My Diet

[LemonyBrainAid]

Hey guys.

Introduction
I've been overweight (and it's pretty obvious) for a bit of a while now and have only now started to realise that if I don't start doing something about it - not only am I going to have serious health problems in the future but I might even end up like my dad - (heh...). As a teenager, I'm going to have to be extra-careful about what I do and don't do - I'm still growing and therefore can't just stop eating.

At the moment
I'm big boned (... yeah, I actually am) and both my PE teachers and my parents believe that I have the possibility to be quite muscely if I were to get down the gym and start pumping a sweat whereas they also believe that I'll never actually be thin... you would be able to see my ribs and I'm not sure thats a good look... I'm currently pretty strong (I've been going to our school's gym every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (only days they do... ) for a while now, doing some weight training) and can bench 30-35kg with about 8-12 reps. I can lift 40-50 kgs with my legs (wtf, strong legs?) pushing up. What I want to do also is to cut out all the crap from my diet and eat healthily until I'm happy at a weight and cetain level of fit-ness.
I usually average around 10k-12k steps each day - as I walk home (2miles or so) and take part in P.E. aswell as running around at break & lunch

The plan
To lose the weight from around my legs and stomach and attempt to gain more of a flat stomach (six-pack in the end, eh) while eating healthily and doing more excercise. I've created an Excel spreadsheet with all my current statistics on it, and it will be refilled in every week - with my weight, my waist size, my left & right bicep size and my chest size. I'll also be keeping a log of everything I've eaten, drunk, how many steps I've taken, and what excersise i've done in the day (including logs of trips to the gym). I'm going to eat more greens, and keep a balanced diet (no snacking on crisps or chocolate... for example - I feel hungry during break and fancy a donut - instead I get an apple).


What I'm asking is...

Do you have any more suggestions or helpful tips to help me along with this? Did any of you diet when you were a teenager?

[marky]

I'm going to eat more greens, and keep a balanced diet (no snacking on crisps or chocolate... for example - I feel hungry during break and fancy a donut - instead I get an apple).

That says it all to me, and the best way to go
Good luck with the new healthy lifestyle (i dont like the word diet for losing wieght as we all eat a diet, healthy or otherwise)

[TheDaddy]

No I don't like the sound of teenagers dieting either, plenty of exercise and a balanced diet should do the trick, which by the sound of it is what you are going to do

[nffc]

How heavy are you? It's all subjective anyway since muscle is more dense than fat especially at your age - what precisely is the right weight for a 13/14 year old at unknown height/weight and who knows if you've finished growing?

It's also potentially damaging (to joints etc) if you exercise too strongly too young - when still growing. Most gyms etc limit access to 15 and over, even at school we weren't allowed in the gym until 4th year and only then if they thought we weren't physically suitable. In that aspect, it's a case of choosing appropriate fitness rather than trying to harm yourself later on, your 6-pack at 15 may look nice, way nicer than your electric wheelchair at 40! Same way as you just can't stop eating at your age, you can't put yourself on massively unsuitable fitness regimes until physically you're capable of it. You could consider taking up sports - football, tennis, etc - or running - as a substitute for sheer weight training.

In terms of diet - no junk food, cut out alcohol (no more neer) and fatty stuff such as kebabs, burgers (no McDs) and dodgy chinese takeaways. Grill food or boil instead of frying. Try and cook freshly if you can - ready meal type things and takeaways are normally full of salt and trans fats which you don't get if it's cooked from scratch, it's better for you and you learn to cook yourself as well.
Not only does that mean that you don't put all the fat on your body it saves embarrassing excess situations

[Mick]

Originally Posted by LemonyBrainAid

I'm big boned

If you ever read a Diet book - or similar the first thing they are usually quick to highlight is that being 'big boned' is not an excuse for being overweight....

Don't expect to see huge results overnight or you will dash your hopes quickly which will make you feel like the whole thing is a waste of time.
Report your progress to someone. You will be more than likely to stick with your plan.

[LemonyBrainAid]

Originally Posted by nffc

<snip>

Thanks for the reccomendations but to be honest I think you're wrong. I'm built for this kind of weight training - I've done it since the beginning of the year and slowly inched myself up to being able to do what I can... I warm up before any excercise and warm down afterwards, for example, before going in for the harder weight training (legs, arms, etc), I always have a 10-15minute run on the bikes, then again afterwards...

