What am I doing wrong?

I want to lose about ten pounds but school is making it difficult. I eat only salads for lunch, I have track practice every weekday after school for two hours and I run for 2 hours on Saturday. I can't seem to lose any weight at all :( Is there any suggestions anyone can give me?

Thu. May 10, 12:00am

E A T !!!!
If you don't feed the furnace, it won't burn right.

Thursday, May 10, 2007, 12:15 AM

I agree-eat more! What's in your salads? Just veggies? Add lean protein like beans, chicken or a low fat cheese, and add a healthy fat like avocado, walnuts, or olive oil (as part of a dressing). Snack often (especially since you run track-you need to replenish your glycogen stores) on fruit and a tbsp of peanut butter or a mozzarella string cheese, veggies and hummus, or 8 oz of chocolate soymilk. Try to avoid processed foods as much as you can and fill your diet w/ whole grains, fruits and veggies.

Thursday, May 10, 2007, 12:56 AM

Mix it up. Add a little strength training (no, you won't bulk up if you're female) and maybe a different form of cardio. Also, have you had your body fat tested? You may just not have as much there to actually lose as you think. Make sure you eat breakfast if you're slacking on it. Made a big difference to me. And with all that running, make sure you're getting your water in. Best of luck.

Thursday, May 10, 2007, 3:25 AM

Try running your meals for a few days through some diet analysis software to see where you stand on nutrient intake and calories. There are online programs at fitday.com and at nutritiondata.com. Also, what is in your salads, and what do you eat at breakfast, dinner and snacks?

Thursday, May 10, 2007, 5:10 AM

thanks for responding :)

I have turkey, ceaser dressing, hardboiled eggs and lettice in my salad.

I'm 16 and I weigh 150 pounds (I'm a guy) so I don't know if it will be easy to lose weight. Also, I'm joining a gym this Summer to help. Does anyone know if there is anything else to do/suggest what I should do besides just running?

Thanks!

Thursday, May 10, 2007, 8:21 PM

What do you eat besides the salad? What are your other meals and snacks? How tall are you? What is the normal/ideal weight range for someone of your age and height?

Friday, May 11, 2007, 6:09 AM

Also, measure the amounts of different foods. For instance on the salad - how many oz of turkey, how many eggs, how many tbs of dressing, how much lettuce. Run it through the software. How many calories? Do this for the rest of your food. How many calories total? How does your intake of nutrients look?

Friday, May 11, 2007, 6:12 AM

What else do you eat. A salad everyday for lunch.. what is your breakfast what is your dinner. How many snacks? How late are the snacks? Do you measure your portions?

Obviously physical activity shouldn't be the issue... and how tall are you?

Friday, May 11, 2007, 8:46 AM

1 little change

You want to make 1 little change to your salad...
Replace Ceaser derssing with Balsamic Vinigrette. My spellingis off here but hopefully you get the picture.
Ceaser dressing, even the low fat versions, are the unhealtiest dressings out there!
Don't give up!

Friday, May 11, 2007, 12:08 PM

I agree with the last post and some of the others. Change the dressing.
But also, you need to eat! Your body needs fuel. If you're not eating properly, your body goes into starvation mode and you begin to burn the sugars stored in your muscles and you will begin to lose muscle mass and gain more fat.
Need proof, look at the starving Ethiopian kids on TV, they have potbellies and are skinnier than a rail.
Tell your mom and dad to take you to a nutritionist and to your family doctor for more advise.

Friday, May 11, 2007, 6:04 PM

I usually have a bowl of Special K cereal in the morning and my dinners aren't constantly the same things. They aren't that fattening but I eat a serving. It would help if someone could point me in the direction of healthy lunches/dinners :)

I'm 5'9 and my weight/height is a little above average :\

Thanks again!

Sunday, May 13, 2007, 2:55 PM

You may also be gaining muscle weight and losing fat which aint too bad.....Id also drop the salads and stick with lean protein....fish, grilled chicken breast, tuna from the can....salads are notorious for adding calories you dont want to admit to.

Sunday, May 13, 2007, 3:18 PM

Try the Eat to Live diet - the more stringent version is listed here: http://www.fatfreevegan.com/etl.shtml

Since you are an athlete, you would probably need to modify this and eat a higher amount of nuts, seeds, avocados, starchy vegetables and grains, and if you want, some animal protein. Dr. Fuhrman (the originator of this diet) and his daughter are both athletes and seem to do very well on the diet. Check the book out of the library to get an idea of what the modified diet for athletes looks like. Also on the web link above, check the visual representation of the diet - you can eat a somewhat higher amount of the "limited"foods.

Even if it turns out that you don't need to lose weight (you could just have high muscle mass) you will get very healthy eating this kind of diet.

What does your coach say about your weight? Does your school have the ability to give you a more detailed BMI analysis than that done by weight/height formula?

Monday, May 14, 2007, 7:23 AM

5'9" and 150 lbs isn't heavy. My husband is 5'8", 145 lbs, and pretty skinny actually, with not all that much muscle. Are you sure that you need to lose weight?

Monday, May 14, 2007, 10:11 AM

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