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About Laurie Beebe, MS, RD, LD
Expertise
As a registered dietitian I am fully qualified to accurately answer questions regarding weight loss, including those from people with health conditions requiring dietary restrictions (diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc) who want to lose weight, or who have been advised to do so by their physician.

Experience
I have been a registered dietitian for over 25 years and am certified in Adult Weight Management through the commission on dietetic registration. I also have training in coaching through Coach U and currently work as a diet coach to help people lose weight the healthy way.

Organizations
American Dietetic Association, Weight Management Dietetic Practice Group, Nutrition Entreprenuers, St.Louis International Coach Federation, Toastmasters

Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Health Science from the University of Florida, 1983; Master of Science in Clinical Nutrition from Case Western Reserve Universitiy 1985; Certification in Adult Weight Management 2006; CoachU core essentials grad 2007.

You are here: Experts > Health/Fitness > Eating Disorders > Nutrition & Dieting > fat loss

Nutrition & Dieting - fat loss

Expert: Laurie Beebe, MS, RD, LD - 11/2/2009

Question
I'm 14 y/o, 5'5 and 126 poundss.
I've never worked out before, but i believe that this would be a good time to start since lately I've been feeling more and more uncomfortable about my body, & its beginning to influence my everday life =|
I've even measured my body fat percentage online, and it came out to be unhealthily high =\

How much exercise do i need to get (and maintain later on) to being about 110 pounds? What do my calories burned/intake need to be in order to achieve this? (any other information about this would be greatly appreciated)

thanks =]

Answer
Dear Lynn,

Eating healthy and exercising are great lifestyle activities to adopt while you are still forming daily habits. It will pay off big time if you continue as you get older and you'll never have to worry about dieting!

In a general calculation I've come up with a number of 1900 calories for you to maintain your weight at the height, weight, and age you've provided me. If you try eating fewer calories (and not a low-calorie diet, but something like 1700 calories) the weight will slowly come off--and by that I mean about 2 pounds a month. There are many websites that let you log your food intake and then they keep track of your daily calorie intake (thedailyplate.com, sparkpeople.com, fitday.com, etc) so you don't have to pre-count everything you put in your mouth!

Right now you are at an ideal body weight, so I don't know what site came up with "unhealthy body fat" for you. See this site for a reputable source http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

As far as exercise, you don't really need to go to a gym and have a work out regimen. What has been proven to work in the long term is having an activity you enjoy enough to do almost every day. Is there some sport you would like to be involved in at school? Would you like to take a dance class or aerobics class? If you haven't tried zumba yet, it's really lots of fun! Try checking out a few exercise tapes from your local library if you aren't into team sports and enjoy kick-boxing or step routines in the privacy of your own home, or invite a few girlfriends over for your own class.

Have fun developing your new, healthy lifestyle!

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