Exercise?

ok here is what i've been doing because i used to be a little over weight, so here i go:
- do not try at any cost weight training you are still too young
- what you can do is simple, whenever you are bored and have nothing to do you can go on long walks until you get a little tired (bike also works)
- eating healthy also helps, DO NOT do any diets you are too young to do them, even more without a doctors approval.
- results will always vary from person to person, and from age to age, some may lose weight in 6 months some people in a year, but the important thing is to keep yourself strong, not just weight loss but remember your strength counts >x3
- go to sleep as soon as the sun sets, or try to sleep more, so that your body can make its recovery during sleep xP

well those are my tips for you kiddo, just remember that nothing will happen from the night to the next day, it takes time for perfection to happen, just like a gorgeous sculpture it took time and effort to sculpt but in the end it was spectacular ^_^. good luck!

 

Since you're a growing kid all you should need to do is get to a 'regular' diet - ie, 3 basic healthy meals a day, maybe healthy snacks once or twice a day.

If you sit around all the time on the computer or whatever, you should try to at least go for a walk once a day. Go quite fast, you're better off getting your heart rate up for a short time rather than walking comfortably for a longer time.

 

Can I ask why you don't want your parents knowing?

 

Cycling. Find a cycling buddy or buddies from school and start a weekend thing.

And as it's been suggested, weight loss is a very slow going process. So be patient. Your weight will fluctuate based on stomach/bowel/bladder contents and muscular fluid retention, so if you're trying to establish a baseline for your "current weight" you'd pretty much need to chart your weight at several points throughout the day for an entire week and work out an average value, and then do the same each week.

Constant weight watching will do you a disservice unless you are severely overweight. If you're just a little bit over weight, then just do what feels healthiest and get plenty of exercise.

 

Thankfully, you don't have to go to the gym to lose weight.

There's the really basic stuff. If you're not much of a walker, start walking more. You can nudge it forwards and do some jogging. Walk around the block (or two), and jog past the last ten houses. If that's too easy, kick it up to jogging half the walk, or the whole thing.

As said above, biking works really well. Parents are less likely to think of that as exercise, and more likely to think of it as "fun" or "a way to get somewhere".

If you have a Wii, you might look into getting WiiFit. I use it every day, and it's both simple and pretty fun, and I lost around 50 lbs when I used it reliably. It's not horribly cheap but you can get a used one for $50 or so. (Note: you HAVE to buy the balance board with it. 95% of WiiFit won't work without it.)

Lex

 

Don't worry, you aren't alone (*hug*)
I also admit to battle with weight problems and I am also trying to cut down and such x]

 

Have you asked why she doesn't want you to lose weight or has she given any justification for saying that?

It'll be a lot easier to lose weight if you have the support of your family - or at least don't have them dragging you down. Even if you can't get their support, it'll be better to do it without feeling like you have to hide it from them.

 

Well what I do is stay up late at night and not eat anything. I know that isnt healthy, but it works. I lost ten pounds doing that. I also take PE everyday, and you just have to work really hard with it. Along with that I lost about 15 pounds.

 

Hi,

If I were you, and as Ridiculous suggested, I would try talking to my parents about this first. Wanting to lose weight is nothing to be ashamed of, as long as you do it for the right reasons (i.e. your health and your well-being). I struggled with my weight for a very VERY long time, and for me one of the hardest parts was that junk food being readily available.

If possible, try to explain to your parents that it is simply too hard for you to resist it when it's there. And if that means that your parents have to keep the food locked away or not buy it in the first place, so be it.

Also, be careful of emotional abuse (for example: my mom is heavier and she experienced my wanting to lose weight as me distancing myself from her and also told me this, which is not really fair, because I just wanted to get healthy, not "feel better than her"). If you think this might be the case, maybe you could see a school counsellor about this or something? But I don't know if this is the case with you so if not, ignore it .

Let me tell you one thing: you DO have will power. Everyone has it, you just don't believe in yourself right now, but it is there. However, you may be trapped in a vicious cycle of sugar addiction and eating comfort food.

Also, the fact that you're sneaking food when you're alone (I've been there, bud) is worrying to me. You could be developing an unhealthy relationship with food (you could end up making junk food a forbidden fruit for example). This isn't good. Food CAN be your friend. It is fuel for your body. There are plenty of healthy foods that taste good. It is also never a good idea to starve yourself. If you change your eating habits in a healthy way and consistently, there is no reason to go hungry.

