Teen Weight Gain Due to No Exercise

I agree that "we cannot blame fast food outlets and poor food choices,"--not one hundred percent, anyway--I'll give you that.
(This is where I'm going to get pounced on, I know it...)
I've often said this in the past and I'll say it again--the way life is today--it's very, very difficult to get exercise into one's routine. Sure, I guess there are those who will be labeled 'lazy', but I truly believe that for the majority of people who get up early to go to work, put in a long, hard day's worth (and the days just seem to be getting longer, no?) and then have to come home only to make dinner or care for their children and their kids' needs, (if you indeed are a parent) there's either no time for exercise or you are just too damn exhausted trying to survive in these times.

Sure, it's easy to sit down in front of the television and spend the evening watching your favorite programs, but I think alot of folks are simply too tired or lack the time to do an exercise routine.
-Adam

I went off point here--for some reason I began talking about working class adults--sorry about that.

Regarding the girls'weight gain during the transition from childhood to adolescence--that's pretty upsetting, but there could be lots of reason for that, too.
Adam

I think you're right. Everything has to be put in context. Society is very different now - even compared to only 20 years ago. We cram incredible amounts into what time we have, and therefore use labor-saving devices all over the place. As a busy parent I know only too well how hard it is to fit it all in (particularly with interrupted sleep).

However this particular article points to teenage girls and is as much about lifestyle choices as anything else.

With the greatest respect, my personal view is that feeling and looking good has a lot to do with attitude. Adopting a moderate regime light daily excercise,eating naturally grown food, little bit of alcohol if you like and lots of relaxation is a key. My own rule of thumb is if it is man made (pre-prepared) try to avoid it. This is a simple life style change to good health.

However, I hope the following diet information gives you the alternative strategy to pursue.

Be health and live long!

okay hi, i am 17 years old and i am very very un-satisfied with my body... I weigh 120 lbs it may not seem like a lot for my height (5'3) or age but i really need some help. My stomache and inner thighs are disgusting my arms are very small (i cant even do pushups)

Felicia,

At 5'3/120, your weight is normal, your BMI is within the average range and therefore, your thighs and stomach are normal and not disgusting. If you feel you need to develop your arms, start out with some light weight training, like three pound weights and then move up to the heavier weights as you get stronger. There are weight machines in gyms of course but sports supply stores sell hand weights as well. Focus on health and strength.

I am 15 years old and i am a size 8 in clothing and i weigh 9 stone.
I Have a quite flat tummy however my thgighs and bum are really fat!
Im not overreacting as i have cellulite on my butt!
I cant seem to get rid of it however much i excersise and eat healthy foods.
Dont know what to do. please help me find an easy way of excersise e.g. Running?

I agree with everyone as well. I am a teenage boy, and after band, school, and homework, there is clsoe to no time to get in any exercise. Well, occasionally, perhaps... but not half as often as I would like. You're just too tired, physically exausted... I sort of compensate for it by eating very moderately thought the day, keeping my calories at an absolute maximum of 1000 to 1200 a day. It seems unhealthy eating that little, but if I didn’t, my weight would go out of control (because of the lack of exercise).

Felicia Cross, you are fine don’t worry about it. Your weight, wither it be from fat or muscle, is well within normal for your height. If you have excess % body fat, you are going to need to buy some weights/go to a gym and train a little. That’s the only solution. Just be glad you are not obese or overweight or anything right now.

I say even when you are young you MUST exercise. I lost 40 lbs only with exercise so I repeat. EXERCISE!!

hey peolpe i ues to be a fit 100 pounds but i desided to not play basketball and in the winter thats how i got my exercise but this year i quit and its been 2 months and ive already gained 63 pounds and now my belly hangs down and is realy fat so ive gotin realy fat and i still have 5 more months with no exercise so if i keep going at this rate ill be so fat any help

dose anybody know what it is like to once be skinny and then just with in a two month period of time go to over weight its horrible no cloths fits you any more becouse your getting so fat so fast a butin pop right off your jeans right in the middle of class your favorit shirt not fitting any more becouse your belly hangs out of it a little but thats not the worst part im a girls and most of my fat is going to my hips thighs and now i have a very big butt its round and all the boys say how my butt got so big and if i were a bikki my hip feel like there going to bust my bikki and all the fat from my thighs looks all fatty and every thing just somebody help

I am a 13 year old girl, i just had my period in the summer and, I am 5'3 and I weigh 132 pounds and I have type one diabeties since i was little.

