posted
I am not very thin, but I keep in shape and I am average height and weight for my age (16). I am normally happy with my size and shape because it has been the same for 5 years (since puberty ended), but recently I've been gaining a lot of weight and not growing at all length-wise. It's not a growth spurt, and it's not because I'm working out more (because I'm really not), but I can't seem to do anything to keep my weight down. I have tried keeping my portions smaller, but I like to eat and once I start it's kind of hard to stop. Then I tried to stop snacking so much because I realized that I'm not even hungry when I snack, but I couldn't do that either. so... how do I keep my weight normal? My other question is; how do I keep the weight off in my thighs? I am having a hard time fitting into some of my pants because my thighs have grown since I started gaining weight, and I'm not sure how to fix that. I tried working out my legs more, but all that does is make them more muscley, which is nice, but they don't get any smaller. If I lose weight will that also come from my thighs? Sorry, I'm just new to the whole watching my diet thing... thanks!
[This message has been edited by momomo (edited 10-13-2003).]
posted
We all continue to grow past puberty, and our bodies change even if we don't grow in height. As long as you arent eating unhealthy and you are physically active then chances are your body is just maturing more. I turn 19 at the end of this month and even though I began menstration when I was 10 my body has still changed shape within the last year even though my height and weight havent changed all that much.
Its not at all unusual to gain a little body fat in your teens. If you are having concerns with your eating or excercising nutritionists and personal trainers are great. Nutritionists are really a good resource though, so I highly reccomend them no matter your food goals.
Posts: 523 | From: Ashland, Oregon, US | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
Eat less, but eat healthy and exercise more. Walking is really good for your legs and butt and even your stomach. Walk for periods of 30 minutes or more per day or even three days per week and you should notice a change. If not you might need to do a more aggressive work out. If nothing slims you down then i guess you'll just have to accept that thats your body shape and you'll have to learn to love it.
Good luck! : D
Posts: 5 | From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | Registered: Oct 2003
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posted
You (or anyone else) honestly have no way of identifying a growth spurt until after the fact.
And people grow other ways than up: your muscles and bones are still developing, as are other parts of your body when you're in your teens, even if you don't appear to be getting taller (I didn't get any taller for a good four years between 13 and seventeen, then put on another two inches, for instance). You also have no way of knowing when puberty has ended for you, and 16 would be very early for it to be entirely over.
Honestly, unless you are dealing with obesity your doctor is worried about, dieting in your teens isn't smart or wise for your lifelong health. Studies have clearly shown, in fact, that most adults who were put on diets as children or teens ended up battling obesity as adults.
As well, some folks are just built with big legs, the way some are built with wide backs or small waists or round tummies. Not a big deal, just another difference. I have them myself, have my whole life, and I'm a training fiend and a vegan.
So, if you want to evaluate this, do it smartly. Are you eating crap? Then lose it. Junk foods and such aren't good for you in any respect, so there's no harm in cutting them. Switch your snacks to fruits or raw veggies or lean proteins if you haven't already. Look at WHAT you're eating, rather than how much -- if you are hungry, it's usually because your body knows it needs food.
Get a decent amount of activity in a day. And remember that bodies aren't objects for display, they serve bigger purposes. If you're concerned about being healthy, talk to your doctor. If you're concerned about being perfect to fit some obtuse beauty ideal, lose that now: there's a diet everyone should go on.
------------------ Heather Corinna Editor and Founder, Scarleteen
My epitaph should read: "She worked herself into this ground." -- Kay Bailey Hutchinson
[This message has been edited by Miz Scarlet (edited 10-14-2003).]
Posts: 63404 | From: An island near Seattle | Registered: May 2000
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posted
thanks that helps a lot... but it was kind of offensive... I don't want to lose weight to impress other people and look like a super model, I want to because thats what feels good for me, and where I was before, how my body moved in space was what worked with the activities I do. I liked my clothes and don't want to buy new ones, is that so bad? I think its silly that just because someone wants to feel good they get accused of caring too much about being perfect and trying to look good for other people.
Posts: 273 | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
Hi, I understand wanting to tone certain areas of your body, sometimes you just want to look good for simply yourself. I suggest pilates for your thighs, there are certain exercises that target just this area, of course ask your doctor and make sure this is good for you. (This won't make your legs musclely, just more toned)
quote: I want to because thats what feels good for me, and where I was before, how my body moved in space was what worked with the activities I do. I liked my clothes and don't want to buy new ones, is that so bad?
It's not "bad" - but since (as you've explained) you're trying to keep your body size and shape where it was when you were 11, it's not remotely realistic either.
At 16 it's unlikely that you've completed all the changes of puberty, and it's natural for your body to keep changing and developing as you get older anyway. And that tends to mean that your thighs will fill out a bit, just as puberty means that your breasts will tend to develop.
