How can I lose weight?

Eat at regular times everyday. Don’t let yourself starve and become really hungry because that promotes binging later in the day. People tend to overeat when they’re really hungry. The key is balance and moderation. Try something like this at first: 6-8 am: 1 cup of raisin bran with 1/2 cup of milk and some fruit (I like to put berries or half a banana in my cereal) 10am (if possible)- some fruit or nonfat yogurt 12:30 (or whenever you have to eat lunch): some sort of meat on whole wheat bread with fruit and nonfat yogurt 4:00 (or whenever you get home): protein bar 6-7 (or whenever you normally eat): Some sort of meat (with or without whole wheat bread and low fat cheese), some starch (maybe corn or potatoes), and cooked veggies 8-9: hot chocolate

If you’re still living at home, ask your mom to go to the grocery store once a week and buy this stuff to make sure you don’t run out. The important thing is eating in moderation at regular times. No food is really off-limits, it’s all about moderation. A thirty minute brisk walk every day would be great if you can manage it. You should also keep food logs where you jot down what you’re eating. Generally, it helps if there’s someone you can show them to to keep tabs of your progress. I’d be happy to help with that if you’d like. This is not about losing weight, it’s about getting healthy, but the weight loss will naturally follow. Keep reminding yourself that you’re not dieting, you’re getting healthy. Also, it will be hard to eat at regular times for the first couple of days but it gets much easier once you realize how much we use food when we don’t need to. When we’re sad or bored or want to put off doing work. That’s the real problem I think.

REALLY IMPORTANT: If you eat a bunch of cookies or something, don’t feel guilty and punish yourself or feel like “well I’ve already ruined it I might as well indulge the rest of the day” , just stick to your meal plan the rest of the day, and know that you’re human and you’re doing the best you can. The best of luck. hugs, Jill