About Melissa Anderson Expertise I have a Bachelor`s degree in biochemistry, researched metabolism and endocrinology for four years, and am currently attending medical school. Ask me anything and everything relating to Atkins and other low-carb diet plans!
Experience I've been on Atkins since 2001 and I'm still going strong!
Education/Credentials Professionally, I have a Bachelor's degree in biochemistry, researched metabolism and endocrinology for four years, and am currently attending medical school.
Special Diets - Want to lose weight be eating right and exercising but not having much luck at it so far.
Expert: Melissa Anderson - 2/1/2008
Question How can I lose weight when I exercise 2 times a week walk to all my classes and eat right I weigh about 188 or so pounds and I'm 5'5 everyone tells me to keep up with the exercise and eating right and that I don't need to lose weight but I'm worried about diabetes and high blood pressure as my parents have that and I don't want to have that.
Answer Alisha,
You're right, and everyone else is wrong. Your weight falls into the "obese" category, and that means that your weight is putting you at significantly higher risk for diabetes, breast cancer, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, heart disease, knee and joint degeneration, and a long list of other problems.
At 5'5", your goal weight should be between 120 and 150 pounds. Setting a goal of 150 pounds or less could significantly improve your health in the future.
The first step is to buy a good scale. Most scales are only accurate for a few years, so it's worth buying a new one. You need to know where you are.
The second step is to figure out why you're overweight. Do you overeat, or underexercise? It sounds to me like a bit of both. A good level of exercise is 45-60 minutes every single day of brisk walking, or 30-45 minutes of more intense exercise like jogging. That's 7 days a week, not 2.
But you are getting some exercise, even if it isn't as much as you need, so you are probably also overeating. The best way to attack the eating is to keep a detailed food record for a week or two on a website like www.sparkpeople.com or www.fitday.com. Don't try to change just yet-just track what you eat and use the website's tools to understand how many calories and carbs you normally eat. Then you'll be able to see where you might cut down.
Maintaining a healthy weight isn't easy, but it can be done if you form good habits. And the younger you are, the easier it is... so don't wait. Make 2008 the year you get healthy.
Good luck!
Melissa
