Hi! Why focus on a number when you’re already satisfied with the way you look? Two persons who have the same height and weight can carry it very differently. It depends on their builds, the length of their arms/legs/torso, their ratio of fat to muscle… A large chunk of body weight comes from bones (14 to 20%), and over half of your body’s weight is water. 

And even if you do need to lose a few kilos (which I really doubt), don’t wait to “finally reach your goal” to be happy with your body. You’ll be wasting tons of time that you’ll never get back. Don’t waste your teen years obsessing over a number. 

Instead of focusing on less (fewer kilos, less bread and sweets), focus on more: eating more vegetables, being more active, doing more etc. 

Hi Shawna,

I think it is a very good idea to have recruited your friend to join you in your new lifestyle change since you live in a family that can’t / doesn’t want / doesn’t have the information to make a change. You need support and it’s great having a good friend on your side. 

You can’t choose your family, but you can try to see what’s negotiable: for example, an idea could be to tell your mom that you would like to try to make your own food for 2 weeks.

Don’t tell her you want to lose weight, just tell her: “Mom, I’m turning 17 in January, and I would like to become a bit more independent to learn how to function on my own. I respect and really appreciate all the work you did to raise me (give her compliments / show some gratitude, do not criticize or judge her own life choices), but now I’m coming to a point in my life where I would like to learn to do more things on my own and have a bit more freedom (freedom to choose your own food, freedom to go out and exercise). I think I’m mature enough for you to trust me. I know I won’t disappoint you if you give me a bit more space to make my own choices.”

Hi! There’s a fine line between dieting and an eating disorder, so make sure you don’t overstep it. It’s okay to indulge yourself if you know when to stop. Remember how an out-of-control binge makes you feel: it’s very sweet in the beginning, but tastes really bitter in the end.

Also, no need to freak out and feel like shit: remember, getting in shape is not a daily tally with a bell ringing and the scale adjusting immediately; the calories consumed and burned over weeks and months are the ones that count. So eating the occasional treat isn’t going to ruin your overall efforts. It can actually be a way to surprise your body so that it doesn’t get used to long-term dieting. 

To avoid binging, you could try planning your treats: look at your schedule and activities. For example, if you’re going to the movies on Saturday, tell yourself you’ll have caramel popcorn. If you’re particularly looking forward to a food or event, make room for the extra calories in your schedule and scale back a little on other days to make up the difference. By refusing yourself everything for days, you’re making yourself way more likely to suddenly go crazy when feeling deprived. 

Hello Danielle,

I don’t want to sound alarming, but if you look closely, some of the physical changes of aging can be found almost as soon as we reach adulthood and stop growing. You may get your first grey hair in your early 20s ; some guys will already start looking bald in their late 20s. 

It’s kind of the same with your metabolism, and you’re even more likely to gain weight because of your life circumstances at that particular time: you’re probably done with school/college and you’re working full-time. I started gaining weight at around 23 year old when I started working my first ‘real’ full-time job. I was working overtime and kind of chained to my desk. It took me a good reality check in the mirror to start making some changes. 

No woman can really get away with “eating whatever she wants” for ever. Even the girls that are naturally thin will get thicker once they reach 30, trust me. Celebrities like Cameron Diaz or Jennifer Aniston who look fabulous at 40 may have good genes and personal trainers, but they also really do the work and put some serious effort into it to look like this (it’s part of their job after all).

Diet pills won’t do the work it takes for you. The good news is that the pills you bought aren’t dangerous diet pills. They don’t contain stimulants, but they’re made of good fats. They’re meant as a supplement for people who are on a restrictive diet. If you feel like you really need some kind of boost, green tea and or yerba maté can help get things going.

It is not impossible but I wouldn’t recommend it. Looking at you on your tumblr you don’t need to lose 20lbs so let’s stop this nonsense right here :)

When attempting to lose fat, don’t try to lose more than 1 to 2 pounds a week. Weight loss faster than this will increase the likelihood of losing lean body mass along with the fat. This makes it easier to gain the weight back in the future. 

Hi Alma! How did you come up with this number? Are you sure your body can survive on 1400 calories? Have you ever calculated how many calories you actually need based on your age/height/activity levels? You can calculate it online, for example: www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm (There are many other calculators online but I chose this one because it works with both metric and American systems).

See the number you get under “fat loss” (do not take into account the number for “extreme fat loss” ; it’s just way too extreme - and they say on their site this number is “only really appropriate for those who are very overweight. Any rapid weight loss regime is not appropriate for those only looking to lose 2-25 pounds.” )

You write on your tumblr profile that you love candy: I think getting rid of an eventual sugar addiction is the critical first step you need to take to start seeing results: www.wikihow.com/Stop-Sweet-Cravings

Hi! Just like with anything else, a healthy lifestyle has a learning curve. Give yourself a few weeks to get used to eating healthy and moving more. Make it past the curve and you will start to crave your new way of living. I think you used a key word in your message: “habit”. To make it easy for yourself, you have to turn positive behaviors to “autopilot” mode. Here are some simple steps to develop a habit: www.pickthebrain.com/blog/strategies-for-breaking-bad-habits-and-cultivating-good-ones

Reading your message I get the feeling that you don’t believe in yourself (“I’m afraid I’ll stop and go off it”). When you don’t believe something is possible, you act as if it’s impossible. Belief is a key element in reaching any goal. If you are always looking at what could go wrong, your energy is going in the wrong direction.

To help boost belief in yourself, search your past experience. Think of a time when you had a goal you didn’t believe was possible, but you achieved it anyway. It might be an academic achievement, a creative endeavor, a successful relationship, anything. Even if it was far removed from health or fitness goals, it’s proof that you have the ability to achieve things you once thought you weren’t capable of achieving.

About feeling like crap: whatever you do, just don’t sit and dwell on the feeling or a negative thought. You are feeding it and it will consume you. People will usually stay the same until the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of changing. So it’s actually a good thing that you’ve reached that “enough is enough / I’m not going to take it anymore”-point. When “shoulds” turn into “musts”, you know you have the right mindset to do what it takes.

Hi!

Here are a few ideas of foods that can help your weight loss efforts: 
- Green tea
- Yerba maté (a kind of herbal tea)
- Leeks
- Spinach
- Broccoli (I know… no fun foods sorry!)
- Egg whites
- Shrimps
- Turkey 

Your teenage years are a period of rapid growth and development, so your diet must stay super healthy and provide a good balance of the macronutrients.

However, no food can burn fat, no matter what, it’s still food and calories even if it’s super healthy! The best way to increase your metabolism and burn fat is to consume more energy: i.e. exercise helps a lot! Ask yourself how to get yourself motivated to move again.

Set yourself small goals (like for example, exercising 3 times this week) and use non-food rewards when you reach them: watching your favorite tv-show, going to the movie, buying yourself some cheap cute jewelry at H&M, buying a new song on iTunes…