help

[savingmyface]

ok im 15 and im five foot six. im about 16 stone and i hate it. im size 18 jeans and it really gets me down. i go to a gym but im wondering what i should weigh and what size i should be and how long it would take me to get there. i dont eat much anymore. not like crash dieting, i eat pasta and soup and healthy stuff nothing fatty. NO chocolate or crisps. please help. it makes me soooooo sad.

[pastafreak]

At 5'6"..anything from 9 (skinny ) to 11 st 7 is ok. Have you been TRYING to loose weight???..It may be a good idea to keep a food diary...write down EVERYTHING that you eat.....weigh things if necessary. When you have pasta-a healthy food-how much? A portion should be no more than 80gms DRY weight. Try to fill up on lots of veggies,and have good quality protein.

[Eve]

The best thing you can do is make healthy changes and get the weight off gradually without setting unrealistic short term goals or ending up on faddy diets and such which make you miserable, leave you feeling hungry and deprived and are often doomed to failure and you end up putting the weight back on and end up yo-yoing.

You will be more likely to get into good eating habits and keep the weight off long term.

I joined weightwatchers and it's a great system, I'm sure younger people can join but remember seeing some additional checks or similar to make sure all is ok for them, I guess,as you body hasn't finished developing yet.

It really makes you thing about what you're eating and why and how much and gives you a lot of control.

I haven't felt really hungry or deprived since starting and I now plan ahead and allocate points and fill up meals with healthy things like salad and veggies.

Don't get obsessed with numbers as one size certainly doesn't fit all and just aim to feel comfier in your clothes (which will eventually be smaller clothes) and feel fitter and healthier as a way of life.

Weight is quick to go on and can take a long time to come off so don't worry if you don't see massive results right away, you're normal and it just takes patience.

Could you join up some sports groups or similar? Maybe get a gym session with a trainer to make sure your routine in right for you and balanced with cardio and toning etc... (it's amazing how many people don't do things properly).

Have a chat with your GP too so they can monitor you and make sure there is no other cause for it.

[savingmyface]

thanks. yh ive beeen trying going gym and swimming but i want to do more someone just tell me what to do

[Eve]

Get yourself a support network around you.

You can have people to guide you and support you but the main thing needs to come from you.

Why not make a plan.

See your GP, get a check up and get some advice off them.

Make enquiries about local slimming groups suitable for your age range.

Ask an instructor at your local gym to go over your current programme with you and see if they can suggest any improvements and schedule review sessions every couple of months to see how you are doing and review your routine as necessary.

[joannie10]

I totally agree with everything Jenna says - just take care, continue to exercise and watch your portion size. I recently bought one of those things with circles in it for measuring spaghetti portions and I was eating a portion that was more than enough for two! Also I now use the little uncle ben boil in bag single portions of rice - again I had been eating far too big a portion, just fill up on extra veg. Be careful with fruit too - whilst you can snack on quite big portions of veg you should only have small quantities of fruit although is good to have some in your diet. Good luck, sounds like you are going to be sensible about it and that is one sure way of keeping the weight off.

[Gormless]

Get yourself a pedometer and take long walks, preferably in a quiet area (I use the local cemetery). Load up your iPOD with decent music, or best of all a talking book from the library, and walk walk walk. The pedometer will record how many steps you take, how far you walk, and how many calories you have burned. It is very motivating.

Don't try to hurry things, if for no other reason than continually having to buy smaller clothes gets expensive.

[savingmyface]

where can i get a pedometer from?

[Gormless]

Milletts, Brown's, probably JJ Sports.

I got a Silva Pedometer Plus in Milletts sale for �7-99

Here are a few, you don't need to buy the expensive flashy ones.

[Gormless]

Or indeed here!

http://mydeco.com/shopping/search/pedometers/

[savingmyface]

thanks ill get my mom to get me one

[Gormless]

Well well well, Amazon do pedometers!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_?url=s earch-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=pedometer&x=0 &y=0

Order at Amazon and you'll get it within 2-3 days normally.

[savingmyface]

thanks. ill go to jjb sports tomorrow if my mom gives me the money

[zuzazak]

i wouldn't recommend the pedometer, most skinny people just dont have one. as long as you try to walk everywhere, starting with 20minutes a day and building up to an hour or even 2 or 3 if you have time then you don't need to count the steps. the trick is to find activities that you enjoy.

listen, when i was 15-16 i had eating issues. i am about your height and i weighed over 11stone, which i felt was too much and i developped a very bad attitude to food becasue i was either "watching my weight" or "not watching my weight" which meant stuffing myself. with unhealthy food

i am now in my twenties, weigh just over 9 and a half stone and i think i have developped a healthy relationship with food.

i have got really into cooking with fresh ingredients. proper food - vegetables, wholegrains, fruit and veg, fish, lean meat- makes you feel good and it makes you look good - not only body but it makes your skin and nails and hair nice too. the thing about learning to cook is that you start seeing it for what it is - something that gives you nutrients.

but also don't deny yourself of some chocolate if you fancy some, you don't have to deny yourself to be thin. but instead of a mars bar, eat a small green and blacks. if you like dark chocolate then this is really good for you.

but most of all, don't worry, you are still young so you have time to learn to eat healthily. lots of people that were skinny at your age never get this kind of education and when you get to my age, they start to put on weight and don't know what to do. that is when you will have the advantage if you educate yourslef now about these things.