Want to lose weight for summer, suggestions?

[Black Ice 72]

Hey,

Basically all my life I have been big and it hasn't been until recently that I have gotten a lot more strict with my diet. I'm currently on an extremely low carb diet, but it's killing me.

Yesterday, I had no breakfast. At lunch I had a salad with chicken, then a salad with tuna (and mayonaise I believe) for dinner.

This morning I had eggs, and for lunch I had a protein shake.

So it's almost dinner time, and I'm dying for carbs.

Being only 15 I haven't had much experience with strict dieting and if I am being too strict. My goal is to lose 10 lbs at the very least by June 25 (random date).

So any advice/criticism from the experienced is appreciated. Being 15 years old and lifting 3-4 times a week, how much carb intake should I have daily?

Thanks,
Alec

[bradley]

Originally posted by Black Ice 72
Yesterday, I had no breakfast. At lunch I had a salad with chicken, then a salad with tuna (and mayonaise I believe) for dinner.

First off skipping meals is not going to help you in your goal of losing bf. I recommend eating 5-6 smaller meals/snacks throughout the day spaced about 2-3 hours apart.

I really don't see any reason to perform a very low carb diet, especially if you are having trouble sticking with it. If you have just started your diet and it is already "killing you" then chances are you will not be able to stick with it in the long run. There is nothing special about a low carb diet, and if you create a calorie deficit through diet, training, or a combination of the two then you will lose weight. Some people find the low carb diets easier to stick to while others do not. Give a more balanced diet a try and I think you will find that easier to stick with.

Here is something that I posted in another thread that might be of some help:

Here are some general dieting guidelines that might be of some help:
1) 1 gram of protein per lb. of bodyweight and try and get some protein in at each meal

2) 25-30% of daily calories should come from fat (Essential fatty
acids making up most of this total)

3) Fill in the rest of daily calories with low glycemic index carbs, except postworkout which would ideally include high glycemic index carbs along with a quick digesting protein (whey protein).

4) Drink plenty of water throughout the day, and one gallon would be good starting point.

Listed below are some good sources of each macronutrient. This is just a small list and is by no means all inclusive.

protein sources: eggs, chicken, lean beef, dairy, fish

low GI carbs: oats, sweet potatoes, beans, whole wheat bread, vegetables

fats: nuts, natural peanut butter, oily fish (such as salmon), fish oil, flax oil, hemp oil, olive oil

To find out how many cals you should be eating each day I would slowly decrease cals in small increments until you are losing the desired amount of weight each week (approximately 1lb per week is a good number IMO). You can use www.fitday.com to help you track calories if you like. Here is an example of what I mean. Say you are eating 3000 cals and maintaining your weight then you would need to decrease cals by a small amount (about 200-300). That would put you at 2700 cals for the week. Keep cals at this level for the week and then weigh yourself at the end of the week and see how much weight you have lost. I woud weigh myself at the same time each week to try and ensure the most accurate measurement.

As far as routines go you might want to check out one of the WBB routines on the main page. The following site has a list of exercise illustrations that might be helpful as well www.exrx.net

There is a lot of information in previous threads as well. Run some searches and you will find a lot of answers to your questions.

[bradley]

This thread might help you with food selection and you can also check out the recipe forum for some good ideas

http://www.wannabebigforums.com/show...t=grocery+list

[Raiden]

Your young so don't stress yourself over it, do it safely and be patient. I would eat more times a day, small portions. I personally would not go for a extremely low carb intake but if you insist, take milk thistle, at least your liver won't fail you from all that protien. Do some cardio, get that heart rate up, but not to long you don't want muscle wasting (catabolism), right.

[Black Ice 72]

I appreciate both of your comments.

I get enough cardio, as I play lacrosse year-round.

I know skipping meals is bad. But, what it usually comes down to is that I have nothing "healthy" to eat in my house so I sometimes just skip meals all in all.

[bradley]

Originally posted by Raiden
I personally would not go for a extremely low carb intake but if you insist, take milk thistle, at least your liver won't fail you from all that protien.

Care to explain that statement, as I have never heard that before.

[bradley]

Originally posted by Black Ice 72
I know skipping meals is bad. But, what it usually comes down to is that I have nothing "healthy" to eat in my house so I sometimes just skip meals all in all.

Eating something is better than nothing. If you skip meals and insist on eating at that low of a calorie intake you will successfully slow your metabolism down to a crawl.

Might just have to make do with what you have.

[Black Ice 72]

Originally posted by bradley


Care to explain that statement, as I have never heard that before.

I was thinking the same thing.

[Raiden]

http://www.hepfi.org/pages/liv_caring.html
go here and scroll down.
http://milk-thistle.org/
and here

The liver won't shut down (that was for emphasis), but you'll be setting your self up for problems thats for sure.

[Berserker]

If your gonna skip a meal I would go with dinner. I did this for awhile when not working out. I didn't skip but had something small. Biggest meal breakfast and decent lunch. That way my performance at work didn't suffer. But I don't think you really should be skipping a meal, especially at 15.
What I would do is jsut get on healthy diet. Don't worry to much about carbs. But don't go overboard. Eliminate all the bad stuff. Soda, junk food ect.
At 15 its gonna be hard cause your at the mercy of you parents.
10lbs by june 25 is pushing it, unless your pretty heavy. lb a weeks is good goal. I've heard of 2 with good diet and cardio.
good luck.

