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Sat 29 Apr, 2006 04:58 pm
ok so um. i'm 17 years old i'll be 18 in a couple months and i'm currently 5'3 and a quarter (us short people like our extra half inch or so lol) and i weigh about 180. obesity runs in my family both my parents are over weight as are half my aunts and uncles grandparents ect. i have tried alot of different things go lose weight. and none seem to work or work for long. i've even tried those "48 hour holly wood diets" the GNC " release" and some other things. my parents own alot of exercise equipment but because of my life style i'm not usually home to use it. i'm always working and doing school. i don't even go out with my friend anymore. as far as anything else goes. neither of my parents are in good health and nor am i. i have alot of stress and i've been told that stress usually helps you get RID of extra weight. well not in my case. i probably eat once or twice a day. and i don't sleep much if i sleep at all. i'm a very picky eater at that. and no i don't do junk food or fast food. thats just disgusting. but my last check up for doctors he told me i'm over weight and they gave me a nutritionist but she didn't help. so we've dropped that issue. but its the fact that i have low self esteem because i'm fat. i'm just wondering if anyone has any sugesstions as to losing weight. school is in a couple months from now and i don't want to go back looking how i do. i'm not doing this for others i'm doing it for me. i just want to look how i used to. i had a depression thing almost 9 years ago when my best friend died ( May 8th) and because of that time i had done nothing but eat...now i know that was a mistake but being 8 years old at the time i didn't know any better. i was once pretty i thought. now i can't stand to look in a mirror and i usually don't. i just need someone's opinion on what i CAN do that the doctor won't help me with.
The only generally effective weightloss regime not injurious to health involves both rigorously adhering to proper nutrition and diligently following a regular, well defined excersize routine. If you don't make time for it, you'll never have time for it, and if you never have time for it, you'll never get there. Weigh your priorities and make your choice; the consequences will follow naturally.
Come on over to this thread
A2K Weight loss Thread
Joe(eat less, exercise more)Nation
check out this thread:
Teen Diet Advice Thread
The first 5 or so pages will give you some good advice.
Stress does NOT rid you of extra weight. I causes it.
First you need to realize that your weight does not define you. You might not like the way you look on the outside but that doesn't mean you have to hate the way you are inside. Easier said than done, I know.
The only way to safely lose weight and keep it off is changing your lifestyle. Buren more calories than you eat and you will lose the weight. This does NOT mean starve youself. Starving yourself will cause weight loss but is doesn't stay because starving yourself causes your body to go into starvation mode. You will put the weight back on.
Start small. Cut out soda. Don't eat after 7. Walk just a little more than you normally do. When you start to feel better, you'll want to do more. You are probably in that vicious cycle of not feeling good so you just don't want to do anything about it. When you start to feel better, you'll want to do more to feel even better.
This is a tough thing but you've already taken the first step and that is realizing that you have an issue you need to deal with.
Good luck.
Good advice all around.
You are old enough to take some control over your life, over what you eat and drink, and whether you get exercise.
Control over eating means making better choices. It means skipping unhealty food and going for something better. It means cooking instead of eating out, if you can (restaurant meals are usually really, really bad. Even a fatty method of cooking is often better than a restaurant meal). It means reading food labels when shopping. If you don't shop or cook, talk to whoever in your home does. Explain that you want to lose weight, safely and slowly. You want to make changes but not bowl everyone over with the changes. Work to help plan shopping lists and menus, so that skim or 1% milk is bought instead of whole, for example.
Try to eat more vegetarian. Cheese is an issue, so watch out for that, but otherwise it tends to be better for you if you substitute veg burgers for beef ones, or salads for heavy stews, etc. Even if you only do this a few times a week, just make a point off having a more salad-y meal or a more veggie meal or two. Since the weather is improving, it's easier to eat lighter.
Eat more meals, but make them smaller ones. Grab a bunch of carrot sticks and eat them at 10 AM, between breakfast and lunch. You can do this at work as carrot sticks don't make crumbs and don't have any sauce that can get on your clothes. At 3 PM, do the same, only this time with celery sticks or an apple. At 8 PM, do the same, this time with a cup of lowfat yogurt or an orange or half a grapefruit.
