Eating sensibly and getting more exercise is a start . Don’t try extreme diets, if you are not sure what you should be eating to start to lose weight your doctor will be happy to help you. It is particularly important that whatever your weight you eat a balanced and healthy diet, your body must have certain types of food and vitamins to grow strong and healthy and you want to make sure that you are still getting these. This is why it is always best to get the right information. Britain now has more and more people who are overweight and doctors are regularly dealing with people of all ages who need help. They will give you a guide to the correct weight for your age and height and if you have a problem they will support you.

Eating Disorders - what are they and why are they dangerous ? click here

Depression - If your weight makes you unhappy talk to someone and get help

Sometimes the fact that you are overweight is actually because you are unhappy about other areas of your life.Not everyone is able to talk about their feelings with their family & friends and if this is the case there are “helplines” out there for you. People who will listen to you and try and offer the best help. Just click on our helpline page and choose the one you feel best suits you, they cover everything from dealing with bullying to eating disorders. Getting the right help can be the first step to changing your life.

Bullying

Bullies pick on everyone - they may tell you it is because of your weight but they are equally willing to bully people because of your race, you wear glasses, the colour of your hair, you are too thin, the list is endless. Not only that but it can take many forms - it might be they hit you, intimidate you or send you threatening text messages.

GET HELP - you may feel isolated but tell someone, it is the only way to make it stop and being bullied is never YOUR fault. Here are a few places that will give you more help.

www.childline.org.uk

www.nspcc.org.uk

www.bullying.co.uk

www.antibullyingalliance.org

www.bullyfreezone.co.uk

www.kidscape.org.uk

www.antibullying.net/youngpeople.htm

Your emails :

( we recommend everyone to seek the advice of their doctor before embarking on any change of diet or exercise program)

hi im 14,and im overweight..it upsets me because i've been overweight since i was 5,i cry alot because people make in fun of me...i want to became less fat but i have no idea on how to start...first off how can you figure out your metabolism,and how can you find out what right foods to each..i weigh 195lbs. do u think u could help!

First of all please just relax since stress could increase your weight!!! It is also very important to exercise and it helps you to de-stress as well.
The most important thing to lose weight is to eat regularly (every 3 hours), this will stabilize your blood sugar level and will prevent accumulation of fat. Eat a good breakfast with plenty of protein e.g. 2 scramble eggs (no fat or cream, no salt) on one piece of toast (brown bread) + 125ml fat free yogurt with a fresh chopped piece of fruit in it. Then you will need to eat after 3 hours a little snack e.g. 80g of chicken + a fresh fruit; then will come lunch where you should eat plenty of protein and not refined carbohydrates e.g. fish + vegetables or a salad; then you will have another snack and then supper where you can eat again protein and carbohydrates e.g. 50g pasta + vegetables + fish or meat. It is important to treat yourself, but don’t do it every day, keep only 1 day where you will give yourself only 1 treat like on Sunday. Do not weight yourself for a while and just take it easy and be happy!
Why don’t you also try soy products? Tofu is a great source of protein and if you mix it with pulses and rice it will give you a balanced meal idea. Other very good soy products are: yogurt and milk, very versatile and easy to buy. Bean salads are very good as well and don’t forget eggs, a very healthy food. Reduce or avoid dairies of any kind since they are all full of saturated fats, switch to soy products or low-fat dairies. You can eat up to 2 eggs a day without having to think about your cholesterol level, but do reduce or even avoid dairies since very fatty. The last thing, try to eat more fruits and vegetables and less pasta, bread, cakes and biscuits, if you do have pasta and bread have them brown.
“Diet” drinks and soft drinks in general are very acidic and acidify the blood. They also contain lots of sugar. Beware if your blood is acidic the body tends to gain weight! Careful since some fruit drinks can even contain saturated fats!
Clearly water is the best form of “drink” the body could have and 1.5L a day is the minimum for good health. Tap water is not very healthy though, filtered or spring water is the best. I do realize though that water does not have any taste so here are some tips: adding half squeezed lemon to your water or mixing 1/3 pure fruit juice with no added sugar and 2/3 of plain water should make your drinks a bit more exciting. Teas and coffees are not a good way to increase water consumption since are diuretics, that is to say that they take water away from the body.

