 How fast can I lose weight? |
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=> i was just wondering.. since i don't want to lose a lot of weight fast, and just gain it back i wanna lose it FOREVER.. im confused because so many people tell me losing 3 lbs a week is healthy, and youll keep it off and others are telling me thats not true, only 1.5 lbs a week is healthy. you're the professional.. so which is it? can i lose about 2 lbs a week and thats healthy enough to keep off? please answer!
=> I weigh 185 pounds, 5'2. Id like to lose 80 pds in the next 8-9 months. Would that be possible to do/be healthy? And I wouldn't gain it back?
=> hey lucy i just wanted to ask you how long did it ake you to lose weight and how
=> Lucy,I'm 13 yrs old. I'm a overweight girl. Been trying to lose weight at about the age of 11 1/2. I'm going to high school now.can you give me advice please on how to shred the pounds fast?
=> hi,im 12 and weight 167 and can u tell me what u did to lose soooo much weight i really want a lose 15-20 ponds in 2 months is that pollible and tell me some good excursises i can do ...and what to eat please thanks
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 Most health professionals recommend losing about 1 to 2 pounds (1/2 to 1 kg) per week as a safe rate of weight loss.
 Losing weight any faster than 2 pounds per week is difficult and unhealthy for most people. Doing the math shows why. About 3500 calories are in a pound. To lose 2 pounds per week (7000 calories), one would need to take in 1000 calories less than they need each day of the week (1000 calories x 7 days = 7000 calories per week). The following shows how two girls, all else being equal except their weight, differ in the number of calories consumed that maintains their current weight level.
Healthy Weight
15 year old girl, 5'5", 130 pounds, moderate activity level: Eats about 2150 calories per day
Overweight:
15 year old girl, 5' 5", 185 pounds, moderate activity level: Eats about 2500 calories per day
In order for the overweight girl in the above example to lose 2 pounds per week, she would need to reduce her food intake by 40% (2500 - 1000 = 1500 calories per day) in other words, eating almost half of the amount she currently eats. Trying to lose 3 pounds per week would mean this girl would be eating only 1000 calories per day, or about a third of what she used to eat. This is quite hard, as well as not very healthy, as most professionals recommend at least 1200 calories a day for teen girls.
Kids who are extremely overweight (more than 100 pounds over their ideal weight), might lose pounds more quickly at first. However, keep in mind that a 5 pound loss in a 300 pound person is about the same as a 2.5 pound loss in a 150 pound person. As a percentage of body weight, the pounds lost in these two people are both a 1-2% change in overall body weight. Looking at the percentage of change also helps explain why it is common for the rate of weight loss to slow down as we get close to our weight loss goals.
Speak with your own physician or dietitian about your minimum calorie needs. Many health professionals do not recommend kids going under 1200 calories per day because they are missing important nutrients that are essential for proper growth. Look here for a general guide on how many calories a boy or girl needs depending on their age and their activity levels.
Image: Michal Marcol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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| Build Self-Confidence |
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=> ive always been over weight and i wanna no what is the best way to build self confidence
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 There are several ways to build self-confidence.
• write down positive things about yourself every day
• work on correct posture if it is not good already
• help someone or an animal (assist a sibling with homework, parents with some task or chore, volunteer at an animal shelter, make a card for someone you love, teach others to read through a literacy program)
• dress in ways that flatter you
• learn a new skill (cooking, knitting, teach yourself how to use a software program, learn how to do small maintenance on a car or bike)
• start a hobby (scrapbook, learn to play an instrument, grow something in the garden, take pictures)
• join an after school or summer club (YMCA, Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, art club, city recreation program)
• learn how to deal with teasing
• if you are old enough and have some spare time, pick up a part time job (newspaper delivery, babysitting, lawn or garden care, but NOT fast food)
• talk with other kids (motivational mates) who are also overweight to share problems and ideas on solutions
Choose one or several of these ideas to help build your self-confidence. You may have additional ideas after reading this list. There is not a "one size fits all" way to increase your feeling of self-worth, but rather choose one or more ideas that feel right for you. |
| My weight is causing serious health problems |
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=> hi i am 13,and i weigh 368 lb < i am soposed to die in like 3 months,from high blodd pressure.i need to lose weight fast or die...What should i do.?
