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Hello Fizzynut100,
Weight and BMI are ballpark figures. They have nothing to do with body composition. Body composition is why someone might look ok in clothes but saggy, skinny and not so great in a bathing suit or naked because they are all fat, bones and skin (skinny-fat) . Body composition is also why a very fit muscular person will often register as overweight or even obese (they will usually look great because they have good muscle, fat and are healthier. Going under 1200 cals a day for any reason is a great way to end up skinny fat as well as sick. Under 1200 cals a day you're just losing muscle anyway.
There are different ways of measuring your body composition and the best in order are DEXA (DXA) scans; bod pods; underwater weighing, measuring tape and scale. Fat "calipers" are frequently not used properly so are not helpful, hand held devices, scales that claim to tell you your body composition are useless for anything more than to see how hydrated you are.
In your case I think for baseline measurements only (you won't be able to see how far you've come if you don't know where you started) 1st thing in the a.m. after you go to the restroom but before you eat/ drink weigh in (use a digital scale with a decimal point). Take a tape measure and measure your left and right biceps (unflexed) your chest (where bra strap would be not over breasts), your natural waist (where your waist goes in a little, probably a little above your belly button), your hips (butt), left thigh, right thigh. Don't weigh in more than once a week at the same time/day. Don't measure more than twice a month. Expect your weight to plateau for a week due to hormonal changes, change nothing during or after that week in your diet or workout- it is not your true weight. It helps to take photos of yourself front, back left side, right side at the start and when you do your tape measuring. **This is because eventually you will reach a point where the scale and BMI may tell you, you are "too fat" but you are not. Your body composition may have changed to more muscle and the pictures will show that along with how your clothes fit. Other people may also notice the change. I weighed about 30 pounds more than in high school when I reached this point- in high school everyone called me fat. Although I weighed more, when I changed my body composition by eating right, and working out instead of dieting and feeding an eating disorder everyone thought I was almost too "small".
Back to your improvement in health/fitness (rather than focusing on weight). Back when you played soccer and sports you were good. You need to get back into playing sports. If you're out of school see if you can join an adult team, local city parks and rec often have sports teams. If you're going to a local college often they might let you join their intermural or other sports groups now. I think sports are better for you than a gym because you sound like you enjoyed them. I'm not sure what else you like to do for activities but joining a running group would be good, joining a CrossFit gym would be good because they focus more on body composition than simple weight loss (aka the scale as God).
In short for now just get a baseline, weight tape measurements, photos (unless you are able to get a DXA), and focus on body composition over weight and BMI. Then get out there and start being active. Worry about improving the diet (in terms of nutrition) later on. You probably dont' need to worry about calories yet and probably won't have to in the future if you stay active.
You got this!
NG
Quote:
Originally Posted by fizzynut100
Hi, I am a 17 year old female and I've had a tough time with controlling my weight. I peaked in weight in 6th grade when I was about 5 feet tall and weighed 190 pounds. I started playing sports in middle school (soccer mostly) and I continued until I was 15. I lost 35 pounds by playing soccer, and I didn't consciously change my diet. At this point, I weighed 155 pounds and was about 5'3" (which is overweight. The line between normal weight and overweight for my height is about 140 pounds). I stopped playing soccer, and plateaued at 155, so after a few months I decided to diet to get down to a healthy weight (big mistake). I started counting calories and exercising sporadically, and I lost 25 pounds in about six months.
However, looking back, dieting was a horrible idea. I was very restrictive, maxing out at 1,200 calories a day or less for six months straight. I was having dizzy spells, very lethargic, I passed out, and there were other physical ramifications as well. Due to restricting my diet, I started binge eating (where I would compulsively eat 3,00-6,000 calories within a 1 to 2 hour period of time). To compensate I would restrict the next day, eating between 400 and 600 calories. This led to a cycle where my binge eating got worse and I began to put the weight back on. Now, 1.5 years later, I weigh 172 pounds (obese) and am still 5'3".
I would have been better off not dieting. I don't know what to do. I've pretty much stopped gaining weight at this point, but I don't know how to lose weight the right way. If I restrict I'll start binging again, and I don't really know how to just eat normally anymore. I've also pretty much completely stopped exercising. I've only been at a normal body weight for about two months out of my entire adolescence (after I dieted). I'm at a loss. I feel like every new approach I take to this I fail at. Please help me get back on track to getting to a healthy body weight. I especially want to start losing weight again because I'll be starting college in about sixth months. Thank you for your help and advice.
