<p>This is most likely going to be another long post... just a warning ;) I finished finals this week, so have lots of time to write lengthy posts on CC now :) lol.</p>
<p>Crouton had a lot of good advice to lose weight. All the stuff about increasing water intake and fiber, as well as all the other stuff, is really important. One of the only things I might disagree with is centering your workouts around sprints, or more specifically, HIIT (high intensity interval training... short bursts as hard as you can). If you’re not already in pretty good physical condition, you risk getting injured going out and sprinting right away because it can be hard on your body. Sprinting without proper form could really set you up with some bad overuse injuries. Also, as most of us on CC are teenagers, there’s a much higher risk of avulsion fractures. These can be particularly nasty and basically involve your tendon or muscle ripping off a part of bone or growth plate… not good. If you do sprints, it’s probably best to limit them to once or twice a week with a coach watching your form. </p>
<p>Personally, I’ve had good results with just increasing the cardio. You burn pretty much the same amount of calories whether you walk a mile or run it (approximately 100 cal / mile for a 150 pound adult), so if you have the choice between running two miles or walking five, it’s probably best to walk five (although, running five would be even better). A general rule of thumb for running is to limit your weekly mileage increases to less than 10% each week. Also, it’s good to be aware of the surfaces you’re running on. If you’re running on a sidewalk - Is it concrete or asphalt (asphalt is better)? Is it sloped horizontally? Is it downhill or uphill? A cushioned treadmill is probably the most forgiving surface for your joints that you can run on, but it can be boring, so I usually prefer outside… </p>
<p>Besides that, I’d have to just agree with everybody else, sports help a lot. If you find something you like, the weight tends to usually just fall off with time. Your body's pretty good about adapting to morph into the most efficient shape for your activities.</p>
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And apparently that doesn't even work for me... I don't drive or get driven places so I spend literally three to five hours per week walking; I don't eat junk; I don't eat excessively... I have the healthiest lifestyle of anyone I know, and even then I can just barely maintain my current weight. I only lost weight when I was working out (and I mean the kind of workouts that leave you sweat-soaked and sore and so weak you can barely walk) three to five hours per week in addition to all the walking, while eating virtually nothing due to stress and other factors, which is so unhealthy and probably causes more problems than it's worth.
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You sound perfectly healthy to me. Seriously, by just walking everywhere, you’re probably ahead of most Americans. Your diet sounds very healthy too. However, working out a lot, while not eating enough, is very unhealthy. It’s good that you realize that.</p>
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I'm almost convinced there's something seriously wrong with my body, because anyone else would be losing weight from my current lifestyle (neither starving nor exercising compulsively, but eating healthily and staying relatively active), but I'm just not.
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<p>No, I can almost assure you there’s nothing wrong with your body… yet. At 5’6” and 110 pounds, you have a BMI of 17.8. Underweight is clinically defined as a BMI under 18.5. Most patients with eating disorders have a BMI ~17.5. Granted, BMI isn’t an extremely accurate indicator, but it does give a guideline. At your height and weight, you’re already pretty thin. It’s likely that when you tried to lose weight by restricting calories and working out more, your body started to become more efficient by slowing your metabolism and preventing further weight loss. Since you weren’t providing it with the calories it needed, it had to resort to breaking down muscles and organs in your body to get energy. If you were to keep this up, you could not only slow down your metabolism, but also do irreversible damage to your muscles, organs, bones, heart, etc. Your BMI indicates you really do not need to lose weight and it appears your body does too. Ignoring these signs would be a very bad thing to do. If you still are really convinced that you still need to lose weight, it might be best to discuss it with a medical professional or psychologist. Alternatively, if you focus on gaining more muscle mass and becoming more toned, you might achieve goals of appearing “thinner.” I don’t mean to attack you personally, but it’s really, really unhealthy to take such desperate measures just to lose a few more pounds.</p>