Teen needs help

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2004
Teen needs help
10
Fri, 09-24-2004 - 2:26am
Im a 14 year old TEEN girl from TN and i weigh 250lbs Im 5'9" and my weight is to the point where its getting hard on me.

I cant afford a dietician at the moment.I have very little will power too! My bone structure is big but my Fat areas are My Stomach,Abdomen and thighs,Please help!

God bless,Allena.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-11-2004
Fri, 09-24-2004 - 10:56am
Allena, Welcome! Have you talked to your folks about weight loss? IMO, You should see a dietician because of your age. You are growing and maturing and you need to be sure to get enough calories , vitamins, and minerals to do it properly. The current fad diets may be hard on you. I wish you the best of luck. Come here anytime for support and friendship! Hugs, Brenda

Hugs, Brenda 

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-23-2004
Fri, 09-24-2004 - 11:12am
Welcome Allena ~

I agree with Brenda, please talk with your parents about weight loss. Eventhough, you may not be able to afford a dietician, I think that your GP might be able to help you. I think also, the first step is to begin, slowly, excercising. Maybe a walk around the block. Or if you have a dog, take your dog out for a walk. Try to plan atleast 30 minutes a day of excercising and maybe increase it to 45 or an hour. I know that on days that I do not feel like going to the gym or taking the dogs for an extended walk, I go to the mall and walk. I know that it is not the same as going to the gym, but atleast I am moving.

Also, the thing that helped me, when I was overweight at your age, and lost my weight initally before going to college, was journaling. I would write down what I ate at what time and how I was feeling. I would do this for a week, and then go over what I ate. This would enable me to see a trend in what I was eating, when, and why. For example, I found out that when I would get home from school, I would eat a sugary snack...a lot of sugary snacks. So I knew that this was one of my problems, so instead I would eat a piece of fruit when I got home from school.. something that would really quench my cravings like watermelon, or strawberries. And then I would wait 20 minutes to see if I was still hungry and if I was I would drink a tall glass of water and start doing something around the house, such a cleaning (my mom was sure happy) or doing my homework.

Hopefully, this will help you out.

Zo

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-04-2004
Fri, 09-24-2004 - 2:13pm
Hi Allena and welcome! I agree with the others. Because of your age, you should probably see a dietician or your doctor for advice. But if you can't do that, then one of the other posters had some good suggestions about exercise and journaling. Even moving just a little more and cutting out a few sugary snacks will make a difference. Good luck :)

~~Linda

~~Linda

 

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2004
Fri, 09-24-2004 - 3:38pm
Hi everyone and thanks!

I don't really eat sugary stuff and i drink diet drinks not regular.I'll make a list of somethings i eat below:

Things i eat usually once or more a week:

1.)Steak

2.)Fried chicken

3.)Lunch meat,From what i know is healthy(Boars head brand)

4.)Hot dogs

Things i eat 1-3 times a month:

1.)A piece of cake

2.)Maybe a bowl of sweet cereal like frutie pebbles

3.)Hamburgers(Home made)

4.)French fries

Things i eat almost everyday:

1.)White bread

2.)Potatoes

3.)Chips

That's mostly it God bless,Allena.

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-02-2004
Fri, 09-24-2004 - 4:01pm
Hi Allena,

I think you need to try to make some healthy substitutions for the foods you currently eat.

Steak - just add a big salad and lots of veggies on the side.

Fried chicken - one of my vices as well, I get small chicken a la carte (NO COMBOS!!) and eat with a very lo cal homemade salad, with just a spritz of olive oil and vinegar.

Lunch meat - make sure it's not too processed, I usually get fat free, and check the ingredients for sugar, preservatives, and nitrates, all of which are bad for you.

Hot dogs - you really want to be eating cow snouts and pig buttholes?

Things you eat 1-3x a month...that is fine, just make sure the portions are controlled. When you make hamburgers at home use the leanest beef you can find (96% lean).

White bread - BAD NEWS. There are too many delicious brands of whole grain (No white/enriched flour) high fibre breads out there for you to be poisoning yourself with garbage like white bread.

Potatoes - in moderation, not smothered in butter or gravy.

Chips - I buy only the single serving bags at convenience stores. Portion control, plus they are expensive so I certainly don't eat them often.

Fill up your house with quick and healthy veggie snacks. Get rid of ALL junk food. If it's not there you won't eat it.

Hope these tips help.





Lilypie First Birthday tickers
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-31-2004
Fri, 09-24-2004 - 4:09pm
Hey there! I really think you should speak with your doctor about this. Also your parents. I know its something you probably dont like to talk about, but its hard for us to really help you knowing your age. We dont want to give you unehalthy or bad advice. But I think you can start with walking each day and drinking water. Its good you dont drink regular cokes, but you still need water each day. Shoot for about 50-60 ozs per day at least. Use your common sense on the rest of it until you speak with your doctor--it wouldnt hurt to cut back on the bad foods--chips, cakes, white bread, sugary cereals...get in more VEGGIES AND FRUIT! I think its wonderful that you are taking control at this age instead of waiting until your an adult! Keep up your wonderful attitude and do your best! Its such a hard journey but you can do it :)
Avatar for brens2boys
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
Sat, 09-25-2004 - 12:33pm
Welcome Allena! You've come to the right place...and (((hugs))),it's not always easy admitting weight.I know for myself,I hated telling my actual weight when I first came here...but it helped and made me more determined to lose it.Since you can't afford a dietician...how about keeping track of what you eat on a site like www.fitday.com ? It's free and it shows all the calories you eat and where they are coming from:protein,fat,etc.I use it from time to time and it's awesome...and like I said,free!

Good luck and stop by often.Thats what the ladies and gentlemen are here for :o)

Bren

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-05-2000
Sat, 09-25-2004 - 9:08pm
Well looks like you got a lot of good advice. I really can't add to it so just wanted to wish you luck in weight loss journey. :-) Stephanie
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-16-2003
Sun, 09-26-2004 - 3:36am
from what you say you eat...it sounds like most of it isn't high calorie food. perhaps watching portion size may help, and, like, with chips and other bag/box snacks, always eat these off a plate so you don't just lose track of how much of it you're eating. another thing that may help is drinking lots of water rather than juice or even diet pop. the problem with diet pop, especially if you drink a lot of it, is that a lot of the sweeteners used in it mimic sugar enough that your body tries to process them like sugar. (this is especially problematic for diabetics.) but just making sure that you're drinking plenty of plain old water can make a difference because it allows your body to better flush out the "nasty stuff". i'm honestly a bit of a yo-yo dieter cuz i can just never stick to a diet, especially once the weight loss slows down. i did manage to lose 60lbs once, but i gained in back and then some unfortunatly. anyway, feel free to look for me on messengers and such...i've been struggling with my weight pretty much my whole life, and although i don't have all the answers, i'd love to be there just for someone to talk to. i'm 22, and if nothing else, i know what it's like to be a "big girl" in high school, surrounded by girls who look at you and think you must be a pig because you're a size 22 not a size 6 like them.

*anna~rae*

280/276/150

AIM - XIgotJesusX

MSN - girrrlychild@hotmail.com

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2004
Sun, 09-26-2004 - 6:18pm
Thanks everyone! All of this info has really helped! Starting tommorow i'm going on a low carb smaller portion diet! I'm shooting for 50lbs by January i know it seems really impossible and everyone says that as soon as you come off of it you'll gain it back! but by then i'll be alot thinner and more active i hope.

Girly,

Thanks your post really really helped me.I love your AIM name my AOL name is Reach2Jesushesvz you can email me anytime!

God bless,Allenà.

Jesus saves!