Weightloss tips?

3 pounds in the past month from all that you're doing? What the heck... Have you had your thyroid checked? Because if you're on a diet and working out, then you should be losing more weight than that (I'd say about 8-10 pounds in a month).
I noticed you said you downloading MFP. How many calories did it tell you to eat each day? Honestly, MFP is one of the best ways to monitor your weight. I have a friend who used to weigh 260 pounds. She used MFP to calculate her weight, and she lost 85 pounds in a year.

 

Your thyroid produces hormones that regulate your metabolism. If you have a low thyroid, then it can be hard to nearly impossible to lose weight no matter how hard you try.
My sister has Hashimoto Thyroiditis. It caused her to gain a ton of weight in just a few months. Now she has a very hard time losing it.
If you're doing exactly what MFP is telling you to do while working out, then you should be losing weight like MFP says you will. Something isn't right. You should go to the doctor and have them check your thyroid and do a blood test. The best way to lose weight is exactly what you're doing right now.

 

Save up? o-o Don't your parents have that responsibility?
Sorry if my answers weren't very helpful. I'm sure you were probably hoping for someone to tell you there's a better way, but there really isn't unless you want to have surgery.
I actually have another friend who got weight loss shots once a week. Every time you move, you burn fat. The only problem is that they cost at least $40 per shot. >_<

 

it's really simple calories in < calories out = weight loss. Be wary of pills and "sugar free" a lot of times what they use to replace the sugar is just as bad if not worse. Also 3 lbs a month is not terrible. That's true weight loss, meaning you wont gain it back. I usually do it in off/on segments and i'll lose 10-15 lbs right away, but this is just water and what my body has on reserve(meaning if I stop i'll gain that back right away)

there is no good way to "fast track" it. Do it right!

 

Sorry, i didn't mean to sound insulting there. Anyway if all your doing is running, start checking your heart rate(HR). Being 16 your Max HR(MHR) is 209 which makes your Target HR (THR) about 125-168. Keeping it in that range will make sure your workout is defiantly hitting you, but keep you from killing yourself. Also for it to count toward much you've gotta at do at least 20 minutes. I don't know if you have access to any equipment, so i'll assume not and say you should do ground resistance training. Stuff like crunches, push ups, sit ups, and planks. Running up and down stairs is good to....but I always hated those.

Also, even though you are trying to cut down on your food intake make sure your still getting lots of protein. Otherwise you are going to be REALLY sore after each workout. Stuff like beens and meet will get you there.

This will increase your weight loss a little bit, but there may also be a spike in your weight as muscle weighs more than fat.

-hope this one was more helpful

 

Hello Saviour,

One of the reasons why you might not be losing much weight is that you are not taking in nearly enough calories. It sounds counterintuitive, but if you don't eat enough while you're trying to lose weight, your body goes into starvation mode. When your body thinks it's starving, it shuts down nonessential functions and slows down your body's metabolism to conserve energy, so it significantly decreases the calorie threshold required for you to gain weight. I don't know anything about this myfitnesspal application, but it's giving you some really terrible information. 1,380 calories is barely enough for a bedridden old woman, let alone an active, young male.

If you slept 8 hours a day and then did nothing but sit in bed all day, your body at your current height and weight would still require around 3,100 calories per day! Lest you think I got those numbers by witchcraft, take a look at this calculator. Like any online instrument, it can't perfectly measure your individual circumstances, but it takes a holistic look at ALL kinds of energy your body uses and conserves and not just exercise. Most calorie counting applications tend to underestimate humans' energy needs by several hundred calories.

If you want to lose weight, you need to first of all eat enough to sustain your body's energy needs. Use the calculator to figure out based on your activity levels how many calories you're likely to burn on any given day. To lose weight, eat about 200-400 calories below that number. Your goal should be to generate small energy deficits. Anything lower than that range, and your body will start to panic and protect the fat stores it has because it thinks it's going to starve. I know that might seem like frustratingly slow progress, but you do want to make sure that your weight loss is sustainable and that it doesn't harm your body in the process.

Do you know why most diets fail? It isn't because people are really just fat fat fatties who can't restrain themselves; it's because people often don't eat enough and push themselves down to weights that are unhealthy for their bodies, and then the body starts to fight back.

If you've been eating at around 1,380 calories for a month, you need to spend some time eating normally (so NOT at weight loss amounts) so that your body will feel safe enough to stop clamping down on your metabolism. You've been racking up thousands of calories' worth of damage to your body. I would also encourage you to absolutely stay away from diet pills.

