weight loss woes ...

[Mariammm]

Hey guys I want to lose weight but I'm not exactly sure how to .. I know I have to 'eat healthy and exercise' but it really isnt that easy...
If my mum or grandma cook I cant just say I dont want to eat, thats just rude..
I get home from school at 5ish and I'm usually starving since I havent eaten since 12.30 so I have to wait for dinner before I have the energy to do anything - thats usually 6ish...
Then, you cant exercise after eating, so I have to wait until 7.30 - if I do workout then I get really worn out and I cant study again without sleeping ...
I think you get the gist ... It wasnt always like this, I used to be really fit but last year I went on a pretty extreme diet while studying and working out hard and babysitting, doing chores etc. And naturally, my system collapsed and I got Bell's Palsy - I had paralysis on the left side of my face - and pretty  bad fatigue and my mum was terrified it wouldnt go and my face would be screwed forever and I would develop Chronic Fatigue - but I recovered, thank God...
(just search Bell's palsy on google images and you'll understand how retarded i looked)
I wasnt allowed to engage in physical activity for a long time but I think I'm just about ready to start again - you can understand my mums reluctance though..
So what should I do, I really want to lose weight ...

[aes_999]

If your school has a gym...Come early to school and exercise. Not joking, I did that last year just before school starts (MHS gym FTW) and got fitter. Since you're doing it early at the morning, you won't be sleepy afterwards. But I suppose the hard thing is to wake up early.

[Mariammm]

Thanks guys
Maybe I really should wait until after vce..

[aes_999]

Well, if you want to wait until VCE, that's your choice. But really, I'd suggest that you at least do some exercise per day. Just say, a 15 minute jog per day is even beneficial. Doesn't have to be long, at least you're exercising a bit.

[s.ay]

Okay, so obviously you know the consequences of crash dieting. So I'm not going to tell you how detrimental it is to your health. I don't know what your weight/height is, so of course I can't tell you whether you indeed need to lose weight or not, but I just want you to be careful. I know the exercise and eat healthy thing sounds cliched, but it really is your only option, especially at this stage in your life. You need to take care of your body. It is your power house, it is what will get you through the next two years. So, having said all this, I would recommend eating frequently throughout the day. Sounds odd, I know, but if you manage to eat 5-6 times throughout the day, you will keep your metabolism going, and will remain concentrated and energised. So rather than cutting down, try to focus on the types of food you are consuming. For instance, at breakfast, aim to have wholegrains. Try something like 2 weetbix/2 pieces of toast with some fruit salad and a few spoons of yoghurt. Have a mid morning snack, something like a muesli bar or some vita wheats and low fat cheese. For lunch, have a sandwich with a protein source, and perhaps some fruit/ milk etc . Afternoon snack, try something like a low fat yoghurt, to help boost your energy. Other snacks may be hommus and vegie sticks/rice crackers or nuts and dried fruit etc. 
Sorry for the rant, I hope this makes some sense. I just know where you are coming from, and I dont want you to make the same mistakes I did. I went too far and have paid the price. Remember its good to have chocolate etc. Just try to keep balanced. Make time to go for a walk, do some study then let of some steam by going for a jog around the block. It helps.

And yes, maybe it may be better to wait until after vce. It is one less thing to have to concentrate on. And changing ones intake can definitely affect concentration in general

[Mariammm]

@ e.claire haha, I know the repercussions only too well ...thanks for the advice though .. if a healthy BMI is 18-25 then I'm about 23 but would like to get down to about 19 ...
@ aes_99, I will of course ... I need some exercise to stay healthy and relieve stress etc.

[Mariammm]

I'm sure you do, sorry if I came across as condescending
A 23 sounds perfect, in my opinion. My dietician wishes for me to be 20-23  But it is up to you. You know what the risks are I guess.

Nahh you didnt, I've just been through this cycle so many times .. I'm going to do it right this time - I guess I dont really care about the number as much as self-perception - and i'm not really happy at the moment

[taiga]

Cut down on carbs, and raise good fats and protein in your diet. Just start replacing food like biscuits with low calorie fruits like strawberries, try get into canned tuna (pretty much all protein), and increase your exercise regime.

I don't know much about your condition, but I suspect it may not be conducive with crash dieting, so ideally just try and reduce your current intake by 300-400 calories, and exercise for 30-40 minutes each day every day, and that should start seeing about 2.5-3 kilos lost a month, which really adds on after a while.

If you're looking for greater weight loss rates, you'll need to change your diet and exercise routines drastically. I wouldn't recommend it in high school, I did it myself in cycles over the last year, and have been quite successful though (108kg -> 86kg roughly since june).

[abd123]

Its easier to burn fat around your age as oppose to someone thats a lot older than you. It depends on how much muscle mass your carrying. In your cardio program implement weight training, it will increase your bmr so which will cause a greater fat loss.

females needs as much weight training as males, but the differences are that it would be the diet because males will eat more than females in any sort of diets and females won't gain much muscle size (trust me), monitor your bodyfat percentage as oppose to monitoring BMI. Weight training doesn't help you lose weight it will help you prevent osteoporosis which a lot females experience in their upcoming late 40's and also the great thing weight training is that it will you give that functional strength so it will help you carry a lot more heavy shopping bags and it will help make things easier to utilize anything that's around you.

[tram]

i know where you're coming from, i started out year 12 as well into the overweight category and tbh that really didn't change at all throughout year 12-i found it really hard to get into a routine, i tried and failed a few times to get into an exercise routine, but i would get into the ceebes mentality 1 or 2 weeks in.

Towards the end of last year i started exercising regularly and i've managed to keep it up so far-granted it was in uni so i had much more flexibility with time.

Essentially i advocate two things.

1) just do small things, spend ~15 mins each day doing something active. try either the classic jogging, or if you don't want to leave the house try some body weights stuff (try http://randomabs.com/ or http://hundredpushups.com/) both really good, short daily programs. Body weights is actually a really good way to boosts your metabolism. Ideally a mix of cardio and body weight is best for cutting down.

2) As e.claire said eat frequently, try for a bite of something every two hours, it doesn't have to be big. You'll find you won't be as hungry and will probably be eating about the same amount as usual, just spread out during the day-again good for boosting your metabolism.

I don't profess to be a fitness freak, but this stuff has worked for me. I know what you mean when you say you're not happy, but i guarantee if you follow something like that 100 pushups program, you'll feel a whole lot better, not only will you feel more energised, but actually seeing you being able to achieve something at the end and knowing that you've improved and been able to achieve something is a fantastic feeling.

Good luck with it all, ease into it and don't go for something too big straight away, that's the key to starting an exercise program that will continue and ultimately is the only way to make a sustained difference.

[Mariammm]

@taiga wow, thats a massive weightloss congratulations, yeah canned tuna is really convenient to take to school and I will work on implementing exercise into my daily routine
@tram - i can imagine how hard it would have been in year 12, thats why I want to get into the habit now
@ abd133 How do you calculate bodyfat percentage ?
Thanks guys, i'm feeling motivated already

[HERculina]

Vce is suppose to make you gain weight cause all you do is sleep, study and eat xD but on a serious note, i reckon not eating late will defs make you lose some weight. For example, tell yourself that you can't eat after 9 o'clock, or sleep early so you don't think about being hungry apparently it's better to eat several small quanitity meals than a few big meals. And exercise of course is also very important. Like if you take transport take the long way to school if you're feeling up to it!  I think there are a few sites where you enter your height, age and weight and it calculates your BMI for you

[Mariammm]

@hercules haha,tis true... But I tend to forget to eat if i'm really into studying...
I already know my BMI but abd123 said to focus on body fat percentage instead and I dont know how thats calculated

[tram]

try this,  this is what i use, not sure how accurate it is though, a skin fold test would be more accurate

http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html

[abd123]

Don't buy it, go to your local gym, every gym has a caliper and ask the gym owners, co owners, people whom work they are. To do it for you.

They will calculate your bodyfat.

Now if your over 28 % bodyfat, try to lower it to between 18-22% it should be a healthy range for you.