From janie, Age 14 - 10/01/04 - IP#: 63.231.141.xxx  Click here to reply  
hi! i am very desperate to lose weight i have been an overweight person all my life and i just want to lose weight will someone please help me
Reply from Marina, Age 17 - 10/02/04  - IP#: 24.215.12.xxx
I've posted this a million times, but if it takes me 1,000,000 posts until I finally help someone, I'll post it 1 million times. As you know, the healthiest way to approach weight loss is the best way! Please, don't ever listen to those ridiculous fad diets. As tempting as they sound (10lbs in a week -ya right), they're unhealthy & just a bad idea. A healthy weight loss is losing anywhere from 1-2lbs a week. A VERY important thing to understand about weight loss is that one pounds is equivalent to 3,500 calories!!! THATS A LOT OF CALORIES!! So why am I sharing that with you? It's simple. You have a daily caloric intake. For a woman at an average height & weight, their intake is anywhere from 1,200 calories to 1,500 calories a day. But it all depends on height, weight & activity level. To gain 1 pound, you must eat 1,500 calories, & then consume another 3,500 on top of that! So if everyday you go 200 calories over your limit--you WILL gain a pound in approximately 17 days. So, with a few minor formulas, you can find out how many calories you should eat in one day. So, with this in mind you need to eat 3 healthy meals a day with small healthy snacks in between meals (this will make your metabolism work faster). Make sure each meals consists of Protien, fat & carbs. YOU NEED ALL 3. I don't care what you've heard about them. TO be healthy, you need everything. Just eat in balance. If you do what I just told you, I wouln't even be too concerned about counting calories--if you're making healthy choices, you won't go over your limit. Trust your own judgement. Don't eliminate junk food completely from your day to day life. You can have some once in a while. Just don't have large portions & don't do it regularly. & even if you have a small portion everyday, it won't affect your weight. Some good news for once, isn't it? Once you get into the swing of your healthy lifestyle, you'll find that you won't be craving bad foods much anymore, and that when you do have them, you'll literally feel sick to your stomach after eating them. Make sure you drink lots & lots of water. No juice, ESPECIALLY no POP/SODA...even if it's diet. Just stay away from it all. Drink water, water & more water. When you feel hungry, drink a class of water first, sometimes your brain mistakens thirst for hunger. I used to hate water with a passion, I always drank JUICE. Little did I know that it was the juice that was preventing me from weight loss. I got used to the water--and now i LOVE it...it's all I'll ever drink. You can do the same if you don't already drink it. There are so many benefits to drinking water. Now that you've got all of your food & drink consumption under control, another EXTREMELY IMPORTANT thing is EXERCISE. Exercise a minimum of 3-4 days a week & make sure your heart rate is in your target heart rate zone for atleast 25 minutes. That is your fat burning zone. You'll burn fat and calories. If you go over your target heart rate, however, you'll burn MUSCLE & we DO NOT want that at all! Which brings me to the importantance of weight lifiting. So many girls FEAR weight lifting. They fear they can't do it, or it'll make them look "big", or that they'll get muscle underneath their fat & they'll look bigger Or their muscle will turn to fat. It's all a lie! Don't listen to those ridiculous myths. Weight lifting is one of the best things you can do for your body. It makes your bones healthy & strong. It'll give your muscles lovely definiton & you'll fall in love with your body. The best part about weight lifting, is that it makes your metabolism work so much faster!! For every pound of muscle you gain, your body will burn an extra 30-40 calories a day. The best part is, weight lifting doesn't have to be hard. It can be as simple as lifting 3 pound handweights. But if that's too easy for you (which it may or may not be) Just up the load. Keep making your load heavier as you get better & then when you're satisfied with your muscle definition, you stop at that load. If you don't know much about weight lifting, I highly recommend the book "Toning for Teens" by Dr. Joyce Vedral. It's very informative & helpful. It has lots of information about weights, food & everything. There are plenty of pictures, instructions, repetitions and everything you need to know. It's great for beginners. Now, I leave you with one final tip. Make sure you get a large variety of exercise. Don't do the same tapes, classes, workouts etc..every day. Variety will allow you to challenge all sorts of different muscle groups & body parts. Once your muscles get used to one movement, you'll reach a plateau. So variety is key. WOW! I said a lot, but I promise you, if you keep this up, you'll fall in love with your body & you'll be most proud of yourself, & your image knowing you did it all yourself! It may be a bit discouraging at first & at times...But don't fear. Keep working at it...all of a sudden one day you'll wake up & look at yourself in the mirror & say, "WOW! When did I get such an amazing body!?" That's when you'll finally know that your hard work has paid off. I won't lie, it's hard work, but it gets easier as you go on. Take it one step at a time. You can do it, I promise you. Once you get used to it, you won't call it a diet anymore. You'll be a new person. Mind, body & soul. You'll have more discipline to do things in everyday life. I hope you believe me & take this path, you won't be sorry you did it. You'll be doing it your entire life! Leave a comment if you need anything clarified or want more detailed explanation of something! Good Luck!
 
Reply from Taylor, Age 13 - 10/01/04  - IP#: 24.140.75.xxx
OK fist you should set your goals of how much you want to lose then how much work your willing to put in. dont be like o i want to drop 10 pounds in a week take it slow. Trust me it works. I just wacthed what i ate and did pilates everynite and everybody complements how good i look. u also need to get into the right attitude, dont be like o all do this tomorow cause that will never get you anywhwre!! well i hope this helps you!!!