Fat-loss for a teenage girl

[charlie]

emtropy,

Lots of great advice on this thread.

You do not lose weight to become healthy, you become healthy to lose weight. When your body runs as it should it will regulate the weight to a more optimal level. :)

See you around.

 

[cbar09]

cbar09: did you feel that macros matters? like going lower in fat made a difference etc? did you have to count calories?

I do feel macros matter when you are focusing on healthy weight loss. Carbs and sugar keep my metabolism humming well even when I drop the other macros (mostly fat). Can't say the same for increasing fat. Overall calories play a role, but I can maintain or lose weight at a higher calorie threshold when I keep carbs/sugar higher than when I do that with fat - so that makes me pretty confident sugar calories are more efficient/support a better metabolic rate.

I think it's also important to make sure you feel satiated. If that means adding a little SF or fiber (carrot salad and ripe, whole fruits work very well), then you should tweak your foods so you're not going hungry. But I find it much easier to overeat on fat/starch than fruits and simple sugar. I can currently drink fruit juice ad libitum and not gain weight, but when one is still trying to recover from low-carb or poor insulin sensitivity or hypothyroid, then it can be easier to eat more whole fruit than juice.

 

[Filip1993]

@Cbar How much fat do you usually eat?

 

[cbar09]

@Cbar How much fat do you usually eat?

Depending on my goals anywhere from 40-100g. Cheat days/meals can contain significantly more fat, and I usually discount coconut oil used in cooking.

 

[emtropy]

To update you all:

I had 3 eggs in 7g of butter, and a small banana and some mango with low-fat yoghurt for breakfast. Sound like a disgusting amount? It was to my mum.

Her: "you're eating huge, huge portions! No wonder you're putting on weight!"

I haven't put on any weight.

"the dress you tried on yesterday was size x and I could barely get it on!"

Riiiiight after she agreed that different shops have different sizes.

"i don't want to hear about calories!"

After I told her the content of my breakfast.

We've been through this so many times and get nowhere so I left. She followed me. I told her to leave me alone, and she followed me to my room, which led me to plugging my ears with my back to the door. Like a pathetic child.

I don't care about how much she loves me, she is so unhelpful and makes me feel like ***t. Nice of her to compare me to my friends - like I don't do that enough. Oh, and telling me I'm going to end up like my obese cousin. Thanks mum. But it's OK to say all these shitty things if you follow it with "but I just want to help!"

Before I left I was all "going to eat this 80 calorie banana with this 100 calorie yoghurt and this....100? calorie mango! Mmmmm diabetes!" but she didn't think it was funny.

I don't know what to do anymore.

Can someone help talk some sense into her? Not that she would see it. I'm greatly considering showing her this thread.

 

[Maisy]

To update you all:

I had 3 eggs in 7g of butter, and a small banana and some mango with low-fat yoghurt for breakfast. Sound like a disgusting amount? It was to my mum.

Her: "you're eating huge, huge portions! No wonder you're putting on weight!"

I haven't put on any weight.

"the dress you tried on yesterday was size x and I could barely get it on!"

Riiiiight after she agreed that different shops have different sizes.

"i don't want to hear about calories!"

After I told her the content of my breakfast.

We've been through this so many times and get nowhere so I left. She followed me. I told her to leave me alone, and she followed me to my room, which led me to plugging my ears with my back to the door. Like a pathetic child.

I don't care about how much she loves me, she is so unhelpful and makes me feel like s***. Nice of her to compare me to my friends - like I don't do that enough. Oh, and telling me I'm going to end up like my obese cousin. Thanks mum. But it's OK to say all these s****y things if you follow it with "but I just want to help!"

Before I left I was all "going to eat this 80 calorie banana with this 100 calorie yoghurt and this....100? calorie mango! Mmmmm diabetes!" but she didn't think it was funny.

I don't know what to do anymore.

Can someone help talk some sense into her? Not that she would see it. I'm greatly considering showing her this thread.

Hi Emtrophy

I don't post a lot in here, but read everything!

I feel for you, reminds me of when I was in my teens and how mother's issue with calories and being thin really ruined my relationship with food and my view of my body for life.

You are still growing and need good nutrition, not calorie counting. Once you start counting cals, as you may know, it becomes an obsessions and it doesn't work!! You will eventually crave extra energy and break the diet and then feel bad - then the cycle will continue, particularly with all the exercise you are doing.

Maybe show your mum some articles on how dieting doesn't work - or even buy a book if you can such as this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rules-Normal-Ea ... 081&sr=1-1

I don't know if that's much help!

