14 Year Old Attempts To Lose 120 Pounds! (Advice needed!)

I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I'm going to need all your support.

I'm 14 years of age going on 15 in a few months here, and I weigh 245 pounds.

My goal? Lose 120 pounds by 2012.

It may take me 2 years, but if I do it gradually, its possible. However, I don't know where to start!

Can you help me?

Any tips on how to eat healthy would be great. Keep these facts in mind:

• I'm almost 15
• I can't ride a bike (doesn't mean I can't learn, but it would be rather embarrassing learning at 15)
• I can swim GREAT (do it for fun, but get tired easy, like after 30 minutes)
• I could probably find a treadmill somewhere in the house, lol
• I have Wii Fit (always talking smack behind my back, ugh)
• I have a little sister, and I want to be a good active example
• My girlfriend who I've been dating for over a year wants to be healthier too (Shes around 118 lbs)
• Diabetes skips generations in my family, and landed on me. Up to me if I want to avoid it.
• I don't even know how to do a proper push-up. Not even my old coach told me how.
• My grandparents have plenty of gym equipment they could "donate".
• My neighborhood is quite "ghetto", so I don't feel comfortable taking jogs.
• Junk food always seems to be accessible, and it always teases me.
• I have a really slow metabolism.

With this info, can you give me some tips on how to stay fit and healthy?

Thank you so much, and wish me luck.

MasterBolt360

Don't trust Wii Fit as weight loss tool, if anything, us it as something to improve your balance/monitor how your progressing.

Here's a YouTube video on how to do a proper push-up.

Good luck, man. :)

well you have a girlfriend and a certain activity burns a lot of carbs and whatnot.

Stop eating processed foods!

Get into a regular exercise routine (whether it's jogging, swimming, biking, etc.) and try to exercise for about 45-60 minutes a day. Obviously you're not going to be able to start out jogging for 60 minutes straight, but what you can do is try jogging for 10, walking for a couple minutes, jogging for 10 more, and so on. You'll build up slowly, and before you know it you'll be able to jog for 60 minutes straight. Of course, if you don't want to jog, you can do similar things with swimming or biking. The main rule though is to keep at it for an extended period of time and keep doing it. Also, it's recommended to take a break about once a week. Don't let yourself get into the habit of taking more breaks, though. Take a day off a week and then make yourself go back to exercising the next day (no excuses). Also, find some good music to listen to while exercising, it'll make it go by much faster (alternatively, if you use a tread mill, you can even set up a TV so you can watch your favorite shows while jogging!).

That said, exercise will only go so far. You should be careful about what you eat. Of course, one of the easiest things to do is simply swear off desert and junk food. You may not want to do that, but it'll help you lose weight faster. I'm not sure what your diet is right now, but avoid foods with large amounts of fat (especially saturated and trans fat).

Best of luck, you can do it I'm sure. I lost 25 pounds in 4 months (175 to 150) just by changing my diet some, so I bet you can lose 120 in two years if you just keep at it! Best of luck.

EDIT: By the way, try to exercise before you eat food. The reason is that if you haven't eaten, your body has to use body fat to get energy, which is what you want if you want to lose weight.

The most important thing for you to do is create a calorie deficit, which can be done by consuming less calories than what your body uses a day, or by creating that deficit doing some form of exercise. You want to lose 1-3 pounds of fat a week. I know people who have lost tons of body fat simply by lifting weights 3 days a week and consuming 500 less calories than what their body uses up, so cardio isn't necessary, but you should do it anyway. Just create a plan and stick to it, you'll get there eventually....

Stop eating processed foods!

Darthmatt

I suggest you stop eating breakfast and lunch. Drink a meal replacement shake so you don't have to worry about what you're eating and how much.wstfld

That's about what I lok like right now................
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I suggest you stop eating breakfast and lunch. Drink a meal replacement shake so you don't have to worry about what you're eating and how much.wstfld

Join the army.

If you want to lose weight fast here is the way to go. First of all, if you are 245lbs at 15, I would guess that your biggest problem is your diet. Force yourself to eat healthier. Also, eat more often, but less. So rather than having 3 big meals, have maybe 5 or 6 small meals of HEALTHY food throughout the day. This will encourage your metabolism to speed up. I must stress again the importance of eating healthy, more greens, no fried foods, fish is great, and as much as you may hate this, boiling your food is probably the healthiest way to go. It may not have the best taste, but if you want fast results, boiled foods will help. Also, eat as many fruits and veggies as you want. Anytime you feel a pang of hunger (inbetween your 6 small meals) eat a carrot or an apple. Don't get a candy bar or make a sandwich, stick to fruits and veggies!

Now to the second part of losing weight, aerobic exercises. at 245lbs at 15 y.o. I'm assuming you aren't the most fit person (unless you are giant) so start of small. Walk more during your day. School is not too far away? Tell your mom you are gonna walk to and from school (If you don't want to wake up early, just tell her you'll walk home from school). In general, try to add a lot more walking into your schedule.

