Hey everyone, would like some help please :)

Hey i only joined Calorie Count last night so not to sure what im doing yet but im sure il get the hang of it soon enough :)

Im 14 ( i know alot of people say thats a really silly age to be worrying about weight and going on diets because your still growing etc)

But about a year ago i was a healthy weight and exercising regulary i had a flat stomach and was happy with the way i looked, alot of things have happened since then and i was on a injection which i think was the reason for my weight gain but im not 100% sure. I think i was around 6st 5lbs back then and i am now 9st 6lbs!

Im only 5ft 2 so its even worse because it makes me look short and stumpy :| Is 3st alot of weight to put on in a small space of a year or not? Because ive been really depressed about the situation..

My face and legs are ALOT fatter then they was, i have gained so much weight around my belly and noticed i have ginormous hips when i hardly had any back then! its so hard to get any jeans or school trousers to fit me anymore they just wont go round because of my hips :(

Im constantly getting put down by my mum and people at school and cant really do alot of running to exercise because i have really bad problems with my legs and get alot of back pains. Im not FAT but just chubby, i find it really hard to stick to a diet as im use to eating all the junk food like normal kids do! and im so impatient if i dont see results i give up so easy lol :)

Im not quite sure how to go about it? How many calories should i eat a day? What sort of exercising makes you loose weight the quickest?

Im determind to get down to about 7st so i would like to loose about 2st 5lbs in 5 months, is that possible?

Desperate need of HELP! any advice is great, thanks :)

Cut out all junk foods.  Try not to eat anything processed.  When you want something sweet, eat fruit.  Try not to eat anything after you have had your tea (dinner).

hey , i dont think u should diet, why not just try ..

running an hour a night?

walkin to and from school ?

situps?

?

i would say ur too young to diet , but im on this site, and im 15 so yh, i cant be much of a hypocryte lawl

How comes you dont think its a good idea?

Yeah i would run i dont mind its just because of my legs at the moment i cant seem to even run up my road lol they just hurt to much..

Soppose i could walk to and from school but probably would be late every day lol, does walking help to loose weight though because i want to loose stone not just a little so im assuming there has to be some drastic change..

Yeah i did think about situps but i think i need to loose all the weight first and then do the sit ups so all my muscles are tight and it looks better then? or not?

Hey!  I know this must be a hard situation for you.  My friend (back when we were 14 actually!) had a similar problem.  She went on some medication and gained about 2 stone within 4 or 5 months.  It's also really hard when you're a teen and so much of how you view yourself is tied in with your body image.  But don't fret, you can get healthy again!

First thing I would do is speak to your doctor about the medication that you are on and how it is affecting your weight.  For some medications (like birth control), it's just a case that they make you hungrier, and that if you just controlled your eating, you would lose weight.  I suspect if the doctor has prescribed this before, he's probably seen weight gain as a side effect and will know how to lose weight safely with that medication.

As for actual weight loss tips, don't listen to what anyone else says.  This is between you and your body, and if people choose to make cruel comments, that's their own insecurity.  Focus on getting healthy foods rather than calorie-counting and excessive exercise.  I remember when I was a teen, I fluctuated between the same 5 lbs and wondered why I never lost any weight.  But jeez, I ate horribly!  I would pretty much skip breakfast (or get some hot cocoa), have a candy bar before lunch, eat pizza or something fatty for lunch, soda in the afternoon, dinner leftovers for an afternoon "snack", and then a very large portion for dinner (though dinner was probably the only healthy thing I had in a day).  So start out by cutting out the junk, watching portion sizes (google portion size and you'll find a lot of good resources!), and making sure you're getting your 5 a day of fruit and veg.

Good luck and stay positive!

Ok well i might aswell say, it isnt really medication but i was on the contraceptive injection for 9 months and thats when all my weight slowly gained, so i dont know weather it was actually the injection or just making me hungrier, maybe abit of both.. Yeah i really hate the way i look at the moment, i want to loose as much weight as i can before i go on holiday in april!

I do admit i was eating alot a couple of months ago, i would have a large bowl of cereal in the morning, some sort of chocolate bar for a snack, a sandwich a bag of crisps and another snack for lunch and then a really large dinner and more snacks and i would always have another bowl of cereal before i would go to bed.. so i dont think that helped because they say not to eat at night because it lies on your stomach and makes you put on weight right?

But now im only eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast, sandwich and crisps for lunch and then a meduim portion for dinner so that seems a big difference to me but i still dont loose anything or if anything i seem to still gain! So im not sure if its because im not exercising or its because i need to eat alot more fruit and salad because i dont eat any of that now?

Thanks for all the advice :)

Yeah, i've heard horror stories about the contraceptive injection!  If you're willing to switch to the pill, it might be a more gentle alternative!

i just dont think its a good idea because its so simple for you 'diet' to spiral out of control and then it completly screws up your whole like. it should be left to overweight adults , like seriously , about 200 + lbs, if you start young it just can get completly out of hand

but yh u should exercise. if ur running , and doing situps , then the running will help you lose, and the situps will tone u as well . good luck

Is it just me or does 7st to 5'2'' sound a bit... too light? Wouldn't something like 8st be more suitable maybe? :) Otherwise that would leave you underweight.

