Need to lose 20-30 lbs

[APO]

Hi, I'm 13 years old, currently weigh at 140 lbs, and im 4'11". I'm pretty sure im overweight by atleast 20-30 lbs, so I need to loose it within 2-4 months. Since school is starting, I wont guarantee I have a lot of time to DDR. So I want to know how many minutes of DDR I should play a day.

For the calorie intake, I was planning to eat 1000 - 1200 calories a day. However, I heard that you should eat atleast 1500 - 2000 calories to prevent your body from going to starvation mode. Is that true?

and also, If I eat 1000 calories a day, and ddr 500 calories off, would that be considered good, or bad?

[abrannan]

At your age, I wouldn't worry about dieting too much. You're still growing, and your body needs those calories to produce the extra bone and muscle you'll be building. Exercise is always a good addition to your lifestyle, no matter your age. Play as much DDR as you feel like playing. Try to get in a couple of sessions each week. Also try to get out of the house and exercise in the fresh air while you can. Ride a bicycle, skate, whatever tickles your fancy.

As far as how much to eat, don't overstuff yourself. You really don't need to be counting calories at this point in your life. Just eat until you're full. Your body will tell you how many calories you need. If you overstuff yourself one meal, learn what that feels like and cut back a little at the next meal. Eat healthy foods, and try to stay away from fried foods and soda (you can have diet if you absolutely *have* to, but try and keep that limited too).

But at your age, that should be just about all you need to do. Be active, and eat right. 13 is too young to be dieting, unless ordered by a doctor.

[Laura Moncur]

The most important thing right now is learning good habits. The things you do now will forever affect your future. If you learn good habits, they will follow you through the rest of your life and when it comes time to go to your high school reunion, you'll still be a hottie and the rest of the crew will be overweight and balding.

Learn good habits now.

Eat 5-7 servings of fruits and veggies a day (1/2 cup, small apple, etc.)
Eat 3 servings of lowfat dairy products each day.
Choose whole grain carbs (whole wheat bread, cracked wheat cereal, etc.)
Choose lean protein
Exercise regularly

These habits will help you get healthy right now and keep you healthy your whole life.

[APO]

How many grams of sugars should one eat a day?

[Laura Moncur]

You're not listening. Increase your veggies and fruits and you won't be thinking about sugar all the time. It usually takes about a week for your body to get back in control, but after that, you won't have as many cravings.

It really helped to make sure I had about 100 calories of protein at breakfast and lunch. I really like a bean burrito for breakfast because the vegetable protein is high in fiber. At lunch, I usually make sure I have a little meat, either in a sandwich or a frozen dinner, etc.

This isn't about grams of fat, grams of sugar, or grams of carbohydrates. It's about making healthy choices every day.