Convincing yourself that you can only feel good with the body shape of an 11-year-old is not realistic or healthy.
If you're of average weight and eating healthily, there's no need at all for you to diet, and doing so could be unhealthy.
As fairie pointed out, Pilates (or yoga, I'd add) will help tone and stretch your body without bulking up muscles. And they'll certainly make you feel good and help you enjoy how your body moves in space.
But you're becoming an adult woman, and that means you're not going to have the body of an 11-year-old. Nor would it be desirable for you to do so. The fact that your body is changing doesn't in any way mean that it's getting "worse" or that you can't feel good any more.
posted
ok I definately never said I wanted to look like an 11 year old, wow. i've changed a lot since then (...i went through puberty) and if i did want to look like an eleven year old, i would probably doubt my mental health. im trying to get back to the weight i was like... 6 months ago at the most. im definately sorry i posted my question since it has caused so much misunderstanding and hasnt really helped me. and i asked you guys for help because i didn't want to do anything unhealthy. I'm not saying my body is bad or worse im saying I want to feel good in my body and where I was before i started gaining weight felt good. to put this is perspective, I've only gained like 6 pounds. and about me ending puberty, talk to my doctors. I know for certain that I have completed puberty and I also know that even after puberty people continue to develop. oi. nevermind.
[This message has been edited by momomo (edited 11-01-2003).]
posted
If you want to lose a little weight and be healthy about it then talk to a nutritionist and a doctor about getting on an excercise program. Since everyone's body has different needs that is the best way to go. We really cant tell you what is healthy for you or not.
And another note, at 19 my hips are wider than at 18 and I cant wear some of the same clothes but I got breasts in fourth grade. I hit puberty early but I am still not done, so at 16 you really are still changing.
Also, it has been shown that focusing on diet for physical appearence reasons rather than simply wanting to get nutrition can be unhealthy for teenagers and can cause some lasting problems. Just a thought.
Posts: 523 | From: Ashland, Oregon, US | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
Honestly, no one can know for certain when they' ve completed all of puberty. If your doctor is telling you anyone can know that with certain, they're not being honest with you, because that's just not possible. There are no tests which determine such.
And most people truly are not fully completed with all of puberty until they're out of their teens. That's a simple fact of human biology.
I don't know why you're sorry you asked, save that we can't give you perhaps the answers you want. A 6 pound weight gain is NOT a lot of weight. In fact, it's something most people would have a hard time even noticing. Truly, it is.
If you're getting at least 20 minutes of cardio activity a day at a minimum, and you're eating healthy foods sensibly and in a balanced fashion, you're doing what everyone should be doing to be in their best shape. If you're especially concerned about your legs, you can run, walk, skate or the like a bit extra (and as a note, if you've been doing that and DO have some extra fat on your things, they may also be getting bigger due to growing muscle under fat which has not burnt off yet and might still after a few months, especially if you've just begun getting more active -- that's also common).
But if those things aren't changing your shape over a year or so (exercise is rarely automatic, at all, it's a cumulative thing) chances are, your shape is simply what it is and is evolving as one's does, especially in women (and likely this won't be the first time that happens in your life -- there are often periods when one's body shape and size shifts due to normal biology and age).
You want any answer other than that, you're going to have to find someone willing to be dishonest with you, flatly.
------------------ Heather Corinna Editor and Founder, Scarleteen
My epitaph should read: "She worked herself into this ground." -- Kay Bailey Hutchinson
Posts: 63404 | From: An island near Seattle | Registered: May 2000
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posted
Thank you, that helps. i wasn't asking for some other specific answer, i was asking that you not assume that I'm doing this to look good for other people and that i'm obsessed with outward appearances because what i didn't need was a lecture on the problems i have with loving myself (or a lecture on how awful it is that i'm trying to look like an 11 year old...?) I expected that Scarleteen would be willing to give me a straightforward answer on how I could be haelthy without jumping to conclusions about the type of person I am. but apparently I was wrong
Posts: 273 | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
(No one took any mad, leaps, or made character judgemnts, momomo. We can only draw conclusions or follow what a user has posted in their posts -- none of us know you outside that. So what you had posted is what we responded to -- which included you saying you wanted the same body you had five years ago at 11, when physiologically puberty could not POSSIBLY have ended by any stretch -- as best we could.
And since several of us have taken some time to try and help here, it'd be appreciated if you'd now give the accusations and guilt-tripping a rest. We're here, we're helping, we're doing the best we can with a whole lot of users and not a whole lot of volunteers. Okay?)
Posts: 63404 | From: An island near Seattle | Registered: May 2000
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