Several tips you could use to lose weight:

1) Write everything down:

Set a long term goal and WRITE IT DOWN.
Why? Healthy weight loss is a long term effort. Calculate or determine your weight goal (your ideal weight). Take into account that healthy weight loss at your age implies losing no more than 1 pound a week. Based on that, you can determine how long it will take to reach your weight goal;

The reason that it is important to write all this down (as well as track your progress) is that it will help you keep your eye on the ball. Also try to keep track of what you are taking in. If necessary, you can also write this down; it may be confronting, but it can help you determine which foods you can/should eliminate.

Also part of keeping track: only weigh yourself once a week, always in similar conditions; track your weight loss weekly. Your weight varies a lot throughout a week and even a day. You will have a much more representative image of your weight loss if you only weigh yourself once a week and always in the same circumstances.

Use visualization. Imagine the physique you want to reach and keep this in mind at all times while you are exercising. This is what you are working towards. Imagine your new body. If you know where you are going, it makes it easier to stay motivated.

2) Nutrition

Proper nutrition is equally important as exercise. Since you live at home, your choices are probably pretty limited. But try to limit junk food to one meal, once a week. That way, you can see it as a reward. Your favorite snack will taste that much better if you only have it once a week instead of every day . Also, what I found was that some junk foods even started to taste gross after only two weeks of eating healthy (too sugary or fatty for example).

Also, if you are sensitive to carbs, try eating less carbs (not eliminating them completely) and as much fibre (green vegetables, oatmeal) and protein (lean meat, fish) as possible. Throw in some healthy fatty foods every so often (nuts, salmon).

3) Exercise

Of course you need some exercise to lose weight as well. You mentioned that your mom doesn't want you to go to the gym. Has she told you why this is? Even if you can't go to a gym, there is no need to despair. You can do everything you need to get in shape free of charge . The most effective exercise for weight loss is aerobic, cardiovascular exercise.

Find something you like! Otherwise, you will get demotivated. I like running, so I run. If you don't, or if you are still too heavy to run, start off with long walks. Try walking as a means of transportation. Get in as much walking as you can. It's free and it's very effective for weight loss. Try to aim for at least one-hour walks though. Swimming is also very effective and combines cardio with muscle training.

Be consistent! All this exercise is a long term investment, not a reason to binge afterwards (I've been there too ). So don't compensate for your exercise by overeating afterwards. Try to get some sort of cardio in at least 3 times a week, and up to five times a week if possible.

Someone suggested cycling. Cycling can be effective, but keep in mind that you only start burning fat after one hour of cycling. For beginners at weight loss, walking (long walks) is definitely the easiest and most effective form of cardio.

So cardio is the basis. But if you add some muscle training to that, you can speed up your metabolism. Even for this you don't need a gym. Also, NEVER ever do steroids because they mess up your body and mind. Look up calistenics online.

There are plenty of exercises you can do in the privacy of your room. The important thing here again is to keep track. Be consistent. Write how many reps you can do of one certain exercise and the next week try to do one more. Be careful with this. Don't overdo yourself.

Starting out with as little as one push up at a time is no shame. Just try to keep improving (you will have good weeks and bad weeks). Also, with any muscle exercise, pay attention to your form. It is infinitely better to do an exercise properly 3 times than to do it with bad form 5 times. Pace yourself.

Also, if you would get into this kind of exercise, remember to train all muscle groups (not skipping the least fun muscles, like abs in my case ). If you get serious about weight training or if you hit a plateau with cardio, or just for very good tips on nutrition and exercise, you may want to look into "Burn the fat, feed the muscle" by Tom Venuto. It's a very good book, that has guidelines rather than rules and that doesn't make any false promises .

I didn't mean to write an essay here, but the fact of the matter is that weight loss takes some work. There is no secret; there is no quick and easy way. That's the bad news. The good news is that, with some patience (say a year) and some consistency, you CAN very well get there. You have all the skills necessary and CAN do this. Don't let anyone get you down, not even your family (even if they mean well).

I truly hope this is of at least some help to you.
If you have any questions regarding weight loss or could use some support, feel free to contact me anytime.

Good luck!

---------- Post added 8th Aug 2013 at 03:04 PM ----------

PS. Everything I mentioned about weight training is long term thinking . The basis is cardio, then simple calistenics, and maybe in a few years weight training...

---------- Post added 8th Aug 2013 at 03:05 PM ----------

*Calisthenics