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This must be hard news to hear. Sometimes, when nothing has helped us lose weight before, realizing the seriousness of the situation can prompt us to take big steps towards this goal. Changing eating and activity habits is hard work. It takes practice to make a long lasting change in our habits. If you are unsure about making a change, then try completing a chart of the pros and cons (advantages and disadvantages) of weight loss for yourself. Click HERE to see the chart Lucy completed when she questioned her motivation. Once you complete your own chart, the idea of weight loss should not be as scary and you will be more clear on the reasons why you do (or do not) want to lose weight.
If you already know that you want to lose weight and are willing to take the next steps, then began by picking out one or two foods that you often eat (usually a high calorie junk food like cookies, ice cream, candy bars, chips, cheetos). Remove this food (or foods) completely from your diet for 2-3 weeks. You may have intense cravings for that food (just like an addiction), but the antsiness should go away after this time. Try not to overeat another food as you get unhooked from the food you had the problem with. Then you can do this with as many foods as you have a problem with, one at a time. Ask your friends and family to support you in your weight loss. One way they can do this is by helping keep tempting foods out of your eyesight. They could also be your buddy in activities, which will also help distract you from addictive foods. Below are tips on how to approach your friends and family about your desire to lose weight.
A Little Help From My Friends
Talking With Your Parents About Your Weight Loss Wishes |
| Tempting foods & Out-of-control eating |
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=> I need motivation help. That, and more importantly i need help with the fact that sometimes i feel like i cant control myself once i start eating. An advice for this problem?
=> How do i stop temptations? xoxo
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 Some kids and adults do feel out of control with their eating. This can happen when eating certain foods, usually highly pleasurable foods. The most common ones we may overeat include chips, cookies, ice cream, pizza, chocolate, doughnuts, and bacon, which may be even addicting. You may have another food, or several foods, that you feel you can’t stop eating once started. If you truly feel out of control when eating certain foods, the most effective way to deal with this problem is to cut this food completely out of your diet. For example, if a kid finds that when they get a scoop or two of ice cream, they end up eating the whole ice cream carton in one sitting, then avoiding this food altogether can remove the temptation and overeating. Having this food stored out of site can help, or if your parents are willing, they may stop buying it altogether. Less tempting foods and fun activities can take the place of these addictive foods.
Once you have successfully removed a problem food from your diet, you may feel more "in control". This in turn may help increase your self esteem and ability to monitor what and how much you eat, leading to weight loss. |
| What about throwing up? |
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=> if you throw up your food do you count the calories?
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If you are throwing up because you are sick with stomach flu, food poisoning or some other illness, then the main concern is to prevent dehydration by sipping small amounts of water or other clear fluids (jello, apple juice, broth) in between the times you are throwing up.
 On the other hand, if you are forcing yourself (self-induced) to throw up as a way to remove food from your stomach (a symptom of bulimia, a eating disorder), then one needs to ask why you are doing this. Many people who are bulimic, use vomiting (throwing up) as a way to deal with eating large amounts of food in a short period of time (binge eating). Binge eating is also a type of eating disorder. Binge eating is most often caused by stress. Dealing with the source of the stress and problems that prompt you to binge eat, will help to reduce and hopefully eliminate binge eating episodes. This in turn should remove the guilt about eating excessive calories that follows binge eating and take away any desire of using throwing up as an attempt to remove calories.
