I’m 17 years old and I feel like I need to lose a bit of weight and make some areas on my body prettier. I’m 5’5” and 130 lbs. Charts say that I’m right at the recommended maximum weight for my height and frame. So I’m almost above where I should be which doesn’t make me feel good. I’ve noticed that over the past few months the fat on my stomach has, what’s the word? Increased, grown, multiplied, you pick a word that doesn’t make it sound so bad.

Anyways my stomach is my main focus point. I need to lose weight from there. I’m not looking for a six pack or anything but I don’t want to be so…poochy. I also want to make my butt, and thighs look nicer too.

I know that your first things you will go to are good diet and cardio exercise. But there’s a problem with me and one of them. My diet is great. I eat healthy and it’s the same food I’ve been eating for years, even back when I was 115 and maybe an inch shorter. But the cardio…there’s my problem. I took 10 years of dance and played softball for 8 years but all the time doing stuff has murdered my ankles with all the injuries I encountered. Today my ankles bother me when I run or cycle.

Pretty much I want to know if there is a way for me to get what I need without hurting my ankles?
Also is there anything I can do without equipment or with light equipment (hand weights)?


Thanks!
August

First thing you're gonna hear from everyone: you can't spot reduce fat. If you don't like the way your stomach looks, you're gonna have to train as if you didn't like your whole body.

You're absolutely right about the cardio - you're going to need it if you want to flatten your stomach. Elliptical training is a very good way to get the cardio you need and is low-impact, so it should be easy on your ankles. If they're still bothering you, try taking some glucosamine and chondroiton - it'll help maintain healthy joints. If that isn't enough, or if you want to try something different, swimming is a great full-body workout. You'll need to swim laps to get the same cardio as you would from a treadmill, elliptical, etc., but as long as your heart rate is up, you're doing good.

130 lbs for a girl your age isn't unhealthy at all. You're 17 - you're still growing and maturing and it's much better to have a little extra something on your bones than not enough.

Please don't run these kinds of lines here. Eating in a surplus of calories while lifting is what "packs on the muscle". Toning is a fitness magazine word. If eating in a deficit she can carry a regular strength training routine.

Sorry, I fixed that..

Nothing wrong with eating and moving, but speak to your dr as you're still growing!

ok couple of points of this you say you eat the same food as when you where doing lots of exercise however if you have stopped taking regular exercise you have to cut back on the amount of food you eat as you no longer need the same amount of food to fuel your body.

The 2 point and probably the bigger one is that you say that you where eating more even though you where an inch shorter, so at this point your body was still growing so of course it needed more energy then it needs now as it has now stopped growin as doesn't need as much energy.

Other then that I can't really recommnd any cardio activity other then maybe swimming as I can't judge how bad you ankle is so it may be best to go to a physio you maybe able to suggest exercises that you may be able to preform

I wouldnt say that I have been eating more. I could even be eating less. I was 115 less than a year ago and stopped dancing and softball at 14. There was a time where I weighed less then 115 after my grandmother died due to me not eating her butter filled food but I'm not going to count that into this equation since I was going through an extreamly hard time.

not sure where I'm going with thios but...yeah...

The typical cals in/cals out thing doesn't necessarily apply to adolescents and people need to remember that.

At that age they're in a state of rapid growth that outstrips even what drugs can do, and weight gains even with substandard diets are normal and part of the process.

If anything, she should just pick up strength training and some sort of "activity" beyond that, be it a sport, or just walking/running some, and trying to eat a decent diet that covers the base of nutrient intake. Nothing excessive in terms of training or diet is required here.

I wouldnt say that I have been eating more. I could even be eating less. I was 115 less than a year ago and stopped dancing and softball at 14. There was a time where I weighed less then 115 after my grandmother died due to me not eating her butter filled food but I'm not going to count that into this equation since I was going through an extreamly hard time.

not sure where I'm going with thios but...yeah...