I need to lose weight

I've always been a little on the heavier side; I just have a curvy body. My BMI has always been in the normal range though, until maybe a month ago when I went to the doctor for a milk sensitivity. I gained 15 pounds, which was enough to push my BMI into the overweight category.

The real problem is, I'm planning to major in dance in college, but I have to audition, and as an athlete, being overweight is a big no-no. Obviously ballerinas have a stigma of being skinny, but there's some logic behind it. You can't leap as high or be as light on your feet if you're heavy, and for every extra pound, pointe work becomes 10x harder.

I can also see it in my body now, especially my stomach, and I feel so ugly and fat. I never really liked my body in the first place, but now I hate how I look so much.

I have to lose at least the 15 pounds I gained soon, but it's nearly impossible. I'm trying to count my calories, but I've been eating way too much lately, because it feels like eating is the only enjoyable thing in life right now, especially unhealthy, sugary foods. How can I stop overeating and work on getting to a healthier weight sooner rather than later?

Dear fantome,

I can certainly identify with what you wrote although our situations are somewhat different. What helped me most was exercise and a low carb diet. This is not advice to you though since I am thoroughly unqualified to give advice that you or anyone could or should reply upon. Perhaps a consult with a physician might be helpful. I don't know. So sorry I cannot be helpful to you in this. I can feel for what you are going through and my heart goes out to you.

Sincerely yours, Yao Wen

I watch my weight pretty closely. I heard, or read somewhere, that exercise doesn't necessarily help one lose weight (not that it's not important. But, by itself, it's not a weight reduction strategy.)

My suggestions would be don't keep foods in your home you shouldn't be eating. (And avoid going places that have them.) Limit snacks between meals. Drink plenty of water. If you do snack on something have it be something as healthy as possible and portion it out.

When I do snack, what I tend to snack on is mixed (unsalted) nuts. (I strive to keep my salt intake down to a minimum. Salt tends to cause the body to retain fluids. I can always tell, the next morning, when I've eaten something salty because I'll have suddenly gained a couple of extra pounds. Fortunately they're easy enough to get rid of.) But I don't eat nuts straight from the container I keep them in. I scoop the amount I want to eat out into a cup & when it's empty... it's empty. When I eat nuts I drink water with them. Soda, unless it's diet, & even most fruit juices are full of sugar.

I also don't eat lunch, by the way. I just have a bowl of cereal & fruit for breakfast (possibly some nuts mid-day & then dinner. I do also treat myself to dessert during the evening. If I didn't do that I could weigh even less than I do. But, in my case, the weight I'm currently at is acceptable.) I'm not sure how I eat is the healthiest way to go. I'm sure a nutritionist could design something better. But what I'm doing works for me.

To some extent, I think it becomes a matter of what's really important to you. If you genuinely want to be a ballerina, then you'll do what you must do to lose the weight. But if doing that is simply too difficult, then perhaps majoring in dance, or at least with an eye toward being a ballerina, just isn't the correct path for you? Only you know the answer to that question.

Best wishes...

P.S. Personally, I think the one thing you definitely want to avoid is crash dieting. People who crash diet typically seem to gain it all back & more sooner or later. What's called for here is a healthy dietary regimen you can live with day-in & day-out year around. Perhaps some nutritional counseling, or mental health therapy, might be a good thing to add as well (assuming you're not already doing so) in an effort to resolve any issues that may be behind your emotional eating.

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Originally Posted by fantome I've always been a little on the heavier side; I just have a curvy body. My BMI has always been in the normal range though, until maybe a month ago when I went to the doctor for a milk sensitivity. I gained 15 pounds, which was enough to push my BMI into the overweight category. The real problem is, I'm planning to major in dance in college, but I have to audition, and as an athlete, being overweight is a big no-no. Obviously ballerinas have a stigma of being skinny, but there's some logic behind it. You can't leap as high or be as light on your feet if you're heavy, and for every extra pound, pointe work becomes 10x harder.

I assume you exercise since youre a dancer. Do you feel dancing has become harder?

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I can also see it in my body now, especially my stomach, and I feel so ugly and fat. I never really liked my body in the first place, but now I hate how I look so much.

Try not to focus on a part of your body that you think the weight has affected. Despite how it may look people rarely only gain weight in one part. Focusing on a part that we feel makes us "ugly" perpetuates the fear and depression on it and IMO can trigger something in the brain that affects our overall ability to change.

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I have to lose at least the 15 pounds I gained soon, but it's nearly impossible. I'm trying to count my calories, but I've been eating way too much lately, because it feels like eating is the only enjoyable thing in life right now, especially unhealthy, sugary foods. How can I stop overeating and work on getting to a healthier weight sooner rather than later?

When you say soon, how long do you have?

Pointe has been more painful, but my shoes weren't the right size so that didn't help. I can't really tell because I was online during the start of quarantine and I got out of shape anyway. I also don't know when exactly I started.

My first official audition is in January, so that would be the latest, but I also have to take videos of my dancing in December sometime. I'm sure I could easily lose the weight if I went on some sort of crazy diet, but as a dancer, I can't afford to do it that way because I have to also be healthy.