I'm a seventeen year old girl with a medium bone structure. I am 5'6 and I weight 160 pounds. Most of my weight is fat, not muscle. I'm very weak. I can't do much as far as push ups and situps. However, I can jog for long ammounts of time. I eat around 2,000 calories everyday and drink water a lot. I have a slow metabolisim. I want to lose 20 pounds.


Please advise me of what I could be missing in my lifestyle that could help me with my goal.

Thank you. God bless.

Hi Girl,

Wow, i can definitely give you some advice. I myself had the same problem with a slow metabolism and don't worry there are ways.
The average weight for your height is about 140-150 so do not focus on just losing 20lbs, you are almost there. Focus on replacing fat with muscle instead. If you have access to a gym the elliptical trainer is amazing, 30min 3-4 times a week would be a good start. Then i would bring in some weights to help tone up also a medicine ball is good for everything arms, core, legs there are a lot of uses. Whatever you do never diet just start eating things with high fiber you will stay fuller longer and feel good + lots of water. If you would like anymore advice i have lots of tips, we are in the same weight range and same height so i'm sure i could help you, good luck with everything:o

There are many things that you can do to lose weight the healthy way. Here are some guidelines I follow that I got online a long time ago:

1. Write it all down on a journal.

It is always a good idea to write down accurately what you eat and drink everyday including your occasion snacks (e.g. a chocolate cookie). Also, you must jot down what kind of exercise you do every day. From there, you can learn about your own eating and exercise behavior. You will be able to zoom in your weak points which you can make improvements on.

2. Learn to read the food labels.

This is a very important habit you must adopt. Do not be deceived by words such as "Low Fat" or "Less Sugar". The products may have reduced its fat or sugar content from the original products, but you must still do a proper comparison with other similar products to find the right kind of food for yourself. Remember to study every label before you purchase anything that will end up going into your body.

3. Drink more water & cut down on other beverages.

It is very important that we drink 8 to 10 eight-ounce glasses of water a day. You will need drink even more when you are doing your exercise. In case you didn't know, this can help your metabolism also. Try to cut down on your fruit juices. Instead, it's better to eat the whole fruit because it will give you the fiber and vitamins your body needs and less calories as compared to a glass of fruit juice. If possible, try to limit your alcohol intake, especially high caloric alcoholic beverages.

4. Eat all your meals.

Do not skip any meals. Many women tend to skip their meals, especially their breakfast. Do not do this. You must eat breakfast everyday. Because so many hours have passed since last night's dinner, your breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Choose a breakfast with complex carbs and fruits to kick start your day. You can have a small snack before your lunch and your dinner. As for your dinner, it is a good idea to reduce the portion size and have more vegetables for easy digestion. Remember, do not starve yourself as this will backfire on you, and make it more difficult to lose the weight in the future.

5. Exercise.

A good old advice. Exercise is one of the keys to lose weight regardless what kind of diet you are on. A 30-minute routine of aerobic exercises such as brisk walking, jogging or swimming every day can help to burn more fat in your body. Even doing housework can be treated as a form of exercise. Remember, you must keep your body moving if you want to burn those fats.

6. Increase your metabolism

The key to increase your metabolism is really to build muscles. Muscles are like a furnace that increases your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories even when you are at rest. Thus, muscles are very important and essential for your fat loss. You can do weight resistance training 2 to 3 times every week. Furthermore, you will also look better with a toned-up body when you are in your swimming suit or bikini... just like the Hollywood stars.

7. Sleep.

Many people tend to ignore the importance of sleep. In fact, if you have sufficient 8 hours of good sleep, you will not only feel refreshed and recharged, but you will find yourself losing some weight. Recent scientific research has shown that people with insufficient sleep tend to have difficulty to lose weight and tend to get other health problems too.

It may seem quite easy but without a proper plan and successful strategies, you won't succeed in achieving your weight loss goals. You really need to have patience as results do not happen overnight. The most important thing is that you must not GIVE UP even when you hit a temporary setback.

Taken from: http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Simple-S...mmer&id=237482

Good luck!

Sarah

Both answers were very very very useful!
Thank you so much!!

You have a BMR (Base Metabolic Rate - BMR Calculator (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/)) of about 1575. That is how many calories you would burn if you just stayed in bed all day. Your normal day to day activities of going to school, taking a shower, preparing meals, etc is good for 5 or 600 calories. So to round things off, you are burning about 2000 calories a day and eating about 2000 calories a day.

Or in effect, your body is doing nothing to change.

In order to affect change, you have to modify one of the two sides of the equation, You can either lower your daily intake of calories or increase the daily burn of calories...

OR... diet or exercise. Now dieting sucks. Its miserable to have to deny yourself the things you enjoy. I always recommend a diet that eliminates the worst things and everything else in moderation. There are hundreds of diets out there, but the most effective one is common sense. If it grows in the ground, its good for you. If it doesn't have a lot of fat, its good (enough) for you. Spices have no calories (but avoid salt if possible).

The other aspect is exercise. This will do so much more for you than diet. First, diet doesn't change your metabolism (thus making dieting easier). Exercise does. Dieting does not make you more fit - just more thin. Thin is nice. FIt is awesome.

In short, the best plan you can do is the ELEM plan... eat less, exercise more.

You have a BMR (Base Metabolic Rate - BMR Calculator (http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/)) of about 1575. That is how many calories you would burn if you just stayed in bed all day. Your normal day to day activites of going to school, taking a shower, preparing meals, etc is good for 5 or 600 calories. So to round things off, you are buring about 2000 calories a day and eating about 2000 calories a day.

Or in effect, your body is doing nothing to change.

In order to affect change, you have to modify one of the two sides of the equation, You can either lower your daily intake of calories or increase the daily burn of calories...

OR... diet or exercise. Now dieting sucks. Its miserable to have to deny yourself the things you enjoy. I always recommend a diet that eliminates the worst things and everything else in moderation. There are hundreds of diets out there, but the most effective one is common sense. If it grows in the ground, its good for you. If it doesnt have a lot of fat, its good (enough) for you. Spices have no calories (but avoid salt if possible).

The other aspect is exercise. This will do so much more for you than diet. First, diet doesnt change your metabolism (thus making dieting easier). Exercise does. Dieting does not make you more fit - just more thin. Thin is nice. FIt is awesome.

In short, the best plan you can do is the ELEM plan... eat less, exercise more.

I like the way you put that.
Thank you so much. Very effective answer

How's your weight loss going?

Any updates?

Sarah

One of the most important things to consider when losing weight is what you eat, not just how much. If your 2000 calorie intake per day is made up of a lot of carbs or sugar, then it won't help you to lose weight. No one can out-exercise a bad diet. The reason why is that foods like lots of carbs and sugar tell your body to release insulin. Excess insulin tells your body to store fat. I recommend cutting down on things with a lot of sugar and simple carbs. You should be eating fruits, veggies, eggs, fish, poultry, cheese and yogurt and occasionally whole grains. Make sure you're not eating things with a lot of chemicals. Diet sodas have been proven to make people gain weight and the carbonation makes your stomach bloat. Exercise is also very important. Eating right will enable you to lose weight and exercise will allow you to tone up and become fit.

In short, treat your body well and feed it good food. Anything processed or something that wasn't around 100 years ago should be avoided. Drink tons of water and limit sodas and carbonated drinks. Be careful not to drink your calories. Exercise to tone and get fit and you should be losing weight in no time. Stick with it and you'll lose the weight! Good luck (: