Q: Hey, I'm 14, Female, and I weigh about 115 lbs which isn't neccessarily overweight, but I have a short torso, so I have a lot of fat on my stomach that I would love to get rid of, so I tried dieting, and exercising, and I've lost almost no weight. I've been doing this since the beginning of April. I gain weight so easily, but if I try to lose weight it's nearly impossible. Is there something I can do to lose weight because it's really starting to bug me, I really don't like being fat. (P.S. Does your sleep effect your weight loss because I'm an insomniac?)

A: It's really not a good idea to try to lose weight at your age, especially since as you say you are not at all overweight. You are still growing and developing and losing weight can interfere with it and stunt your growth. Instead of trying to aggressively lose weight by dieting you should make sure that the foods you do eat are healthy (see this article but focus on WHAT you eat instead of HOW MUCH). and that you stay active in everyday life -- school sports are an excellent way to do that though you can certainly be active just on your own.