all alone

okay, i'm 16 and i am looking to lose 25-30 pounds. i'm about 5'6'' and  i currently weigh 165. problem is, my family won't accept that i need to lose at least some weight. (most of my family is overweight) everytime i start to lose weight, i have a crappy day and start to drift away from doing anything good for me. i don't know how to do all of this alone, can anyone help me?

I'm sorry you aren't getting the support you want. It sounds to me that you're on the high side of normal for your height and your family is overweight and to them, you're the stick. Is that right? I ask because I've seen that happen before.

By the way, you're not alone. That's why we're here!

you're definitely not alone.  why don't you post here in this thread every day or two and let us know how your doing.  we can cheer you on.  if you have a crappy day, just get back on the right track again the next day.  this way when looking over the entire week, i bet you still have a nice defecit and lose weight.  :)  you might find with accountability here and support those crappy days might become few and far between.

i think there is also a teen weight loss group on the boards.  you can join that and meet people your own age with similar goals.

hang in there!  you can do this.

That definitely sucks when your family doesn't support you.  I agree with spirochete that if your family are all overweight themselves, then they probably see you as the skinny one, so that's why they probably feel that you don't need to lose weight.  We have pretty much the same stats, except that I'm 5'7 and 170 lbs.  I also agree with Kailie, that you should just get right back on the wagon and eat healthy again.   If you need a weight loss buddy, I'd be more than happy to support you.  I'm new to this site, so I'm still learning the ropes myself.  Feel free to message me if you want to.  

i'd love to support you in any way that i can as well.  i'm 16 and 5'6" and so far i've lost 11 pounds from this website.  it has some really great tools to use and like others have said, great support.  that's why i love this website because even if my family doesn't understand me, somebody here will.  and we all have bad days, or binge, or cheat, or whatever.  but you just have to reset your mind and move forward.  i'll add you as my friend.  message me anytime you want.  = )

I'll be here for support too!!! Don't give up, you can do it, we will support you!!!!

Okay, maybe you can let us know what you have been eating on a daily basis, starting with today.

We can help you decide what is working and what is not.

I have three teenagers in my house, so I somewhat understand you guys, plus I was one, one day.

when i first started i was at about the same weight as you 160 at 5'5" and i had the same problems. the most usefull thing i figured out was if you had a bad day didnt work out or ate way over your matenence cal. the best thing to do is to get right back on track one day wont hert you but a habbit will. so when ever you have a bad day, the next day get right back on track as if the day befor never happend. and rember the less weight you have to lose the harder it will become to lose it. so dont give up. and everyone here will saport you as long as your going a healthy way of doing it.

i can't tell you how much i appreciate the support. just yesterday, i was trying to convince my mom about all this, even showing her my BMI number, which was like 26.6, but all she did was snort and say she didn't believe in any of those charts. She said I wasn't fat, I was fluffy, just like the rest of us.

In my family, I'm considered short, because everyone else is pretty much taller than me. My sister, who is 5'10or11'', is well over 200 pounds, as is my mom. They've both been overweight/obese for a while now. About a year ago, my sister bought a treadmill, and since she lives a block away, I usually go over to her house a jog a mile or so. I have a bike that I ride occasionally, not as often as I should because I don't like to ride alone, and no one will ride with me. I'm trying to do about a mile and a half every day, but so far I've only managed everyother day.

I'm not really on a diet, because it would be impossible at my house. I am just trying to make sure I don't overeat or eat all the wrong stuff. I think I have a pretty good metabolism, so it shouldn't hurt me much.

So far today (9:30) I've had 2 pieces of sourdough toast with butter, and 2 cups of cheerios with milk. Nothing really special. I try to eat no more often than every 3 hours, with relatively small portions.

Okay, good, thanks for posting what you ate... I may not be the specialist here but using butter is really not the best choice, okay... I would try having one piece of toast with maybe 1 teaspoon of peanut butter, then you will get some protein with your meal. 

So far this is how many calories you have eaten.  Have you been using the food log?
Sun, Jul 29 2007   Breakfast
A-  Bread, French Or Vienna, Toasted - (Includes Sourdough) 58 173
F  Butter - With Salt 14 100
A   Cheerios 60 220
B   Milk, Reduced Fat, Fluid, 2% Milkfat - With Added Vitamin A 488 244  

Total Calories Consumed   737

No, I haven't used the food log because I find it really confusing. Wow, thanx for that, I didn't realize how many calories I was eating. I never really thought of using peanut butter on toast. Great alternative. What do each set of numbers mean, right after the name of the food?

when reading a food label you will mainly just want to pay attention to 'serving size' and 'calories'

for instance when you read the label on the peanut butter jar it will say probably '200 calories' and 'serving size: 2tbsp'. That means one serving equals 2 tablespoons, which would be 200 calories. Try to choose foods that are low in calories and fat and high in fiber and protein, plus lots of veggies. Frozen veggies are great- they're cheap and all you have to do is boil them in water. A whole bag of mixed veggies is only about 150 calories.

It's unfortunate your family shows such a lack of support. It sounds like because they are not actively trying to lose weight they don't want you to be successfull at doing the thing they believe they can't

just do your best with what your family does buy or is willing to buy you. Maybe you can get a part-time job and purchase some of your own food?

if you can it would be a good idea to eat wheat or whole grain bread instead of sourdough. also look at the 'ingredients' at the bottom of the nutrition label. try to choose foods that don't have 'hydrogentated oil' or 'high fructose corn syrup'

I also come from the house of junk food--I tend to eat crud, but using the food log helps me . . . I at least know I'm eating the right amount of calories, and which foods are kinda bad and which foods are HORRIBLE.

And I second kiwistarfruit-- Part-time jobs are also great exercise, even just working a little retail or at a snowball stand, you're standing and moving for 4 or 6 hours at a time!  Whenever I go from working sedentary to working standing I drop a few pounds without even thinking about it.

i usually eat wheat bread, i absolutely refuse to eat white or any other kind of bread when my mom buys it. but we just went to the food bank services, and ended up with sourdough.

i'll try to keep the fiber and protein thing in mind, i never know what kind of things i should be looking for in foods. after all, my family is big on carbs like bread, pasta, potatoes, and that sort of thing.

i found this list on another persons post, so here you are:


PROTEINS

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
Tuna (water packed)
Fish (salmon, seabass, halibut)
Shrimp
Extra Lean Ground Beef or Ground Round (92-96%)
Venison
Buffalo
Ostrich
Protein Powder
Egg Whites or Whole Eggs
Ribeye Steaks or Roast
Top Round Steaks or Roast (aka Stew Meat, London Broil, Stir Fry)
Top Sirloin (aka Sirloin Top Butt)
Beef Tenderloin (aka Filet, Filet Mignon)
Top Loin (NY Strip Steak)
Flank Steak (Sir Fry, Fajita)
Eye of Round (Cube Meat, Stew Meat, Bottom Round , 96% LeandGround Round)
Ground turkey, Turkey Breast Slices or cutlets (fresh meat, not deli cuts)
Soy Burgers
Low-fat cottage cheese

SLOW BURNING/COMPLEX CARBS

Oatmeal (Old Fashioned or Quick Oats)
Sweet Potatoes (Yams)
Beans (pinto, black, kidney)
Oat Bran Cereal
Rye Cereal
Grape Nuts
Brown Rice
Farina (Cream of Wheat)
Multigrain Hot Cereal
Whole wheat or Spinach Pasta
100% Stoneground Whole Wheat Bread

FIBROUS CARBS

Green Leafy Lettuce (Green Leaf, Red, Leaf, Romaine)
Broccoli
Asparagus
String Beans
Okra
Spinach
Bell Peppers
Brussel Sprouts
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Celery
Cucumber
Eggplant
Green or Red Pepper
Onions
Pumpkin
Garlic
Tomatoes
Zucchini

FRUIT

Apples
Grapefruit
Peaches
Strawberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Lemons or Limes

HEALTHY FATS

Natural Peanut Butter
Olive Oil or Safflower Oil
Nuts (peanuts, almonds)
Flaxseed Oil

BEVARAGES

Crystal Light
Green Tea
Other Tea (without sugar)
Coffee (without sugar)

CONDIMENTS

Mayonnaise
Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
Reduced Sodium Teriyaki Sauce
Balsamic Vinegar
Salsa
Hot Peppers and Hot Sauce
Chili powder
Mrs. Dash
Steak Sauce
Sugar Free Maple Syrup
Chili Paste
Mustard
Extracts (vanilla, almond, etc )
Low Sodium beef or chicken broth
Plain or reduced sodium tomatoes sauce, puree, paste)
Stevia (natural sweetener)

Written by:

BuffedWildCat


This might give you some ideas on what to eat and yes I agree with Kiwi: when she said " when reading a food label you will mainly just want to pay attention to 'serving size' and 'calories'".

Also, can I help you figure out how many calories you should be eating?

sure, but how?

teenagers have different metabolisims than adults so try this one link I have below and let me know if you need any help.


http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html

Also, I have to run my daughter to soccer and I wanted to add one more thing,

I figured you need 2030 cals a day to maintain what you are at 165 lbs.  so to lose weight you need to take away 500 calories from the 2030 and then you will lose a pound a week.  You do not want to go under 1200 calories for sure so think about that and I will talk to you soon. 
Joan

thank you so so very much. i don't think it will be a problem going under 1200 calories, since i am fond of food, and wouldn't have the willpower to starve myself in any way. i read on a site that i shouldn't lose any more than 1-2 pounds a week, so this'll definitely help knowing how many calories is right for me.

i'll have to save this site, it's very useful. thanx again.

i have another non-weight related suggestion

your username... i think you should change it to something more upbeat and positive. if everytime you logon you see 'easily forgotton' you are going to feel negative and depressed about yourself, and that will definitely not help you meet your goals.

even if you change it to something random like mine... just maybe pick one that makes you feel happy and up beat when you see it =)

i'll take that into definite consideration. but honestly i don't know what to use for my screen name, since my yahoo name is 'smartie_pants'. it doesn't seem too fitting for my current state right now, don't u think? i appreciate your concern a lot.

(i'll probably change it tomorrow, if i can figure out how to and to what)