Goals of the under 16 crowd.

Hey, I'm 14 (a June birthday)

At 5'3, 101 pounds,  I'm trying to lose 10 lbs before 2006 comes to a close. I'm a member of my local gym (currently closed for maitenance : (...) and I dance. I'm doing an average of a little over 1200 calories a day.

Annnnd, thats me! Who are you? What are your goals?

At 14, I think you need to learn how to love your body, especially because you are probably rail thin already. 90 pounds is so small for a person who is 5'3". I feel like 90 would look bony and unhealthy. PLUS, you're still developing and burning calories faster than an adult so why consume the amount of calories an overweight person would?

I am concerned that as I become a fully grown adult it will become harder to lose weight. Also, I would like to have 2 or 3 kids when I am in my later 20s, but I worry about not being able to work off the weight I gain from that. I am trying to reach a lower weight now so I can be happy later.

weird... my gym is closed for maitenance this week too..


And I'm only a little older than you but have you thought about not setting a weight loss goal in pounds?  Maybe focus on strength training or improving your mile run or something.  At 101 lbs you must be very skinny already and focusing on losing more weight could get slightly unhealthy.  If you enjoy the gym I'd suggest putting goals in that area... like pushing yourself to work up to running 20 minutes longer than you used to be able to.

I'm sorry, but I just think it is unrealistic. You don't even have to think about having kids for another 10 years so learn how to appreciate your body the way it is. Your BMI is 17.9 which is underweight already. Yes, when you're older it will be harder, but it has nothing to do with how your weight was when you are that young. Plus, you still haven't completely "filled out" yet and finished developing. People who are underweight tend to have vitamin deficiencies and menstrual problems. As long as you stay healthy, maintain your weight, then you don't even have to be concerned.

I'm 5'3" also but I'm at 115 lbs. I was at 115 lbs when I was 14. I also know that when I was 14, I was always concerned about my weight and thought I weighed too much. I know where you're coming from but keep your metabolism up while you can! Although I have gained weight in between and then recently lost it, I'm still at a healthy weight. I'm only 18 but I have bigger concerns than children right now.

I can sort of understand the good sides of lofflytime's idea about focusing on a gym related goal.

However, I still look in the mirror and think fat fat fat. I've felt a bit better about myself since cutting down on calories. Do you think it would make more sense to maintain my current weight and hate what the mirror shows or reach an apparently underweight size but feel happy?

Hey!  I'm 15 years old, 5'2 and 87-89 pounds.  I want to stay this weight, but i find i'm gaining some in muscle.  I have no problem with gaining weight in muscle because...well...it's muscle, lol.  Other than this, i'm on maintainace level.  Good to know i'm not the only youngster here!

:)

take care  

mireille how long have you been feeling this way?  Most likely this is just a phase of mind that will go away within a few weeks.   If it doesnt talk to your mom or other female adult about it.  If you do let these feelings get to you theres a possibility you could develop some bad and unhealthy habits that wont benefit you in the long run.

Your a teenage girl... and starting highschool this year, yes?  Everyone goes through phases where they cant look in the mirror... but that doesnt mean they are ugly.  Clearly you are very skinny already, dont hurt your body.

Don't forget to talk to someone if you still feel this way in sayyy two weeks.  This may mean you might need some outside professional help on how you view your body image.

Hi, Mireille!

I definately agree with the other responses. 101 pounds is pretty thin already and you can learn to love yourself, no matter what size you are. Also, gaining muscle puts on some weight, but you'll look a lot healthier and more fit than trying to lose weight to be 90lbs. If it makes you feel any better, I'm 14 and I weigh at least 100 more pounds than you but I'm living life to the fullest and not getting worked up over how big I might look or how other people might look at me. Try to build up self-esteem and probably talk to someone you trust about it, ok? ^_~

mireille, I'm 49, and of course I cannot speak for others, but frankly, I am NOT finding it difficult to take off weight. I've been astonished at how easily it's coming off me, in fact. And there are LOTS of people here who are older than you are by a good bit who are being very successful at losing weight. Many moms, too (including me).

You are still developing. If you want to have kids when you are older, you need to let your body finish developing, and that means eating well and eating enough. You will NOT be happy later if you damage your body now by staying underweight and losing even more.

I think what makes you happy is not always what makes you healthy. An overweight person might be happy consuming all the food they want and that isn't healthy. An underweight person may reduce their calories because it makes them happy but that isn't healthy.

If you're not happy with the way you are now, chances are you wont be happy if you lose 10 pounds. You might just have image issues which will be there regardless of what weight you are. You might see fat because you don't see muscle. As someone else had suggested, weight train, get lean not thin. I think I'd rather see a girl that is lean and muscular than a small skinny girl with no muscle and just bones and fat - which is what would happen if you lose 10 pounds.