Please help! I'm having problems with finding a diet that I can stick to.?

Question

I am 14 years old, 5'4" and I weigh 140 pounds. I really want to lose weight.( like about 3-4 pounds a weeks) but I can't stick to a diet. I have no motavation and I have a hard time getting myself to stop eating so much and to start excercising. I am really trying to target my stomach area and to drop to a size 4 by Christmas. I'm a size 6-7 now. I just don't know what to do to get there. Can anyone please give me some advice?

also, if I hula-hoop eveyrday for at least 20-30 minutes, will that help?

Answer 1

If you want to keep it off (as opposed to losing weight, then gaining it, and MORE back later), then you need to be gradual.

"can stick with" is EXACTLY the concept you're looking for.

So here's what you do.

Forget the whole "diet" concept, as that's a temporary thing, not something you can live with your whole life.

Set a reasonable goal. That would be no more than 4 pounds a month.

Yes, that's 4 lbs/mo.

That's the sort of speed that you can reasonably expect to maintain for life. Well, maintain until you've lost what you need, and to keep it off for life.

Take one or two things that you eat too much of now, that are really bad for you, and cut back on them.

Start to increase how much good stuff you eat.

Start to figure out ways of moving around more than you do now that you like. Whether it's going for walks, and making the walks longer and faster, bit by bit, or doing things like dancing around your house, or whatever.

Don't think in grand terms (like fitting a particular size in a few months), but think realistically.

Eat less fat.

Eat more things that don't have fat (fruit, veggies, grains).

Each couple of months, target something, and eat less of it.

Don't cut things you love out completely. Just eat less of them -- smaller portions, less often.

Eat more and eat more often -- but things that don't have fat. (pretzels, for instance, dip them in mustard).

If what you want to do is lose a lot of weight fast, then gain it back, doubled, then do "diets".

If you want to be healthy, and be able to be that way forever, then don't do diets; just cut back on bad things, and up your activity.

BTW, weight, per se, isn't what you should care about. Fat weighs less than muscle. If you lose fat and gain muscle, you might not lose weight, you may even gain weight.

Don't put yourself on the roller-coaster of loss and worse gain, loss and worse gain, for life.

Make changes that you can stick with your whole life. Be smart; don't diet.

Answer 2

Exercise is the only thing that will help you. Diets are ok, but without exercise DIETS FAIL. Stop looking for an easy way out and walk walk walk walk walk! If you are eating too much and have no motivation, perhaps you should look around at your environment. Perhaps your school or home life really sucks? Maybe your parents need counseling, or they aren't home enough, or they're generally horrible people? I can't see any other reason why a person that is 14 years old would just want to sit around and eat OTHER THAN having a crappy home life. You don't need "motivation" to take a walk. It's fun taking walks. Find a good, safe place and WALK or RUN. Do it most days, stop eating crappy foods and stick to your basics, and you'll lose weight. You might also want to think about finding new friends and maybe even changing schools because your question makes it seem like there are no people around to kick you into gear.

Answer 3

Oh. It's the eating program, a diet, I see. Well, I suggest you eat veggies, but since you think you are over weight, I suggest you take a jog for 30+ minutes everyday. But if you need to lose weight fast before Christmas, and you are desperate, I suggest you take the Eating Program. (I think it was a 30 day free trial.) You get food and you still eat like a normal person (no more than 3 times a day,) and within a (or 2) week(s), you will lose a whole lot of fat! But you aren't that fat for an average 14 year old girl. If losing weight is really important, take that diet program. Search on froogle.com for "dieting"

Answer 4

First of all, you must dedicate yourself to losing weight. It can be done because I lost almost 40 lbs. using tips and ideas from my fitness teacher at http://www.grabsometips.com/fatloss4idiots.html and having a good support group like your parents and friends.

Since you are 5'4", your ideal weight goal should be 115 pounds.

The way I got motivated is by going to the mall and looking at all of the clothes that i wish I could fit in if I was slimmer. Therefore, I would recommend that you and your mom go do a little window shopping. Don't buy anything, just look and wish!

This is how you get and stay motivated!

You are strong and you can do it.

Also, let me tell you this wonderful thing that will happen to you. As you start losing weight all of your friends and family will begin to notice and then they will start complimenting you.

This will definitely uplift you and make you want to lose more!

But as I mentioned earlier, try to keep positive people around you. Do not listen to anyone who says that you can't do it because YOU CAN!

