I Want to Lose Weight

I have struggled with my weight ever since I was a child :)
I yoyoed from slim to chubby to fat to chubby then to too skinny and now I am fat again :(
When I was in high school I was so sick of comments about how chubby I was and I then went on an extreme diet and became too skinny in such a short time. I was underweight.

Since I got comments about being skinny, I gave up and started overeating again (I was a silly teenager :(...) And now that the years have passed I am now almost obese (according to bmi...I don't really look obese though as I gain most of my fat in my arms) and I still get negative comments. I have learned to accept that not everyone is going to be happy with my weight regardless of what I become so I just want to be a healthy weight and ignore the comments I will get.

I am 4ft 11 so naturally, a healthy weight and caloric intake of someone my height is much lower than what I should be for the average height of my age (I am 19).
I am a vegetarian and I really want some advice...I can't afford the gym anymore so if anyone has any diet or exercise tips to help me get started then I will appreciate it so much. :) I don't even know what the right portion sizes for food are for vegetarians. I used to eat meat in the past so for years I have been doing the vegetarian lifestyle completely wrong (too much dairy and carbs). I am also living with my family, I cook for myself (and buy a lot of my own food/ingredients) but my family keep buying me take aways and sweets (even though they comment on my weight) and I try to be polite and suggest that maybe I can get something healthier or just have a different meal instead but they keep doing it and I feel too polite to say no. :(

I would be very grateful to anyone that is currently losing weight successfully and can offer me advice. :) I keep trying to eat healthy but I always go back to junk food eventually.

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Moribund · 26-30, M

I'd say the first step is to talk to your family. It's the same for me right now, but I just told them that it's very important for me to actually get fit and thankfully they understood. Believe me, it's 10x harder to actually start eating more healthily if there's always something to tempt you into cheating.

To be honest, people are completely different weight-loss wise, and as such diets and thingies such as that may do little to no good. What's a tad bit more important is to get a schedule in place. For example - wake up at, let's say 12 o'clock, eat a bit of breakfast (if you're already vegetarian, the food you eat is actually not [u]that[/u] important. It's the quantities that play the major role) and then keep eating regularly after that, let's say every 3-4 hours or so. This helps the body regulate energy-storage (and through that, fat loss) immensely.

The second thing that might do good is to start up a few hobbies that involve physical activity, thus creating a win-win situation: you lose a few pounds in the process of doing something that you like. For me, it's gardening, making firewood, taking walks and so forth. Of course, if you live in a city centre, then that's basically out of the question, however it's still something to think about.

But in general, walking and cycling are the safest bet when it comes to losing weight. They're both very calming, don't tire you out too much and build up muscles and endurance (well, walking not that much, but it still helps a lot). Running is a good method too, don't get me wrong, but the risk of wearing out joints and generally hurting your feet is a tad bit higher than with cycling or walking (it mostly depends on initial body weight. Running can actually do more harm than good when a person is [b]extremely[/b] overweight, but otherwise it should be safe).

Other good methods, that not only burn fat but have additional bonuses, are swimming and hiking. Swimming is generally the absolute panacea for all physical problems: it never puts any pressure on joints so no matter what the initial body weight is, it's still good, it burns more calories than one might think (when swimming enthusiastically, that is) and it relaxes the muscles and helps speed up the process of them healing and growing. Now, granted, hiking has a lot of risks, but the rewards make it worth the pain. Just being out and about in nature is for me more worthwhile than strolling on random city streets, but that's just me.

So, to sum it up - routine, routine, routine and slightly smaller portions. That should be the base to a very nice and steady loss of weight.

I hope everything works out great for you!