Try to get out more. This is going to probably mean more on the weekends because of your schedule. Or try parking farther away from entrances, or take the bus or subway one stop farther away. Or use the stairs instead of the elevator. Even one flight is helpful. Heavy cleaning is also exercise, so get out the vacuum cleaner or start washing windows. TV (I know you did not mention it as a problem, but it is a problem for a lot of people) is a place where most people sit around and snack, snack, snack. So, make viewing choices. Instead of watching three hours per night, watch two and a half, and spend the other half hour using some of those wonderful exercise machines in your home. You can look at a magazine while using a treadmill or exercise bike, or wear headphones.
Also, make some non-TV, non-eating time for yourself, as it sounds like you have a very busy schedule. Sit on the front steps and people watch. Paint. Call a friend. Go to the park. Read a book. There are a lot of things out there that are not food or TV.
And, finally, you might want to consider counseling, as you say so yourself, you have stress and you have had a major stressor in your life (the death of your friend). Therapy does not solve every single problem out there, but it cannot hurt to get proper treatment. This does not necessarily mean medication -- it may simply be talking -- but at least it will help with the stress.
i've not only had that death in my family. last year in june my uncle was murdered. and then a month later my aunt was murdered those 2 aren't related and then my mom had a heartattack in august, she spent 2 weeks in the hospital and my dad was with her the entire time leaving me to cook and clean and do laundry and make sure my brother and sister were ready for school and run 3 family businesses. granted i'm homeschooled for medical issues. i have kidney failure, kidney stones, gull bladder issues, a stomach bacteria called H-pylori or helix pyloric H (probably spelt that wrong) i have high blood pressure to. after my moms heartattack in august my family went out to dinner for the first time the entire year. my dad had some peanuts and 2 days later was rushed to the hospital with diratictulitus and he spent a total of a month in there. he had emergency surgery and now has a colonstomy bag. his colon exploded in his body and caused parentinitus(fecial poinsioning of the body)infectious disease was involved and everything. his heart stopped 4 times and he was brought back. he went in 4 days before thanks giving till the day before christmas last year. my mom during that time had kinda lost it and was seen more as a child then an adult. and i was again left to run everything. my life isn't easy but i'm always busy and i hardly eat or sleep. i DO spend alot of time online talking with internet friends. my dad has to go back in the hospital to attempt and remove his colostomy bag but he has a 50-50 chance of comming out. theres a main artery where they have to work and the doctor has specified if its nicked he has 20 minutes to live and theres nothing they can do to stop it. we wouldn't even see him. they'd just come out and give us bad news my family has extremely bad luck and i'm my mothers 6 child. all of my older siblings never made it full term accept for one and he had heart problems.
things don't get easier for me and its hard to talk about but talking does kinda help. if only i had someone to talk to. i don't have the money for a doctor to help with talking. i have enough going on. my mom as it sits right now possibly has cancer in her uterus and might need surgery for a historectomy....i know all this sounds crazy but honest to God its the truth.
and as of right now i haven't slept in 3 days. and i've only eaten yesterday, and i actually did exorcize a bit. i just don't have time. and i'm a very picky eater...
i don't think theres any hope for me...
Well, you've mentioned a couple times that you don't overeat--as a matter of fact, you hardly eat at all. You've probably slowed your metabolism waaaaay down, so now your body is in starvation mode and is storing absolutely every little morsel it can get as fat.
So you MUST start eating more-- but be sure it's good stuff, and do try to get a lot of veggies in there. The fiber in vegetables and grains is more filling than animal foods, so you can eat a little and feel full. This way you can eat a bunch of small meals a day and not feel hungry between. Try for five small meals a day. I know that's hard when you work and have school, but try to carry a couple pieces of fruit, a baggie of sliced up veggies, a half sandwich on whole-grain bread, and that kind of thing with you. Grab a bite between classes, on your break, etc.
Also, Bella is of course correct that eating late isn't the best thing, and I don't mean to contradict her, but sometimes when you work and have school, you just can't help it. New studies have shown it isn't a big deal to eat a little later like they used to think it was, anyway. If you get home late and realize you've barely eaten all day (that happens to me pretty often) you're better off eating a little something light (no fatty stuff like cheese, meat, etc) than going to bed without eating enough all day.
