My daughter (also 16) says yoga, walking, swimming & especially good for tummy, butt, thighs (& arms probably) is pilates.

Don't reduce food intake too much or you'll end up more likely to gain weight in the long run, your body needs more food/energy the more exercise etc you do!!!!

Thanks a bunch..Were both about 5 ft 4 inches..And we just want to tone because were not fat...Well we hope not lol! Just have that little gut ever since childhood...Our families belong to a gym so we might join pilate classes..And thanks for all of the advice!

~jenn and mollie

Pilates is very good but take it easy at first and also you might want to remember that you might gain a little weight at first due to muscle tone, so don't get to upset if you do. Swimming is great too but if you are running try not to bounce around too much as it is hard on your back, knees and legs and purple is correct. Don't forget to eat, as you can also get sick! Good luck, I am working on it too!
Sincerely,
sandy

Tae-bo is a lot of fun and doesn't feel like too much work (for lazy folks like me!). I recently dropped 40lbs by watching sugar and starch intake and walking. If you drink a lot of sodas like I did, then switching to diet, or even better, drinking water, will help you lose your tummies. Water is best because it helps your body burn calories. But, if you are addicted to Dr. Pepper like I am, go for the diet stuff.

Yes, I agree that good old fashioned walking is great. It's free and all you need is 2 legs and the time to take a good brisk walk. I take a 45 minute walk every morning, and it has done wonders. If you have a friend you can walk with - even better, cause you can keep each other motivated. Water intake is very important too. Good luck.

Jm

Like jenn & mollie my daughter, also 16 has always had a tummy problem & her thighs are abit big too, this was still the case even when she was very underweight - she walks almost every morning for about an hour, plus 3-4 times a week she has to do alot of walking to get to & from classes & play rehearsals at university (college) & she dosn't eat any (repeat none!!) fast foods as she has irritable bowel syndrome & so can't eat this stuff.

So despite being very active & doing alot of walking this has not helped her weight issue where she needs it too, the tummy & thighs so jenn & mollie may also find that despite walking being free it may not help them in these specific areas whereas pilates advertises specifically that it aids firming & weight loss in these areas.

I must confess that I don't know very much about pilates, but from things that I have heard it is very gentle but very good exercise.

Jm

Ok, you cannot spot reduce fat on certain parts of your body. You have to lose fat all together. To do this you have to up cardio and eat nutritionally. The excercises in earlier posts, pilates etc.. Are good also. You will not see immediate gains. You have to stick with it.

Actually you can spot reduce fat in a sense by doing area specific exercises & thus toning those areas & losing the fat.

As to increasing cardio workouts & eating nutritionally - perhaps someone could explain then how my daughter who if she ate any more nutritionally would be "nutrition" personified & cardio exercise well I think that hauling a large backpack full of books etc up & down a large hill (about 3-5 times on average) including over 120 steps plus others to get to & from lectures etc 4 days a week plus the steps to get up & down from trains, plus a walk or 3 every day on top of all this - well I think that's a fairly hefty & more than regular workout yet in the last 5 months she's gained 23 kgs (about 54lbs).

no you cant spot reduce. In order to tone up areas then you need to lose fat. You cant lose fat in a certain area, you must lose it altogether.

Walking around with a backpask isnt going to do it. You have to have some sort of excercise routine based on what he/she wants to acomplish. In this case they want to tone up. Well they need an excersice plan. Ordianary everyday excercise isnt enough. To lose weight you have to have more calorie outpu then input. Cardio and some weight lifting. If you dont want weight then sign up for a class that was listed earlier.

Try learning to read & obviously you don't comprehend either - walking is far different than racing up & down 120 steps carrying a large weight!! Plus is you had read you would realize her calorie intake is as low as it can get & her output is high already.

Further if you don't agree that fat can be lost in certain areas - fine - that is your belief - it does not mean I have to agree or that you are necessarily 100% correct.

ok, why dont you go back and reread what you wrote because from the looks of it you did not say she was racing up and down steps. She is not training when she does this. You need to get your heart rate up and train amd work for a while. Not walk up steps with a backpack to get to a lecture. You have to work hard and you have to tone muscle. However to lose a "tummy" doing muscle work wont do it. You must do that with cardio, and work. She also shouldnt be cutting back on her food, just eating correct choices. She needs to cut on fat and build on muscle. That means more then hauling a backpack up and down stairs. She need to work.

And no you cant spot reduce fat.

And no you didnt say anything about how many calories she is taking in a day or how many she is burning so abviously you need to read not me. Good try.

If you knew anything at all about university & attending same on a hill you would comprehend without my spelling it out that she has to run up & down the hill & stairs to get to lectures on time (mondays 7 1/2 hours of them starting at the bottom then the top then bottom then top etc of the hill all day no breaks at all beteen!!) - you try doing that plus alot of other walking(yes walking - but she walks fast at any time) to various places & see if you can manage it & still not call it a cardio work out.

Her diet I stated that she had ibs & can not eat fast food (if you knew anything about ibs you'd know that her diet can not include pasta, rice, bread, cakes, biscuiits, sugars, sauces, potato, sweet potato, corn etc etc etc so her her diet is not a matter of cutting back on fiood (she eats normal healthy amounts) it's simply a matter that she can not eat garbage or fattening foods including fats!!

She does more cardio & more general exercise & eats more healthily than 98% of people yet she gains weight - because she almost certainly hsa some othr problem (medical) - wehich is not to say that the same applies to others.

I suggest you get a life!!

your telling me to get a life, when all you do is talk about how your daughter has to go up these stairs for her university. Obviously what she is doing now isnt working so why are you saying that what she is doing is enough, because from the sound of it, it isnt. You also never stated anything about any medical problems. That could be a very big factor with weight gain. You are saying that going up and down stairs is enough cardio to lose weoght when she is gaining weight. Obviously something is wrong, and if you are too stubbern to realize this and not open to suggestions then why did you bring the problem up? You a waste of my time know. Good try

They are who this thread is about - I am not seeking help or advise for my daughter I am making (despite you) suggestions for/to them - my daughter & I along with our medical team are dealing with & seeking answers specific to her - one of which may be hashimoto's hypothyroidism - none of which is relevant here - as her problem could equally be stress & hormone related - which given then jenni & mollie are also 16 - could therefore apply to them even if it does not apply to my daughter.

Try to stay on topic & try to comprehend rather than assume &/or judge that which you know little if anything about.

why dont you, instead of telling us all how your daughter has to climb up these stairs for her schoool, give some useful advice. I for one explained to them true genuine advice that will work. All you did was bring up the subject of your daughter and how she goes up all these stairs and gains weight. You said you didnt know why she is gaining weight therfore posing a quesition. In case you dont know but usually when soeone asked a question people answer. Obviously something is wrong if she is gaining weight. Fine dont take my advice, and have this problem with your daughter for ever. Be stubborn, I dont care. You obviously want to think what you are doing is right and nobody else knows anything. Why did you pose a question about your daughter? Good try again. Give it up.

I guess you have nothing & no-one else in your life so you feel the need to be petty to try to hurt or whatever those who do have lives & people in them.

dont be mad you lost a debate. Trying to assume or guess something false about someones life is usless and shows how low of an intellegence you have. You are pathetic. If you were not as stubborn or close minded then your daughter might not have a problem with weight. Dont juge me cause you lost a debate. You have nothing else to day so you try a personal attack. Well, that shows how low of a person you are. You are a waste of my time.

Then stop wasting my time & that of others & give some advice to jenni & mollie - that is assuming you are capable of giving advice as opposed to simply attacking others??!! Which you did very very briefly in only one post - your first - was that it??