Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from a child`s weight and height. BMI is a reliable indicator of body fatness for most children and teens. BMI does not measure body fat directly, but research has shown that BMI correlates to direct measures of body fat, such as underwater weighing and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA).1 BMI can be considered an alternative for direct measures of body fat. Additionally, BMI is an inexpensive and easy-to-perform method of screening for weight categories that may lead to health problems.-161688

Powered by

I cannot tell if i am fat or not imean i check the bm scale and i am a healthy weigt and i feel healthy but why do i not have a six pack i heard that evrybody has one they just have to not be overweight?? i am not over weight but i do not have a six pack and it looks like i do have some body fat ,,how do you tell if your face is fat or not do you sqeeze on it and see if you can feel fat or bone--i am really confused right now i am a healthy weight but i somehow steel have body fat and i cant tell if my face is fat or not but i do have a picture and all you teen girls out there please tell me what you think and what i can do to make myself have a six pack and loose this extra fat i mean i am 6,2 and weight 172 which is supposed to be a healthy weight but i dont know and cannot tell?? herses my pic -- http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/ x209/cfgt00/?action=view&curren t=l_73d0d948110984f02f94a1a860ee0dd 3.jpg

dude ...don't get caught up in that baloney...you are a great weight for your size....a sis pack comes from working out....

Powered by

So i've always been pretty small and never really had much of a problem with weight, and if i did get a little heavier than i wanted, it was easy for me to lose weight quickly. now i'm 20 years old, and this just isn't true anymore, it seems, as i try to lose my 'freshman fifteen' over the summer. so, a couple questions: --am i naturally supposed to be gaining weight at this age, or is my weight gain only from my diet and exercise habits (which are less than stellar, but not particularly worse than the average persons)? i've heard this, but i was never sure if it was true. --is it really harder to lose weight the older you get? sure, you might have less time and that sort of thing, but i'm talking about physically, does your body hang onto fat better as you get older.

Yes, it really is harder for most of us. As your body ages, all its mechanisms slow down, including metabolism, so what you were able to eat without concern in your 20's now goes straight to your hips or thighs when you get older. The female body does lay down fat more easily as it ages and for many women, the onset of menopause (and the consequent cessation of all oestrogen and progesterone) can cause a general "thickening" and "softening" of the entire body. It is not only the laying down of fat that is a problem as you age - the foundation for osteo porosis (brittle bones) later in life is laid down in the 20's and 30's (by poor diet and insufficient weight-bearing exercise). For many women, by the time they realise they have it, it is too late to do much about it. There is absolutely nothing you can do to prevent this ageing process, however, you can keep Mother Nature "at bay" by eating healthily and well, drinking only in moderation, don't smoke or ingest other drugs and get at least 30 minutes of aerobic-type exercise every day. If you can also add to this regime a couple of good cardio/weights workouts a week, then you are doing everything you can to maintain your body's "young" shape well into your latter years. As always, there's no avoiding it - at the end of the day it all comes back to sensible diet and exercise throughout your life.

Powered by

Hi well im 15 and im almost 16 and i weight 125 pounds and im trying to get really toned not bulky so i work out 5 times a week i do cardio monday for 40min and i do chest and back on tuesday and at wednesday i do cardio again , thursday i do arms and shoulders and friday 40min cardio again and last at saturday i do abs and minor muscles , i am 5"10 125 by the way and im not sure how much im suppose to eat i am reallllly confused am i suppose to eat 2000 or 2800 , or on cardio days i eat 1600-1800 andd in weight training days i eat like 2200-2800? im really confused i work out about one hour to onehour and 30min a day and also if u might think im skinny , im not really because if i was skinny i wouldnt be doing cardio to get rid ofmy thigh fat and some fat layers on my stomach , mainly thigh fat idk why i have huge thighs but the rest of my body seems okay , by the way i do melbourne shuffling as cardio its a type of dance and its intense , so please help me how much should i eat on weight training days and how much should i eat on cardio days , and also i was thinking of a high protein low carb diet please help throw out anything and sorry for the grammer im just on a run . bye thanks :)

you must concentrate more on cardio and free weight routines such as push ups, pull ups, situps, bars and behind the hips etc to lose weight. you should avoid weight training at your age as it may hamper your growth in terms of height. Doing the cardios like aerobics, skipping, threadmill etc along with free weight training exercises will ensure weight loss along with height growth. So basically, your height increase will make your weight look balanced and fit and at the same time, you could shed those extra pounds easily. You could also try playing soccer for fun and swimming for fun. These help burn fat and at the same time gets you fitter. Any ground game that involves running for that matter. happy toning..