My two top recommendations are to keep a food journal (and pay attention to serving sizes, too), and make time for some exercise. Research has found that people who write down what they eat tend to do better at losing weight than people who don't, so do try that at least for a while. And the exercise thing-- you've GOT to fit it in somewhere, even if it's just ten minutes a day at first. Seriously, you DO have ten minutes once or twice a day, don't you? If your parents have a lot of equipment, that's great! Jump on a treadmill just for a few minutes. Even tell yourself it can just be two minutes, but you have to start getting in the habit of getting on there and doing it.
BammyBaby--
Welcome to A2K.
You've certainly had a life full of unhappy complications.
You certainly can't feel pretty and desirable carrying around 50 extra pounds. Poor self esteem is not surprising when you're overweight.
Still, you write:
Quote:... my last check up for doctors he told me i'm over weight and they gave me a nutritionist but she didn't help. so we've dropped that issue.
To lose weight you have to eat less and move more. Having a chaotic family life and poor self esteem doesn't change this basic fact of life.
No one, not the doctor, not the nutritionist, not any of us at A2K can take off the pounds for you. You have to eat less (and more sensibly) and move more.
The cheapest and most effective form of exercise is walking. If you are self-conscious about your size, walk in place in your bedroom. Walk up and down the stairs. Before you open the refrigerator door march in place for fifty steps--or three minutes.
There aren't any magic formulas for melting fat away--you have to eat less and move more.
Good luck.
BammyBaby, whatchya gotta do is quit looking for excuses and sympathy and start making plans and taking action. Only one person on the planet can do that for you - the person you see in the mirror.
I'm going to respond in
blue. This is gonna be some tough love. I am, frankly, dubious about a lot of this post, but can you honestly blame me?
BammyBaby wrote:i've not only had that death in my family. last year in june my uncle was murdered. and then a month later my aunt was murdered those 2 aren't related and then my mom had a heartattack in august, she spent 2 weeks in the hospital and my dad was with her the entire time Of course this is awful, sorry to read it. But you cannot take the problems of the world on yourself. You need to let someone else do the worrying.
leaving me to cook and clean and do laundry and make sure my brother and sister were ready for school Since you cook, you have control over what is cooked and how, and portion sizes.
and run 3 family businesses. At age 17? Really. Forgive me, but I'm skeptical, and I bet I'm not the only one. My folks, even if they were on their deathbeds, wouldn't have put their financial futures in my hands when I was 17. But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for the moment. Surely there is someone you can talk to, a company accountant, a manager, anyone. You are most likely not qualified to do any of this.
granted i'm homeschooled for medical issues. i have kidney failure, kidney stones, gull bladder issues, a stomach bacteria called H-pylori or helix pyloric H (probably spelt that wrong) i have high blood pressure to. Then get yourself to your doctor and work on a diet. So what if it didn't work out the first time with the nutritionist. Try again. She/he only has your best interests at heart. You need to meet this person halfway if you care at all about your health.
after my moms heartattack in august my family went out to dinner for the first time the entire year. my dad had some peanuts and 2 days later was rushed to the hospital with diratictulitus and he spent a total of a month in there. he had emergency surgery and now has a colonstomy bag. his colon exploded in his body and caused parentinitus(fecial poinsioning of the body)infectious disease was involved and everything. his heart stopped 4 times and he was brought back. he went in 4 days before thanks giving till the day before christmas last year. Again, sorry to read this. Again, not your fault.
my mom during that time had kinda lost it and was seen more as a child then an adult. and i was again left to run everything. And again, you had some control over the food being put on the table. So start exercising control since it seems no one else will.
my life isn't easy but i'm always busy and i hardly eat or sleep. Get enough sleep. It is important to your health. And you need to eat.
i DO spend alot of time online talking with internet friends. Don't. Chatrooms and IM and MySpace can suck the time right out of your schedule. Your online buddies will understand if you take a half hour out of the chat time to work out, and another half hour out to cook dinner and clean up after it. Surely they get up and leave their PCs for dinner, homework, work, child care or whatever. You will not lose your online buddies if you take some time out for yourself. Try being a little unavailable at times. Trust me (take this from someone who ran an IRC chatroom for 3 years), their interest in you will rise if you are not around all the time. This is where all your time is going. You are chatting rather than sleeping, and IMing rather than eating a good dinner. You need to make yourself more of a priority again.
