Expert: Bonnie Hardie - 5/10/2009

Question
I am a 17 year old girl, about 5"6, 165 pounds. I want to lose weight in the next 2 months, I don't expect to lose all of it I just want to lose enough to make a good difference in how my body looks. I eat about 900-1100 calories a day. Because of work and school I can only exercise 3 days a week. The days I exercise I let myself eat about 1100 calories, and the days I don't I only eat 900. Sometimes on Saturday I'll eat like 1300, but usually on exercise days I stay at 1100. I don't do a lot of exercise on these days, but it's more than I used to do. I do interval training on the treadmill, first I run at 5mph for 2 minutes, then walk at 2.4mph for 2 min. So total I get 10 min at 5mph and like 5 min at the 2.4mph. I know it's not a lot. I aim to try and increase it as I get better at it. Because after I do that little bit I feel exhausted and lightheaded, probably because I am so out of shape. But then I do these leg exercises, where I bring my leg all the way behind me while keeping my body straight, I do about 80 on each leg, switching legs every 20. Then I do like 10 min on the treadmill again at about 4mph. And that's about it, I know it's not a lot, I should and could do more, so I'm sure that will be one of your suggestions. But I guess my main questions are is the exercise I've been doing good at all? Or is it so little that it won't even make a difference? How is my calories? Do I eat to much the days I exercise? Also all I drink is water, and flavored water. Also my job is at Wendy's, so I'm obviously not doing hard labor, but I still have to walk around a pretty good bit, and at least I'm standing when before I had a job I would just come home at sit at the computer all night. So, do you think in 2 months I'll see a big difference? All tips and suggestions you have would be great! Thanks a lot.

Answer
Hi Kaye,
Thank you for your question.
You need to up your calorie intake per day-to about 2000-if you do not eat enough calories-your body will not want to lose any weight.
Try to squeeze in more exercise-at least 30 minutes of interval training on workout days.The reason that your a feeling dizzy and light headed after exercise could be because you are not eating enough calories.
Some effective bodyweight exercises that you can do are:
squats
walking lunges
stationary lunges
lateral steps
crunches
leg lifts
torso twists
push ups
With weights-you can do;
bicep curls
shoulder raise
front raise.
You can look up all of these exercises on   www.youtube.com to see how they are done.
Make sure that you are eating properly:
more carbohydrates and protein--less fat and sodium.
You can see a differrence in 2 months-it is hard to know exactly how much of a difference there will be because there are a lot of variables involved-but with proper eating habits and exercise-you could lose 10-15 lbs in 2 months.
Thank You,
Good Luck,
Bonnie