I have NO time to excersice at all.
i have swamps of homework and when i am at my friends we just walk down to tempo and go on the computer or sometimes just go swimming or to the movies..

i sometimes walk home.. and thats pretty much all the excercise.
i decided not to join volleyball this year and i used to be 120 pounds and now i am 132...
i think i am fat. :(
please help me.
oh and i want to join badmintion and tennis..
so yeh

KAYLA`, It is very important that you do physical activity. I was a chubby teen, once I started to exercise my life changed. I felt better and I looked better. make it a part of your day, like homework is. Just give it 15 min. to start with and move up from there. Ask your parents or siblings to go for walks with you. Don't go alone.

Gina

I am 15 years old . I have been active since I was little. I have been in gymnastics and cheerleading my whole life. I do not have a car and i live in a small town so i usually walk places with my friends. I'm 5'2 have a little frame, wear a size 0 in pants, and weigh 108 lbs. I feel like i am fit and I eat healthy foods so I can perform at my best, yet i still seem to have cellulite on my butt and thighs. I'm not overagagerating either. It is bad. It looks like someone sliced little chunks out of my legs. When I tell people they laugh because they think I'm lying because my frame is so small. I enjoy swimming, but I am very self concious in a bathing suit. Please help! I don't know what to do!

I am a 17 year old female, who in the past 3 months has gained 30 pounds. At 5'8 I used to weigh in at 113 pounds. This may seem low to some but considering the lifestyle i led, it was a healthy one. Now looking in the mirror everyday is depressing. The clothes that once fit nicely, no longer will even come close, and i feel fat. am i overweight now?

Meg - 5'8" and 143lb is not overweight. Now, since the weight gain was pretty fast, in just 3 months, you may want to examine what changes in your lifestyle caused you to gain it. Cause 143lb is perfectly normal and good, but if you keep gaining at that rate, you'll soon be overweight.

I'm 5'11 and I weigh 127. Am I too skinny

I'm 5'1'' and weigh 120lbs. I find it virtually impossible to lose weight at all and it's very frustrating. I can maintain my weight but, as far as a losing five pounds, not in this life time. I get activity from all the physical labor I do but, still nothing. I try to eat sensible for a 18 year old. What am I doing wrong? Why won't the five pounds come off?

I'm 5'7" and weigh 173 lbs at the age of 18. I eat healthy and get plenty of excersice chasing my 2 yr old around all the time but no matter what, i still cant lose weight and all my weight seems to go to my thighs and butt. whats the problem?

Wow - no, you are ok.

Krissy - you are not overweight. Maybe the reason the 5lb aren't coming off is because they are meant to stay there. Why would weighing 115lb be different than weighing 120lb? I'm about your height and I know 5lb is not that big a difference. Do you want to fit into a smaller clothes size? Cause if so, maybe you should focus on exercising/gaining muscle. You might even weigh more - 125 or 130lb, but you'd fit into a smaller clothes size. Or is it just about the number on the scale? I just wanna get you to think about your reasons.

Amanda - maybe try tracking down what you eat for a few days. You might be eating healthy but not getting enough fiber, or getting too much fat, or too much carb. www.fitday.com is free and allows you to do that. Also, on the exercise, you might benefit from weight training. You can buy a book or a good magazine that has weight training programs and pictures (weight training for dummies, Oxygen magazine), and buy a few dumbbells and do it at home so you don't need a babysitter.

i am 13 and i am a size 12 iz dis normal

I'm 16, 101 pounds and 5'2 1/2'' I feel tiny next to my friends and they constantly ask me if I'm eating. People assume things about me as well and it gets on my nerves. When i'm alone, i feel comfortable with my body, you know? But it would be cool if my clothes could fit better, so i do want to gain a little weight. Can yall help?

Hiya, im 17 and weigh bout 104 pounds. I dont feel really skinny but i constantly get comments from my friends, people at work at comments wen i was at school. It really gets 2 me, i eat fine and i eat regularly at fine amounts snack like anythin but jst dnt put weight on n ave a 32C chest so im not exactly anorexic or anythin, does anyone ave any advice, plaese im starting 2 get depressed x

HEY I NEED SOME HELP I NEED TO START WATCHING MY WEIGHT I AM KIND OF FAT BECAUSE I EAT ALOT OF CHOCOLATE AND CANDY.I DON'T KNOW HOW TO STOP.I LOOK AT ALOT OF PEOPLE SOME ARE REALLY SKINNY AND SOME ARE IN THE MIDDLE (ME) AND SOME ARE FAT. I FEEL REALLY BAD FOR THEM AND I WANT TO HELP THEM BUT THEN I LOOK @ ME AND I SEE FAT I AM VERY ACTIVE BUT I DON'T SEEM TO LOOSE ANY WEIGHT. I DECIDED NOT TO JOIN ANY CLUBS AT SCHOOL BUT I AM GOING TO JOIN SOME THING THIS YEAR.