Powered by

I am a 17 year old girl, curvy body, blonde hair, tall 5'8, fairly successful girl who has been dating a 6'3 300 lb guy for a little over a year now. never have i been with or seen such a caring, sweet, passionate guy before. he is everything i could ask for in a guy and more. we are also best friends and he always makes me laugh no matter what mood im in. to many people they would label him as "fat" and although he is he is also insanely strong. he's a lineman on the varsity football team. to shorten the story up a bit, we are extremely happy together. but i cannot tell you the countless teens and adults who have coldly judged us and said we are not a "match." how are they supposed to know? it makes me so angry how shallow people are and believe that people are best matched based on their "outer qualities." i seriously want to punch those people in the face who have attempted to start trouble with me based on their superficial beliefs. people determine that im "insecure." "this always makes me laugh. since when is self respect insecure? i respect myself and am confident enough in who i am to know the type of man that i want. and that is also a man who is confident and content with who he is, and knows how to treat me the way i deserve. his weight is not blocking my love for him..and we are in the process of getting his weight down a bit..but im interested in everyone else's opinion on this subject...what do you think of thin attractive women dating large men? why does it piss off so many other guys?

Because there are jealous that they don't have you.

Powered by

Im 16yrs old &for the past 6 months, i have been feeling really low. im going through some tough times i guess you could say (my parents fight and are filing for divorce, im trying to recover from my eating disorder, my family is having $ problems) i have been feeling miserable, and i dread every day and have even wished i weren't alive. i cry a lot, but i don't know exactly why. a lot of times i feel like nobody loves me, and i feel like im a waste of space. my parents have taken me to so many counselors, but it never works out. im shy & i have a hard time opening up. they have also put me on prozac and i was on it for about 5 yrs, but then i got off of it bc the doctors said it doesn't work unless you have a certain body fat percentage. i don't like talking to counsleors, but i want more than anything to be happy and enjoy my life. the teen years are supposed to be the greatest time of your life, and i feel like im wasting them away. what can i do to be happy again? thx in advance

You are not a waste of space. It sounds like your parents love you very much. A divorce can be very hard on teenagers. After awhile the fighting will stop but until then maybe you can talk to them and let them know how hard it is for you. Maybe you could suggest that you have time spent with each of them alone. That way there is no fighting and you will see how much they care and perhaps it will bring your smile back. Also try spending some time with your friends that you know make you smile and laugh. Laughing is so very good for you. Take care and don't give up!

Powered by

Is fat? if she wears anything over a size 8 she's considered fat.....isn't that a bit ridiculous? woman aren't supposed to look like teen-aged boys. *note.... i'm size 7/8 from the usa i'm sory if i insulted anyone who thinks they look like a teenaged boy....it was not my intention.

It started in the late 50s and early 60s with stars like Audrey Hepburn and Twiggy. Designers started making clothes, not for women, but for the bodies of prepubescent boys. Androgyny became fashionable, perhaps as a reaction to the "New Look" and the froufrou dresses that required the uncomfortable waspie (corset). Yes, Audrey Hepburn was thin, but she had trained as a dancer and had suffered severe malnutrition in WW2. Twiggy was anorexic before this problem was recognised. Look back to the great movie stars of yesterday: Marylin Monroe wore a size 16-18 all her life. Elizabeth Taylor was statuesque. Ava Gardner, Grace Kelley, all the beauties looked like women. Who is at fault? Fashion designers, media publicists, magazines. And the silly sheeple who swallow everything they say.

Powered by

I've always wanted to be a model since... i was little i suppose. i never thought about my body though... i have full lips, really dark brown eyes and golden/auburn colored hair. i'm 13 years old and tried in a model comp. when i read the guide it says u have to b flat chested and 5'8'' with skinny legs legs, clear skin (which i have not gt because i'm in the middle of puberty. its still pretty smooth though..) and i'm not the right height i'm not skinny like victoria beckham and i have braces (they are turquoise btw). they shouldnt be encouraging teens like me to be super skin and get anorexia. marilyn monroe was a size 16. she was a model. but now the average size is 4. or less. :'(. help..?? xx i onli no my weight in stones. 7 1/2 for a 13 year old...

Ok, this question is very vague. First off, you're only 13. You have a long way to go before you mature. I was hideous in junior high. Secondly, you should check out BMI calculating site. That way, you can input your height and weight in order to see if you're overweight or not. Lastly, don't starve yourself. Just exercise and control your portions. Plus, bigger models are becoming more popular. Just give it some time. Don't stress out about too much and I'm sure that you'll do just fine.

