Weight Loss

I'm slightly overweight; I'm 5 feet even and weigh close to 100 pounds. But I don't eat badly at all. I try to eat as healthy as I can; I make ham sandwiches, I eat lots of berries and vegetables, and I love to run, go swimming, and go biking. I try to do that as much as I can, but I feel like I'm not losing any weight. However, there are so many other girls who are shorter than me, eat terribly, don't play sports, and are twigs.

I would rather be a twig than be overweight. Simple as that. Although I may not be in shape, it won't be as hard because I wouldn't be as insecure about myself.

@ lila hyde.
Five feet and close to one hundred pounds is actually pretty good.
---
I used to be around 5'4 and weighed 144.

I'm now 5'7 and around 130, so I'm about average weight now. I want to lose more, but my bulky Scandinavian frame could actually gain more. So now I'm going to try to eat mostly fruits and vegetables, and I already try to get exercise.

You just need to eat the same and exercise more. No diets, no pills, just work for it.

I need serious help losing weight but I don't know how and sometimes I think my body digests food a little off. It's hard to explain so I'll just summarize my story.

I've always been much heavier than I look and when I was a young, slim nine year old I was 120 lbs, I shit you not. Each year since then I've gained ten pounds. I'm almost 18, so you do the math. I was in good shape until 9th grade where I ate fries everyday, adding onto my ten lbs (164). Then over the summer, going into 10th grade, I started exercising then over the course of about a week or two, I gained thirteen lbs in muscle weight (177). Throughout my whole 10th grade year my diet was good and at the end I lost seven pounds, then began maintaining the weight of 170. Then throughout the summer of that year, I lost a couple pounds because I wasn't exercising (167) then I started gaining fat weight. I soon became somewhere around 180. I can't tell you what my diet was like but I'm sure it wasn't good. By the end of 11th grade year, I was about 185. During the summer I maintained that weight and throughout this year I gained ten more pounds. Now I'm somewhere around 197. Although I look more around 177, my fat is not suitable to me. I don't care about my weight because I've always been heavy, but it's the fat that I find really hard to lose. Since 9th grade I've went up three pant sizes and gained ten inches around my waist. My breasts got bigger too, but that isn't what bothers me so much. It's the stomach, back, and inner thigh fat. However, it would be nice for me to loose forty pounds because that's where I was healthy.

I guess what I want to know is if anyone else has these problems because I find it really hard to come up with a diet regimen and stick to it because my parents are crazy and think that just exercising will help me lose weight (even though I've clearly been exercising throughout all those years through sports. I think they're delusional). They are also stubborn as hell. So they keep buying horrible things that scream "Gain weight now!". I want to be a size nine pant again, and a have a 25 inch waist again. Don't want my back fold, and my ass looking flatter because the other fat is catching up to it. Does anyone have any diet plan or healthy recipes to help me lose weight because I love to cook and I will soon be moving out so I'll be able to keep horrible food away? And does anyone know any exercises solely for back fat?

@ Ayana Sioux
At the start you said ' need serious help gaining weight' and at the end you said ' Does anyone have any diet plan or healthy recipes to help me lose weight'

@ Agathokakological..
Hahahaha, thanks for pointing that out. My mistake. I had a thought then changed it halfway through, if that makes any since. At first I was going to say "I have a serious problem with gaining weight". Whatever.

@ Ayana Sioux
It looks like we're almost in the same boat. I'm looking to lose the weight I gained after a pregnancy and exercise alone hasn't ever helped me lose weight in the past (when I merely had gained a few unwanted pounds). The dieting part of the question is fairly simple: When it comes down to it, it's all about eliminating foods that are high in fat (chips, fast food, candy, etc.) and replacing them with healthier alternatives (think fruits and veggies to the max).

Don't forget that's it's essential that you space out meals. Don't binge and eat large meals twice a day.. Eat several smaller meals throughout the day. It really helps cancel cravings, keeps you full, and boosts metabolism.

For recipes, I'd be on the look-out for meals that have a good balance in the necessary food groups. There are a lot of magazines/websites that offer great meal plans that are both delicious and healthy. I'd recommend simply googling "recipes for healthy eating". A lot of websites will give you calorie counts and everything you need. For example, I know the food network website has great healthy recipes.

For exercises that focus on eliminating back fat, chin-ups and weight lifting work wonders, from past experience for me. Also, this website seems to be offering some good, at-home exercises.

Best of luck on your weight-loss journey! With a healthier diet and regular exercise, I'm sure you will get the results you're looking for. Plus, since I'll be working on losing weight as well, I'm always a PM away if you ever want to talk and swap experiences/tips!

@ hail to the thief.
Cool thanks. I'll keep that in mind. =)

Ayana Sioux:

I need serious help losing weight but I don't know how and sometimes I think my body digests food a little off. It's hard to explain so I'll just summarize my story.