There are unhealthy consequences of making yourself throw up if it is used repeatedly. Dentists and dental hygeinists, and even friends and family, can readily see that your teeth are eroding because they are exposed to acidic stomach juices. Since it is not normal for these stomach fluids to be traveling up your food pipe (esophagus) very frequently, other effects from throwing up a lot can be an inflamed (red and perhaps painful) esophagus, swollen glands in the neck, ulcers in the stomach or upper intestines, and a stomach confused about when it should empty into the intestines. The juices from the stomach also carry electrolytes (ions like potassium, sodium, and calcium). Throwing up these electrolytes can make you feel very sick because they are needed to keep the nervous system and heart working properly. When the electrolyte balance is upset through repeated vomiting (whether by sickness or self-induced) then it can rapidly become a medical emergency and sometimes cause death.
Visit our emotional eating pages to prevent binge eating and take away the urge to make yourself throw up so the above medical problems can be prevented. |
| How do I lose weight and fix my posture? |
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=> I feel fat and like I have vey bad posture, but people tell me that neather of these things are true. How do I lose weight and fix my posture? Lucy please help me
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A simple way to test your posture is the “Wall Test”, outlined below by the Mayo Clinic.
To test your standing posture, "stand with your head, shoulder blades and buttocks touching a wall, and your heels about two to four inches (five to 10 centimeters) away from the wall. Reach back and slide your hand behind the curve in your lower back, with your palm flat against the wall.
Ideally, you'll feel about one hand's thickness of space between your back and the wall. If there's too much space, tighten your abdominal muscles to flatten the curve in your back. If there's too little space, arch your back so that your hand fits comfortably behind you. Walk away from the wall while maintaining this posture. Keep it up throughout your daily activities."
The Mayo article on posture also states that stretching and core exercises can help posture too. Core exercises are meant to strengthen muscles in the abdomen, back and pelvis. One can see pictures of these core exercises on the Mayo Clinic’s website.
WikiHow lists three short exercises for strengthening the shoulder and upper back muscles that can improve posture at this link.
Stretching your front muscles while lying on your back over a large exercise ball or couch can also improve posture.
While laying on your stomach, arch your back and lift up your chest and legs, as if your are flying like a super hero. This will build up your back muscles. Do this as many times as you're able.
Yoga is believed to help posture. Classes or a good video can guide one in learning some yoga.
Best of all, good posture can help visually take pounds off a person. Although one doesn’t lose weight just by changing their posture, it will appear as if you have lost some weight when you are standing and sitting more erect! Improving your appearance through better posture can help boost your self esteem and perhaps start you on the path to losing real pounds as well. |
| Why do I still gain weight when I'm eating healthy? |
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=> What if your exercising and eating healty but you're still gaining weight?
=> i there i am a 14 year old girl and love basketball and track. i throw in track i don't run because i am not a runner. i am 6"0 and wiegh about 238 and i don't seem to be able to lose wieght even when i eat vegies and meat with no sweets added
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One can eat healthy foods, but still gain weight. Although people are less likely to gorge themselves on healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, weight gain is still possible if one is still consuming more calories than they burn off. It is common for people in developed nations to over-estimate the amount of food they actually need. Once one is used to over-eating, it may be difficult for them to gauge the right portion size for their body. This problem can be partly attributed to the large servings sizes provided by restaurants and fast food places. Even a can of soda pop is really 2 servings.
The following link provides pictures of actual serving sizes: How much should you eat? Tip: Be sure to visit the food gallery within the above link.
Pictures to the right can also help you measure one serving size of different foods using common household items and parts of your hand.
Also, if you are eating healthy foods but still eat high calorie snacks and other foods, of course you may gain weight. It helps to write down everything you eat in a notebook, with a new page for each day. Then you can better see how much you are eating. And it's easy to snack mindlessly, so pay close attention to what you put in your mouth. |
| Emotional Eating |
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=> I'm a 11 year old. i weigh 137 pounds i tend to eat when i get emotional. what can i do to lose 20 to 45 pounds.
