It really depresses me when I see young, capable girls my age so obsessed about their appearance towards others that they attempt to lose weight in an unhealthy way (starvation for days, hurling after eating).

If you do decide to lose weight, it should mainly be for yourself, not for others' perception of you. Do it to become healthy. Do it to live a longer life. Do it to have better self-assurance and being able to face yourself in the mirrror.

Many of you wonder how to lose weight. Many of you don't care how you lose it, just so long as you lose it (which most of the time is only temporary). The weight WILL AlWAYS come back unless you develop a healthy lifestyle. You can't go on a diet for 3 months, and then expect to stay the same weight when you start eating fast food 3 times a week again.

So, how do you develop a healthy lifestyle?

3 easy steps.
1) Healthy Diet (and no, "diet" doesn't mean cutting calories or starving yourself, it means eating GOOD food)
2) Excersize
3) Water

You eat when you're hungry. You excersize everyday. You drink water when you are thirsty.

Now, I am not claiming I am the know-it-all fitness guru...in fact...i'm still fat. I am okay with that, because I know i'm going to shed my excess pounds eventually. However, I have researched diet, nutrition, and excersize for about a year now...and i've also lost major weight.

I'm 16...turning 17 on October 4th...6'0...large build....and currently 230 pounds (with plenty of muscle). My ideal weight for my build and height would be around 190-210. About a year ago I was 285 pounds, about 30% bodyfat (very high for a male). I'm currently around 16-18% bodyfat. I eat healthy (but I don't deprieve myself of the food I love, I occasionally eat a fast food burger and fries), I go to the gym every other day, and I excersize 6 times a week. I live in a surburb of Los Angeles called Walnut.

Of course you are probably thinking as you read that last sentence, "6 workouts a freaking week??!?" Well...I do both weightlifting and cardio. I organize my workouts into upper body weightlifting, lower body weightlifting, and cardio. I do cardio every other day, and I do my weightlifting sentence ,"What the hell, 6 times a week? No way i'm doing whenever that group of muscles isn't sore. So, you can see how this can add up to 6 workouts a week.

Anyways...as I was writing this I was planning on putting all of my fitness and nutritional knowledge (at least the relevant parts) into this post...however... I am going to try to write on different topics as long as i feel like writing to help you with your own knowledge of how your own body works and help you feel better about yourself.

Feel free to contact me at AIM: SuperFishStiX, or send me an email at fishstix@mminternet.com. I'm usually just sitting here on my derierre (sp?) playing my guitar.

Much love,
Matt

Hey Matt.. I'm no young girl but I'm looking forward to reading your results.. and welcome to diettalk.

I'm not a teen, but I was fat all through my teens, and it was horrible. I was dateless, loney and pathetic. Anyone who says that weight doesn't make a difference is a liar. If I would have lost the wieght in my teens, (yes to look better, not for health), I would have been better off in countless ways. And what about mental health, know it all. Do you think it helped mine to be too fat to get asked to any formals. Do you think wieght didn't make a difference when everyone laughed at me in my gym clothes.
"You eat when you're hungry. You excersize everyday. You drink water when you are thirsty. "
I was hungry ALL the time!
Exercising alone will NOT cause you to lose a significant amount of wieght. I've seen many many girls involved in competive swimming, figure skating and dancing who were not all that skinny. Lack of exercise can contribute to weight gain, but you need to walk/run about 50 miles just to lose one pound...YOU NEED to cut your calories as well.
Oh and I never thought to drink water, its not like every magizine, and older lady on the face of this planet tells you that is all you have to do to lose wieght.
I find you condesending and ignorant.
To all the teens, losing weight of course won't solve everything, but it will make a difference I'm sure. My advice, just don't rush it. Cut your intake slowly and let the wieght come off very slowly. I know that this is sooo frusterating, and you probably want to start living your "skinny life" now, but you will have so many more years to do it. Good luck to all the teens, I admire your strength to try to make a difference.
I hope I can get thin, at least before I hit 25, but even though this sooo wise Fishie had told me exaltly how to do it, I don't find it that easy
X-( X-(

Coming from a man....

Hi Fishie,
your title caught my eye and whilst i am certainly no teenager, I was once and i have raised 3, I agree with most of your statements, these are true facts and yes if we put in more than we use our body will store it, not exactly rocket science but thats life, and while on the subject of life you talk in black and white and dont seem to consider that in our journeys through life we will encounter many shades of grey, and hit problems of health, injuries, stress, bereivements and financial problems, just some of the obsticles that we as individuals unfortunately may have to cope with and struggle to overcome and live with, I feel your intentions are well meant and i do beleive that some home truths are sometimes required, and yes in depth knowledge will help greatly, but even young teenagers may be finding life hard and not all will be as confident as you may like, so please tread carefully, this is no excuse on my part but much like yourself between 15 and 17 i was mad keen on the weights and trained very seriously and competed very successfuly in powerlifting in the junior classes and without being modest was a prospect down the road to lift in the national team, all destroyed by a serious hand injury, anyway you seem to be doing great with your bodyweight and your fitness level and i wish you continued success well done.
Bigacey