Best way to lose weight?

[Saures]

I have never really thought "gee I need to lose weight". But today, after going out, I felt pretty self conscious about my size...

 

I'm 16, I weigh about 8 and a half stone to 9 stone, and this may not seem a lot, but I still would like to lose some weight, or try and be healthy.

I love my food.

I want to get to a size 8, Im currently a size 10-12...

 

But what is a good way to lose weight?

I know diets and stuff, but the novelty wears off, has anyone got any tips or advice for me?

[Captain Obvious]

Eat heathily and exercise (join a gym, play some sports, etc.) is by far the best way to lose weight.

[OptomisticGirl]

Eat heathily and exercise (join a gym, play some sports, etc.) is by far the best way to lose weight.

 

Pretty much this. Dieting does nothing in the long term to help you keep the weight off. Just change what you, how you eat it, and exercise. I stopped eating huge portion sizes (and multiple accessive times a day) and go to the gym 4-5 days a week and I feel great compared to how I felt when I wasn't doing those things. It's trial and error for each person.

[Batya33]

I had to lose weight after I gave birth. I was in my early 40s. It was definitely exercise that made the huge difference -I do at least 30 minutes of intense cardio every single day and besides that I walk briskly another few miles at least plus run after a 2 year old much of the day (and do lots of cleaning too). I am constantly in motion. I eat whatever I want but in moderation. I taught myself how to be aware of my hunger/full cues so that the emotional eating is at a minimum and I no longer enjoy feeling too full. I avoid fried foods and other than the occasional cookie I snack on during the day I avoid/limit white flour -- I have a lot of fiber in my diet from high fiber bread, cereal and fruit. The most damage I did was when I was a teenager and dieted a lot - I was underweight and food became the enemy - I ate far more in response to temptation/emotions/feeling deprived than true hunger. I lost the baby weight (about 25 pounds probably) within 5 months then lost another 4 pounds so that my weight now is 4 below pre-pregnancy when I was slim to begin with.

 

 

I have heard that Weight Watchers is a great program too.

[Saures]

Mhm, I'll have to google good workouts, although my mum bought a "zumba workout" dvd, just curious, has anyone experienced this "zumba" exercise scheme?

I was considering it, but if it won't make a difference, then I won't bother... But its worth a shot

[diamond78]

20-30 minutes of high interval cardio training performed every other day will help you lose weight, slim down your belly, and increase your metabolism.

[Eocsor]

Eat heathily and exercise (join a gym, play some sports, etc.) is by far the best way to lose weight.

 

I agree this is the way to go, but it's far from easy. You have to make a lifestyle change and stick with it, otherwise you'll be back where you started. This isn't something you do for a couple of months, and then when you've lost the weight, go back to your former lifestyle.

[Tryptophan]

You have to change your whole lifestyle to include things that are gonna have a long-lasting effect, not just do it for a period of time. By this I mean setting a daily calorie intake and doing as much exercise as you can (force yourself, the energy won't just "come"). Once your body has adjusted to that, you might need to change it a little if you want to keep losing weight, but you get the idea.

 

Also, another thing that helps that I always see people doing wrong is meals. Eat 6 little meals a day, and you'll see how much of a difference it makes. I guess it could also be 3 meals and 3 50 or 100-calorie snacks. It keeps your metabolism functioning. If you go without eating too long, it shuts down so it tries to use the least calories for all the other things you do. Simple concept but it's probably one of the most common things that prevent people from losing weight.

 

Good luck!

[In the Dark]

Get into some high impact sports and sooner the better!

At your age I was doing Kickboxing, Karate, Mountain biking and skateboarding.

And man I was fit!

[TakingtheBlame]

I'm pretty much with everyone here on the whole diet + exercise thing but just wanted to chime in with my own experience re: weight loss, FWIW. A couple of years after college I was 5'4 and a size 9 (in pants) and managed to diet down to about a size 6-7 (not eating breakfast, drinking Slim Fast for lunch) but I was MISERABLE the entire time and also somewhat "skinnyfat." Then I started running regularly, using the weight machines at the gym, and counting calories, and the weight just melted off, and I was crazy toned; at 27 I became the same weight I had been in high school, a size 0-2 (depending which store I was shopping in.) Granted, the calorie counting was annoying as hell at the beginning but for me, it got a lot easier as time went on and I was able to recognize which ingredients contained approximately how many calories without having to read the nutritional information (like for e.g., a slice of such-and-such brand bread contains 90 calories, and so on.) Also, I made sure to run on a treadmill/elliptical 3-5 times a week so I could track how many calories I was burning. I think the general rule is 3500 calories = 1 pound of weight loss or weight gain, so that helps to keep track of when deciding on how many calories to take in and burn off (my general rule of thumb was burn about 500 calories every time I was at the gym using a combination of treadmill + elliptical work.) It never hurts to join a gym, talk to a personal trainer and/or nutritionist, and invest in some fitness magazines or fitness forums (like link removed, just for e.g.) until fitness and diet become like second nature to you. Of course there are many more sophisticated systems of diet + exercise out there which take into account eating certain ingredients, exercises benefiting certain areas of the body, etc., but simply eating sensibly, and having a calories in/calories burned system worked wonders for me, personally, even at the most rudimentary level.

[Furtive]

I've lost 50lbs in two months (My metabolism is Godlike though).

 

Everyone here has given good advice, but weight loss is at its most basic "eat less calories than you burn."

 

I use the daily plate to measure my daily intake of calories, and net calories after working out.

 

Two tools not essential, but IMO vital to stellar success: a heart rate monitor and a food scale.

 

If you weigh your food, track it in a program w/ your set calorie goals, work out at optimum heart beats per minute, using the heart rate monitor, your weight will fly off.

 

Cheating and winging will make it impossible. Always consult a DR yadayada.

[happyfrank]

No diets. Just play sports like basketball or maybe join cross country at school. Keep yourself active and don't forget to drink plenty of water. I recommend joining zumba group and trying it with other people for motivation. Good luck.

[thejigsup]

I don't have to excercise to lose weight, I just have to eat healthy. I excercise because I have a lot of energy and it feels good to burn some of it off. I hate gyms, so I have an excercise bike in my living room and I walk a lot. In the last 4 months I've lost over 30 lbs. doing this. Eat right and excercise a little.

[Furtive]

I don't have to excercise to lose weight, I just have to eat healthy. I excercise because I have a lot of energy and it feels good to burn some of it off. I hate gyms, so I have an excercise bike in my living room and I walk a lot. In the last 4 months I've lost over 30 lbs. doing this. Eat right and excercise a little.

 

You don't even have to eat healthy to lose weight, technically. Just eat less calories than you burn. A person can eat nothing but twinkies and still lose weight. Whether or not that's healthy is another matter altogether.

 

Exercise, though not required, definitely makes for a healthier lifestyle, and for those that like to eat, makes it so they can effectively eat more and still be at a calorie deficit.

[Snowy]

1. Don't eat/drink crap - basically avoid saturated fat/sugar/excess sodium. (This is the most important out of all things)

 

2. Regular exercise. (Cardio is the best for losing weight fast.)

 

3. Be as active as possible. i.e. taking the stairs instead of the lift/walking instead of driving.