crisis?

okay, i've gain 4 pounds since last sunday. i'm not really sure if it was accurate, since it was on the dog scale at the pet store. still, i figured a scale is a scale. i tried to figure out how many calories i should be eating, and this site says i should have 1639 (harris benedict?!?) and 1837(schofield). i don't know what that means, but do i cut that by 500? i'm usually eating 1300-1500.

also, if you just cut your calories to 1500 do you lose weight (with no/little excersise)?

i'm just really confused.

Both of those methods used to find your calorie intake are made for adults.  You are 13 years old and your body has just begun to grow.

Limiting your calories in a way that is made for adults can and probably will do more harm than good.

Its admirable that you are trying to lose weight and be healthy, but for kids your age, you really need to speak to a professional about it and not use the internet.

i've actually been growing for awhile. and i know for a fact that being 20-30 pounds overweight isnt a healthy thing, emotionally or physically. i just want to know what makes me gain, and lose. i'm not trying to push it, just to be at a healthier weight for my age and lifestyle. i don't have medical insurance.

uhh using info for adults will only do harm...it did for me and im 15. unless your overweight dont worry about numbers and calories...just eat healthy and excersise and enjoy your teenage metabolism...cuz once you get older you dont get to eat like this 4ever, so have fun.

I agree with bigtwinky -- an internet bb is not where you need to get advice on weight management.

to address your concern about the weight gain -- unless you weighed both times on the same scale, at the same time of day, and wearing the same clothes -- yes, it can vary by 4 lbs or more and not mean anything as far as weight management goes.

have you discussed your concerns with your mother?  you and she could go onto mypyramid.gov to get some excellent information on just how much a teenager your age and height should be eating. 

even though you don't have medical insurance, you should be able to get some assistance in meal planning.  Try your school counsellor.  A lot of schools are becoming concerned about the increase in childhood and teenage obesity.  Also, you may want to enlist the help of a social worker, someone who can get you some wellness visits to a doctor at the State's expense.

I commend you for wanting to resolve your overweight problem now, you just need to get some face-to-face personalized assistance, and we can't do that from a bb. 

i read the mypyramid.gov plan for me, is this going to make me go to my healthy weight? (144)

usually i'll do lunges & squats with weights and all types of arm excersises with weights, & will be working on tae-bo this summer also. when the weather gets nicer in michigan (god knows when thats going to happen) i usually take my dog for 30 minute walks, also.

Hahaha. There is no bad weather in Michigan, just bad clothing. Seriously, if you wait around for the weather to get nice there, you'll end up very pale and very sedentary. Get yourself a good jacket (or a pair of snowshoes, depending on where you are) and get going already. Besides, snowshoes are great for core building and cardio. ;)

Dog scale? that is the funniest thing I have heard dejavux! 4 lbs could have been the water you drank, the clothes you are wearing.. Best to weigh yourself in the morning, BUT the BEST BEST BEST thing for you is.................................

Be a 13 year old, run, play, hit the mall!! Have sleep overs!! the more you pay, the more fat you burn!

Just be active, everything else will fall into place.

thanks everybody.

another thing i'm not getting is my clothes are fitting better.

Could have gained some muscle.

i'm confused then..how do i lose weight when i'm not counting calories?

You'll lose weight by getting out more. Go swimming, rollar skating, play basketball with your friends. Make better food choices. Instead of reaching for junk food and soda, eat fruit, carrot sticks, celery with peanut butter. Drink lots of water. Get out, be a kid, have fun!:)

From what I've read, there are actually quite a few people around here who use CC for motivation and tips, but do not count calories.  It is simply a tool, one that some people need, and some do not.

Personally, calorie counting has helped me get a better sense of nutritional value of most foods, and what a healthy and reasonable portion size is.  Once I get used to it and can do the estimating on my own, I'll probably stop.

But then, I'm far away from being a teenager that is still growing.  You should be focusing on just healthy eating and staying active, not calories.  If you focus on being healthy, losing weight will come naturally.  In fact, this is true for everyone. 

If you're still confused on what healthy eating entails, I concur with above posts, and advise you to see your school counselor or nurse.  They will be able to give you much better personalized advice on a day to day basis than what you can find on the internet.  I'm willing to bet that a local community center might have some sort of teen group where you can get ideas and support from your peers as well. (And there's nothing preventing you from starting your own group at school!  You can ask your conselor about that too.)

Good luck to you!  Stay healthy, and come back to ask questions anytime!

For a child, the best thing to do is to maintain and then you'll continue to grow and "catch up" to your weight.  They recommend having a high activity level and just eating a balanced diet.  At 13 you are still a child, so that is what I would do.  Cut out junk food and get lots of activity, join a sports team, ride your bike around, whatever.  I have an almost 11 yo who is overweight and that is what we do with him.  He has lost a bit of weight, but is continuing to grow as well and is looking slimmer.

Jenny

dejavux to be honest, you're 13, enjoy it will you have it, trust US older people, being young is about running, playing, enoy the freedom you have (no taxes), the more you run around and enjoy your life, the more happier you will be, the healthier you will be, be active, go shopping at the mall for 3 hours, go swimming, eat fruits, eat fun cereal for breakfast (no sugar), have chicken fingers and a salad for dinner with your friends.. 

BE YOUNG!!!! just eat healthy and enjoy your LIFE!!!!

because when you start working, LIFE's OVER!! LOL..

I myself was an overweight child. What I would say is make sure you develop habits now that you can carry over into your adulthood. Run, walk, bike... The fact that you are walking the dog for 30 min a day is excellent! The dog enjoys it I bet. You could extend that by 5 or 10 min or maybe up the tempo and walk farther. Maybe see if you can acquire or borrow a pedometer. That's how I get the bulk of my cardio exercise. I take a dog (I have three) out every day for 2-3 miles. I find the pedometer is a great motivator. It's great when I see I can walk farther. Eat more veggies & fruits and less unhealthful foods. Watch your portions when you do eat less wholesome foods. But by no means starve yourself, this is a time in life when you should be eating more than you will be allowed later.

Dejavux you metabolism is at its highest in your teens. Also you body is changing on a daily basis. I was a little overweight when I was your age and all it took for me to get in better shape was not snacking on junk or pop...eating lots of fruits and veggies and walking more! You'll be fine if you can do those three....honestly like everyone else said..don't worry about your calories.

Growing bodies at your age burn fat easily and I'm going to bet even if you were eating 2,000 calories or more and still being physically active you would definatly get into better shape and still be letting your body grow into a beautiful young woman.

Really though...stay away from your scale....like I said before your <b>BODY IS CHANGING</b> your going to be developing which could cause small gains on the scale but doesn't mean its fat.

I pretty much ditto what everyone else has said, except:

A scale is not just a scale. And a scale for pets is probably re-set much less often than a scale for humans because pets don't go into crisis mode when their weight increases a little bit.

If you really want to track your weight make sure you do it on the same scale, at the same time of day (usually morning before breakfast is a good time), whilst wearing the same amount of clothing (wearing nothing removes the ambiguity of boxers vs. pajama bottoms).

Finally, really don't worry about your weight. You may have grown quite a bit, but you haven't reached your full height.

For information that is more tailored to your needs, check out this site: http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/usefultools/l/ bl_bmi_calc.htm

>>>because pets don't go into crisis mode when their weight increases a little bit. <<<

Oh man, that made me laugh really hard!  I got mental images of a dog running in circles all worried about a 3 lbs increase.  LOL