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leopardgecko123's avatar

How can I lose a few pounds?

Asked by leopardgecko123 (777points) August 23rd, 2012

I’m 13, a girl, about 120 pounds, five foot three, and want to lose a little weight. I’m tired of feeling uncomfortable in my body no matter what I’m wearing, even though I’m not overweight. Every time I try to eat a salad I literally gag, and don’t want to force myself to eat something I absolutely hate. I try to eat healthy and eat less, and exercise for about an hour at least three times a week. People say I look good but I just don’t feel good. All my friends are skinnier than me ( yes, I know they haven’t gone through puberty yet but it still makes me feel bad ). I want to lose maybe ten pounds, but don’t know how. I have an injured wrist, so that makes it harder to find exercises I can do without it. My diet is pretty good. I try to stay away from candy, sweets, fast food, sodas, real fatty foods, and that stuff. I try to drink a lot of water everyday and no more than two cups of milk because it makes me break out if I have a lot.
I have started running/walking a few times a week for about thirty minutes at the most. (I’m very out of shape right now). I also jump rope about once a week for around ten minutes off and on.
So, what else can I do to lose ten pounds quick and get in better shape? What should I eat and are there any exercises you know of that burn a bunch of calories?
Thanks.

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12 Answers

creative1's avatar

Something I found dropped size and lbs quickly was going jogging on a track and that shouldn’t be too difficult with a broken wrist.

When your wrist heals I would consider as a regular exercise is doing laps in a pool it burns tons of calories along with giving you a full body workout

KNOWITALL's avatar

First of all the basics of healthy living are to eat less calories than you expend. In order to lose weight the ratio drops so you should be working out at least 5–7 days a week for 30 min to one hour.

After the wrist is healed, start lifting hand weights (first 2lb, then 5lb) then move to barbells. Do these in low reps like 10 each arm/leg, then increase those each week by another 10. Make sure to use your ankle weights for walking to increase the tension and walk for longer distances. Running is pretty hard on your body, especially when you’re heavy. Personally I would do resistance bands and body weight resistance exercises (or exercise ball), that kind of thing instead until you drop enough pounds for running to be easier on your joints.

Lots of people I know do a raw diet, which is raw veggies, nuts, granola’s, etc… but you can also do lean meats and veggies & fruits. Drop the red meat and eat more fish, too. Lots and lots of water, cut sugars and cut carbs (anything white is off limits!) ½ to 1 glass of milk each night is sufficient if you’re eating other proteins.

You also have to be really careful at your age that you are getting all your essential vitamins and nutrients so you’ll continue to develop correctly so whatever you do do NOT starve yourself, it’s totally not worth it. Good luck! (I am not a personal trainer so please check with your doctor before starting any diet – AND DO NOT EVER TAKE PILLS OR HCG OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT TO LOSE WEIGHT!)

YARNLADY's avatar

The only exercise you need is walking. The rest is good for toning, but walking is great for weight loss. No snacks or sodas. Eat plenty of fruits. Find several vegetables you like, and eat more of them – salad is not required. Cut down on meat, and eat more fish and grains.

raven860's avatar

You are at a growing age and I wouldn’t recommend a harsh diet. At 13 yeard old you are in which grade? You should be getting plenty of exercise in P.E.

Anyway, don’t consume soda or fast food. Walking is a really good exercise (especially speed walking). Do that for at least 20 minutes each time. Swimming and lifting weight will also help (as someone mentioned). Cutting down calories and eating right is key but loosing too many calories and cutting down on essential food would harm you rather than help. Also, you need adequate rest after exercising so make you get that.

Another great way to loose weight is to participate in sports…like soccer and basketball.

I would say eat a normal balanced diet and make sure you are not hungry. Just increase your exercise and within 6 months ( not faster…its very unhealthy)...you will have a much better body.

If you have been doing your exercises for a while then you need to switch up your routine. Our body tends to ‘adjust’ or ‘adapt’ itself’ overtime when we do exercises. Result is the body burns lesser and lesser calories if you expose the body to the same routine each week and so loosing weight can be a problem. You have to ‘trick’ your body by constantly switching up the routine ( like weekly or bi-weekly) so that it does not adapt.

This is a really good site with lots of free information: http://scoobysworkshop.com/

It has a lot about weight training and body building but he also talks about weight loss. Whatever you choose to do, let your parents know about it so you don’t make any mistakes and are safe and healthy. I recommend you browse the above mentioned website along with a parent so that they are better able to understand it ( they can explain/answer your questions).

rooeytoo's avatar

I think at 5’3” the minimum you would want to weigh is 115 and that makes you pretty damned skinny. Don’t go overboard on this weight loss deal. And really if you exercise and put on some lean muscle you won’t lose weight, you will only lose inches. Swimming is great for leaner longer muscle, try that when your wrist is healed. Running in the water is good too. Most pools have those running vests you can wear. And the old walk, jog. Go to runnersworld.com and look at beginners programs.

Pandora's avatar

At 120 for your height you are in perfect weight. What you probably just need is toning exercises. Sit ups, push up, or join a sport that is active and will engage your muscles. If you look heavy at 120 you probably just have poor muscle tone and it may give you a flabby appearance. Bends and thrust is a great core exercise that will help you tone up everywhere.

wundayatta's avatar

First of all, there is no such thing as “quick” weight loss. You need to think in terms of weight management. How long did it take to put on the weight? For me, I put on an extra 40 lbs over thirty years. My doctor says it will take that long to take it back off. Weight must be managed gradually, or you will start to yo-yo.

When you yo-yo, you lose wieght quickly, with a crash diet of some kind, and then your body freaks, and orders you to consume calories. You can’t resist. You gain back all the weight you lost and more. Then you freak. You start binging and purging (eating a lot, feeling guilty, throwing up), and lose weight again, and then your body rebells and on and on. This constant battle between you and your body.

You do not want to go there.

Right now, for psychological reasons, you think you weigh too much. Mostly it has to do with your comparison to other girls your age. Instinctually, you think you weigh too much.

You don’t.

Your focus should be on keeping future weight gains to a minimum. If you can keep your weight gains to a pound a year, you will be doing well. If you keep them to half a pound a year, you will be doing even better.

In our society, there is too much food. Our bodies demand that food because we evolved in times of famine. We need as much extra weight as we can get for the next famine. Because evolution is working here, it builds these orders into us—in a way that bypasses our brains. Our will power is, for 90% of us, less powerful than evolution.

This is why you will be doing very well if you can keep your weight gain to one pound a year. Keep exercising. Keep eating a little less than you want. Always be hungry. But not too hungry, because that kicks in the famine reflex, and makes your body retain calories as much as possible. Just a little bit hungry. That’s all you can afford without risking the binge and purge or yo-yo phenomenons.

You’re thirteen. You don’t have perspective on life yet. It will be really hard to believe me. This is the first time you may be facing these issues. It is very important to set up healthy habits, if you can. Just remember you are fighting something much more powerful than your will power: your body. So be gentle with yourself. Set realistic goals.

Ten pounds is not realistic over the long term. I’m sure you could do it pretty fast, but that won’t work in the long term of your life. It will cause more problems that it is worth. Really set your goal to not gain more than a pound a year. That is doable. Right now, you are at a good weight, even if you feel too heavy. Your feelings are misleading here. They don’t understand today’s world. You have to use your mind to do realistic things. Good luck.

inquisitivemind2020's avatar

Cut back on soda’s if you drink them. I lost a good bit of weight when I cut down to one a day and replaced the rest of them with water. Have you ever tried a zumba class? They can be a fun and social way to get a little more exercise in.

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