:(

Question
My name is Taylor. I'm 16 years old, female, 5 feet and 10 inches, and I weigh 158 pounds. My BMI calculator says I'm at a normal weight, but I really don't like what I see in the mirror. I think I could lose a few pounds, like 10-15. I used to be at 185, and I lost all that weight. I want to take off just those last 10-15 pounds, but everything I do, I just keep failing. Nothing seems to work. Is there anything I could do that would work really fast? I know that eating healthy and exercise are the key to mantaining a healthy weight, but I want to lose the weight fast and then do that. Any ideas? Thanks and please help! :)

Answer
BMI is a tragically unreliable gauge for obesity.  How wrong is it?  Well, muscular men such as Bruce Willis, Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwartzenhaeger and others like them come up as "overweight" or even "obese" on those BMI charts.
Muscle weighs more than fat, while taking up less space (think of an iron bar weighing 5 lbs and a roll of bubble wrap weighing the same amount, muscle is like the iron bar, the bubble wrap is 'fat').  

You may be trying to lose MUSCLE!  Relying on a scale or a chart is just that unreliable.  It's a good generality, but if you're active, eat right and find your body consistently healthy, THAT'S what you need to go by.  

Depending on HOW you lost the weight, future weight loss might be effected.  If you did it quick - you've likely lowered your metabolism (and already lost muscle, bone and organ tissue).  It won't take long before the numbers start going back up (unless you adjust things fast and do it the right way).

Often, people end up gaining weight or getting 'stuck' at a weight when they don't eat enough (odd, but true).  The body is perceiving a famine and hanging on to water, fat and again, lowering the metabolism.  

I can attest, first hand, to the "fast weight loss" being a sure thing for gaining more than ever.  Over and over.  I did it for more than 30 years!  
It was the last time I did it, sort of slow (but it really wasn't that slow!) and  by eating more than I imagined I could....and this is the longest the weight stayed off (5 years now!) without effort (no dieting!).  

I've outlined exactly how to do this without the diet industry's lies, products, plans or promotions - at my site.  Take a look and let me know how it looks compared to what you've done.  

And by the way - we ALL think we can lose it 'fast' and then do the healthy thing to stay there.  Thing is, it's the 'fast' part that kind of sabotages it all and programs our body to struggle against famine and FUTURE famines by lowering the metabolism for what can be YEARS for most people - or even a lifetime for some.  Either way, by the time the body recovers from the 'fast' diet, the weight's back on, plus about 20% more.

http://www.geocities.com/thereverend1investigates/  

1. Prev:Types of fat
2. Next:silica