Thread: Weight Loss Struggle

Okay, before I get started:

Age: 17
Weight: 145
Height: 5' 6"

I've had weight problems for a very long time. Up until 8th grade I was what you could consider obese. In 7th grade I weighed 180 lbs. By the end of 8th grade I had lost 50 lbs (mostly due to starvation more than anything) and when 9th grade started I was down to 125lbs. The next year I finally took a weight lifting class in High School. My bench increased by 65 lbs in 3.5 months and I had become 160 lbs (about 30% was fat, I would say). In 11th I decided to start eating a lot more food to gain muscle faster, but I had started to neglect my workouts and I went up to 170lbs. I guess all of which was fat. So, over the Summer I decided to start losing weight again (this time I did a lot of cardio, and cut down on how much I was eating) and got down to 140. Now, here I am in 12th grade at 145lbs.

My question is this:
Do you think all of this dropping and raising in weight has affected my metabolism or anything negatively? I'm still not satisfied with how I look now. I want to cut down on my body fat. Lately I've cut out junk food completely and I've increased protein intake. I've been doing this for a week now, and I plan on continuing in hopes of reaching my goals once and for all.

Also, would it hurt to do cardio in between days when I do leg work if the legs are used a lot in the cardio exercise? I don't want it to interfere with recovery.

Thanks for the input, CowPimp.