Hello there my name is ariel I am 14 and severly over weight and my self esteem level has been low since the day I was born! I am 5'2.75 and im near 200 pounds! I know that im in grave danger and I have yet to change my life! I need some support and help. If any one has any tips please let me know! ~much love~

i feel like i need to lose weight even though everyone says im skinny. Im 13 years old 5'2 1/2 and 92 pounds. I feel like my thighs are getting bigger and i feel happy when i lose pounds. HELP?!?!?!

i'm 14 and i'm 120 pounds, which isn't bad, but i have a REALLY big butt and all of the kids are always making fun of me for it. i don't know what to do. i am athletic. I do tennis, volleyball, and track. i just can't seem to get rid of this excess junk in the trunk. i admit i eat junk food every once in awhile (meaning like a pop a day, or mabey a bowl of ice cream every once in awhile) but it just dosen't make sense.

Okay heres the deal...if you girls wanna look great do what i do...i mean im 5'3 125 and im 15 yrs old. but no im not even fat im all muscle b/c my body fat percentage is 10. Sometimes people think there gaining more fat even though its just muscle! You gotta know that muscle weighs a lot more than fat. The best thing you should do is join karate ive been doing it for 2 yrs now and ive lost a total of 12 pounds of body fat!!! which is A LOT!!! ive gained so much muscle and im close to a six pack without any high protein diets or anything. I just eat really healthy and i do NOT starve myself which is the stupid way to go just eat normal and eat only when your hungry. I also do dance dance revolution every night b4 i go to bed for about an hour. One hour of dance dance revolution is equivalent to running 6 miles!!! Get into a martial arts it helps you with mind and body and makes you stronger!

I am 15 yrs. old im 127 pounds 5'4, i just lost 8 pounds because just last week i weighed 135 but feel like i still need to lose weight. My freinds say i look fine but when i sit down all i see is fat underneath my shirt, and when i stand up i look like i could be a model my family plays around and sometimes tells me if i keep on eating i be huge when i grow up, and they also say you need to cut back that you are getting chubby or you are going to look like your mom but i don't think she is big she is 32 5'3 and weighs 180 something. I cut back on all the food i eat usually i eat 5 meals a day and a snack here and there.I take dance during my spair time and i do chorus I believe i look fine but inside i don't feel as good as i want to. My family says i don't need to lose weight but i do need to stop eating so much! All my freinds say i look normal like a model i am smart,beautiful and well-fit. What can I do to feel good I'd at least like to get to 110-120. I think i should just eat fruits and 1-2 meals a day, does this sound bad?

hey im 15 years old and i hate the way i look... i havent started my periods yet and im seriously flat chested i barely fit into a 32b... and i swear i am gettin fat. i dont understand why because i am active, dnt eat too much junk food etc. i have cellulite on my bum and my thighs its DISGUSTING i hate not liking my body... my mum always says i look okay and i am what i am but she doesnt understand its awful to have no boobs and a huge bum !

I am 15 and my bum is massive. I'm not particularly fat anywhere else. It's all around my middle, which is wide, podgy and wobbly. I have an embarrassing little brother who is always behind me, poking, prodding and headbutting it, calling me 'fatty bum bum' and when I go to school with him, he goes behind me and he's tugging constantly on my skirt shouting 'fat fat fat bum' non-stop. I feel too ashamed to do anything about it. I have to hide my face when I see my friends coming along, so they don't see it's me who is made to suffer in this way!! I feel big, fat and ugly!!

I am 15 and my bum is massive. I'm not particularly fat anywhere else. It's all around my middle, which is wide, podgy and wobbly. I have an embarrassing little brother who is always behind me, poking, prodding and headbutting it, calling me 'fatty bum bum' and when I go to school with him, he goes behind me and he's tugging constantly on my skirt shouting 'fat fat fat bum' non-stop. I feel too ashamed to do anything about it. I have to hide my face when I see my friends coming along, so they don't see it's me who is made to suffer in this way!! I feel big, fat and ugly!!

