Honest help needed

[BabySteps]

First off: if you're going to post that I'm not fat, don't respond.

I need honest help. Some years ago I lost 30 lbs. For the past while after I lost it I was so happy with my results but now I want to do better and lose more. I want to lose just 15 more pounds.

Stats:
Female, Late Teens, 5'3", 130 lbs. 20.1% body fat. My life was radically changed by losing 30 lbs. at the tender age of 15, but it's not good enough for me anymore. I want to lose more.

Goal:
115 lbs.

No more pooch or arms that keep waving goodbye after I have stopped. It's like after all this time after losing weight the first time I've forgotten how.

How many calories should I eat?
What kind of exercise should I do?
How often should I exercise?
What should I eat, considering I am a vegetarian?

I'm so lost, please help.

 

[KaraCooks]

Hm. Your first sentence kind of puts me off wanting to help you, to be honest. I understand that you don't want to be told you're not fat, but the truth is that you're not. You're in a healthy range for your weight. And your attitude is off-putting to those of us who *are* fat and who have struggled with it.

That doesn't mean that you have to be happy with your body as it is. It's possible that even though you are in a healthy range, that your body is out of shape and flabby. It's often referred to as being "skinny fat" ... where you have dieted until your weight is low, but your muscles are under developed and as a result you look flabby and often "pudgy" where you're not really.

At 5'3", 115 lbs is on the low end of where you should be. My advice would be rather than concentrating on the scale, start paying attention to your body fat percentage. You can get your body fat measured at most gyms or you can buy a scale or a measuring device that uses bioimpedence - something like this:

Also you could focus on building muscle and strength, while eating a healthy and balanced diet.

Read the sticky posts in the nutrition area and in the exercise area - especially the posts on weight lifting for women. You'll get more information of the type you need there.

 

[ChefChiTown]

First off: if you're going to post that I'm not fat, don't respond.

I need honest help.

Well, if you truly want me to be honest, then I have to tell you that you're not fat.

Anyway, you're a teenage girl and you're probably under a lot of social pressure to have the "perfect" body, which is causing you to think that you need to lose more weight. The truth is, there's probably NOTHING wrong with the way you look right now. Personally, I think that girls who weigh 115 lbs are a little too skinny, even if they're 5' 3", like you. And, since you wanted honest help, allow me to follow through with that request...

You don't need to lose weight. If you want to tone up, then just start exercising on a regular basis, but...you don't need to lose weight.

 

[Omega]

I also am 5ft3 and can undertstand both your position and that of the other posters here.

Your body fat percent is not high and your BMI is healthy. Therefore you are not fat. Since you are the only person who knows your weight - there is nothing magic about a lower number. I suggest that you would be happy if the scale continued to say 130 but the pooch and the waving arms were a thing of the past. You are currently seeing losing pounds as the only way forward there.

Having said that - the BMI is a range for a reason. A person with a small frame sits a lot lower in that range than a person with a large frame.

For what it is worth I think that you should read the exercise section of this forum and start doing regular exercises. You definitely want to do some sort of work for your muscles focusing on your problem areas - check out that section that Kara mentioned. If you join a gym to do that - then follow the advice from the staff there. I joined keep fit classes and discussed my issues with my teachers. I would also do some form of cardio too (but that is just me). You may find that you really enjoy aerobics like I did... If you find something that you enjoy you are more likely to keep it up long term. That will help you keep off any extra pounds that you lose - not to mention helping you maintain the 30 pound that you have already lost (a while ago).

Enter your profile into - and use it to log your food and activity. Make sure that you log all exercise and if you do not want to enter every last thing that you do set a suitable lifestyle activity level. Many people find that "mostly seated with some movement" describes them best. You will be able to see your calorie balance there. Measure your food accurately and aim for a small deficit (maybe 300 calories over the day).

It is this deficit that will give you any weight loss. It is counterproductive to take your calories too low - so do not go into the trap of thinking that you want to be having 1000 calories or 1200 calories just because you hear people mention that number. Without seeing your calorie balance - I would imagine that about 1550 calories a day would be nearer the mark...

Make those calories count though. As Kara suggested - read the section on nutrition - and make sure that you are getting enough protein, fibre, calcium, healthy fats etc
As a rough guide I would shoot for a minimum of
protein 65g
fibre 25g
calcium 1000mg
I am a similar weight to yourself and tend to take my values much higher though - as I say this is a minimum...
drink at least 65 fluid ounces of water every day
ensure that your sodium is not higher than 2400mg
You can see the nutritional breakdown on fitday - you can even set custom nutritional goals.

Since you do not eat meat, fish, poultry - I am sure that your diet will focus on legumes, quorn, eggs, low fat dairy.

If fitday highlights any vitamin deficiencies in your diet - try to address them by nutritional meals. If you cannot do that - investigate a multivitamin to cover off the gaps.