13 Years Old and Need Weight Advice

Hi Kayla= I am on a weight lose journey myself.It is very hard to not eat quick and easy foods.Chips cookies soda.I guess you have to really want to make a change.I really like apples and carrots.Every time I think about eating chocolate or I want sugar I core an apple and put some raisins and nuts and cinnamon inside, wrap it in foil and bake it.And I put Fat Free Cool Whip on top.It takes care of a sweet tooth and you just ate a serving of fruit and fiber and vitamins and no empty calories from junky food.Drink water every day,and when you think your hungry,drink some water first,wait for 15-20 min and if you still think your hungry,eat a carrot or a handful of baby carrots.Or a 100 cal bag of popcorn and a bottle of water. I hope this helped you. take it one day at a time.Take Care

I think fixating on food often makes things worse. The best thing to do is to learn exactly what is a healthy diet and then try to change your eating habits to meet that. 5 portions of fruit and veg a day is important as is lots of calcium and protein. No food is bad and no food is good and thus none of them should be banned from your diet, you just need to learn the balance of eating them. If you eat way more sweets, chocolate, crisps (chips) etc than you do vegetables and lean meats/meat substitutes, then you have the balance wrong. If every day you eat 3 balanced meals a day and once a week eat a packet of crisps (chips) or a small amount of chocolate, then you have the balance right.

Banning foods from your diet often ends up in binge eating of those banned foods, leaving you feeling like a failure, which in turn makes you depressed which can lead to comfort eating.

Another common problem these days is portion sizes. If you cup your hands together with your fingers overlapping and your thumbs touching to make a ball you have a measure of one portion unit. Main meals should have a 2 portion units of vegetables (in other words 2 times as much veg as you can hold in your cupped hands) 1 portion unit of lean meat/vegetarian meat substitute and 1 portion unit of carbohydrates such as rice, potatoes, pasta etc. This of course is a rough guide, but it really does help to give you an idea if your portions are over sized.

Drink about 1 litre (2 pints) of water a day. Water makes up a huge percentage of our body mass, so keep on drinking it to keep all your body systems balanced and healthy.

The next thing you have to think about is how much do you sit still and how much physical activity do you do every day. Upping your movement in a day burns more calories, helps your body to digest the food you do eat properly and generally increases your bodies health. This doesn't mean you have to go to the gym every day and run yourself into the ground, you just have to stop sitting still so long. Find a form of exercise and movement that you enjoy so it isn't a chore to do. I hula hoop/hoop dance, spin poi and walk or cycle everywhere I go. I love doing all of these activities and they are just part of my life. Playing games of chase with your friends or walking to the park to have a game of football or to just walk to the shops and carry shopping home ups your movements for the day. As long as it's moving about and you have fun doing it, it's all good.

Good luck in getting back to a healthy weight

If I had to loose weight I would;

1. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables (especially raw vegetables)
2. Drink plenty of water (spring or filtered)(not distilled or fluoridated), not soda or juice (except maybe a little natural fruit or vegetable juice added to water)
3. Avoid chemicals and processed foods
4. Eat a couple spoonfuls of coconut oil a day!(raw and natural not hydrogenated or altered in any way) It has helped many people (and animals) lose weight
5. Eat lean meat, eggs, whole grains, raw unsalted nuts and other whole foods in moderation.
6. Exercise some (be active)
7. Eat Chia seeds alot. Mix four teaspoons to 10 oz. of water. Stir occasionally and wait until it starts to thicken up. Chia seeds are healthy and make you feel full.
8. Avoid all types of Sugar and all artificial sweeteners, if you need to sweeten something honey (especially raw honey) and organic unsulphured molasses are best.
9. Get enough sleep at night, so you can be alert in the daytime.

Hi Kayla, in addition to the what others have said, please talk to your parents. They should be able to help you buy the kinds of food that fill you up for less calories than other kinds of food. If you are not in control of buying groceries, you definitely need their help and support. This could be a family lifestyle change that would benefit everyone. I applaud you for wanting better for yourself. Good luck!

Hello,
My best advice to you is drink water instead of juice or pop. This helped me loose a fair bit of weight when I was your age. It's also a good habbit cause usually we don't drink enough water. Take vitamins as well, ie a multi.
Good Luck in grade nine.
Teen years are always rough.

Hello! I'm now a 43 year old stay-at-home mom and I remember being your age and being on a diet - I was on and off lots of diet through my teens and twenties. I have now found that running is my favorite way to keep my weight down without starving! (Although I hated running when I was your age). I highly recommend walking- get an MP3 player and load it with your favorite "happy" songs - and your walk or workout will nourish your spirit as well as your body! See if a parent or friend will walk or workout with you - I let my 10 year old son be my "trainer" and we have situp challenges - he's actually fun to work out with. And like I tell my boys, more fruits & vegetables - less crackers and breaded sweet things! Best of luck to you!

If you have recently gained most of the weight, remember that you might be about to have a growth spurt, in which case all that weight will turn into height! This happened to my sister at age 10, my brother at 12, and me at 14. We got noticeably chubbier for about a year, and then grew a couple inches the next year. If this might be the issue, just keep eating a healthy diet and have patience. Trying to lose weight could cause problems during the growth spurt.

If it's always been an issue, you've gotten some good advice on here already. The ones I would most emphasize are drinking lots of water instead of pop, eating more raw veggies as snacks, starting to walk or do other exercise regularly, and definitely talking to your parents about it, since they are in control of the food that comes into your house. If you can get the whole family on board with any dietary changes, it will make things a lot easier! Even if it's one small thing, like getting them to only buy pop, chips, or cookies on special occasions if they normally buy them every week.

i know how to get in shape because i am 8 and i go to the gym. here are some tings you need to know lift 100pounds go on the tredmill DO NOT EAT JUNK FOOD.
do 100 push ups and you will be ready to kiss some hot 9th graders and have a hot looking wife

You are young. So a good balanced healthy diet and exercise will do it. Take things slowly. And yes cut out the junk food.
Hard but true.

Elle