Powered by

Chapter 1: simply lucy the hot summer sun shone through the windows in the family room as i sat waiting for something to happen. no matter how high i turned up air conditioning, the rays of heat beat across my body. but i imagine that no matter how high i blasted the a/c i’d still be hot with excitement. i was waiting. every summer day spent at home was the same. some down time is always good, but my least favorite part of the summer is always those weeks and weeks of nothing before school begins. usually, the weeks aren’t as bad because i have something to look forward to, but the international band was done and the next big event was marching band. i’d say that i hate it if i didn’t love playing my trumpet, but nine hours a day of marching back and forth a parking lot under blazing heat breaking only for ten minutes every few hours? not exactly my idea of fun. however, the people in the band are wonderful enough to make this experience glorious. so why am i dreading it this year? because of something i learned last year, band is about to become a whole lot more challenging. i consider myself a musician in training, so i’m not dreading the music. i absolutely love playing my trumpet and i really would like to turn this hobby into a career. so i practice religiously and i’ve auditioned for and made a number of bands outside of the school upperclassmen band. this year i made an orchestra hosted by the local music school and that will be my first real orchestra. i’m super excited especially because i’m one of the only sophomore trumpet players to make the orchestra at the local music school ever, except of course for him. he is one of the best trumpet players i have ever heard or at least for a person my age. so naturally, he’s easily found sitting at the top of the section of the most prestige bands and orchestras. to top it off, he goes to my school, lucky me, forever shadowing a prodigy. what this means is no matter how good i get, after he’s graduated, i still get to live in his shadow. also, no matter how hard i work, i will always be overshadowed by him and never receive the respect i deserve. oh how i long to cream him! i wish i could challenge him in an epic battle in front of the whole band and take his title from him. unfortunately, i’m not quite ready to do that yet and even if i could i wouldn’t. why? for some reason i have fallen head over heels for him. he’s really sweet and sensitive, but most importantly shares my passion for music and trumpet. being around him makes me feel so empowered and he encourages me every step of the way. i also deeply admire his trumpet playing, his time management ability, and how in his heart he seems to really know why he is here. he has all these wondrous qualities and yet doesn’t boast about it. i suppose one flaw that will make that other girls turn away is that he’s not exactly that good looking. but i still have a strong attraction to him. so i guess because of his personality, it’s no doubt that i like him. looking at all the time we spend together, one would think, “hey, lucy, you have a really good chance with this boy!” but i know better; i don’t stand a chance. for one thing, to him i’m a little girl. he’ll be a senior and i’ll be a sophomore. i know that that is only two years, but last year i was introduced to him as the freshman who will be in his band with him, and i have a reputation for being the young trumpet player. one of my nicknames is “little zach” or “future zach”, so the young girl is what he will know me as. another is that i am not attractive either. i’m very fat. i look like i swallowed a whale whole one morning and was too lazy (and too addicted to chocolate) to digest it all. my hair is crazy; mid-length goldish brown hair with bangs that never go the way i want them too. it’s usually in a sloppy mess. i suppose in my defense i have a charismatic smile and people say that my deep blue eyes are pretty. but even they are covered by big glasses. i truly believe that i have the power to fix this, but i suppose i’m just too lazy to get around and start. but i’m not sure if i’m ready for everyone to know about how i like him or that i like him at all. only three people in this world know about it, myself, one of my best friends and a girl who guessed it out of me and i’ve regretted telling her ever since. i scared and excited for the drama this will bring to the school year between me and zach and between my best friend and hers (who is a whole new bowl of wax). not to mention the extremely hard classes i elected to take. but no matter what life will bring for me, i will survive and remain simply lucy. so this is the story of my sophomore year. chapter 2: mary “he responded, he responded!” she circled my chair and plopped on my bed. her blue eyes were wild with anticipation and excitement. “maybe this is the start to something! maybe he’ll finally notice me!” i grinned, entertained with her joy. “well, what did he say?” “he asked me how my summer was!” i breathed in to reply but then held my breath sharp in my mouth. that’s all? that little comment was what was exciting her so? “oh,” i said a little melodramatically, “and what did you say?” “i…” she paused sensing how unimpressed i was. she sloughed back a little and sighed. “do you really think that this means nothing?” “no, no, no, no, no! for your situation right now any form of communication is very good. it just wasn’t much” “is that bad?” i sighed, “well, it definitely could be worse.” at this mary beamed. “perhaps this could be the start of something!” however her big smile faded away quickly. i didn’t need to ask her what was wrong; i could tell