Annabelle_1's Journal, 27 Apr 20

Maybe you could go through you school or church to try to reach out to someone that can help you and your family get a healthy grocery list and to try new healthy foods that you haven't tried before? The whole family could try to help each other eat healthy. Be strong and know that you are young and you can change your life style for the better, and even help family members make changes too. Be positive and just take one meal at a time. If you slip up just move on from it and make sure you next meal is healthy. The good news is once you are on a healthy path you will lose weight quickly. You will realize that you can make good healthy life style changes that will follow you for the rest of your life.  

You can do it! When I was still living at home it was incredibly difficult because my mom wasn't crazy about cooking so we had tons of tv dinners and processed foods. I would ask her to buy me some tuna salad with the crackers (Bumblebee brand I think) and the chicken salad then eat those for lunches. They are relatively cheap. When that wasn't an option I would eat what they were eating but only eat 1/2-2/3 of my plate it since it was so calorie dense. It will get easier soon! Once I got my own job I was able to eat one of my meals at work so I would just get a salad or something light every day. You're doing great for trying to take care of yourself and it sounds like your dad would like to help since he was so distraught. The biggest thing that helped me when I was living at home was going for walks every day, or if you can afford it I found a mini trampoline very helpful (30-40 dollars) as well since my parents didn't have any gym memberships or exercise equipment. Just something inside for rainy days. I also liked Zumba a lot and you can find the workout DVDs pretty cheap at Goodwill or on eBay they have some complete sets for reasonable prices. Like I said, it does get way easier when you are able to get your own groceries, and it may feel like a long ways off, but it'll be right around the corner. Hang in there! 

Thank you for all the encouragement and advice.  

you can do it. make your dad your diet coach. as a team you could do anything. it will give you more control over the food you can eat. it will help him feel better because he is doing something positive to help you be healthier 

Aww that's tough. I'm sorry you and your dad are struggling. It's great that your dad cares for you and your health but hopefully the guilt he feels will dissipate with time, as you continue on your health and weight loss journey. That's challenging not having control over what your parents buy...maybe you could come up with a list of healthy foods that will help with weight loss and give it to your parents. Then when they shop, they can purchase some of those foods for you. I totally agree with deborahkeer about how partnering with your dad could help you. And never forget that God loves you no matter how you look or feel on any given day, and that you are fearfully and wonderfully made! ~Psalm 139:14 :) 

Great advice 👏 

Annabelle it’s good you’re here and working on your diet. You can count calories and choose the healthier options even if you can’t control everything your parents buy. I don’t know if you exercise but you are young and now is a great time to start. Just do what you can do that you can recover from easily and up the gradients every few days. For example take walks for 20 min, then 30, then 40, etc.. this is what Dr Beau Daniels from the sports academy recommended on a podcast recently, to start with something you can EASILY RECOVER from and raise the intensity gradually so you don’t risk injury. I was heavy as a teen and I understand how you feel. Wishing you the best! 

I’m so proud of you. It’s not easy. But you CAN do this. Never give up on accomplishing your goals and dreams. 

I’ve been through the same situation. I’m actually 18, but I started at 17 to loose weight. When I was 15 I was 150 pound and at 17 I reached 185. I wasn’t happy with myself and tried changes but wasn’t easy because as a teenager I also didn’t have control on what my moms buy and I failed a lot of times. 2 months ago I started again (like I did 20 times) and I followed it well. I’m now 155 and I’m very close to my old weight. It’s not easy because my mom always make delicious and fat food, but now I’m very focused that after a month I didn’t feel okay to eat those fat delicious foods. I’ll get it 

It's awesome that you're trying to take control of your weight. I know that it can be really frustrating not to have a lot of control over groceries, so having a plan for the foods you do have is important. I just wanted to comment to say don't be overly strict on yourself. When I was younger, I would try to do 10 different things at once to lose weight and it would never work because it wasn't sustainable. If you're having a day when you're craving bread and you're thinking about quitting, have bread and keep going. If you're hungry at 9 pm, have a small snack and try to eat something more filling for dinner the next day. Don't give up. Progress is the sum of small changes so some improvement is ALWAYS better than none at all (and especially better than completely reverting and gaining a lot of weight back) Good luck! 

You've got this! Don't get discouraged if every day isnt perfect, if you cave one day and eat bread or snack a bit too much or eat a bit too late, don't give up, just try to correct it the next day. as someone else previously said, any effort is better than no effort. cardio and body weight exercises are great for burning calories & then building a little muscle which burns fat. I found that once I started enjoying cooking my own meals, I started eating healthier because I knew what I was putting into each meal. creating healthy habits is much easier to sustain longterm than hardcore diets because with diets you're waiting to reach your goal so that you can start eating the foods you enjoy again which undoes all your hard work. whereas if you train yourself to enjoy healthier food and have healthier habits then that becomes your new normal and being healthy isnt such an effort anymore. youve got everyone on here for support, have patience with yourself and don't be too hard on yourself, these things take time, don't give up!  