I've always been much heavier than I look and when I was a young, slim nine year old I was 120 lbs, I shit you not. Each year since then I've gained ten pounds. I'm almost 18, so you do the math. I was in good shape until 9th grade where I ate fries everyday, adding onto my ten lbs (164). Then over the summer, going into 10th grade, I started exercising then over the course of about a week or two, I gained thirteen lbs in muscle weight (177). Throughout my whole 10th grade year my diet was good and at the end I lost seven pounds, then began maintaining the weight of 170. Then throughout the summer of that year, I lost a couple pounds because I wasn't exercising (167) then I started gaining fat weight. I soon became somewhere around 180. I can't tell you what my diet was like but I'm sure it wasn't good. By the end of 11th grade year, I was about 185. During the summer I maintained that weight and throughout this year I gained ten more pounds. Now I'm somewhere around 197. Although I look more around 177, my fat is not suitable to me. I don't care about my weight because I've always been heavy, but it's the fat that I find really hard to lose. Since 9th grade I've went up three pant sizes and gained ten inches around my waist. My breasts got bigger too, but that isn't what bothers me so much. It's the stomach, back, and inner thigh fat. However, it would be nice for me to loose forty pounds because that's where I was healthy.

I guess what I want to know is if anyone else has these problems because I find it really hard to come up with a diet regimen and stick to it because my parents are crazy and think that just exercising will help me lose weight (even though I've clearly been exercising throughout all those years through sports. I think they're delusional). They are also stubborn as hell. So they keep buying horrible things that scream "Gain weight now!". I want to be a size nine pant again, and a have a 25 inch waist again. Don't want my back fold, and my ass looking flatter because the other fat is catching up to it. Does anyone have any diet plan or healthy recipes to help me lose weight because I love to cook and I will soon be moving out so I'll be able to keep horrible food away? And does anyone know any exercises solely for back fat?

When you move out on your own, it will be a lot easier. Don't go grocery shopping when you're hungry and make yourself stick to a list. If you only have healthy food in your house/apartment, you'll have no choice but to eat it, and if you're a good cook, hopefully you'll find recipes you like so it won't seem like a "diet" anymore, but just simply eating right. I love cooking too, and I find most of my recipes right off of google. Usually I just google something like "healthy recipes" or "low fat recipes" and try to find a healthy eating blog I can skim through with ideas. I like to pick a couple new recipes to try out each week before I go grocery shopping, so I have everything I need to make them.

I hate diets, you can never stick to them and they don't work. When I became a vegetarian, that was pretty well when I got my diet sorted out and balanced food really well. I'm not a vegetarian anymore (I eat fish mostly) but it was good practice and made me realize all the different ways you can get protein without all the fat of meat.

hail to the thiefs small mini meal advice is spot on too. That was the most awkward thing for me, because I'm a full time student and remembering to pack snacks to eat throughout the day was weird at first, but now it's like second nature. And eating little things throughout the day gives you so much more energy too. If you like exercising it can only help with that.

Something else that helped me was making a Pinterest "inspiration board" with workout ideas and healthy recipes. I got married this summer and wanted to lose weight, and having a go to place online with an organized list of all my fitness related things really helped.

@ Kurtni
Thanks for the help. You're the second person to recommend the mini meal. I'll have to remember it better than I did before.

I used to be way tiny--5'5" and 89lb. Ever since I started drinking heavily again last summer though, I've put on a decent amount of weight. The job I have now also isn't as physically demanding as the one I used to have, so that's played a big role. I've decided to do a vegetarian diet for the remainder of the summer though, to help me get back down to the 89lb - 95lb range, because that's when I look and feel my best. Some other things I'm going to do to help me get there are:
- Reduce my dairy intake drastically.
- Drink only black coffee like I used to (I love black coffee, but for some reason I've gotten really in to those super high-fat/high-sugar creamers recently)
- Start drinking tons of water again like I used to
- Quit eating even when I'm not hungry just because my friends are eating
- No eating after around 8pm
- START DOING YOGA AND KICK-BOXING AGAIN!!!
- Eating smaller portions and measuring out my portions
- No more second helpings
- Cut back on alcohol like, a lot (this is going to be the hard one )

I'm hoping to have the 10 - 15 pounds I've put on shed by the end of the summer. I know I can stick to the rules I've set up for myself because it's basically exactly the way I ate and took care of myself last year, so it's nothing crazy or unusual for me. I just got lazy lmao. I know I can do it, though. :)

I managed to drop from a UK size 14 (almost 16) to a UK size 8 (basically you can say that I went from XL to S). It was terribly difficult, seeing as I'm a chocoholic.

What I can suggest, about controlling a sweet tooth is this; whenever a craving hits, try eating sweet healthy fruits. For example; fresh blackberries are very very sweet, and apples (not the red ones, the yellow ones) are also sweet. You can also try chewing on a piece of low calorie/sugar-free gum whenever you have a particularly bad craving (although I don't quite like this one tip; I rather believe a lot in natural sweetness). If you like crunchy foods, you can also try eating slices of raw bell peppers (my favourites are orange and yellow, sometimes red). They're very low in calories, high in anti-oxidants (anti-cancer chemicals) and tasty (a least I like it; I don't know about other people).

I also need help; lately I'm developing this carb-crave. I'm really really craving foods like bread and biscuits. Any ideas how I can stop myself from over-eating these kinds of foods?

