HELP ME! How do I start?!

[glee12]

I am a 16 year old girl and I'm going through a lot right now. I'm 5'3, and 169 pounds, so the weight is not evenly distributed and it makes me look quite chunky. Most of my fat is in my arms and thighs so I've had a really tough summer. One of my closest friends has a pool birthday party every year and I have never been to one of her parties. Every year I make some excuse or another to avoid going, just because I don't feel confident wearing a bikini.

This upcoming year, I've been placed in my school's most elite orchestra class. In said class we have to buy and have a black formal dress custom tailored. I wanted to lose 30-60 pounds this summer so that I could wear the dress and feel beautiful and confident. Honestly, it has been so long since I've looked in the mirror and actually not felt like shit. Pardon my language, but I honestly can't think of another way to put it. It sucks to be this young and have to deal with this, I mean, this is ridiculous. I should be enjoying my life, going to parties, having fun, not hiding my body, making excuses or staying cooped up in my room because I feel embarrassed of myself.

I want to lose weight. I need to lose weight. I haven't been to the doctor in so long because I don't want her to tell me that I have diabetes. I'm scared. I don't want to feel this way. I don't want to be scared. I want to enjoy my life in a positive manner and feel good about myself. I really don't think that that's too much to ask.

Can you guys help me out? School starts again on the 26th of August, and I want to lose as much weight as possible. I tried running and eating healthy till now, but none of it seems to be working. I weigh myself every Thursday at 1:25, and the first time I was 169, next week I was 166 and this week I was 168. I know weight fluctuates but I'm losing hope. I need to do this for myself. Please. Help me feel good again.

Thank you so much,
glee12

 

[AthalaRanger]

You know, when I started at this I was also 16 and weighing 226 lbs on a 5'9 frame, so I know where you coming from.

You need to start by counting calories and sticking to a deficit. That's really the easiest and most reliable way. Start eating at 12 - 10 Kcal per lb of bodyweight (try with 12 first, if that doesn't work go to 11) and stick to that number every day of the week.

Get a food scale and weight your food. Don't estimate. And don't cheat yourself by having cheat days. You need to account for everything you eat.

If you start doing that, you should be on the right track. You can adjust that number down as it is needed.

Now, here's the thing; you will probably not be able to lose weight as fast as you want to. As long as your body fat is high, you may be able to expect a 1% loss of your weight or a 1.5 - 2 lb loss per week (first week loss is always more).

Losing a lot of weight fast will not do much for you, since you start losing water and other stuff that way (I.e: it will do nothing for your looks). If you manage to consistently lose 1.5 lbs of fat per week, and sustain that, it will be a lot more sustainable and better for you than just losing weight fast.

TL DR; Start by counting calories and be consistent. You need to sustain that without cheating ('Cheating' being defined as going above your calories. It doesn't matter what you eat).

You can also add some exercise if you want. Depending and your fitness level and what you like, different things are going to be appropiate. But if you can try to do physical activity at least for 20 - 30 min 3 - 4 times a week. That's a good place to start.