Take care
Maisy
X

 

[Blossom]

There is so much more to life than micromanaging weight but unfortunately many people fall into that trap. I'm sorry about your situation, all you can do is stay strong and true to what you know is right and healthy for you. I've watched my stepdaughter become obese rebelling against her mother's disordered eating behavior. I've often thought of all the good things that could be done in the world if all the energy that is wasted on crazy dieting stopped and people just loved and accepted themselves. Stay strong

 

[emtropy]

Thanks, Maisy and Blossom. I've let it go in one ear, out the other, basically. Otherwise the stress and the micro-managing will do more damage than any diet! Besides, having mum manage my food is leaving it open to PUFA disaster. I think we've came to a sort of conclusion that she's going to leave me alone, thankfully.

 

[Maisy]

Thanks, Maisy and Blossom. I've let it go in one ear, out the other, basically. Otherwise the stress and the micro-managing will do more damage than any diet! Besides, having mum manage my food is leaving it open to PUFA disaster. I think we've came to a sort of conclusion that she's going to leave me alone, thankfully.

Hi Emtropy
Pleased you have reached a compromise with your mum.
Miaisy

 

[SQu]

Hey emtropy, my mom made me feel fat too and the dieting and feeling bad did lots of damage. I have a daughter who's 16 and carries maybe 5 extra pounds but I know that she'll be fine and I keep saying ' don't make the same mistakes I did! '
your mom and mine got stuck in the world of ' dieting is good' and mine who is now old and has frail bones still won't listen to me. She lost 14 pounds in hospital with the latest broken bones. She shrunk in height and visibly lost what little remaining muscle and bone mass she had. It's shocking, because she's celebrating that weight loss. But you can see how strong the ' thin is good' message is.
Good luck with your mom but also be strong and educate yourself to be free. And healthy!

 

[superhuman]

cbar09: did you feel that macros matters? like going lower in fat made a difference etc? did you have to count calories?

I do feel macros matter when you are focusing on healthy weight loss. Carbs and sugar keep my metabolism humming well even when I drop the other macros (mostly fat). Can't say the same for increasing fat. Overall calories play a role, but I can maintain or lose weight at a higher calorie threshold when I keep carbs/sugar higher than when I do that with fat - so that makes me pretty confident sugar calories are more efficient/support a better metabolic rate.

I think it's also important to make sure you feel satiated. If that means adding a little SF or fiber (carrot salad and ripe, whole fruits work very well), then you should tweak your foods so you're not going hungry. But I find it much easier to overeat on fat/starch than fruits and simple sugar. I can currently drink fruit juice ad libitum and not gain weight, but when one is still trying to recover from low-carb or poor insulin sensitivity or hypothyroid, then it can be easier to eat more whole fruit than juice.

Get u. What about protein? More better? Sugar to protein ratio etc?

 

[Peat's_Girl]

Why is everybody ignoring the fact she's a 16 year old girl who's been dieting for the majority of her life?...

You don't need another diet!
Just do what you can. I think those of us who do extreme versions of this diet have a bucket list of problems.

Read Peat's work, if you want the mental challenge, then once you have a good grasp of it come back to the forum and ask questions if you're having trouble. You should not be limiting entire food groups like starch and fats because you need them for your development!

Could you lay off the exercise you're doing? It's too intensive. Do something light you enjoy, like pilates, walking, or just biking as long as you enjoy it and it doesn't leave your breathless.
Just by removing seed oils and grains from your diet, and adding in dairy and fruit, your body composition should improve dramatically. Get to a doctor to check your progesterone levels if your cycle isn't regular.

And yeah, if you're a bigger framed girl with good muscle mass, don't chase a magical number to make you happy or compare yourself to other girls (been there, got the t-shirt).

If I never dieted as a teenager I wouldn't have all these issues I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. You know this and yet you're consciously restricting fat and starch!

The fact you're keeping food logs and are to some degree occupied with your weight and exercise is doing more harm than good.

Even if you only have 10lbs to lose and you'll never lose the weight, it'll be better off than restricting and continuously prepetuating the cycle (because eventually you'll crave starch or fat and it might trigger binging again). This is a surefire way to getting sicke and obese (trust me). It's just 10lbs, it'll come off slowly when you've stopped stressing your body out.

Gosh, you shouldn't be spending your youth on a health forum. That's only for old, sick and pathetic people like us! ;D

Go and live your freaking life!

 

[tara]

Emtropy's main problem seems to be not that she is carrying too much fat, but that her mother is trying to starve her.