that she knew that nothing would happen. jumping off the bed, she dragged herself over to my mirror. she played with her short fire-red, bouncy hair and took off her glasses exposing her big, deep blue eyes; comparable to my own. sighing she breathed, “i suppose he would never love someone as terribly ugly as me.” i shot her a frustrated look. i hate it when she does this. mary is so pretty but never gives herself any credit for it. i suppose she doesn’t care if the whole world thinks she is gorgeous as long as john doesn’t notice. john is completely different from zach. unlike zach, john is an attractive boy. he has a wonderful smile and dark brown hair which is never consistently the same length. his shoulders are strong and his skin is quite tan. john towers over mary and zach as well. however, he also plays trumpet, not very well, but i suppose he’s decent. the main problem with john is he has a dead personality. he’s polite sure, but he says nothing and sits through life as if someone has a gun up to his head. he also barely knows that mary exists which could prove to be potentially problematic. “you know very well that you’re pretty, you don’t need me to remind you!” “yes, but then why doesn’t he love me?” “john doesn’t know you!” she paused, clearly contemplating what i had said. “well maybe, but if i were beautiful he’d want to know me!” “mary” i turned and faced her, giving her a serious look, “do you honestly think that he is brave enough to walk up to a pretty girl and say ‘hey, you look gorgeous, wanna go out?’ no he’s not. remember that just because you don’t know him doesn’t mean that i don’t either. but, this year when you sit next to each other in band…” “oh stop it! you know that i’m not good enough to sit next to him on either side.” “and you also know that you purposely say that stuff so you won’t let yourself down when it doesn’t happen” “i most certainly do not!” she looked a way with an air of discomfort. mary isn’t a confident girl. she has so many talents and good in her but she can’t see it because she views herself narrowly and one-sided. this is a reason why most people want her to give up on john because he’s blinding her. i suppose you could call me a pro- mary/john person, i know that she does, but in reality, i’m really just a pro-mary’s happiness person. i’ll never tell her that because i’m worried about how she’d take knowing that i don’t really care whether she goes out with him or not. that could come off as something it isn’t and ruin our friendship. “i honestly believe that i’m not good enough. i mean listen to yourself, listen to zach! you guys are amazing! and then listen to john, he’s really good! and then listen to me. you’re ears would just… die” “stop that! you’re not bad! john isn’t all that good and i’m not amazing.” “come on, you made the orchestra at the u, you’re obviously amazing! cathy could beat me easy!” “no she couldn’t!” cathy is another sophomore trumpet player. the band director, mr. beirbell, put all of the first chairs of the freshman band into the upperclassmen band. i was already there for my freshman year so that means that cathy was first chair. i’ll always have a spot in my heart that fears her because she used to be real competition for me until i had a huge trumpet growth spurt. actually, i owe most of the sudden improvement to her because i wanted to beat her so i practiced and i did. if it weren’t for cathy i wouldn’t be were i am today. she’s really is no threat to me now and i like her, but i will always keep one eye on her. it’s also important to the dirty part of my soul to be better than her so i never allow myself to think that she’s any good. but i will give her this: cathy is a good to average sophomore trumpet player. why mary thinks that that could beat her, a good to average junior trumpet player, remains a mystery to me. mary’s only problem is that she is a touch under-practiced and very unconfident. i know that if mary gave herself some credit and stopped worrying about looking conceited i would have to start watching her! “as much as i like mr. beirbell, he’s not that intelligent about chair placements. but he’s honestly not that stupid!” “i want to be good so much!” “don’t worry about it. you’re fine” “but i’m not amazing! i know i’ll never be anything like you…” “please don’t. i’m not amazing. i’m just a student.” “not long. soon you’ll be a famous professional trumpeter! i know it!” i gave her a weak smile. yes, i love hearing people say that because it makes me feel like maybe everything wasn’t stolen by zach. but it really doesn’t mean as much to hear her say it as much as it would from mr. beirbell. as sweet as she is, she doesn’t understand how competitive music is. she doesn’t understand that america only needs so many of us and that it’s a dog eat dog world out there. now, to hear that from someone like mr. beirbell who really understands that would be the best thing ever. however, he will never notice me because of zach. he gave my parents a lecture on how wonderful it would be if i learned from him and how amazing zach is during my parent-teacher conference. i don’t think he knows how badly that hurts someone who wants to become a professional more than anything else she’s ever wanted. a car horn sounded and mary was dumped into her mother’s car. this would be the last i would see of her until marching band. i told her i’m looking forward to it, but as i said it a knot formed in my stomach. i’m not sure if it was an excitement knot or a nervous knot. but marching band, like zach, was a reality i’d have to face sooner or later. chapter 3: little girls and big boys “lucy, hurry you don’t