I think I am overweight

[Roxie]

Hello! I am only 17 years old. I weight a lot. I have tried many diet and two years ago my whole family had to go on a low- carb diet and I didn't. Yet I went on it to help my parents out. I lost 10 pounds in two months. I was so happy. Yet I gained it back. The worst part I have been at this weight since I was 14. What do I do to control it.

[SthrnTami]

Hi ya, Roxie!

There are many, MANY, ways to begin to control it, and your plan to read product labels is a good start. First, I'd like to give you a tip on what NOT to do. Don't try to lose it quick, just so you can get back to "normal". That's a sure-fire way to start yourself on the path to yo-yo dieting. You have to find a way of eating that allows you to lose slowly, and that you can LIVE with. At your age, with a young metabolism on your side, that may be as simple as these few rules:

NO SUGAR. (Check those labels and avoid anything with -ose in the name as well as corn syrup. By the way, this most definitely includes sugared sodas!)
NO REFINED FLOUR. If/when you eat a starch, make it a whole grain product.
EXERCISE. Daily. Get in this habit now. It is the single most important element to life-long weight maintenance.
DRINK WATER. Lot's of it--at least 8 8-oz. glasses per day.

These rules, to me, are the most basic low-carb approach. If that's too simplistic for you, and you'd like more guidelines, go to the Quick Links at the top right hand corner and click on "Which low-carb plan is right for me?" Read a little about the various programs, then research whether it sounds like it's right for you.

Good luck!

Tami

[SthrnTami]

Write down everything you eat. Even better, create a journal here, so that you can get feedback. Keeping track of what you are really eating has some major benefits. You can look back to see where you've been: progress that you've made, and/or mistakes you want to avoid. Secondly, it tends to make you think twice about what you eat and gives you a better sense of control if you know you're going to have to 'fess up to what you've eaten.

It's also a good way to get feedback from others to help you fine-tune your program. My daughter is 12, and is currently studying nutrition in health class and had to list everything she ate for three days and what food group each item was from. We had a discussion (ok, argument) about corn. She insisted that it was a vegetable. I agreed that agriculturally speaking it is a vegetable, but nutritionally it is a "bread" (the only category in her guideline for starchy foods).

Tami