13 Year Old Fatty Looking for friends and dieting tips!

Hey, I'm Crazysymphoniaguy, or CSG for short.  I'm 13, and 190 lbs., and my goal is to lose 50 pounds by July of '09, and I'm looking for some friends, since losing weight would be a lot more fun with other people doing it with me.  And I also want some dieting wisdom, because since I'm not old enough to cook my own food, I have to eat what's given to me, and I need to know what choices to make.  I'd love some advice, especially from younger people like me.  No offense to you over 18's or anything, yours is probably just as good!

Hi! As you can see, Im Hannahb20 or Hannah. I'm 13, 5' 2" and 148 lbs, and my goal is to lose 20 lbs by January of 09 (seems an awful way to introduce oneself).  I would love to have someone to share diety thingies and advice with!

Diety thingy no. 1: You ARE old enough to cook your own food. It is fun, generally simple, and your parents will probably kiss the ground you walk on for volunteering a few times a week. Try starting out with simple recipes in cookbooks geared towards healthy eating, such as Jacques Pepin's Simple and Healthy Eating. If you don't mind getting your hands a little chicken-y, beef-y, or fishy, it is a wonderful way to control what you eat, as well as learning an important life skill.

Do you play an instrument (i am taking a wild guess from your username)? This is my 6th year playing violin and i would love to have someone to obsess about music with.

Sorry, I had to respond even though I am over "18".  Please stop calling yourself a "13 year old fatty" - that is negative talk.  For us "oldsters" we have and are continuuing to learn to erase all those "horrible" name calling tapes.  Second, congratulations on taking the first step of making a lifestyle change.  Do not call it a diet.  Dieting is like when you come to your goal and that's it.  The hardest thing is not so much as getting the weight off but maintaining the weight loss for the rest of your life.  When I was your age I was thin but told I was fat because I was very tall and had a large frame.  In the "olden" days I was referred to as an "amazon" woman.  I did not put all my weight on until I was married at age 32.  Even though I have a loving husband and son - I have all those tapes I am trying to erase, along with "stress" issues.  A lot of layers to work on.  I would like to see you succeed so you do not have to go through the "pain" in your "older" years.  The best to you!

Here's some tips for you..It is therefore very important to create a balance between exercise, rest and diet to stay healthy and fit. Exercising too much and eating too little will not do any good so we should forget about reducing our food and fluid intake to reduce our body size and weight fast. We will get sick if we do that.

First of all, I was in the same boat at your age.  I was about 185 and 13 and I know that people are mean.  I lost weight by nearly starving myself to death and dropped 50lbs in a month.  I would however recommend that you not do that since it can be very damaging to your health and I did end up gettting sick as a result.  I would advise you to start counting calories to access the amount of food you are eating.  You do not know where to go if you do not know where you are at.  I would also suggest talking about weight loss with your doctor.  Remember you are still a kid and you should always remember the body you have is the body you will have when you are my age or older so you want to take care of it.  Try to watch your sugar and fat intake because I have kids your age and I know they love things that are not particuliarly good for them.  My kids love pizza and ice cream and that sort of thing.  Try to get some physical activity.  I got both of my kids in karate to help keep some of the weight off of them, because if I let them lay around the house all day like my parents did me, well they would have weight issues, because to be honest my 7yr old and my 12 year old both eat more than I do.  Remember you still have some growing room too.  Depending on how tall you are going to get 190 will look better on you the taller you get, but you have to maintain your weight.  All and all, hold your chin up, talk to your doctor, get your parent's support, count your calories, and good luck. I would say that you should try to eat whole grain foods, low fat meats, watch your dairy, eat lots of fruits and veggies, take your vitamin, and drink lots of water.

David