound lost and save the money and when your happy with your weight buy a new outfit or wharever you want for working so hard ...GOOD LUCK YOU CAN DO IT

Answer 10

With parental consent you could join your local Weight Watchers class (see http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/index.aspx for info.) . I have lost almost 2 stone on one of their programmes yet I still get to eat what I want. You could also try getting off the bus one stop earlier than normal and walk.

If you don't fancy a class you could try eating less fatter foods and more fruit and veg.

Good Luck