Be kind to your body and to yourself, regardless of how much you weigh (*hug*)

 

I hope I can help! For your reference, January 5th, 2012 when I went to the doctor I weighed 244 lbs. I weighed myself this morning (Dec. 24st) and I weighed 138 lbs. So in one year I lost a legitimate 100 pounds. And honestly, if I can do it,
anyone can do it. I would not say it's hard, but it requires a lot of
commitment and willpower. But once you're committed, you get used to
the routine, and the old bad habits suddenly don't seem so
irresistible anymore. Really, the most difficult part is just
convincing yourself that you can do (because you can! anyone can!) and
sticking to it. It's not going to happen overnight, so it helped me to
think "tomorrow I will be healthier than I am today".

I'll start off with a quick mention of exercise. Weight lost is about
20% exercise and 80% what you eat. For me, what's worked for exercise,
is that I put in my class schedule the times I want to go to the gym
and I don't stray from it. For me, it works best to go to the gym
right when I wake up, because I can't find an excuse not to go. I only
go for 30 minutes and I do cardio, or if I have more time I will stay
for an hour and do something lighter like walking. I really don't do
weight training, although I should. However, cardio is better for
total weight loss while building muscle makes your metabolism better.
You're a guy, so I would recommend doing a considerable amount of
weight training if you can find time for it. I go 5 days a week, but
if you can make 3-4 you will be in good shape.

Now on to eating.. this is the most important factor and it's
unavoidable. The key is very simple, you can't eat like you used to.
You have to make sure you are consuming less than you are burning. How
can you make sure this is happening? I've found the best way is to
just count calories, and I do it everyday. If you have a smartphone I
highly recommend the free app myfitnesspal. It's basically a journal,
but it's on your phone, so it's less cumbersome, plus it has the
calories for many common things so you can guestimate. Now I went all
the way and I did the lowest safe amount of calories a day for a woman
(1200) and for a man I believe it's 1500. You're a big guy too so you
might be fine with more, but you should research that. If you go under
you risk messing up your metabolism in the long run, which is no
bueno. Remember, you're doing this for your overall health and not
just to lose weight.

---------- Post added 24th Dec 2012 at 12:12 PM ----------

I am a fan of meal planning, that way I know how much I'm eating each
day caloriewise and also I know the appropriate spacing so I actually
rarely suffer from the sensation of hunger. I am a fan of a lot of
small meals (4-5 a day) over 3 bigger ones.

American portion sizes are out of control and the food you buy is
generally very processed. Neither is good for you.I try to make my own
food as much as possible. It's always better to know what you're
eating. Restaurants and frozen meals are bad with a lot of unnecessary
additives. I've found the food I make myself tastes much better, and I
generally can eat more of it since I make healthy substitutions for
many ingredients. I would say never eat something processed like "lean
cuisine" for example, there's nothing good you can say about them.
Canned soups are okay, but go for low sodium ones. As far as
restaurants go, they can be okay. I would recommend staying with the
soups or salads (dressing on the side). You have to be careful with
things like dressing and bread, because those calories add up quickly.
A normal restaurant plate is also enough food for two meals at least,
so don't eat it all or else you're shooting yourself in the food. Take
some home, put it in a box at the beginning of the meal so you won't
be tempted to continue eating, and then not only is it healthier but
you save money by making it two meals. Win-win yes/yes? Honestly
though, I've found many of my favorite restaurant meals with healthier
recipes online.

I used to overeat so much and my stomach was used to eating that
amount. To get used to eating less I drank a lot of water at the
beginning and ate things with nearly 0 calories (sugar free jello,
spinach, broccoli, etc.) In a few weeks my stomach was fine with the
lesser quantity meals.

Look up what actual serving sizes of foods are. You might be shocked
to find out how they differ from what you're used to. Try to get used
to only eating 1-2 serving of each at a time.

One thing I can't stress enough, FIND SOMETHING THAT WORKS FOR YOU. If
you don't enjoy it after giving it an honest try, then it's not worth
it since you won't be able to make it a lifestyle change over a quick
fix. I never once went to gimmick diets like weight watchers and south
beach for example, instead I spent a lot of time researching different
things on the internet and finding things that worked for me. I've
taken ideas from gluten free websites, diabetic websites, paleo
websites. I find recipes that sound yummy to me and then I try them.

---------- Post added 24th Dec 2012 at 12:13 PM ----------

Don't eat anything fried. For real. There's no reason for the
abomination however delicious it may be. You can make something very
similar by baking many things.

Some things to get you started:
Must-Have Kitchen Staples for Healthy Family Meals
300 Calorie Food Picture Gallery
Healthy recipes: A guide to ingredient substitutions - MayoClinic.com ( I will add
plain greek yogurt is great for nearly everything! It can be used as
sour cream and in most recipes! it's also great for protein. Also,
stevia sweetener is the best zero calorie sweetener. STAY AWAY FROM
SPLENDA, it's horrible for you.)

