Why is it that i'm so fat?!


Question: Why is it that i'm so fat?
I'm a fifteen year old girl and my weight varies from 170 - 186 lbs depending on the week. My stomach is not HUGE but it is pretty big, i have big **** (which i'm guessing are those **** that fat people get), and my thighs (but only my thighs, not the rest of my legs) are pretty big.

But i'm wondering WHY i'm fat. I eat 3 meals a day with maybe a few light snacks in between meals. I keep my calories around 1500 (not the greatest). The food I eat is not terrible. for breakfast i'll have something like a croissant and apple juice box, or a toast with peanut butter and half a bottle of water. for lunch i'll eat something like a salad, or an oven baked wrap. For dinner i'll have something like a cesar salad, rice, and some chicken strips (made in the oven). I might have a few snacks in between lunch and dinner, and dinner and bedtime which may consist of cheese slices and soda crackers, or 2 oreo cookies.

My diet is not the best but it's not terrible either. I detest foods like burger king, McDonald's, and pizza pizza. If I go out to eat it's usually somewhere like Mr. Sub. I also don't have desert or candy through out the day. When I do have candy, it's usually Pocky which is these soy biscuits dipped in semi-sweet chocolate and consist of 120 calories for 48 sticks.

I don't play sports and I am fairly lazy. I walk to and from school everyday (15 minutes each way) and usually walk around for 45 minutes at lunch at school, and when I get home i'm usually on the computer all evening. I'm not unhealthy or unfit though because running a mile in gym class is no more of a challenge to me than anyone in my class, and walking up stairs doesn't make me feel winded.

People don't tell me i'm fat out of the blue or anything, but if I ask people, they tell me i could stand to lose a bit of weight, which i fully agree with.

But seriously, why am i fat if my lifestyle isn't nearly as bad as some of the other kids my age who are skinny?

Answers:

Most people usually think they eat a lot less than they do. In fact, most people estimate their caloric intake to be about 1000 calories lower than it actually is. My first suggestion is an intake journal. Count calories in everything you take in. Include sources from all fluids, condiments and measure portions (would you believe 2 fig newtons is a serving).

With a quick glance of your average intake, I can see closer to 2000+ calories, and those who are overweight tend to be less honest or forward about their intake. Using a food journal and adding EVERYTHING you eat will only serve to help you. Just because you can run a mile (which every teen should be able to do) and not be winded walking upstairs, doesn't mean that you are fit.

Gaining weight is a matter of burning less calories than you consume. You can still gain weight eating the healthiest foods in the world if you over eat.

Once again, start a food journal and increase your physical activity.

The other component is activity level. You said it yourself, you do nothing to burn any significant calories



Watch your language because I have no idea what those big **** or those **** are.
You eat 3 meals a day and still eat snacks in between while not playing sports and being lazy?

When I was 15, I had breakfast like a cup of chocolate milk and a toast.
A croissant was something you would get on a special day. I had no food in a box and never tasted peanut butter but water was very good from the tap.
I had lunch at school and ate something in the evening. I did not like school vacation because then I did not have school lunches.
The idea of people having to eat between meals was foreign to me...the snacking concept. Even when I was an adult and working all day long, I had a coffee before work, lunch around noon/1pm, and then dinner.
I knew that the English has afternoon tea...but they’re weird.
Then I come to America and everybody is constantly eating/drinking at all hours, even when driving, surrounded by fast food restaurants and complaining about their weight while not moving much. I see obese people driving to the McDonald window and ordering some kind of breakfast at 7:30am. They have no space between their belly and the driving wheel and apparently they have no bread or milk at home!

So, when I was 15, there was no fast food restaurants where I live and restaurants were expensive. I think the first time I went to a restaurant was when I was 16 and could afford it on my salary.
Before I had to work and get stuck at a desk all day long, with only my evenings and week-ends to go dancing somewhere, I would go places all day long, either walking or biking. I was very active but had no concept of organized sports. Playing ball in the middle of the street until it’s so dark you cannot see your feet, having snowball fights in the snow, playing in an abandoned house with collapsing floors.

I never counted calorie intake, did not eat processed/prepared food, my lunch was not a salad and an oven baked wrap, whatever that is (what is wrapped?), but more like carrots soup – sautéed pork/white beans with tomato sauce – grapes.

I had no concept of exercising and I was moving all day long. When you’re using minutes to quantify your physical activity, you’re in trouble. I would be proud to go on a 100kms bike ride, 2 and a half hour in the morning and the same to come back in the afternoon and would never say “I exercised for 300 minutes today” and after dinner, I’ll go dance around the bonfire...how much calorie burning would that be, I wonder...

I was lucky...no computer, no phone, no TV, you got to be out there.

You’re 15. At 15, I was a skinny stick who looked like 12. Even at 16, I was still a skinny girl which was nice because I had my own shower at camp. There were 3 showers for 5 girls but nobody wanted to shower with me because I had no boobs. So you can complain about being fat, prejudice goes both ways.



There are different reasons why a person may be overweight. Your diet, of course, is crucial. I don't want to tell you to start dieting, but you should definitely start keeping a food journal. Keeping one for me has revealed that I am actually consuming a lot more calories from fat than i thought (i have chocolate with me tea) and showed me the trouble areas in my diet. Essentially, you want to cut out as much saturated fat out of your diet as possible, and 1500 calories a day is actually below what is recommended for a 15 year old girl (its generally 2000). If you actually have 1500 calories a day, you will most likely lose weight.
However, if you have a metabolic disorder like hypothyroidism diet won't really help, you'll have to go to a doctor who will then prescribe you the correct dose of hormones.



Its all about exercise, you should join an after school activity, like soccer, basketball, or something like that. Also fruit and vegetables are very important, they make really good snacks throughout the day. Eating a banana, orange, or apple between meals is a great way to stay full. But it really is about exercise, spending your nights at the computer doesn't give anywhere for the calories to go. I hope you find this helpful




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