[bradley]

Originally posted by Raiden
http://www.hepfi.org/pages/liv_caring.html
go here and scroll down.
http://milk-thistle.org/
and here

I took this quote from the first article:

Poor nutrition is rarely a cause of liver disease

If you have some pre-existing liver problems then yes you might want to watch your protein intake but otherwise I see no point. The article suggests protein restriction if you have signs of encephalopathy.

I am aware of the uses for milk thistle, but I don't think it is necessary to supplement with it just because of a high protein intake.

[drew]

Perhaps he was thinking of the kidneys. Too much protein does contribute to kidney problems.

[Raiden]

I just like to keep my six covered.

[bradley]

Originally posted by drew
Perhaps he was thinking of the kidneys. Too much protein does contribute to kidney problems.

If you have pre-existing kidney problems.

[GhettoSmurf]

bro, to be honest, i think i'd starve on that diet.

you should be eating a lot more then that, especially if you play lacrosse year round.

IMO your dieting way too hard.
read up on what bradley posted.

about having nothing healthy around the house to eat, could you talk your parents into getting some healthier food that you would eat?

[Black Ice 72]

Went grocery shopping!

OK well I read all of the articles you guys posted, then went grocery shopping.

I got a lot of:
chicken cutlets
tuna (in the new packets not the can)
sugar free jello (woot)
crystal light and lots of poland spring
protein shake mix (forget which kind)
some protein bars
oatmeal
Lettuce (lots of it)
and a lot of other goodies

I think what my routine might be is:
1.) oatmeal | milk
2.) Protein shake
3.) salad w/ chicken | water
----workout-----
4.) protein bar
5.) SUGAR FREE JELLO - yum

btw, I'm not fat, I just have chunk I want to get off for the summer, etc.

So if anybody has a good idea of what my chart should look like (protein,carbs,etc/meal) that would be awesome.

Again, any criticism/suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

Thanks,
Alec

[bryancore]

Sounds good.

[bradley]

Originally posted by Black Ice 72
I think what my routine might be is:
1.) oatmeal | milk
2.) Protein shake
3.) salad w/ chicken | water
----workout-----
4.) protein bar
5.) SUGAR FREE JELLO - yum
Thanks,
Alec

You need to eat more cals. That is still not very many calories but the food choices and number of meals is much better. You still need some healthy fats in your diet and I do not think you are taking in an adequate amount of protein for your size. I also don't think sugar free jello should count as a meal. The whole box only has 40 cals.

Increase your overall calorie intake and adjust it up or down until you are losing about a pound a week. Also add in some more healthy fats and protein. Some good sources of fat would be fish oil, flax oil, nuts, natty pb, olive oil, etc.

[Black Ice 72]

adjustments

1.) oatmeal | milk (or should it be OJ? Good vits but has lots of sugar)
2.) salad w. chicken | water
3.) protein shake | no bev
----workout-----
4.) protein bar | no bev
5.) scoop of PB | water
6.) Chicken or Tuna | water

Please critique.

btw: I do not want to lose 1 lb a week. My goal is at least 2 lbs a week (the very least). Being only 15 years old I think it can be accomplished without much trouble, agreed?

[GhettoSmurf]

why do you want to lose weight so fast?

you will lose a LOT of muscle IMO.

[Black Ice 72]

I have enough muscle under this extra weight. Sacrificing loss of some muscle is worth the personal satisfaction.

I can always go back to the gym and get the lost muscle back. But, I am only 15 once; my metabolism isn't getting any better. Now is the time to do something.

"Extreme Measures, Extreme Results"

[bradley]

Originally posted by Black Ice 72
I have enough muscle under this extra weight. Sacrificing loss of some muscle is worth the personal satisfaction.

I can always go back to the gym and get the lost muscle back. But, I am only 15 once; my metabolism isn't getting any better. Now is the time to do something.

"Extreme Measures, Extreme Results"

I still think you need more protein and EFAs in your diet. These are the two most important things to consider when planning a diet.

I understand that you are wanting to lose the weight as fast as you can but not eating enough calories will only succeed in LBM losses and will also slow your metabolism down if cals are too low. Remember that it took a while to gain the weight so give yourself some time to lose it. Also another thing to keep in mind is that it is much easier to lose muscle than it is to gain muscle, so I would make every effort to preserve the muscle that I have now.

1.) oatmeal | milk (or should it be OJ? Good vits but has lots of sugar)
2.) salad w. chicken | water
3.) protein shake | no bev
----workout-----
4.) protein bar | no bev
5.) scoop of PB | water
6.) Chicken or Tuna | water

For meal one I would go with milk over the OJ, but I really think some egg whites/whole eggs would be a good addition instead of the milk. Maybe even a protein shake if you are crunched for time in the mornings.

I would recommend taking in a protein shake along with some high glycemic index carbs postworkout instead of the protein bar.

[Black Ice 72]

Ok. Actually, it is more convinient to have a protein shake rather than a bar.

Today I was more linient (sp?) with my diet. More cals, carbs, etc. primarily because it was a big lifting day.

I guess I'll have to take a couple days and see how it goes.

Thanks,
Alec