I can see where you guys are coming from when you're saying that a 14year-old shouldn't be dieting or eating excessively, yet I believe this is a situation that's right for me... It's not like I'm doing the atkins diet (heh...)

[etccarmageddon]

the important thing is to not get obsessed by it - ie. it shouldnt be your life all this gym visiting etc I'd also advise alternate excersise as gyms can become boring after a few months - if you have a dog make sure you walk it loads.

[LemonyBrainAid]

Originally Posted by Mick

If you ever read a Diet book - or similar the first thing they are usually quick to highlight is that being 'big boned' is not an excuse for being overweight....

Yeah, I've heard that before - it's not an excuse, just a reason that I believe I can grow to be muscly.

Originally Posted by Mick

Don't expect to see huge results overnight or you will dash your hopes quickly which will make you feel like the whole thing is a waste of time.
Report your progress to someone. You will be more than likely to stick with your plan.

I'm not expecting to see huge results... I don't think I'll start seeing any results until three to six weeks in... I mean, my body has to get used to the fact it's changing...

---------- Post added at 18:10 ---------- Previous post was at 18:09 ----------

Originally Posted by etccarmageddon

the important thing is to not get obsessed by it - ie. it shouldnt be your life all this gym visiting etc I'd also advise alternate excersise as gyms can become boring after a few months - if you have a dog make sure you walk it loads.

I don't think I'll ever get as far as being obsessive... maybe I'll join a gym in the end I (once in shape...) and go 2-3 times a week...

Too bad I don't have a dog. Don't think the cats would let me put a collar on them, either :P

[sssshhhh]

my little brother was quite large at 13/14 even though he was quite active. he ate sensibly, and took part in sport (rugby footie and the like). now at 19 he's a very fit athletic young man. As he grew older and matured, so did his physique. healthy eating and sensible exersise seems to be the two things which almost every fitness expert/doctor/whatever recommends.

Its good to see someone at your age taking an interest in their health. keep it up! but remember to be sensible and not over do it, and seek advice if in doubt.

good on you mate

[LemonyBrainAid]

Originally Posted by sssshhhh

my little brother was quite large at 13/14 even though he was quite active. he ate sensibly, and took part in sport (rugby footie and the like). now at 19 he's a very fit athletic young man. As he grew older and matured, so did his physique. healthy eating and sensible exersise seems to be the two things which almost every fitness expert/doctor/whatever recommends.

Its good to see someone at your age taking an interest in their health. keep it up! but remember to be sensible and not over do it, and seek advice if in doubt.

good on you mate

Good to hear about someone who's gone through the same thing!
Say well done to your brother for me...

[Kliro]

Check out http://forum.bodybuilding.com/forumdisplay.php?f=10


It's got really good nutrition advice and the like.

There's nothing wrong with being 'obsessed' with the gym, going 3-4 times a week is healthy enough as long as you're rotating the exercises.

I personally think that you are going the wrong way about losing weight. You are actualy building muscle by trying to bench press. Whilst muscle does use up more calories, the most effective way of losing fat is cardiovascular exercise. To lose weight you need to burn more calories than you use. As you are still growing I don't recommend reducing your intake by too much, just don't snack between meals unless it's fruit, so you need to concentrate on exercise.
Basically, I'd recommend:

Do cardiovascular exercise - things like walking, running, jogging, anything that gets you out of breath. Do it for an hour, at least three times a week. Not body building etc...

Drink plenty of water - it really does work wonders. It helps you feel full and avoids you from snacking and helps your body get rid of the fat.

Always eat breakfast. This boosts your metabolism from the moment you wake up. If possible have complex carbs or something like muesli.

Don't snack. Have an apple or some fruit but do not eat chocolate etc or snack on things like bread between meals.

It does work - I lost four stone this year doing these things, I'm down to 10 stone 4 now. Just don't over do it, don't starve yourself or push yourself too much, you're too young to do that.

Oh.. and good luck!

[nffc]

Originally Posted by Macca371

It does work - I lost four stone this year doing these things, I'm down to 10 stone 4 now. Just don't over do it, don't starve yourself or push yourself too much, you're too young to do that.

10 stone 4 - that's less than me.

Originally Posted by nffc

10 stone 4 - that's less than me.

Well, probably a little more than that now - been boozing and eating like a beast recently.

[Kliro]

I'm probably over 13 stone now, I am starting to get a little bit of a belly though :/