Expert: Joanne - 9/6/2008

Question
I have always been underweight then as i hit 12 i started to put on loads of weight,, my friends and family just say im curvy but i feel like im fat.. For about 2 months now iv cut down on what i eat (alot) and i feel as if im putting on more weight, over the past week iv just been drinking water and just telling my parents im not hungry and iv been avoiding my parents so i dont have to eat, also a lad at school keeps calling me fat and gets his friends to call me fat, it really upsets me but i just build up all the pain from it and cry when i get home, i havent tryed talking to my family or friends because when i tell them i want to lose some weight they tell me not to be stupid :S
Iv just turned 15 and just started my periods and my body hasnt developed as much as other people my age so is this normal for somebody like me to feel the way i do...

Answer
Lauren

The weight that you put on at 12 years old was most likely your body preparing for puberty.  Just before you are about to increase in height quite rapidly, your body will begin to store more in order to fuel this growth.  Puberty also sees a change in female figures as you do tend to put on weight around your hips and your chest, and this is just your body preparing for child-bearing really.  It happens to almost every female!!!

At 15, it is perfectly normal for you to feel this way.  Due to the pressures of being at high school, and everything being almost a social competition, appearance tends to become very important to us.  We begin to take much more notice of what we are being shown in the media, how our friends look like, what the books say we should eat and weight, etc..  It can become an obsession that can get out of control!

The boy at school, is he important to your life at all?  If he isn't, then try your best to ignore him!  You don't need to prove yourself to him, and as he seems to be nasty, he is not worth your emotions either!

Please don't survive on solely water!  This is not a good path to head down!  You run the risk of making yourself quite ill in the short term, but also risk this becoming something much more habitual and long term, possibly leading to long term health complications.

Please try and talk to your parents, or a teacher or someone at school that maybe able to give you some advice.  If you are unhappy with your weight, you'd be much better trying to eat well and exercise.  It gives a much longer lasting weight loss (starving yourself tends to cause you to gain weight very quickly when beginning to return to a more normal diet!) and a toned healthy looking body is much nicer than a 'thin' body.  Starving yourself will also affect the condition of your skin, hair and nails, so although you may think that being thin may be pretty, things like your hair and skin are going to be anything other than nice!

Joanne