Weight Loss Questions

If you’re a teenager, you are still growing. I don’t know how tall you are so I can’t say anything about your exact weight.

But to lose inches the best thing to do is hit the gym. Combine cardio a few times a week (could be swimming, running, walking, whatever) with strength a few times a week (lifting weights). Good luck! Cutting sugary drinks is really good for you even if you lose no weight, so be proud of that!

no.

Unfortunately, NO. You cannot spot reduce. It just isn’t possible without surgery. It sounds to me, honestly, like you do not need to lose any more weight at all but that you are self-conscious about your arms, legs, and stomach. A flat stomach is a combintation of muscle and low body fat, so what you need to get is is NOT more weight loss but more muscle and lower body fat percetage!

It depends! There isn’t one exact weight for everyone at the same height. For a healthy BMI you could be anywhere from 118 to 154 lbs. I think it is better to pay attention to body fat percentage and to get in a lot of exercise!

Start planning your own meals. You can have what your family eats sometimes, but maybe not every day. It’s great that your family already loves fruit. Get them eating more. Try some dessert recipes that are mostly fruit and share them with the family. You will set a good example for the rest of the family, and maybe they will follow up. It can be hard when you’re still a teen living at home, because you maybe cannot afford to buy your own foods. But start trying or ask for some input into planning meals.

The way that you store fat is genetic. You cannot change it. You can reduce its appearance by building muscle. You say you’re working out, but are you doing weight training? This might help. Otherwise, your body is what it is... you can consider surgery, as it may be the only thing that really removes certain deposits of fay.

YES, this is good! Building muscle is really good for you, it makes you stronger and healthier. It sounds that you are already at the bottom of healthy weight range for you so I would not lose any weight, especially a stone. It’s too much and you will be underweight. You might aim to even gain weight but you will find you look slimmer and might lose a size because muscle looks leans and tight. Muscle is heavier by volume than fat so you can go up 10 pounds by LOOK and actually be smaller overall. Good luck, stay healthy.

Unfortunately, as we get older our metabolism slows. Your mom can still lose the weight, but it will be slower than you can do it. This is normal and healthy. Exercising will speed up her metabolism as will building muscle. You should do this, too!

Also, there are some studies that show that it is healthy to gain a few pounds as we age, so you and your mom might not end at the exact same weight and she may not return to her high school weight. That’s ok. 10-20 pounds above that would be healthy (unless she was overweight then) especially if she’s working out!

Well, your belly has to do with your overall body fat, so losing fat will make it smaller. It is also possible it is loose skin, which is something you just have to live with unless you get surgery.

However, you do need to develop muscle too so you should be doing strength training. It's okay if you don't have a gym! You can do body weight exercises like push-ups, which require no equipment. If you look on google you can find lots more body weight exercises and whole strength workouts for people with no equipment. 

Lead by example! You can turn down the unhealthy foods but I know it can be hard. If you have a job or any money of your own, buy healthy foods that are also tasty that you can share with your family. I like dried apples for this because they taste like fruit snacks. 

You've got it right - anything you lose is coming right back, and will be a majority water weight. Not to mention that this diet is really dangerous! Coffee is loaded with caffeine and without the nutrition of regular food, you electrolytes can get out of wack very easily (which can result in all kinds of side effects including death). Try to talk your friends out of this. The best way is to succeed yourself without safer methods!

Yes, but you are likely to still have lose skin over it, and it isn't possible for everyone. If you're not confident about your stomach but want to rock a bikini, try one that is high-waisted.

You are not overweight, so don't worry about the scale. What you want to do is burn fat and build muscle. This will make you look thinner and wear a smaller size and will also make you much healthier overall. I would suggest running 3 or 4 days a week and lifting/doing strength training 2 or 3 days a week (overlap is okay, one resting day from both per week).

I don't know your measurements, but if you are a M/L on bottom and considering a S or M I REALLY doubt that you are a 40dd. Have you checked out reddit.com/r/abrathatfits? You most likely have a much smaller band and larger cups than you think. The right bra size will change your life! If this is the case you get consider getting a bathing suit that comes in bra sizes. They have some great ones at herroom.com

Otherwise, check the measurements the website lists and then measure yourself to compare. THis is your best bet, because a S in one company can be like an L in another and an XS in yet another.

Nope! You're building muscle, which takes up less space than fat per pound. You are burning fat and replacing it with muscle. The scale means exactly nothing - you're doing great!

I hate to tell you what I think you already know, but this question amounts to "I know you can't spot-reduce... but how can I spot-reduce?" You have to lose weight all over. Even then, you can't change your overall shape in terms of where you store fat. You can build muscle and firm everything up, but your body is your body. Some people go under the knife for a butt like yours! Embrace it! -B&A

I can't give you an accurate number, because I don't know anything about you, your health history, habits ... anything.

Youtube is great for at home strength training. Calisthenics is what you're going to be doing, unless you have equipment of your own .... but honestly, pushups and planks gets boring. Check out some Daily HIIT vids, PoP Pilates (two of my faves) or any kind of bootcamp/circuit/power yoga/pilates videos. Do something that you can stick to. And make sure to change it up so your body doesn't get used to certain exercises. Good Luck!! -DC/SM