I have no idea, but I’ll be watching for answers…

Ever considered vitamins as supplements? Centurm is a good choice.

Good for you for wanting to go only a “natural” way to lose weight. Don’t do anything extreme, or diet pills–they are harmful for your health, and will in the long run fail you. You are doing half of what you should be doing–exercising and focusing on doing things you love to do in life. Continue to pursue your passions, and never let your weight stop you. If you have other passions besides athletics, go after those too, certain hobbies, maybe painting, writing, working with animals, etc.? Anyway, one huge motivator is every single day, maybe 3 times a day, remind yourself what you GET from eating healthy, smaller portions rather than what you DON’T GET–that way, you focus on your life being more fulfilled by being a healthy weight, rather than the deprivation of missing out on tastey food. Also, know that for people who eat too much food or the wrong foods, it is daily work, and you might have to talk yourself into eating healthy every day. It does get easier though, once you see the weight come off, and you feel better. Also, remind yourself that you can have cake, cookies, etc. any time you want, but you CHOOSE to have veggies and salad and fruit because it makes your life better. A tastey food only satisfies for a couple minutes, but eating healthy lasts a lifetime, if you sustain it. Also, keep a food journal, what you eat, what time, and WHY you ate it!!! Write down your feelings and the social situation, so you find out what triggers you to put unhealthy food in your mouth–is it emotions, is it socializing, etc. Much of overeating is not about the food–it’s about emotions you are not expressing–frustration with life, fear of things in life, sadness, anger…about anything, and the food is comforting, and soothes you. Maybe that’s what’s going on with you. I suggest you go to a nutritionist for a meal plan that you can live with, and maybe get one “cheat meal” a week, and also maybe a counselor to help you with any emotional stuff you need to talk about, so you don’t “stuff” down your feelings with comforting food. Also, your body is changing a lot, and hormones are really kicking in, and they effect your appetite and size, so you might need to understand that so you don’t feel guilty for being so hungry, or wanting sugary foods, but you can find ways to overcome those cravings caused by hormones–vitamins, lots of rest, exercise, and plenty of healthy nutrients. Also, swimming is great exercise when your body feels yucky due to hormones, so don’t worry about how you look for now, get out there and swim and enjoy it. As far as nutrition goes, for many people, once they cut out all sugar and all white bread products, they have no cravings for those things any more, and feel more full throughout the day. So, first, cut out sugar, and white wheat products (bread, pasta, cakes, cookies) and go for only whole-grain bread, pastas, and rice, and learn what a serving is–it’s very small, only half a cup. I keep measuring cups on my kitchen counter so I can measure my food–before I used to eat 2 cups of pasta, not even realizing that was actually 4 servings! Anyway, eat lots of protein and veggies and fruits–eggs, nuts for snacking, carrots and hummus, grilled or baked chicken, fish, salads. Drink one glass of water before eating and one glass after eating. Plan 2-3 healthy snacks throught the day–apple and nuts, yogurt and a peach, etc. Sit down at the table and eat without the t.v. on, noticing what you eat, and noticing when you feel satisfied, and don’t keep eating to be full. Your stomach will get used to you eating a little less at every meal/snack over time. It is work, and many many many people have to work at it, and some people get to eat whatever they want and they stay thin, it’s not fair, but that’s life. I’m sure you are blessed with many things that other people don’t have. You can do it!