=> I eat when i am bored what do i do
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Some people eat to drown out bad feelings such as anger, depression, shame, stress, anxiety, and even boredom which is also an uncomfortable emotion. Eating to cover up our unpleasant feelings probably occurs more often than we think.  But both of you have reached the first step in dealing with your overeating: recognizing WHY you overeat. Visit our Comfort Eating Board to see how emotions contribute to overeating for other kids. Our Kids Helping Kids Board has helpful tips from others your age in how to deal with emotional eating.
It may also help to identify when these feelings are commonly triggered. For example, some kids will eat quite a bit after getting home from a stressful day at school. If this happens to you, you can try planning other activities after school so that you won’t be near the kitchen or refrigerator during this critical time. You may also want to consider a different snack in advance that you are less likely to gorge on such as grapes, triscuit crackers, or string cheese.
Identify if you turn to the same foods, usually high-calorie junk foods, when you eat to deal with emotions. Many kids overindulge on foods such as chips, pop, chocolate, candy bars, pizza, and cookies. Pick your top one or two most addictive foods and try to get them out of sight and eventually out of mind. Find healthier food choices and activities to help give your emotions a longer term boost instead of the temporary and fleeting happiness that you get from eating the more addictive foods. |
| How can I get the support of my friends and family? |
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=> everyone I know tells me its fine to be fat, and that I shouldnt lose weight and just learn to be happy. how can I get the support of my friends and family?
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Your question is shared by many kids and is an important one. First, it sometimes helps to understand why family and friends do not readily support your weight loss goals. These reasons may include:
• They don’t feel comfortable with their own weight. Seeing you make an effort to lose weight makes them feel badly about themselves and they may feel pressure to lose weight unless they can convince you that your weight is “normal”.
• They feel competitive with you and if you are losing weight, they are not “winning”.
• They control you through supporting your negative behaviors (such as overeating) and your weight loss may mean their loss of control over you.
• They don’t understand the health consequences of being overweight.
• They use rich food as a way to show you their love and affection and are offended when you don’t accept as much rich food.
• They use rich food as a way to get love from you and fear that they will lose that love when you no longer want their rich food.
• They saw that food brought you comfort and joy in the past, so they hate to see you depriving yourself of food now and would prefer that you just accept being overweight.
• They view you as a food buddy and your new weight loss desires threatens this kind of relationship, perhaps removing the one thing you share in common.
• They may be normal weight and perhaps don’t understand why you are so worried about your own weight. They can’t understand that reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is hard work for you.
Losing weight can be easier with the help of friends and family. For ideas on how to ask your friends and family for support, visit the following Lucy Tip pages:
A Little Help From My Friends
Talking With Your Parents About Your Weight Loss Wishes
If your friends and family still are not supportive of your efforts to lose weight after talking with them, then find support elsewhere. For example, this website can serve as an online support group through the bulletin boards, kid’s chat room, and Lucy chat. There is probably not a single person that can serve all your emotional needs in losing weight, but drawing upon the support from many, including your own internal strength, can help you immensely in achieving your weight loss goals. |
| Can I lose weight by walking? |
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=> can you loose weight by walking 3 miles 6 times a week at a brisk walk?
=> hi im 17 and im 195 i want too loose weight, i want to be back to at least 140, im starting to walk 2 hours a day in the morning for 30 days do you think i will loose some pounds by may 30 today is april 12?
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 Walking is an excellent way to lose weight. It is low impact and practically everyone can do it. Some kids have found that they can lose weight by going on regular walks. In order to lose weight though, it is important not to increase how much you eat, otherwise the positive benefits from walking will be canceled out by the extra calories. Make sure you drink plenty of water to keep you hydrated before, during, and after your walks. It may be helpful for some to gradually increase how far they walk each week. For example, 1/2 mile per day the first week, 1 mile per day the next week, 1 1/2 miles per day the week after that and so on until you reach your goal of length or time walked each day.
Visit the Food Bar to see how far one must walk to burn off certain foods. |
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