Some examples of recipe blogs (I apologize that they all seem super
girly/for moms, there's yummy things for everyone I swear!):
Paleo Recipes | Award-Winning Paleo Recipes | Nom Nom Paleo
Sugar-Free Mom | Naturally Sweetened Recipes for a Healthier You!
Kath Eats Real Food
Recipe Index | Skinnytaste
and you can google just about any dish + the word "healthy"

Some things I forgot to mention:

1.) Don't drink calories. Drinking doesn't register the same way
eating does so they are empty calories. I only drink water, tea and
coffee but never with sugary additives. You get used to it. I cut out
diet sodas but that took me a while. Also, I completely cut out
drinking alcohol but I understand for most people they don't want to
make that sacrifice.

2.) Only get one dish. Never upgrade in size. Avoid unhealthy sides
like french fries (many times has just as many calories as your main
dish). Don't accept food from others, I know it's hard, but learn to
say no. At parties, only get one plate and commit to it.

3.) Eat slowly and take small bites. Learn to really savor your food
and you'll enjoy it more. You'll realize that the best tasting bites
are the first so if you eat a large amount of something you're wasting
your calories because the flavor won't be as great. Save portions of
good things for later to savor them twice as much. I usually take 20
minutes - 1 hour when I eat. Sometimes I do work while I'm eating.
Taking longer makes you feel fuller as well.

4.) Treat dessert as something separate from your meal. I personally
make them into nighttime meals. Never eat sweets in the morning or
else you'll crave sugar all day. I've also found many yummy
alternatives to my favorite desserts that taste just as good, if not
better. For example, I love apple pie. But what do I really love about
it? The apple filling. Cut the crust and the sugar, and make some
yummy warm apples with cinnamon and a hint of sugar. Use oatmeal for
some extra crunch. Voila.

4.5) if you get a dessert and it doesn't taste good, don't finish it.
When I eat something unhealthy, I make sure it's special. I will go to
my favorite bakery and get a slice of something I really enjoy, and I
make every bite count. After this change as well, the foods I loved
before taste even better now because my taste buds aren't as numb as
they used to be from overeating.

5.) I personally avoid bread, butter, pastas, rice. They aren't worth
it to me. I'd rather have more meat than waste 200 calories in a bread
roll. I get my carbs from healthier options such as potatoes, oatmeal,
granola, etc.

GOOD LUCK, YOU CAN DO IT

 

Well this got to me. I'm just (contrary to the previous poster) a fattie fat fat who has no willpower. I'm uncomfortable with my body, but I'm unable to make the sacrifices that I KNOW are required to make things better. I would guess I'm in the 230-250 range, and 5'10".

Don't eat fried foods? Half my diet thrown out the window there.

Don't drink calories? I love craft beer! Talk about high caloric intake!

No high fat meats? You mean I can't have bacon??? EEEEEKKKKK!!!!!

Add to that if I cooked anything, I'm reasonably sure that the apartment would burn down! Heck, I can't even make scrambled eggs. So what do I do? Eat out regularly, of course!

So what to do? I mentally know what has to happen, but I don't have the skills or the willpower to make it actually occur.

 

You're just making excuses to yourself. I told myself I could never do it. I refused to even try veggies! gross get them out of my sight! But I learned that if I wanted my outside to match the potential of my inside, I had to change. It was a slow process, and a learning process at that. I urge everyone to find what works for them! I did a lot of research into other cultures and diets to pick and choose what I felt would work for me! And did it ever! So I just try to tell everyone that they CAN DO IT. You CAN DO IT. I was addicted to sugar and it numbed by ability to taste and enjoy anything else. Once I got rid of it, I learned how delicious other things were, honestly. I don't feel like I've made any big sacrifice now. The beginning was hard, but it's just that initial hump, it soon becomes just who you are and you wouldn't change anything.

You do have the willpower and skills are easily learned. You see, what you've said /was/ me and I thought it always would be. But once I realized that my biggest enemy was myself telling myself that I couldn't do it, I was finally able to do it.

 

I've tried seeing a nutritionist, I've tried EVERYTHING. It just won't work. Heck, my favorite dish at the neighborhood bar is a heaping pile of fries, topped with cheddar cheese, bacon bits, scallions, and a side of sour cream and ketchup.

Probably about the worst things you can put in your body, but OH SO DELICIOUS! And I'm not really a salad guy, tried that for lunch everyday when I was seeing my nutritionist, and it just didn't work. I'm just destined to be Mr. Fatso forever

 

I'm just wondering, what is going through your head when you order something like that? Do you feel you need it? Because you clearly know it's bad for you. Can you not control these impulses?

