Don't eat after sunset.
Drink plenty of good quality water.
Eat wholesome foods that you like.
Deal with emotional and inner issues that may be causing you to eat for reasons other than hunger.
Chew your food really, really well which means eating slowly.

what do you think that does/ or doesn't do ?

There's been a lot of great advice and I think you should consider all of it.

I think that the most important thing you need to address is the emotional reasons why you overeat. Trying to solve overeating hy saying "eat healthy" is just fruitless.

Overeating is often the result of a deeper emotional need to "feel good" and since food is an easy (and quick) way to feel good we become dependant on it.

Your mind is designed to look for ways to feel good - in your case food became a way to feel good. Remind yourself that food is not there for feelings - it only provides a quick fix after which you will feel even worse (physically and emotionally)

Hi there dear. Here's my personal advice for you. It is what has worked for me, so maybe you can learn something here!

First, good for you for realizing the need to get in shape!

At your age, staying active is equally important to eating right. Start paying attention to your meals. Make sure half your plate is veggies (salad, broccoli, carrots, whatever you like!), then the other half is split between a lean protein (steak, chicken, fish, etc) and a healthy starch (baked potato, corn). Also, a lot of snacks out there have tons of starchs that could really ruin an exercise plan if you're not careful. Watch your carbs-- enjoy 1 carb meal a day. So if you know you're having pasta for dinner (I hope it's whole wheat!), avoid bagels or sandwiches for your other meals. Also, keep up the water! I know it seems like it's not helping, but just keep it up. It's so much better than sugary sodas and juices!

Also, take some vitamins. A young, growing man needs all the vitamins and minerals he can get to sustain his hungry body! I take a multivitamin like Centrum and a fiber supplement.

Changing your eating habits can be difficult and takes quite a bit of effort, but once you get used to it, it'll be a piece of cake!

Keep staying active. Try walking around the neighborhood, playing your Rock Band drums, and biking, at least once a day. This, combined with the healthy eating, should help you.

Good luck and feel free to contact me with further questions!

I would agree with the person above me in terms of nutrition and all that. I do the Core plan in Weight Watchers and the way that works is that there is a list of foods that you can eat and foods you can't. You eat three meals a day until you are satisfied and snack on fruit and veg. That way you're never starving and you don't have to wait hours and hours between meals (which can mess up your metabolism).

I don't know if that system will work for you (it doesn't suit some people), but for someone who isn't used to counting everything up it's very user friendly and less time consuming. Having said that you would almost certainly need to bring your own lunch to school. If you are interested I'm sure you could get the information from somewhere rather than joining up if you don't want to pay for the meetings.

I would probably recommend giving up all sodas, even if they are diet, but I would highly recommend that you start eating breakfast. I never used to, but since I have started my weight loss I have found that it is one of the things that has helped the most. Also be careful with the bread if you eat a lot of subs and that.

The important thing to remember, as a lot of people around here say, is that the idea is to lose weight as a result of living a healthier life. That means not following a restrictive diet that you'll never be able to keep up but to eat healthy as often as possible while allowing yourself the things you like in moderation and when you do slip to get right back on the wagon on the next meal rather than abandoning it altogether.

One final thing, glad somebody around here has mentioned the drums as a form of exercise! I started drumming about nine months ago and once you get into it it can be very fun exercise! Don't know about Rockband, not a big gamer, but I've heard the drums part of it is more realistic than Guitar Hero.

Best of luck with the weight loss. If you follow any of my advice it should be this: Eat breakfast, Eat healthy, Enjoy eating, and beat the sh1t out of those drums!

I myself am struggling with weight loss, but one thing I can say is that skipping meals is a big “no no”. You do not want to skip meals. Skipping meals sends mixed signals to your body and while it may not seem like a big deal, it can have a big impact in both your weight loss and your ability to function throughout the day. Even if your breakfast isn’t the healthiest breakfast, I personally feel that it’s better for you to get something in your system in the morning, versus nothing at all.

You may want to prepare breakfast for the following day in the evening. You could make a fresh fruit salad (just a jumble of your favorite fruits, chopped into bite-size chunks) and just take it with you on the go. You could also take a low fat yoghurt, cut up some fruit and add some oatmeal or granola to it. My husband likes his morning protein shake. I am not a big fan, but it is pretty tasty and it’s fast. He takes soy protein powder (or whey) and blends it with low fat milk (soy also works), fresh or frozen pear chunks (I use strawberries or blueberries) and blends it all together.

Best of luck to you, and kudos for taking steps to make yourself healthier.

If you gain weight back after you've lost weight, then you're consuming too many calories and not exercising enough. or just consuming too many calories period to keep that new weight loss off. I agree with the other person on here that said you need to just worry about the nutrition aspect. I would also tell you to really think about a sport you might like or start walking a little more each day. If you have a dog, walk it. If you have garbage days...take out the garbage for your parents, get the mail for them, etc. Ask someone to play soccer, football, baseball with you, etc. If you like gardening, you can do that, that can burn calories...on all of these activities, keep hydrated with water. [/COLOR]