Okay...let's get started:

Stay away from the following food/drinks:

-soda
-fried foods
-fast food
-sweets and desserts (cake, cookies, pies)
-pork (bacon, sausage)
-potato chips

To lose weight fast, you MUST .....MUST eat at least 5 or 6 small healthy meals a day consisting of good balance diet. Eating five to six small meals a day increases your metabolism which will consume your fat like magic. I know because like I said earlier ..I already lost 40 pounds.

Always...ALWAYS eat a good breakfast. This is very important. A good breakfast should consist of food such as yogurt, eggs, oatmeal, skim milk, 100% wheat cereal or Special K.

Your post breakfast should concsist of a fruit such as an apple, apple sauce, strawberries. etc..

There a bunch of good weight loss menus at the below website.

Good luck and remember....you can do it!

Answer 5

diets are hard and finding time to exercise is hard too. my husband is trying to lose weight now. this is what you should do. buy special K cereal and special K cereal bars. eat the cereal for breakfast every morning and when you are feeling for a snack, eat the bar. as far as lunch and dinner, you have two options. one way to lose weight is to continuously eat small portions of food. breakfast, then a small snack, then a small lunch (could be anything just make sure it's not a whole lot), then another snack, then dinner (make sure its not a big dinner), then one more snack. now you may be thinking "this is going to make me fater," but it's not. continuously eating keeps you metabolism going which means you are always burning off the fat and which means you wont get hungry (as long as you keep the meals and snacks SMALL). OR you can eat the special K for breakfast, then eat a big lunch, then a small dinner with a small snack if you feel hungry. also, try not to eat after 8pm. What people don't realize is that you gain weight at night. During the day you do so much running around that you are burning off fat. but at night you body slows down because you a preparing to go to bed or just relax, therefore you are no longer burning fat, which means it stays in your body. eating a small dinner is always the best way to go to with whatever diet you choose. as far as exercise, you can do various things. you can walk or run around your house a few times a day to help get some exercise. i suggest walking first. that way you are building yourself up to begin running, and then begin doing other more hardder exercises. cruntches are always good in flatening the stomach as well. just make sure you suck it in as you are doing them. that helps give your stomach a flat look even when you are done doing them (try it. do cruntches while sucking in your stomach and when you stand up and stop sucking it in, you will see that your stomach isnt poking out that much). you can also buy a pilates ball and dvd or video. i have one. they give you ligt exercise that you can do on the ball that help you lose weight and become flexible and give you endurance. i hope all this helps. i strongly suggest buying the special K. there is a diet on there that you can follow. it's the same one i suggested to you.

Answer 6

first of all you say you wanna target your stomach area,when you loose weight you dont just loose weight from your stomach,you loose weight from all bodyparts,so its about finding a way to exercise your whole body,if you wanna get in shape,your asking for diet advise and then saying you have no motivation lol,well I can help you,but you will need the motivation,theres no point someone helping you with your diet and exercise if you have no motivation right?but anyhoo if you wanna loose weight then the secret is to eat small,frequent meals,like maybe 4-6 small meals a day with you being a 14 year old,for example eat like every 3 hours,dont skip meals,and drink lots of water,and cut down on sodas etc,soda has lots of sugar and sugar turns to fat if its not used as energy,so if your not exercising then you should not be eating or drinking as much sugary stuff,the rest is upto you,hope this helps,good luck

Answer 7

Weight Watchers is a great diet to try, you can still eat plenty of food but just different portions. You start with daily points depending on your age and height. Just research into it at their website. : )

P.s: Sometimes weight loss depends on your body type and metabolism. Don't be discouraged if you don't lose 4 lbs. a week, but if you try hard you'll get there. "slow and steady wins the race" Good luck!!

Answer 8

why are you so caught up on going on a diet. The only solution is to eat less and do more. It has to be a lifestyle choice and not a quick fix diet. Make healthy choices when eating and be a bit more active. It won't take long to shift those pounds.
You need to be committed, if you can't stop eating and can't start exercising then don't bother, it won't happen for you.

Answer 9

You will never lose weight until you are motivated. Just tell yourself you can either stay 140 pounds and be unhappy with yourself or you can do something about it and be happy (I only say unhappy at that weight because you obviously are if you are dieting). You don't even have to "diet"- just eat healthy and do a daily exercise routine.

Answer 10

As you can see by this weight chart (click on link below) your weight it perfectly fine for your height. You can not target certain areas to lose weight. If you are concerned about your weight, 1-2 pounds per week is a more realistic and reachable goal. They key is to eat less and move more.