Wheat products are a concentrated form of carbohydrates, which in the body are partially transformed into fat, therefore swapping them with brown rice, soy pasta, oat cakes, Ryvitas or rice cakes would be a good start to increase weight loss. Do not over-eat them! All concentrated forms of carbohydrates such as rice, pasta, bread and grains in general are to be eaten in moderation to loose weight and maintain a healthy diet. Please note that soy is not a grain, it is a bean! Fruits and vegetables are a carbohydrates source too, but since they are not in a concentrated form are better then grain products. Dairy products are very high in fats and in particular in saturated fats. A good way of decreasing your fat intake and maintaining a good amount of protein in the diet is to consume only fat-free options. For example fat-free plain yogurt (with live bacteria), Weight-Watchers cheese or any fat-free cheddar alternative and skimmed milk. Another good dietary change could be introducing soy products such as milk and plain yogurt, high in protein and low in fats. Eggs are healthy and up to 2 a day is perfectly fine to eat. Do not believe in the scary articles you read about eggs being high in cholesterol, this is not yet been proven and I personally do not believe it is so.

Cutting wheat from the diet is usually good, but it is difficult sometimes to find alternatives. Here are a few ideas:

• Wheat free, sugar free muesli or breakfast cereals with skimmed milk or fat-free yogurt or soy milk and a piece of fresh fruit

• A wheat free, sugar free breakfast bar with a glass of skimmed milk or soy milk and a piece of fresh fruit

• Porridge made with water or skimmed milk or soy milk, a few dried fruits such as raisings or apricots or prunes and a piece of fresh fruit

• Scrambled eggs on oat cakes or on Ryvitas or on rice cakes with some mushrooms or baked beans

• A slice of German bread with scrambled eggs and some mushrooms

• Oat cakes with cottage cheese and a piece of fresh fruit

Good luck and keep in touch

Jessica, Nutritional Consultant

Nutrition will be the key for you. You will need an individualised diet and supplement protocol.

You can however also do wonders for your metabolism with the right kind of exercise. Without further information it is difficult to advise but the following should put you on the right path.

You will hear trainers trot out the standard advice of starting off walking, then hours of endless cardiovascular exercise to lose weight. Whilst of course this will help to some degree, the body adapts to steady aerobic-style exercise (treadmills, steppers, cross-trainers, rowers etc) within 6-8 weeks, so you progressively burn less calories each time you do it - basically the body becomes more efficient at it - and you get disheartened! The hormonal effect of this type of training can also cause problems with the immune system and menstrual cycles which are beyond the scope of this column.

You need a well-designed exercise programme which focuses on resistance exercises (squats, presses, rows etc). You should do 15-20 repetitions of each exercise and rest for 75 seconds between each exercise, gradually reducing the rest down to around 30 seconds. This will burn alot of fat without sacrificing precious muscle (which keeps your metabolism high), plus the right programme for you will be less stressful to your joints than pounding the streets or the treadmill. And, before you say it, no, you will not get big, bulky muscles! This type of programme should be fine for someone of your age, provided you are assessed by a qualified trainer first.

Whilst this may sound a little daunting, it is very achievable, in your own home, once you have a well-written programme and have been shown what to do.
I have seen many women lose a LOT of weight who could never do so before once they began to exercise in this way. They also report improved energy levels, mood and general wellbeing. Unless the next words out of their mouth are a request for something free, I usually believe them! I would be happy to put you in touch with a reputable trainer in your area.

Good Luck

Phil Roberts, Personal Trainer

Personal experiences:

If you want to share your experiences please get in touch. Our thanks to Katie.

