FAQ’s

I’m making this page because I get a lot of the same questions over and over. I would hope you would check this page before sending me an /ask!

Again, I am NOT a professional and you shouldn’t take my advice as such. Before losing any weight, making a sweeping change to your diet, or starting an exercise regimen, please consult your doctor.

I am x years old and x tall and x weight and I want to be thinner. How do I do that?

Healthy eating and exercise. My recommendation to EVERYONE is almost always the same:

1. Start counting your calories. I use http://sparkpeople.com for their AWESOME free nutrition tracker. I totally recommend it.
Do this for at least 2 weeks. Even if you’re currently “eating healthy”, you might not be eating the right amount.
Use this page to find out how many calories a day you should be eating:
http://th3skinny.tumblr.com/how
You should also follow this girl’s blog, she’s awesome.
Make sure you’re eating within the general area of calories the equation recommends. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but keep it close.
Eating too many calories will obviously make you gain weight.
Never, ever eat less than 1000 calories a day. This is SUPER important. Eating too few calories puts your body into “starvation mode” which means it stores more of the calories you ingest as fat, and your metabolism slows. You’ll still lose weight, but it will be much slower, and any time you eat anything at all, you’ll be more likely to gain weight from it, even if it’s something small or something healthy. If you’ve been eating too few calories, up your intake to the right amount. You will probably gain a couple pounds from it at first, but then your metabolism will correct itself and you will begin to lose again, in a much healthier way.

2. Clean up your eating!
http://chemicalfreeskinny.tumblr.com is a great resource on healthy eating and chemicals in your food and the world around you.
Also check out:
The Great American Detox Diet by Alex Jamieson
Sugar Blues by William Duffy
Living Green: A Practical Guide to Simple Sustainability by Greg Horn
Food Inc. ((Movie))
The more I know about the food I eat and how it effects my body, the smarter decisions I make about the food I eat.
Avoid processed foods, foods with added sugars, artificial sweeteners and colors, inorganic meat and dairy, refined sugars and flours, chemical preservatives, and always wash your fruits and veggies.
This isn’t a diet. It’s a lifestyle change! Get serious about getting healthy and eating healthy. Eating ice cream or a brownie every once in a while isn’t the end of the world, but instead learn to make healthier at-home options, or just learn to say no more often.
Food ideas:
http://downtownn.tumblr.com/tagged/recipe
http://www.diet-blog.com/07/what_do_300_calorie_meals_look_like.php
The Great American Detox Diet by Alex Jamieson
Google!

3. Exercise!

A. You should be doing at least 90 minutes of cardio a week. This means 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week. Alternate your days. You can also do more cardio to help speed up your weight loss. 60-90 minutes is acceptable, but often not even the most effective way to lose weight. If you do HIIT for 30 minutes, it’s just as effective as a slow paced jog for 60. Plus, doing the same exercise over and over means your body and metabolism get used to it and you will burn less calories doing it. Change it up!
http://c25k.com is what I used to start running. I recommend this if you’re just starting out running.
Other forms of cardio are cycling, swimming, elliptical-ing, dancing, jump-roping, or even jumping jacks. You should be working out at a high enough intensity to get your heart rate up and your body sweating.

B. You should also be doing toning exercises, if you want to be firm and toned. ((Who doesn’t?!))
http://dailyskinny.tumblr.com/tagged/routine
This is an example of my Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday routine. You can obviously make your own too. http://sparkpeople.com also offers free exercise plans, and has great demos of exercises. Doing toning exercises helps you build muscle which in turn helps your body burn more fat. It’s good for your metabolism! Do toning exercises 2-3 days a week, on days you don’t do cardio. Make sure you take 1-2 rest days a week. This is important for your body to recover!!! You don’t want to hurt yourself and then end up not being able to work out. :(

I want to have skinnier x part of my body. How do I do that?
Unfortunately, it’s impossible to choose what area of your body you want to lose weight from. Your body chooses this on it’s own. So you if you want a flatter stomach or thinner thighs, you’re going to have to lose weight from ALL OVER.

I have stretch marks. Will they ever go away?
All scars fade with time. Each person’s body is different so your outcome will always be different than someone else’s. Some people’s might be hardly noticeable, some other person might have dark scars 10 years later. However, eating a balanced diet, and using lotion with vitamin E in it will help your skin stay moisturized, be healthier, and more resilient. Also, as with any scar, make sure if it’s going to be exposed to the sun, you wear sunscreen so the scar doesn’t get worse.

I’m x years old, x tall and x weight. I’m eating x amount of calories a day and doing x amount of exercise a week. Will I reach my goal weight by x?
Check out this awesome tool:
http://www.losertown.org/eats/cal.php
I love it! :D

I am already at a healthy weight, but I want to weigh less. What do I do?
Instead of focusing on your weight, I recommend you focus on inches instead. I will not recommend anyone ever loses weight to a number below a BMI of 18. If you’re already close to a BMI of 18 and are still unhappy with your body, consider focusing instead on inches instead of weight loss. Eat more protein, build more muscle, and tone up!

I have an eating disorder/I think I have an eating disorder. Help?
PLEASE SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP IMMEDIATELY.
http://www.eatingdisordersanonymous.org/
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/
http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/hotlines
I am not a professional and cannot give you the help you need.

Some of the girls you post obviously have eating disorders. I thought you were about healthy weight loss?
I am about healthy weight loss. However, this is a personal blog, and I post pictures that inspire ME. It’s just what I personally find aesthetically pleasing. If you don’t like the pictures I post, please unfollow me. There are many other weight-loss inspo blogs out there you would probably enjoy a lot more. It is sad that some of these girls have eating disorders, and I avoid pictures of obviously emaciated girls, as they do nothing for me.