By Judy Davie
For further information about food and nutrition, visit Judy Davie’s website at www.thefoodcoach.com.au
**I am 21 years old, weigh 55kg and am 155cm in height. As long as I can remember I have believed myself to be obese. My family and friends think I’m crazy and that I say these things to get attention it’s not the case. I am uncomfortable in all my clothes and, when in public, I believe everyone is staring at my huge stomach. I avoid mirrors and shopping centres filled with skinny, young people. My family are all smaller than me. I eat healthily and run every second day. Please give me some tips to keep the weight off my stomach.
Kirra**
Your body mass index is 23, which for your age is healthy, so try and recognise that your friends and family are telling you the truth. Hollywood stars and the fashion world are largely responsible for poor body image and sadly, there are many girls your age who feel the same as you. It’s important to understand that the women we see in magazines do not have typical, run-of-the mill bodies. They may look great but in truth they are the freaks!
Looking at yourself in the mirror and in photographs is the first step to freeing yourself from the nightmare you’re in. Once you do, you’ll probably see that you’re much smaller than your imaginings.
If you are carrying a little extra abdominal fat around the stomach there are a couple of simple things to do.
Running is a great cardio workout and worth doing but it won’t help shift stubborn fat. The best way to move abdominal fat is by strengthening the area. Exercising the abdominals with ab crunches on a Fit ball is a great way to strengthen the core muscles and flatten the stomach.
Ab crunches on a fit ball
Sit on the ball and walk your feet out, rolling back onto the ball until you are lying with your spine along the ball. Take both hands behind your ears, keeping your elbows out to the side. Pull your navel in towards your spine and curl your torso upwards. Breathe out on the lift and in on the way down.
Do it 10 times a day and increase the amount as you get stronger. The slower you do it the more effective it will be.
Diet
Sometimes excess carbohydrates can cause a build up of abdominal fat. If you eat white carbohydrates, eg white bread, cakes, pasta etc, cut them out altogether and substitute them with grain bread, wholemeal pasta and other wholegrain carbs. These can be eaten during the day but try to cut them out at night.
The tape measure does not lie, so before you do anything, measure yourself around the middle. You’ll have no choice but to believe it when you start to see results.
And finally …
Remember you are healthy. Look at yourself in the mirror and notice all the things you do like. Tell yourself what these things are each and every day throughout the day.
Positive self talk is just as effective as negative self talk and you’ll enjoy yourself far more when you start to like yourself better.
**I am only 17 years of age and determined to be thin and as healthy as I possibly can. What I believe makes my case extremely unusual is the fact that all I want to do is lose five to seven kilograms but am regularly unsuccessful. I’ve tried everything — I have the healthiest diet and participate in over two hours of exercise and/or physical activity in a single day. I juggle school, work, life as an athlete and my healthy lifestyle, only to be constantly disappointed.
Regularly criticised for my goal and often told I am “too healthy” (if that is even possible), I am often reminded that if I continue “doing what I’m doing”, things could develop in to an unhealthy eating disorder. Though I know I am not overweight, I am very far from my ideal weight and need to achieve this goal simply for personal acceptance and self-esteem and for my own stubbornness. Once I set a goal I will not let it rest until I complete it.
Understanding that what I do daily is probably unnatural to most 17-year-olds, I am confessing not knowing what to do next. How do I go about achieving my goal? Will I end up hurting myself? I guess you could say that my confession to you is actually a plea for help.
Amy**
There’s a lovely saying that goes along the lines of “be careful what you wish for in case it comes true”. I don’t know what you weigh currently but from what you say it sounds like you are a very healthy young woman.
As an athlete you will no doubt have well-developed muscles. Muscles weigh more than the same volume of fat, so a well-defined, toned body will be heavier in most cases than a thin, slight body. I’d suggest you may be too concerned with the numbers.
My suggestion would be to first identify your priorities in life. If you want to be an athlete and a scholar you may need to revisit your goal of losing five to seven kilograms. The numbers may not be high, but five to seven kilograms on an already healthy frame is a significant amount of weight that your body may not have stored in fat to lose.
If you have no body fat, the weight will come from your muscle and other lean body tissue, impacting on your physical and mental strength. Overdoing it can cause chronic fatigue syndrome — a disease that is debilitating for many, many years.
To find out if you are already at your ideal weight you should seek professional help to look at the ratio between your bone weight, fat tissue and lean tissue mass.
For a body composition analysis visit www.bodycomposition.com.au or, if you are in Sydney, call Dr Jarrod Meerkin on 02 9386 0201.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