Hey my names Katie, 19 yrs of age, live in london, im a nursery nurse, happy, bubbly, enjoys everything the usual 19 yr old does, clubbing, pubbing, chilling with friends, always smiling and happy....... OK now for the real introduction... Katie, 19, live in london, nursery nurse, overweight, scared, embarrassed, nervous, unhappy!! The second introduction describes how i am feeling today and how i have been feeling since i was about 13! I am not a normal teenager in london... i am a fat teenager which makes me 1) an outcast and 2) someone for people to taunt and embarass so they can have a laugh!! I knew i was different since i started secondary schoool in 1997, i had bigger legs than the other girls, i had to wear trousers instead of skirts because they "didnt look right on me", my mum always made a point of saying that so she didnt hurt my feelings, but when your mum is a diet obbsessed person herself... you know what she is really trying to say! I realised just how different i was on my second day of school.... i got beaten to a pulpe....for being FAT!!!!!!!!! Ever since that day, i have been the person i introduced to you!! I remember walking into assembly and people looked at me funny, i didnt realise at the time it was because i was considered fat!! Ok moving on to experiences.... I got my first boyfriend when i was 13, halloween disco at school and it was like all my christmas's had come at once... i met James, he was gorgeous, funny, and he was everybodys best mate.... didnt realise he went out with me for 6 months because he was my brothers mate! When he called me to dump me, he said he did really like me but his friends kept taking the mick because i was different! Different???? i asked him.... "well your not the smallest person ever are you?".... i cried non stop for a week! He dumped me because i was fat, his friends (who i also considered friends) had been talking behind my back, and my brother was in on it too, he always used to call me fat, but i thought he was just being the usual nasty older brother, didnt realise he actually had some input to making my life a living hell!! It was downhill from there.... i put on more weight which of course made me bigger in appearance and made me a bigger subject to talk about!! I used to walk through the school playground and here FAT FAT FAT FAT, id get the odd punch in the face and get pushed over once in a while, this became a normal school day.... walk in.... get called fat... get called fat again.... BANG, get smacked in the face!!! This went on for about a year, i stopped eating and made myself ill.. when that was over, i started making myself sick after everything i ate, this lost me dignity and friends!!! My grandad then passed away, which was of course a depressing time, so what did i do? went to the shop and brought anything i thought would make things seem a little sweeter for a while!! Things didnt change at school, but the pain from my dear grandad dying eased, so things seemed to be on the up already!!! BUT THEN... just before i turned 15 i had some bad news... my brother had been having an affair with my mums best friend. At that point in my life things were bad enough without basically half my family being ripped from me! My brother moved out and hasnt spoken to us since... i see him all the time and he puts his head down! When everything first happened with him, people used to come up to me and say "oh your so and so's sister", and punch me in the face, or abuse me in the street because my brother was a B*****D and i was related to him, of course, the word FAT was always used! This made things ten times worse... so what happens??? ON GOES THE WEIGHT!!!!!
Fast Forward to today!!!
I am currently working in a nursery, and well on my way to getting a qualfication! I am still overweight and embarrassed about it, when i go out, i walk with my head down and when it comes to blokes, i have absolutely ZERO self confidence! I am currently a size 24, i cant go shopping without having to go to certain shops and having to go to and try everything on first. Then when i do find something i really like and im pleased with it, someone always has to say something to make u feel like rubbish again!! Also, i have just been diagnosed with havin polycystic ovaries... symptoms? Weight gain and excess facial hair... something else to add to my embarrassment!! I have to control it to stop myself growin sideburns!!!!! So feeling like a freak isn't the best feel good feeling!!
Ok thats a little bit about me!! The point of me telling you all this u ask yourselves.... I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL!!! I understand what its like to be big in a "you have to be small to be attractive or even worth knowing" society!
The only thing i can say my weight has done for me is bring misery, but it has made me appreicate my friends like you wouldnt believe!! Basically... they are the people that will be there and be with you no matter what you look like, i am going to end it there, but to everyone that reads this..... YOU ARE NOT ALONE AND REMEMBER FOR EVERY PERSON OUT THERE THAT ABUSES YOU, TAUNTS YOU OR JUST STRAIGHT UP DOESNT LIKE YOU BECAUSE OF THE WAY YOU LOOK.... THERE IS ANOTHER PERSON THAT IS FEELING THE EXACT SAME AS YOU!!!!

We look forward to hearing from more of you, we know that there are thousands of young people who feel isolated and alone with the problems of being overweight.