advice please

[Ellie_illsley]

hiya everyone, just wanted to ask for some advice. I’m 17 years old 5’3 and I weigh 11.5 stone. I know this is obviously not a healthy weight and my confidence is so low. I’ve tried diet after diet but nothing that I could keep up long term as some of the requirements are ridiculous. So I’ve decided I just want to loose the weight a normal, healthy and steady way. By reducing my calorie intake to 1200 and going to the gym about 3 times a week. I have a holiday to Egypt coming up in 3 months and id love to get down to 9.5 st by then is this a reasonable goal? or would that kind of goal lead to unhealthy measures being taken. if so can anyone recommend a good steady goal that I could reach by august 10th. in addition could anyone recommend some good fat burning exercise’s. Thank you xx

[RG07 Maintainer]

Hi I am following NHS 12 week weight loss plan (its free) which is calorie counting I have lost 6.5kg since January. It recommends eating 1400/day- you need to be careful because if you too little calories your body can go in to starvation mode so stores everything you eat as fat. If you go on the NHS Choices website and the Living Well page there is a section that you can go to you put n some details and its estimates how many calories you need to eat minimum and maximum. If there are no calories shown then it means you are in the healthy BMI range already.

its recommended to loose not more than 1-2lbs/week to improve chances of keeping the weight off- based on this you need 16weeks to acheive that goal loosing 2lb/week needs to be consistent but this is a bit unrealistic since you will have good and bad weeks. Realistically I would aim for loosing 12lbs (10.5st approx) anything more is a bonus!

Good luck- we are a friendly and supportive bunch on here. With regard to the exercise there are links on the NHS Choices website with the weight loss plan for a 5 week build up to strength & flex exercises and also several 10mins work out for toning. Walking is just as effective, as long as you increase the speed so you feel warm and slightly breathless (you can talk but not sing comfortably!!!)

[Ellie_illsley in reply to RG07]

Thank you very much! xx

[JiminyCricket 7lbs]

Hello and welcome to the forum! I think your goal of 2 stone in 3 months is achievable. The nhs 12 week plan is just the right length of time and really helps you move into a more healthy way of life. I lost 16lbs following it. I have just done another 3 months and just reached a total of 2 stone lost - somy weight loss has slowed down a lot, but I feel so much better I don't mind how long it takes really and good new habits are being well ingrained. Don't be in a rush, embrace the journey. Wishing you the best of luck.

[Ellie_illsley in reply to JiminyCricket]

Thank you for the advice and confidence boost. its nice to see someone who has achieved the goal that I am setting, it makes it seem a lot more do-able xx

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

Hi and welcome, Ellie

You need to check your calorie allowance on the NHS BMI calculator first, as it's very important to eat the correct amount. Try not to think of this as another diet, but as a healthy lifestyle and think of the weight loss as a by product, rather than the focus.

Take a look at the Pinned posts section to the right of your screen (bottom if you're using a mobile), read the Welcome Newbie thread, then move through to the challenges, where we hope you'll find at least one that will appeal to you.

Move down to the Topics, to find a variety of threads, collated into specific topics for ease of access and we ask that you also 'file' your own threads, so that others won't miss your important news.

Take a look at the NHS 12 week plan, as a lot of people have been successful with it, making sure to enter your details into the BMI calculator, to get a calorie allowance tailored to your personal requirements. Don't forget to take your starting measurements and a 'before' picture, as they can be very motivating on days that the scales refuse to co-operate.

We run daily weigh-in's and you'd be very welcome to join us. The threads can always be found in the Events section, to the right of the HOME page, bottom on a mobile.

We also run a Daily Diary, where we share our meal and exercise plans for the day. It's a great place to get ideas and to keep us focused. The link can also be found in Events.

Be aware, that the HU app doesn't give you access to all of our important features, so we advise that you use the full website page.

We've found that to get the best out of this community, we need to be active on the forum, as it's where we exchange information, get motivation and inspiration and make friends. We hope that you'll join us here, regularly, too.

It's only left for me to wish you well on your journey

[Ellie_illsley in reply to moreless]

thank you very much xx

[melissa90 1st 7lbs]

I agree with RG07. Particularly if you are going to keep up the exercise you definitely need to be having at least 1400 calories a day to sustain the weight loss and remain healthy. In terms of exercises try and do a combination of cardio and weight training. This may cause slight weight gain as you build muscle but if you take measurements of yourself you'll see the changes and faster than if you were just doing cardio. Check out Emily Skye on Facebook as she has some good videos for HIIT training. Don't beat yourself up about your weight. You are still very young and you're still growing. But I completely encourage you committing to a healthy lifestyle and exercise regime and I wish you all the best with it and you'll look absolutely beautiful when you're on holiday. You can do it 😀 xxx

[Ellie_illsley in reply to melissa90]

thank you! that was so sweet. I feel really motivated now xx

[Hidden]

Hi Ellie good luck. I'm 5'3.5" and started my journey ar 12st4. So I don't think 11st5 is as enormous as you feel it is. I recommend taking measurements everywhere so you can physically see the change. I did couchto5k and followed the nhs 12 week weight loss plan eating around 1400-1500 cals/day, and just needed a further few weeks to make it a full 2 stone loss. The biggest thing you can do is to make all the changes gradually then it will be sustainable in the long term. If you implement one small change each week like the 12 week plan describes then it's all so much more manageable

[elliebath Maintainer]

Hi Ellie,

Welcome aboard. I agree with the others above. Take it slowly and eat the maximum calories you can to lose weight. For your height and age your aim should be to reach 9.5 stone AND TO KEEP IT OFF.

You are a young woman so the new eating habits you can now learn can be yours for life if you take it slowly, say 1-2lbs per week.

If you click on my name you will see that one of my posts is an article about losing /regaining (titled Maintainers Club April) . Evidence shows that a slower loss is more likely to be maintained. I for one can back that up. It took me nearly eleven months to lose my spare 2st but I've since been a healthy BMI for more than 2 years. You are a young woman with many years ahead of you, so taking a few extra weeks in your weightloss journey will be worth it longterm.😊😊

[hjskev Host Maintainer 2 stone]

Hi I'm 5ft 4ins and started out last November at 11st 1lb so not so different from you. I weigh 9st 9lbs now which is good enough for me. So I think its doable for you The big difference between us is I'm 68 lol.

Can I urge you to make sure that whatever you do you make sure you take in enough calcium as this is the time in your life when you are still building strong bones? As we age bones become thinner and can't repair in the same way. Your bones are more important long term than strutting your stuff on the beach.

Also I don't know if it was the diet or not but my hair is dropping out like mad at the moment. I'm going for a blood test tomorrow to see if I'm lacking zinc.

Just saying it's important to make sure you have the right nutrients.

Good luck and enjoy your hols.

[scarlettstar]

Hey Ellie! I'm also 17 and trying to go down to 9.5 stone. I'm only 6 pounds away. It's been pretty hard and I've sometimes slipped into unhealthy methods which actually made me GAIN weight as well as feel bad about myself. Make sure to fuel your body. Don't restrict calories! 1200 calories is too little. I went vegatarian so I could eat 2000+ calories and would feel great. Stay active, avoid sitting down for long periods of time. Stay strong!