But to be completely honest, the best method I found for losing weight was this:

Go to a track or an open field. Now sprint for 100m as hard as you can (50m if you are out of shape) and then jog for double the distance you sprinted without rest (this is why a track is better, since there are measurements) then repeat. Do this for as long as you can, and aim for at the very least 15min. This will have you losing weight in no time.

And most importantly, you have to want it real bad. Don't get lazy or miss a day. Force yourself and eventually it will become routine and you'll do it without even thinking. Try to do this every other day. And since you are 245, I would suggest you hit some weight training too. It will help you lose weight and at the same time refine your body and bulk it up a bit. One thing you need to realize about weight training is that if you get on a scale, the numbers might not change, but you will notice a visible difference after a while. And don't over due weight training. Just 2 or 3 non consequetive days a week should be enough.

Yes, you can do it. Remember that eating healthy is the best thing you can do along with a regular exercise routine. Try to cut out junk food and soda entirely and replace them with plenty of fruits and vegetables. Replace red meats with fish and poultry whenever possible. Eat whole-wheat bread instead of white and be sure to eat foods that are high in fiber.

Listen to the people who said DONT skip a meal. It is important that you eat when you're hungry - just dont binge and over eat. That is the problem. Sajedene

[QUOTE="Sajedene"]Listen to the people who said DONT skip a meal. It is important that you eat when you're hungry - just dont binge and over eat. That is the problem. dragon7x2k

You can totally do this! Exercise is important so make use of any gym equipment you can get your hands on.

Here are a few tips I have about food, but they're just my opinion so consider that too:
-No soda. If you drink a lot of juice always cut it with some water.
-No fast food. Cook most of your meals- no mystery ingredients and chemicals.
-Switch white bread for whole wheat or whole grain; white potatoes for more sweet potatoes; white pasta for wheat pasta; etc. Avoid what I call "filler foods"- ex. rolls/buns at restaurant, things that have no nutritional value.
-Drink lots of water!
-Something that I think has slightly affected my weight for the better- cutting way back on dairy, which means reading tons of food labels to avoid dairy too. I'm for sure not gaining anything and I think it really has helped me lose a few.
-I know someone mentioned boiling food but I always thought that took out almost all of the nutrients. I prefer steaming.

Your 14 just do more exercise than usual, cut down on the junk food and maybe eat abit more healthy. Don't do anything to drastic thoe as your body can change alot within a few years at that age.

Drink ONLY water and lots of it. . . drink like 8-10 glasses a day.

That's crutial for weight loss.

1. Eat less dairy, meat, and refined sugar.

2. Don't snack. If you're really hungry, eat fruit; it fills you up.

3. Drink 6 glasses of water a day, drinking one glass before and after each meal. Don't drink anything else.

4. Put that treadmill to good use. Try running for 10 minutes at first, and increase your time by 10 minutes each day until you can run for an hour.

5. Eat more salad if you can. It's filling and it has very few calories.

6. Try doing push-ups on your knees. If you can't even do that, then try lifting weights.

7. If you're surrounded by junk food at home, read a book or use the computer. If you're still craving junk food, repeat step 2.

8. Cook at home.

your girlfriend is 11? :|positivebalance

[QUOTE="positivebalance"]your girlfriend is 11? :|Sajedene

Buy a treadmill and use it every day. If you don't have time for it, make time. It's good that you set a fairly realistic timescale to lose all that weight. Pace yourself and take it slow, you'll lose weight faster at certain points and slower at other, just be sure you don't gain back anything you lose.

Holy crap how did you even get that big?! :o

Well, since you are young... it shouldn't be that hard.

Change your diet: Smallers portion meals, healthier meals

cardio: Do cardio workouts at least every day.

Run: Run at least 2-4 miles a day

Productive: Become more productive. That means less internet time for you.

Confidence: Be confident, and don't let anyone put you down. Look at the mirror and go, "damn I look sexy".

Procrastinating: Do NOT procrastinate! Set a schedule.

Eat better and exercise more. If this is too difficult, which it is for most people, save up some money and pay to see a nutrionist and they can help you. You probably don't know how food and your body interact but they do.

Odds are you didn't get fat overnight and you won't drop it in a healthy way overnight either.

Don't bother worrying about dates and deadlines for weight loss. If it takes five years to get to a healthy weight so be it - just keep trying and don't stop trying just because you binge on crap food every now and then.

So you want to be 125 lbs when you are 17? That doesn't sound healthy at all.playstation_wii

[QUOTE="playstation_wii"]So you want to be 125 lbs when you are 17? That doesn't sound healthy at all.ghoklebutter

So you want to be 125 lbs when you are 17? That doesn't sound healthy at all.playstation_wii