I never once went to a nutritionist; I created something that worked for me. I've never been one to be able to let someone else tell me what to do.

I really believe everyone has the willpower to do this. You are addicted to these foods I believe, but any addiction can be conquered. You are not destined to be fat forever, you shouldn't give up on yourself. You've already lost if you give up on yourself. If you tell yourself you will be fat, then you will be fat. But if you start telling yourself you will be skinny, you will be healthy, it will happen. It's up to you.

 

I'm wondering what's going through my mind as well

It's more of "oh, this sounds good, it tastes good, and it will fill me up". And it does. Every "healthy" thing that I have strikes me as the most bland, boring thing that I've ever had. Add the lack of cooking skills, and you have a recipe forbeing fat.

Giving up drinking would also mean giving up my ENTIRE social life. Every social activity that I do revolves around alcohol. This is probably bad too.

I'm theorizing here, I have no idea if this is true or not, but I'm just starting to come out. Perhaps all of these destructive behaviors are just me trying to repress my true self for all these years? I just want to reinvent myself now, but I don't think I have it in me to do it, but maybe with help I do......

 

Ok, I don't know how I missed this but, 1,380 calories a day is not good for you, especially since you're a guy. I downloaded MFP and made a fake profile. I put in the information that you told me above and put that you would like to lose 2 pounds per week (which is the highest amount it will allow you to put). I put that you would be doing light activity and that your goal weight is 140 lbs, since a 16-year-old male that is 5'6" should weigh between 135-160 lbs, Your daily calorie intake says 1,620. So you've basically been skipping a whole meal by eating only 1,380 calories a day. Not only is that extremely unhealthy, but it is causing you to lose weight slower. I also put that you would be doing as little as 2 workouts a week, both lasting for only 20 minutes. The MFP calculations say that by following this plan, you should lose 10 lbs by January 29th.

I do hope that you take better care of yourself. My friend was able to do it, and she was MUCH bigger than you. Now she looks great and it only took her a year to lose 100 lbs! All you have to do is lose about 75.

 

Two relatively minor things that will work very well over time, where "over time" is key in my construction. Please either read my detailed advise and reasoning or see the condensed advise following.

1) Nearly optimal choices for eating. I define this not as "dieting," which implies denying food, or never eating things you like. Optimal choices for eating are those choices, which, on the balance are the healthiest ways to satisfy your desire for something. Therefore, it's important to understand what you want when eating. Consider two examples. One is liking to drink things. Chronic soda drinkers do a lot of damage to themselves by drinking soda continuously. I know, because I have three very obese friends on that account. They just want to be drinking, and that's fine. However, instead of drinking soda, they could drink juice (for flavor) and then drink simply water thereafter. Another is enjoying eating sweet things. A candy bar is sweet. But so is a handful of grapes. Both are sweet, but the latter is a healthier choice, where that is defined by maximal nutrient value per calorie.

2) Light exercise over a long period of time. When starting out, a lot of people make their exercise too vigorous, and therefore one or multiple of three things can happen: injury, quick tiredness, and negative psychological reinforcement. With injury comes inability to exercise. With quick tiredness comes truncation of the exercise. With negative psychological reinforcement comes diminished desire to exercise. It is important to understand the physiology of what you're doing. I'm a foilist and a jogger, so I can only speak to those lower-body-focused modes of exertion. On average, it takes about ten minutes to deplete the muscle tissues of glycogen, which are the most readily available source of energy. Fat burn does not take place until this source is depleted, because chemically, it is not necessary for the body to release fatty acids. Therefore, as I mentioned above, going hard and fast is the worst that you can do, because you just get tired and stop running or doing whatever you're doing before the chemical processes for fat burn even start. (There are other reasons, but I won't get into them.) Every minute you're still running, lifting or swimming after the tenth minute is a minute that you're making gains in your fat burn and cardiovascular conditioning. I recommend at lest 30 minutes of light exercise four days a week. Even a brisk walk can produce solid results over time.

In summary, to lose weight, you do not require special technology or hard work. Just dedicated, consistent work, and understanding. Don't deny yourself anything. Just make good choices when you fulfill your desire to eat. Additionally, stick to a simple exercise routine. Do not challenge yourself too much. You should aim for 30 minutes of light exercise (should feel at most minimally challenging throughout) four times a week.

 

RainbowMan, it's clear to me that you are still resisting change and defeating yourself, despite the fact that you say you "want" to. I don't believe anything is going to change until you decide in your heart and in your mind you will do it. I wish you the best of luck and I hope the epiphany comes one day, and hopefully before you do irreversible damage to your body.