OK..so I am older than most of you...23.
I weigh 125. I used to wear a size 2, but lately I've only been able to comfortably fit into my "fat pants". I know 125 doesn't seem like all that much, but my belly is starting, er, DOES roll over my pants now and bulges out a bit through my shirts. I've always been thought of as petite, but lately, a few people have pointed out my obvious weight gain over the past few months. (it's about 10 lbs.) By society's standards or your own, would you now consider me chubby? If only slightly? And what would you suggest I do to lose the weight again? All I keep thinking about is when I get to eat again!

Mar, you didn't say how tall you were, but unless you are 4'10", no, 125lb is not chubby. I suggest you start exercising, or if you already do, change your routine to include strenght training. Now, when you say you keep thinking about when you get to eat again - are you currently trying to diet/restrict your food? If so, you are overdoing it, since you are thinking about food constantly. If you are not, you might be eating for emotional reasons. Did you have any stressful event in your life in the past few months?

I am 16 years old and I weigh 350lbs its hard being obess, I started gaining weight in middle school cause in elementry I got teesed just cause i was a littel chucky well I did not want to go through life being bullyed so i got scared and just ate all the time then I went into middle school and I had gianed a lot of weight kids stoped picking on me cause I was bigger than them but somekids still did so I started gaining more so they would all leave me alone well they did but i ketp getting fatter so please help...my friend tryed to help me lose weight once but he was rude about it so i got embarrised and put on 28lbs in 3 weeks...

to use to be skinny but i go fat I know how you feel yes i am a boy but my jeans actully fell off of me in the locker room cause I buttoned them and it fell off then my gut made the zipper go all the way down, so yes I know its hard being fat but hey we only live once and as for me I got fat cause of bullys and no self control and i keep getting fatter so just tell the boys to back off or your friend will come sit on them kk e-mail me gansta4teen5@AOL.com if you need to

I started out in 5th grade at 150lbs the in sixth weighed in at 240 so I put on 90lbs that summer, then in 7th I ketp my weight steady but im 8th I went from 240 to 295lbs, I put on 55lbs, then in 9th I weighed in at 280 so i had lost 15 pounds that year, well my ex-girlfriend and i got into a fight over ther summer and I gained back the 15 then ketp eatting cause i was working and eating alot of fast food so in the middle of this grade 10th I weighed in at 354 so i had put on 70 this school year and still gaining...please help

hey Nick, I'm also 16 (5'7") and my weight has been pretty weird too lately..I was about 135 lbs to start 9th grade, then i was 150 by the end of it. over the summer i lost 20 lbs to get to 130 in september..then came the eating disorder which took me to 118 by mid-october..but now i'm back to 145ish. not pretty. but anyway i've learned a ton about nutrition, exercise, and weight loss strategies since i became 'obsessed', so to say, with losing weight. i'd love to help because i know it isn't easy to be overweight..so feel free to e-mail me at jjca923@yahoo.com ..

but to start off, i reccommend that you start recording everything you eat for a few days. this'll help you notice your problem areas (such as eating too many snacks, not eating 3-5 servings of veggies, not enough fiber and vitamin-rich fruits, etc). then you really have to start an exercise regimen..this is SO important to weight loss and your general health. i lost 20 lbs last summer by working out 2-3 hrs a day/6 days a week..that might not sound like a lot of weight loss, but i was also building a lot of muscle which is heavier than fat - hence i went from a size 8 to 2. the gym in my opinion is the greatest, but i know that not everyone has the time, money, motivation to go. so if that isn't option, just start by briskly walking 20-25 mins a day, and also try lifting some weights (you don't even need to use dumbbells- water jugs, for example, are great alternatives). also try doing some basic exercises in the house like push-ups, crunches, jumping jacks, running up/down stairs, side leg lifts, etc. The third key to weight loss (after food and exercise), believe it or not, is sleep. the less sleep you get, the less leptin (the hormone that controls your appetite) you produce, and thus the hungrier you are the next day. so really try to sleep at least 8 hrs!

hope i could help..if you want more tips and guidance, feel free to ask =)

Hey what's up I'm 13 years old and I way 142 pounds. I exersise like every week and seem to sweat but when I check to see how much I weigh I seem to gain like TWO pounds. I NEED HELP ON HOW TO LOSE SOME WEIGHT FAST....

Hey i'm 14 in a month, i'm 5'0 and i weight around 160 pounds. And my rich uncle told me that if i lose weight he'll take me on a giant shopping spree and to Canadas Wonderland. And i've tried losing weight before and i was doing pretty good last year, i lost like 7 pounds but then over march break i just stopped eating right. and Its pretty hard for me cuz i pretty much hate vegetables and fruuit. and i have practicly only junk food / un healthy food and in the summer i work as an ice cream scopper. I really Really need some tips :(