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I'm female, sixteen y/o, 5'1 and 106 pounds, my stats are 34-27-34. I exercise about 45 minutes a day, 4 days a week (mostly stretching and low intensity weight training) and I jog for an hour on Saturdays. Right now I consume about 1400 cals on weekdays, 1800 on weekends. Am I eating too much? How much more weight should I lose to be healthy? Should I exercise more? What dumbbell weight should I be using (I use 1 pound dumbbells...I'm kind of a wimp)? I'm very concerned about my waistline as well, since most people my age have 23-25 inch waistlines. Doesn't that mean I have higher risk for heart problems? Doesn't that signify that I have a high body fat percentage? I heard that no matter which exercise I do, I can't force my body to prioritize in losing belly fat. So how do I fix this problem? My biggest thanks to anyone who could help me.
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Hi Anon,
If you've lost 18lbs in three months you're doing EXCELLENT! 1-2 lbs per week is a healthy way to lose weight. Losing weight any faster than this can actually mean that once you stop trying to lose weight you may put that weight back on fast.
Once you lose the last few pounds then you can add about 200 more calories per day but make sure you maintain your eating habits. You should always eat healthy, no matter if you're trying to lose weight or maintain it.
Best Wishes,
Rosa
January 23, 2012 - 8:22amThis Comment
Hi Anonymous,
At 5'1 and 106lbs, your Body Mass Index (BMI) is 20-- anything between 18.5-24.9 is normal. The BMI is meant to measure the amount of body fat in your body. Although the number is fairly accurate, actually checking your body fat with a caliper would be even more accurate.
Your BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate is: 1327.6 which means that if you stayed in bed all day, you would burn 1327.6 calories. If you are exercising 45 minutes per day and you are not losing weight, then you may have to change your exercise program from low intensity to something with higher intensity such as running, cardio classes, etc. You can do dumbbells and you can definitely start with one pound but you want to increase the weight on your dumbbells as time goes by-- you don't want to remain at 1lb for more than a month, otherwise you won't be burning anything. You have to challenge yourself. Another thing you want to do is use the dumbbells but incorporate lunges or squats at the same time, doing stagnant dumbbell raises won't burn enough calories on its own.
Lastly, your diet is even more important than your exercise program. If you are eating 1400 calories of chips and chocolate then you aren't really trying hard to lose the weight. Commit to a well-balanced diet and you will see that you will lose a few pounds. Remember that you don't want to lose too much because you are already at a healthy range.
https://www.empowher.com/community/share/top-5-free-online-bmi-calculators
https://www.empowher.com/community/share/calculate-your-metabolic-rate
Good Luck,
Rosa
January 22, 2012 - 7:07amThis Comment
Thanks for the comment! I do my best to incorporate healthy things in my diet and I've slashed the chips, sodas, sugar-laden juices and cookies off my lifestyle.
Well, I've already lost about 18 pounds in about three months since I've started exercising this way, so I think it's worked by far. I'm just worried that I haven't lost enough. Now I know I'm in the normal range, I guess I'd want to lose maybe a couple more pounds or so. Once I do that though, how do I maintain it?
January 22, 2012 - 11:49pmThis Comment