Hey, I WAS in your situation. I weighed 196 and was 13. I am now 42 lbs smaller and am still trying to get off about 20 lbs. You probably will wnat to start with changing your eating habits. I know when I did I lost 9 lbs in the first week. Then I made my summer into a exercise boot-camp. I was waking up every morning and walking/running a mile. This really helped. I love shopping now because I can go straight to the 11/12 and know they'll fit instead of grabbing 18. For girls that isn't very fun. E-mail me anytime and I can give ya tips. Selenafan@pa.net Sam