want to be late!” “i’m working on it mom” the day had come; the first day of marching camp. i cleaned out my trumpet the previous day although cleaning it just to dirty it again was a little pointless. i found my lire, bought sunscreen almost adequate enough for this, found the old marching charts and now all i had to do was fix myself. my hair was crazy. i must not have combed it very well after my shower because my bangs were sticking up in all directions. the round glasses on my face weren’t helping either. i would completely pass as twelve if i weren’t so fat and so freakishly tall. my goal with band is to always look like serious competition; reminding zach and mr. beirbell that i’m a little kid is not desired. however, being late would make a worse impression so i took a comb and dashed it with water. if water could make it crazy maybe it can flatten it also. my mom was pulling out of the driveway when i finally caught up with her and jumped in the car. i think what a lot of people don’t realize about me is how i want to be pretty. people see me as the innocent girl that doesn’t really care about boys or anything. my parents do too and part of my brain wants me to be sweet and innocent. but i have this huge part that longs to be beautiful. i secretly want to be that beautiful girl that all the boys want but no one can touch. the one that makes the boys drool and then plays with them. reel them in and then push them away without any second thoughts. but the reality is i don’t have that power. i’ve never had a boyfriend before and i don’t think that will change this year. maybe i can change my image this year. maybe i can make people see me as a young women and not a freakishly tall two year old. life would be so much better if people saw that i’m not the little girl i used to be. my trumpet teacher would give me real music, mr. beirbell would take me seriously, and maybe zach would give me the time of day. but these are all just dreams that mean nothing until i work for them. the car screeched to a stop and i half-heartily walked into the busy band room of people talking and playing their instruments. everyone was rushing to the table to retrieve their marching charts and their nametags. “hey, you don’t need to get tangled in that swarm” a familiar voice says behind me. “lizzy!” i turned around and to face one of my closest friends. “yeah, i took the liberty of grabbing you a chart and your nametag. but i don’t see why you’d need it. everyone knows who you are!” liz smiled up at me with loving brown eyes. liz is completely different from megan. for one thing, she really doesn’t care or notice the guys at all. liz keeps herself completely shut out of the real world by obsessing over school work and cramming her schedule with clubs. she is a big geek; a member of the robotics team, science olympiad, oceanography, the mathletes and band. she doesn’t realize that by doing this she doesn’t make more friends, she loses them. she’s always running back and forth between these groups and her homework that no one gets to really meet her. i’ve been her only consistent friend for a while now. liz is so nice and caring that being around her makes me feel guilty but no one else knows that because of her stressed out façade. but the conversation with liz didn’t last long because we were interrupted by mary. she ran up looking pale and flabbergasted. “lucy, you got to see this!” “what, are you okay?” “oh yeah, but oh my gosh!” “what?” i found myself being pulled over to the leadership board. mary was a fabulous conductor and she has auditioned for the role of assistant drum major. i knew she’d make it, but she as usual doubted herself. she pushed past her way through the crowd and placed me in front of the board. i quickly scanned for her name under assistant and i sure enough found it. i turned to congratulate her but she shook her head and pointed to the drum major list. i scrolled down the list until my eyes caught a name. “john a. sysleton” i breathed. “yeah” we knew that he’d get it and yet we still stood in awe for a couple seconds. “you do know what this means, mary?” “shhhh! not here!” we relocated to band storage room. it’s a place that most people aren’t allowed in but because she’s a member of leadership and i’m mr. beirbell’s favorite sophomore, we have access. “you will be spending a whole lot more time with him. he’ll ask you to perform petty tasks and you know just…” “lucy, i can’t do this.” “what are you talking about? you’ll be great!” “i’m gonna have to drop out” “no mary! this is exactly what you need!” “hm?” “time to get to know him. so he can meet the remarkable girl i know” “but what if he doesn’t think so?” “then he’s an idiot. just go out there and show him! i mean it’s his senior year, what could happen?” “ha! right after you go show zach!” “i was planning to!” “well, then me too!” we exchanged confident glances. but at the sound of a whistle, they fell. it was time for us to report to the band room. these promises were much easier said than done and marching band had officially started.

The only thing I noted was you spaced it at each paragraph instead of just using tab and the title should be Simply Lucy and the first chapter should be Zach or somthing. But oh my gosh! It was SO cute! I would love to read more! I'm 13, so it does appeal to me! I totally know what your talking about when you talked about it being weird, even though they were only 2 years apart! It's SO real! My email's bunny2459@hotmail.com THis is only if you want to send more! I would LOVE to read more, oh, and I took some extra classes on editing, so you can trust me, that is, if you want to! Bye!