I know I'm older than you (I'm 20), but I'm 5'2'' myself and my goal weight is 9st...

Hi,

Your body is going through a lot of changes right now. Since you are still growing, your bones (actually your muscles) will hurt, have you heard of "Growing Pains" - Bingo!! This is something that will go back to normal by your 16th or 17th birthdate, however, if they are too severe, you need to let the doctor know. Yes being on different medications can get your weight out of control. There are things you can do at this stage to help yourself, eat healthy and moderate exercise. When my legs are giving me a hard time, I do some sit ups or I use a band and stretch, that makes me feel better, and keep toning my body.

I'm sorry other people are cruel to you, I understand the feeling, but think one day they will feel very sorry they did, because they will look at you and be amazed of what a fine young lady you have become, and they will carry the guilty pain of knowing they were cruel when you were young.

Also think about things you can do that other people cannot, this will build your self-esteem. Volunteer in your comunity to help others, and you see, all of a sudden you will be doing great, and many of the things you are going through now will be forgotten.

Have a nice evening.

I'll preface this post with two things: first, I'm fifteen; second, you have a bmi of around 24.2, which is still in the healthy weight range.

It is perfectly reasonable to be concerned with your body image, adults and teenagers alike.  It is also perfectly reasonable to use calorie-count as a tool to help you lose weight.  The important thing being that you eat enough.  That's one reason so many adults discourage teens from calorie counting, because it's easy to fall into the (WRONGWRONGWRONG) mindset that somehow eating less will help you lose faster.  Remember that you need at bare minimum 1500 calories a day.  You can probably easily lose eating above that.

This is a great website for calculating your bmi and your energy needs, as it is specifically designed for teens: http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html. 

As for exercise, a lot of people on here have done great just walking.  Others do more intense cardio (swimming, bicycling, running, elliptical trainers) in combination with various levels of strength training.  It's finding something you enjoy doing.  Keep trying different exercises, try working out at different times (I'm definitely a morning person for exercise) until you find something sustainable.

One more thing: I don't know you personally, but 7st/98lbs is a very low weight for someone who's 5'2", it is in fact classified as "underweight".  I would think that somewhere around 8st/112lbs would be much healthier and far more sustainable, and even that is pretty low on the bmi range.

Original Post by plingu:

Is it just me or does 7st to 5'2'' sound a bit... too light? Wouldn't something like 8st be more suitable maybe? :) Otherwise that would leave you underweight.

I know I'm older than you (I'm 20), but I'm 5'2'' myself and my goal weight is 9st...

 Yeah maybe 7st is abit to light, im just trying to think of how much i weighed about a year ago but obviously i was younger then and shorter so maybe 8st will be okay i just want my flat tummy back!

Yeah ive recently just been to the doctors and there is something wrong with my legs and the muscles in my ankles are really weak and has made my leg very out of porportion and thats the reason i have been getting really bad back pains. They have refered me to the hospital but ive got to wait untill the 4th of Jan to be seen!

I must admit i was a couch potato but have started to take it more seriously now and cut out all the junk food such has crips and been going for a run every evening and doing some fitness activities throughout the day so hopefully this will help.

 

Original Post by rosered93:

I'll preface this post with two things: first, I'm fifteen; second, you have a bmi of around 24.2, which is still in the healthy weight range.

It is perfectly reasonable to be concerned with your body image, adults and teenagers alike.  It is also perfectly reasonable to use calorie-count as a tool to help you lose weight.  The important thing being that you eat enough.  That's one reason so many adults discourage teens from calorie counting, because it's easy to fall into the (WRONGWRONGWRONG) mindset that somehow eating less will help you lose faster.  Remember that you need at bare minimum 1500 calories a day.  You can probably easily lose eating above that.

This is a great website for calculating your bmi and your energy needs, as it is specifically designed for teens: http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.html. 

As for exercise, a lot of people on here have done great just walking.  Others do more intense cardio (swimming, bicycling, running, elliptical trainers) in combination with various levels of strength training.  It's finding something you enjoy doing.  Keep trying different exercises, try working out at different times (I'm definitely a morning person for exercise) until you find something sustainable.

One more thing: I don't know you personally, but 7st/98lbs is a very low weight for someone who's 5'2", it is in fact classified as "underweight".  I would think that somewhere around 8st/112lbs would be much healthier and far more sustainable, and even that is pretty low on the bmi range.

 

 No my BMI is higher then that i had myself weighed the over day and it is in the "Risk of Overweight" Section :|

Yeah i know i havent been starving myself because several people have just told me that it will make me gain weight more then loose it, i have been eating around 1500 calories a day and have just been cutting out the junk food.

Well ive tried walking but i dont think that makes me loose weight to be honest, i think i need to keep running and gradually improve if i keep at it so i can go longer because at the moment im not going very far and just keep doing my other fitness activities in the day.. I like swimming aswell so perhaps il start doing that again.