@ xBelekinax
I feel your pain. While I hate sweet foods for the most part, I looove me some carbs. My best tip is, rather than trying to avoid carbs altogether, go for foods that have complex carbs, such as oatmeal (the kind you cook on the stove, not the sugary packaged shit), wild or brown rice, grapefruit, nuts, and many types of vegetables, including cucumbers, carrots, and artichokes. And don't be afraid of bread--just make sure it's whole wheat or, my personal favorite, multi-grain. Complex carbs will fill you up faster and keep you full for a long time. Also, make sure to eat very slowly (it takes your brain about 20 minutes to realize your stomach is full) and drink water in-between every bite. This will fill you up faster and you'll end up eating a lot less.

Also, I know a lot of people hate oatmeal, but I absolutely love it when cooked well, so since I mentioned it, I thought I'd share this recipe, which I make quite frequently:
1. Cook about 1/2 cup - 1 cup (dry) quick-cooking oats on the stove
2. Once cooked, sprinkle in just a little bit of brown sugar
3. Since spices have no calories, add in as much cinnamon and/or nutmeg as you'd like
4. Stir in fresh banana slices and blueberries
5. Top it off with a tiny splash of skim milk

And voila! A sorta sweet, sorta savory, and all-around delicious meal that's super-easy to make and will fill you up very nicely. :)

Also, if you're an ice cream lover, I highly recommend the brand Arctic Zero. You won't find it in your average grocery store, but you should be able to find it in most health food stores (I buy it at Vitamin Cottage). It's vegan, organic, dairy-free, and gluten-free ice cream made from soy milk and it is TO DIE FOR. Seriously, it's sooo good, very filling. I actually prefer it over regular ice cream because the texture is much creamier and the taste is stronger, so it's overall a lot more satisfying. The best part? The entire pint is only 150 calories! For the ENTIRE PINT. A 1/4 cup serving is about 35 calories. It is an absolute must-have, and it's comparable in price to brands like Ben & Jerry's, etc.

Hope I helped you out at least a teensy bit. :)

@ chai latte
well that was simply wonderful! Thanks for the advice; I'll definitely try them out ;) Especially that oatmeal recipe. The thing about ice cream is that in Malta I doubt if I'll even be able to find it:/. Over here we have local brands like Mezzan, Smiles etc etc. The closest I'll be able to get is European brands; such as the Italian Valsoia. I'll most definitely shop around though, this heat in the summer is killing me and keeping away from ice cream is proving to be really tough. Thanks again!!

@ xBelekinax
Any time! I'm a total health/nutrition nut so if you ever need any help, I'm here. :) Ahh, well I'm sure you'd be able to find something comparable to Arctic Zero if you spent some time checking around in health food stores. And you can also order it online, if that would be an option for you. Also, don't forget about frozen yogurt! That's a fantastic ice cream substitute.

But yeah, you're very welcome. :)

@ chai latte
frozen yoghurt! gosh, how could i have forgotten about that! It was mt savior during the 2 years hard dieting. Thanks again!! (And if you need help about health issues etc etc, you can ask ;) I'm about to start studying to become a doctor and spent most of my childhood around doctors).Thanks again!!!

I'm 5'4 and 107lb, which is technically a good weight but thanks to my Banana body shape I'm doomed.

I have a sweet tooth and I'm in the habit of eating everything that's under my daily calorie limit. I still lose weight however, but it means I'm probably obese inside c':

For anyone trying to lose weight I highly suggest MyFitnessPal; my username is Anat0my, (0 as in the number, god I feel like a scene kid with it like that) feel free to add me <3

Here's my weight loss story.

I was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthirtis last year, because of my bloodwork, age, and other factors my doctor told me that this was going to be a life long illness. At the time I weighed 240 pounds and was 5'10", which was 75 pounds overweight...obese. With my arthritis, my doctor told me that weight loss was something I seriously needed to consider because the extra weight isn't good on even the healthiest of joints...which mine weren't. So I set off to loss some poundage.

Starting Stats:
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 240lbs
Pant Size: 20
Shirt Size: XXL

To lose weight, I began walking first to get into the habit. Walking was really the only exercise my doctor was okay with due to the swelling off my joints, and it's an easy way to burn calories since almost everyone can do it. I started with 10 minutes a day and worked my way up to 60min a day, it was very low impact, just taking a stroll type walking, but it was exercise. Two weeks later I started my "diet", because of my height and weight I was told to eat at least 1400 calories, but no more than 1800. I ate three normal sized meals a day and three small snacks.

Ending Stats:
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 190lbs
Pant Size: 14
Shirt Size: M

Total Weight lost: 50lbs

It's been about six months and I've kept everything off since everything I did was extremely easy to keep up. I'm a senor now and weigh less than I did in 6th grade!

^
That is really awesome for you. I'm glad you were able to make such drastic healthy changes to your body with such a low-impact, healthy system. That's really great. and you make an excellent point that it's an easy regiment to keep up with.

I agree I am in serious need to lose some weight. After I had my son I was fine I went back ti normal, then I got on the depo shot and once I got off I started to gain weight fast. I'm thinking of getting the game zumba fitness rush.