Just curious if dad is knowledgeable about nutrition??? It’s amazing how many people aren’t familiar with how to read/understand the nutrition labels especially if they were blessed and can eat anything without gaining 😃!!! My ex thought because the nutrition label said 140 calories on a box of crackers meant that was for the WHOLE box!!! Smh! Anyways... basic knowledge of this goes a long way in this journey! Maybe your doctor could refer you to a nutritionist and you BOTH can go so you are on the same page as each other! Many schools have social workers available to help & guide you in the right direction as well! Education about nutrition & fitness is key but the strength & determination comes from within!!! Measure your food, log your intake!!! Eat to fuel the body, NOT because your bored, depressed,etc. (I know that’s easy to say and I’m sure we’ve all done it, and still do occasionally)!!! Stay focused & strong!!! Set your goals reasonable so they are within reach and treat yourself occasionally! ALWAYS think about the NEW you and the way losing the weight will affect your future!!! Good luck! You’ve got this!!! 

You don't have to follow diets. You just need to count your calories. If your dad is upset that you're overweight, surely he'd be willing to get you some foods that are more nutritious. Stick with it now while you still have your whole life ahead of you. My life (though I love where I've ended up) would have been drastically different is I were 150 pounds instead of 300. Maybe someone gave similar advice in the comments. Too much to read. Good luck! 👍🏼💪🏼🤸‍♂️ 

As a mom of three teen girls, my heart goes out to you. I haven’t read all of the comments, but don’t read too much or try too many changes. It clouds your thoughts. I’m a healthy 44 year old in better shape now than when I was in my 20’s, so my advice to you and my own girls (when they ask) is to eat for health: think whole foods and smaller portions; eat if you’re hungry and not when you are emotional (there’s other things to do then, maybe a walk or read a book, or even call a friend), and not eating past 7/8:00 pm. Whole, few ingredient foods are what your body uses best and they don’t typically inflame your body or make you feel lousy. Stick to a plan you CAN follow for a month, and it gets a lot easier. Carbs aren’t bad either. I eat plain oatmeal every morning bc it fills me up. Carbs aren’t bad, bad/processed carbs are. I also eat potatoes and sprouted grain bread every day. M body fat is around 18% now eating carbs...not saying your body does well with them, but if you pick healthy carbs you may be okay. I have one daughter that eats keto and loves it. I make her different foods all of the time. Find what works for you and fuels your body so that you feel good. A nutritionist is a wonderful place to start and might keep you accountable. But please don’t overwhelm yourself with diets, find what works for your amazing body and stick with it for at least four weeks. And track your foods, it truly helps you find your slip ups. We’re all supporting you! 

Don’t get discouraged. Decide on the calories you need and whatever you eat at home, put it in your diary and adjust the amount of the food to correspond with the calories. The app will keep a running total for you cod calories, proteins and carbs. If you will eat adjusted portions, you can eat anything your family does because you are smart enough to keep it on the app and know what you are eating. If you like celery, pickles, they are almost zero calories. Keep in touch. You can control this, let me know hoe you are doing. 

And definitely make a list of healthy foods you can approach your parents with to buy on their next grocery trip. Fruits you like, veggies you will eat, etc. Often, I can ask before I go shopping and my girls say “nothing” bc they assume I’ll know what they want to eat ;) Communication is so important 

Have your dad become involved with your journey to better health. Maybe if he see that you are doing something about it , both of you will have better communication. Let him see this post as well. Wait till he is in a calm mood and have a sit down. You are young, I agree with Princess. Just see what’s the amount of calories you should be eating for your age, weight and height. Then start seeing all these posts. We can do this together. Also activities are important. As soon as you start to move more, the better you will feel. So come on and let’s do this🙏🙏🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️❤️💪💪💪💪👍👍👍👍 

It's hard when you're still at home, but you are obviously being proactive by joining the fat secret family. Drink lots of water and keep your portion sizes in mind. Get as much activity as you can! Good luck. 👍 

Getting a Fitbit to track my steps and finding an AP to track my food were life changing for me. Have your dad go walking with you sometimes communication is easier if you don't have to look them in the eye. Chances are he has a lot to say to you but doesn't know how to start 

Hi there, I totally understand what you're going through because I was once in a very similar boat and in fact, I still am. My father also is stressed about my weight and reasonably so, it is not a healthy weight however my overall health is definetly something that gives him solace in the sense that yes, I may not me immediately deemed as a healthy individual but just because I'm overweight does not mean I am not very healthy. You could try and explain that to him. In addition I agree with one of the comments here about including your dad in your journey. Come up with a plan on how you would like to lose the weight and once you're happy with that plan (for example to only consume about 1800 calories a day and to do 60 minutes of exercises/sports a day and not consuming sugary drinks but only water) take it to him and tell him about it. This way he can at least help you with losing weight and understand your actions. This would also help him understand that he does not need to feel guilty and even if he is, he would then still help you. Try also not to bed to hard on yourself because sometimes the food available it out of your control especially because you have no say in what your parents buy etc. I am in the same predicament however, if you can perhaps see if there are any ways you can get around it for example even though you may have breakfast cereals available maybe you can ask if you could have an egg in the morning for breakfast or at least tell them all about your plan. Perhaps then you may find that they might start buying more healthier options or they may even ask you if there is any foods that you can think of buying that is of course healthy and affordable for example fruits to snack on. I hope this helps and if you want to talk to someone I am here. Feel free to contact me! I have a lot of faith in you and I know that you are going to accomplish great things!!