Expert: Meg - 1/22/2008

Question
hi, im 13 years old, im 5 ft. 4 inches and i am 115 pounds. i know that you probally will think that my weight is fine, but i dont. all of my friends have the perfect bodies. i know im not like very fat, but i have a little gut and i want it to go away. i also am so uncomfortable in a baithing suite when all my friends are so skinny. i try to talk to my mom about this but she just says oh ur skinny dont worry, but i do worry. what can i do about my weight problem? thank you

Answer
Hi Cassidy,

Thanks for your note and I hope that I can be of some help.  I'm sorry that you're feeling so uncomfortable with your weight right now.  You're right, that I don't think you have a problem with your weight per-se, but I do understand that you feel fat and unhappy with your body and I know that this can be tough.  

Your weight is perfect for your height so there is no reason that you need to lose any weight.  If you are uncomfortable with your tummy, then I think its okay if you do some crunches or other ab exercises to make your stomach stronger.  However, my guess is that you might still feel uncomfortable in your body even with a tummy that you're happy with.  There is so much pressure these days to have a "perfect" body and my guess is that if you talk with your friends who seem skinny and perfect, they too have things that they are insecure about.  

Here are a few sites that might help you and in the meantime, I would suggest eating healthfully and maybe doing  crunches or walking to be fit.  But, your weight is fine and you're already skinny, although I know my saying that doesn't help a lot when you don't see that.  Hopefully, hearing that helps at least a little bit.

http://www.healthyplace.com/Communities/Eating_Disorders/Site/transcripts/positi...

http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=286&Profile_ID=41158
Take care,
Meg