Heres my situation. over spring break, both of my parents had situations where they worked late just about every night, so pretty much I was on my own all day to snack. My mom knew this, and bought some healthy snacks to eat, you know, yogurt, cheezits, pretzels, and the like. At the end of break I had gone from 178 to 173, about 5 pounds. It kinda proves that the whole 6 meals a day thing works. I liked it becuase I was never hungry, and I still lost weight. It wasn't really my goal to lose weight, I just kinda did.

Fast forward to now. it is two weeks after break, and I have gained just about all of the weight back. I cannot snack during school, but when I get home from track (around 4:30), I am starving, so I eat something (now not so healthy snack b/c easter). I would estimate that it is about 1000 calories or so. Then, when my parents come home around 6:00, they want to eat a meal, so my mom cooks one. the only thing is, they feel it is important that I eat with them (it is, I guess), so I sit down for a meal. I cant seem to sit there and not eat, so I end up piling more food in. Thus, the weight gain.

Somehow I did without the snack before break, it is just my regular routine now. how can I get out of eating all this junk food? I'm thinking that maybe I need to stay out of the house until 6 or 7 when dinner is on the table. eh? any thoughts?

don't snack if you're not hungry.

Well, you need to eat SOMETHING after track practice. After a workout, your body needs to be refueled, preferably with carbs and proteins in a roughly 4:1 ratio. Consuming this within an hour of a hard workout has been shown to be important for training and muscle recovery.

So, try to have something healthy (with protein and carbs) after your workout...but, not 1000 calories! And try eating smaller portions at dinner. Even small changes will result in steady weight loss.

BTW - are you sure you're gaining fat, and not muscle? It's possible that your track workouts are putting muscle on...look in the mirror to find out, if you don't already know.

Best of luck...

You could also try eating slower. Its easy to over eat if your scarfing your face full of food. Eat slower and give your stomach a chance to say "Hey im full"

Well, you need to eat SOMETHING after track practice. After a workout, your body needs to be refueled, preferably with carbs and proteins in a roughly 4:1 ratio. Consuming this within an hour of a hard workout has been shown to be important for training and muscle recovery.

So, try to have something healthy (with protein and carbs) after your workout...but, not 1000 calories! And try eating smaller portions at dinner. Even small changes will result in steady weight loss.

BTW - are you sure you're gaining fat, and not muscle? It's possible that your track workouts are putting muscle on...look in the mirror to find out, if you don't already know.

Best of luck...

I suppose its possible I'm putting on muscle, but too much muscle isn't too great either. With distance running, it seems that the more weight (total), the worse I do. Real heavy legs dont help anyone...

I sorta wish I could just cut out dinner. I'm not real hungry during it, but I cant help it. I dont seem to have a mechanism that stops me from eating when I'm not hungry any more. Maybe I'm a compulsive eater? I really only think of eating when I'm hungry, but when theres food there, I can't seem to stop.