QuestionI'm 15, 5'4" and I weigh about 161. Whenever I go out in public I feel very self
conscious about my body. I just want to know what my healthy weight and how
to get to it and maintain it. I would really appreciate it.
AnswerHi Steph,
It depends whether your male or female (I presume the latter) but the average 15 yr old ought to come in under 120. At this time in your life as you are growing into an adult, it's very common to feel self-conscious about your body image, anyway. It's important for you now to list what really causes the discomfort. If your weight is bothersome to you that is all you need to know and then you have to forget all the charts and numbers and start thinking about health and good food and fun exercise.
Some things that really help you lose weight are the following (and you may be surprised!):
Life is a gift and each day you you must find something to be thankful for.
Health is precious and hard come by. Look around at all the terminally ill, severely handicapped, road accidents, crime incidents, genetic diseases, you name it. Not to mention overly common allergies and all the viruses going round. So try to be positive about being in good health. Celebrate this by using your body for walks, stretching (yoga), gardening, dancing, cycling through parks/woods, taking care of animals or elderly people: just do stuff which is "fun" and wholesome and burns calories at the same time.
Once you feel more confident about just being you, regardless of your size, you can start challenging yourself with a more vigorous exercise plan (at a gym, with a coach). For now 25 minute walks DAILY should really make a difference (no sauntering! Nice brisk pace and not a minute less!).Try to extend these to an hour's exercise a day (a paper round? feed the ducks? Play your favorite CD and hip-hop along?).
Learn all you can about food. Know the difference between proteins and carbohydrates. Know which minerals and vitamins are in which foods. Find out about fibre, anti-oxidants, amino-acids, fatty acids. Read up on the horrors of sugar, additives, deep-frying, overconsumption in general, poor animal welfare: and then makes some conscious decisions about what foodstuffs you want to include in your diet and which no longer appeal to you.
Check out the quality of different brands and discover for yourself freshly prepared food is simply BEST.
Take some cookery classes or borrow some cookery books from the library to get a feel of what kinds of combinations work well in one meal.
Be gentle to yourself. Use soft and fragrant bathsoaps and warming oils for a warm embrace around yourself.
Read inspiring novels or biographies about people who have had harder lives than you, or from places and times where real hardship abounded. As well as more poetic, romantic works that help you dream up you finest potential and imagine a positive future for yourself.
Envisage yourself at your ideal weight and know it can be done, every night before falling asleep.
Brush your teeth or comb your hair, or have a refreshing shower when you feel like eating a snack.
Then you can begin to diet.
Don't just cut out all the "bad" foods. Above all focus on the "good". Learn to taste ripe fruits. Invent fabulous salads. Browse through a healthfood store to see what they've got (usually less fattening because they use less of the wrong fats and don't always add extra sugar: but check the labels!).
Of course, there are loads of diets out there, but none of them will work until you understand why you have got to the weight you are now and really decide you don't want THAT life-style anymore. It might mean making some radical changes. But you know what? That's what the teenage years are exactly there for!
I wish you the very best and support you with great faith: you can do whatever you set your mind to.
Go for it,Steph! You've already made the first step,by addressing the issue and being self-critical. So many never do and just hide away behind their self-consciousness. Big pat on the back for you!
Love Evelyn.
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