my dad has to go back in the hospital to attempt and remove his colostomy bag but he has a 50-50 chance of comming out. theres a main artery where they have to work and the doctor has specified if its nicked he has 20 minutes to live and theres nothing they can do to stop it. we wouldn't even see him. they'd just come out and give us bad news my family has extremely bad luck and i'm my mothers 6 child. all of my older siblings never made it full term accept for one and he had heart problems. Tragic but more or less immaterial when it comes to your current woes. Sorry your life is hard but you have the power to take control.
things don't get easier for me and its hard to talk about but talking does kinda help. if only i had someone to talk to. You can talk here. i don't have the money for a doctor to help with talking. You can go to a free mental health clinic. i have enough going on. my mom as it sits right now possibly has cancer in her uterus and might need surgery for a historectomy....i know all this sounds crazy but honest to God its the truth. It is a lot but you don't have to do it alone. Got grandparents? Aunts? Uncles? Neighbors? A school principal (yes, you are home schooled, but it is through a district)? Head of the local Boys/Girls Club? Scout Leader? Priest, Minister or Rabbi? Social Worker? Social Services?
and as of right now i haven't slept in 3 days. and i've only eaten yesterday, and i actually did exorcize a bit. i just don't have time. Yes you do. Get offline and you will have the time. and i'm a very picky eater... Get less picky. You have control over this. You need to open yourself up to new experiences, not only because that's important in life but also because you need to eat better. Like oranges? Try grapefruit. Like beef? Try chicken. Like tuna? Try salmon. Like french fries? Try oven fries.
i don't think theres any hope for me...
Of course there is, but you have to make things happen. As has been said before, you only lose weight by eating less or moving more, or a combination of both. So do it. As for your other issues, ask for help. There is no shame in doing this and you are clearly overburdened.
ok
yes i know your right Jespah. but no i don't spend ALOT of time online. usually an hour or so a day.
and no i don't have relatives i can count on because 90% of my extended family has disowned us.....long story.....
and as far as working and taking to managers ect. i AM the manager and secretary and book keeper and engineer and everything else. my mom has 24 employees and not one speaks english and i don't speak spanish.
i have been walking ALOT lately. when i can't sleep i sneek out and go for a walk for about an hour or so, usually i'm on the phone for company and i walk fast....i think its called "power walking" or whatever
right now for instance its 5:30 and i'm in the middle of making dinner. but as soon as its done i'm going for a walk. and with that being said i need to go check it. i'll stay updated.
thanx for your help.
Well, there ya go. Just don't let dinner burn.
Some great advice given here to a somber situation. The food diary and looking and what you cook and how you cook your food is so very important. The better you treat your body the better it will treat you back.
Lots of good advice already, but if you want a good self-help book that can help you work through your self esteem issues try, "The Pathway" by Laurel Mellon.
BammyBaby--
How are things going?
I'm curious about why the nutritionist didn't help.
I have a niece who is a nutritionist. She recently left a very good paying job for a lesser paying job where she only works with oncologist. Her reasoning was that "cancer patients are the only ones who bother to listen to me".
Heart disease patients, says she, will do about 50% of what she recommends.
Overweight patients running risks of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabeties will listen to about 2% of what she recommends.
The only "explaination" that she has been able to arrive at is that cancer patients don't blame themselves for the disease. It's all bass-ackwards, she admits, that the people who don't blame themselves are willing to do the hard work needed.
So, anyway, I'm always interested in why "nutritionists don't work" for so many people.
I think it is because a total diet change , is a lifestyle change that most people are not comfortable with.
Changing your diet, and how you shop , essentially changes 'who you are', and that takes someone out of their comfort zones.
update
ok well i've been doing that nightly walk after i make dinner. i ahve to go to the doctors today, need a catscan and i have to be injected with dyes so see if my kidneys are clear, i'm hopeing they are but i've got back pain in that spot again so i know it've got some.... anyways... i need to find a diet i can use that doesn't stop u from eating what u want cuz like i said i'm a picky eater..... i do not eat vegis... i don't like themnso i gotta find something to do..
The only substitute for veggies...is veggies.
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