I was never fat but did put on maybe a stone with overeating.. and doesnt suit me at all. Im short so it shows quickly , I used to do the crash diet thing to get it off quickly and it worked but all I thought about was food as my body was craving all the time.. small portions didnt satisfy me. so now much older I decided to lose a stone and a half but this time Ive did it the right way.. Ive cut out potatoes, biscuits, sweets, cakes, french fries, big dinners, cheese and some other foods.. what I love is bread so I must have that, I see it as my sin or my only pleasure haha... I eat very low fat natural yogurt poured over a big apple with a little honey on top... delicious and filling.. I have Toast with either tuna, low fat cottage cheese or beans with the sauce run off first... or one egg scrambled on toast... I have two slices of bread with one of these as its filling and I never feel hungry... If I use butter its low fat and minimal.. or none at all..in three months Ive lost well over a stone.. As a treat I have a medium baked potato with tuna and cottage cheese, tastes fantastic... not had a biscuit and only one piece of birthday cake in three months.. and the reason Im managing to keep off sweet things is very low fat drinking chocolate that I have once a day when I feel in the mood for something sweet.. does the trick.. at my age I cant lose a lot of weight as it shows on the face too much , For years I was eight stones or just over eight.. but Ill never see that again... 9 and a half stones and Ill be more than happy...
A 17 year old should not be dieting. Try living healthy instead. Sugar and highly refined carbs cause type 2 diabetes and tooth decay. Lack of green vegetables has been linked to digestive system diseases including cancer. Lack of exercise increases chances of getting type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and more even if you're not overweight.
So, find an activity you enjoy and get 40 to 60 minutes of exercise 4 times a week or more. Team sports can be difficult to schedule once we're out of school. If scheduling is a problem, try something you can join in whenever you want, like jujitsu, krav maga, etc. My main exercise is just walking. I get out and walk to the store for an onion or to Walgreens or wherever else is comfortable for you. Biking is a good single participant exercise, too. Just find something.
Limit the sugar and highly refined carbs. For carbs eat 100% whole grains, preferably home cooked like faro, groats, black or brown rice, barley, beans, etc. Eat sugar and refined carbs only as an occasional treat a couple times a month and even then eat reasonable portions. Schedule those treat meals for times you will be out with friends and you know a meal will be part of it.
Eat plenty of lean protein, green vegetables (you can have a tsp or two of butter or olive oil or avocado oil or any oil on your veggies, and a small amount goes a long way), and fresh fruits every day. No dried fruit or juice. It's too easy to eat too much.
Combination of some form of regular exercise to boost the metabolism and smart eating. If you've struggled with weight your whole life there's a genetic component that makes it more difficult (just ask my wife). I find full-on diets can be a dangerous thing due to calorie deficits and other health things. Cutting out or down on things like fried foods, soda, things you know are deemed unhealthy is a start. Don't try to do it all at once. You need to make a lifestyle change and buy what you're selling. It's a process.
It might be helpful to have a "cheat meal", where you eat something that you really enjoy, once per week. This will help with the bingeing, trust me on that one.
Some may disagree but in my opinion labeling your meals as "Cheat meals" is never a good idea. If you want to eat something just eat it and move on with your life. Don't dwell on it. Explore relatively healthy meal options that you enjoy eating on a regular basis and everything will become very simple..and again if you want to throw pizza & ice cream into the mix every once in a while just do it- Don't call it a cheat meal..just eat it and move on.
Some may disagree but in my opinion labeling your meals as "Cheat meals" is never a good idea. If you want to eat something just eat it and move on with your life. Don't dwell on it. Explore relatively healthy meal options that you enjoy eating on a regular basis and everything will become very simple..and again if you want to throw pizza & ice cream into the mix every once in a while just do it- Don't call it a cheat meal..just eat it and move on.
Eh it's just a term that stuck, that's all. It holds no real meaning. I feel no guilt and I've done it weekly for a year. It's helped my weight loss immensely.
The best thing you could do for yourself is to eliminate ALL animal foods and go completely plant-based, but it most be whole foods (not processed) or as few processed foods as possible.
