Advice on weight loss please :)

Question
Hi, I'm a 15 year old girl, I weigh 136 pounds and I'm 5'4, my BMi is 21-22 . I know, I'm not even close to being overweight, but I want to lose 5-10 pounds, nothing big really.
Anyway, will I lose weight if I leave about 20% of food during each main meal, eat lots of veggies and fruits, stop eating anything with too much sugar or calories (soda, cookies, chips stc) never eat junk food, and walk 4-5 days a week for about 1-3 hours? :)

Also, I'm not on any kind of diet or anything and i've been doing this for a week:)

Answer
Hi Tsuki,

At your age it is vital to not be too concerned with weight issues. Yes it is important to eat clean and be active but just don't get too caught up in body image.

Instead of worrying about cutting out portions of food and counting calories look at what you eat over all. To get a general calorie estimate take your bodyweight and multiply by 13. For you that's 1768. Round that up to 1800 to compensate for your activity level and aim for 1780-1800 calories. Do not go below 1600.
You are on point trying to avoid sugar and processed carbs like white flour and white rice. Stick with complex carb sources like oats, whole wheat bread/pasta, sweet potato, quinoa, as well as vegetables and fruits.

Be sure every meal contains all three macronutrients: protein, fat and, carbs.
They key is to not eat too much but also not too little. You should never be hungry. To achieve this you should aim to eat every 3-4 hours to get about 5-6 meals a day. Think of it as your 3 main meals and 2 snacks. And as the day gets late and your activity level goes down try to limit starch intake. Starch are those carbs like bread or rice. So as an example don't eat a whole cup of rice with dinner then sit around and go to bed 3 hours later. At the later meals stick with fibrous vegetables (broccoli, spinach, asparagus).

As far as your walking that is fine too but also consider adding in some resistance training.
Nobody says you have to join a gym. Do some bodyweight squats http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/bodyweight-squat
Try to add in some pushups, even if on your knees and you can only do a few.
Another thing you can do are chair dips. http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercises/detail/view/name/bench-dips
In relation to the video link above ignore the fact that he has his feet elevated.
Finish this off with some crunches.
So do something like this
Bodyweight squat: 10 reps (or as many as you can)
Pushup: 10 reps (as many as you can)
Dips: 10 reps (or as many as you can)
Crunches: 10 reps (or as many as you can)
Complete this then go for your walk.

If you want to change things up with your walk try HIIT cardio. Get out there and walk for 5 minutes. Then jog for 30 seconds. Walk at your normal pace for 60 seconds, then jog for another 30. Do this 30/60 split about 10 times. This will help burn up more calories than walking alone and is far easier than running the whole time and more effective than just walking.
Or if you have access to a track walk the straight parts and run the curves.

Try to incorporate these things into your life and you should see some good results. There is no way to say how fast your results will come but just stay motivated.

Two last pieces of advice.
1. Drink enough water. Aim for about 16-20 ounces every hour, more if you can. This keeps you hydrated and also helps flush out the body.

2. Don't become a slave to the scale. Its fine to weigh your self but don't let that number define you. There is no need to weigh your self every day, once a week is fine. In fact pick a day to do this like every Sunday.
And when you weigh yourself consider all factors like food and clothing. the best time to weigh your self is first thing in the morning before you eat or drink. And try to wear the same clothing every time. Also consider stuff like shoes, belts, jeans, and big pieces of jewelry can be heavy and throw off the reading.

If you have any other questions or concerns feel free to write back. Best of luck to you.

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