I'm an older woman whose weight peaked at around 170lbs., which at 5'1" was a lot, especially considering that I'd been very slim most of my life and underweight up to age 18. In the past I'd counted calories quite effectively but always felt deprived, and a time came when I couldn't make myself do it again so I tried Atkins and the first time it worked so efficiently that I lost all I needed during induction but at least for me it was very difficult to keep up because I always craved sugar or starches. Still, I would periodically try it again but it never worked the same and eventually not at all, turns out I developed hypothyroidism and later I learned low-carb diets can cause this. Can't say for sure that's what happened with me but it certainly didn't help. However, for years I was still convinced low-carb was the "only thing" that worked for me and when I heard of carb-cycling I did my own version of it with fairly good results at first, then I stalled and became unable to lose at all. Eating normally just caused me to gradually gain more weight and in early 2015 I tried carb-cycling again and stalled after 3 measly pounds that I quickly gained back.
I thought nothing was going to work for me because I had a very good appetite and tend to overeat, so I felt very depressed when I noticed I'd gained a few more pounds. Then at the end of the year because I was having serious gall bladder symptoms I ate a couple of all veggie meals and felt relief. Coincidentally, someone I knew was doing a 30-day vegan challenge and I decided to give it a try but just one day at a time. With the help of the internet I found lots of recipes and ideas and soon had a number of dishes I really enjoyed and it became easy for me to do. In the meantime, I began watching videos about plant-based diets on YT and saw that some people said they'd lost weight easily that way. I did a Google search and found more testimonies so I began hoping that would work for me. Then I began feeling like I'd lost a little weight and weighed myself, by then I estimated I'd lost 4-5 lbs. and each week I lost 1-2 lbs. while not even trying, but then the weight loss slowed down so I tried Intermittent Fasting but after a couple of weeks I stopped losing altogether after about 20 lbs. but I was very grateful to lose those because I could fit again into most of my tops.
It took a while for me to realize I'd stopped losing due to my liver, I'd had slow liver function for years, so I began taking a milk thistle supplement I'd been taking when my weight loss began and I lost another couple of pounds. But then I sabotaged myself by going back to eating wheat products, mostly bread and crackers, and I'm really wheat intolerant. I'm sure that causes me to gain back several pounds but I had stopped weighing myself. I finally stopped near the end of April and last month that I'd lost 3 lbs. from my previous weight, so I'm optimistic about losing more as time goes by.
BUT since you are so young I'm sure the weight would melt off of you really fast and you'd never have to be hungry or count calories, eating low-fat and low-sugar is all you'd have to be concerned about, and maybe not at all, when I first changed my diet I ate peanut butter sandwiches often and made baked desserts that contained sugar and coconut oil and still lost weight. Besides, nowadays there are so many tasty "vegan" food options that you don't even have to miss animal foods. If you need help learning about this diet I could recommend some vegan channels for you that show how to prepare some easy and cheap but nutritious meals. Eating this way is not only healthier but it's also good for the poor animals that get tortured and abused and for the environment as well because too many natural resources are consumed to produce the animal foods we consume, and not to mention the problem of pollution animal waste causes.
I hope you will really consider this and that you'll come back in a few weeks telling me how it's working for you. Best wishes!
Some may disagree but in my opinion labeling your meals as "Cheat meals" is never a good idea. If you want to eat something just eat it and move on with your life. Don't dwell on it. Explore relatively healthy meal options that you enjoy eating on a regular basis and everything will become very simple..and again if you want to throw pizza & ice cream into the mix every once in a while just do it- Don't call it a cheat meal..just eat it and move on.
I have the same problem with the term reward meal. What? We're going to reward good behavior with food? Isn't that attitude a big part of what got us into this predicament in the first place? Find something else to reward yourself with.
I prefer the word treats. It doesn't have any negative connotations, it is what it is. An occasional treat that you eat just because. You don't have to do anything to "deserve" it. It's just a way of eating healthily, not completely cutting out food groups but instead limiting how often we eat things that are not the best nutrition or which contain things that in larger quantities aren't good for our health.
Sorry to be so blunt, but who really cares about terminology? I sure don't. "Cheat day" is a term that's stuck with me for whatever reason and I'll call it as I wish. I don't attach any sort of real meaning to it and even if I subliminally did, it's had zero effect on my overall loss or maintenance.
My style of eating works for me and I tell people about it if it helps them. I don't eat "occasional treats". I eat treats every week. In fact, I eat treats daily. Anyone who's been on this board regularly knows that I don't cut out food groups and I certainly don't need a food or diet related lecture. I'm quite aware about the psychological aspect of weight loss and food relationships.
The best thing you could do for yourself is to eliminate ALL animal foods and go completely plant-based,
Depends on who you ask. If you ask me that is one of the WORST things you could do.
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