Hey guys, for those of you who have herd of my story before, you will probably remember me as a the fat little kid with no knowledge =( I am new to this board, but I have posted on boards like worldfitness.com =)
Unofortunately to say, I still am that.
Lets break this down =) 58 Days ago, I was 5'8, 188 lbs. 16 yrs old.
Now, I am 165 ( Scale says 160 but I dont trust it.) I have not gained any muscle, though I have increased a LITTLE on one type of core lift ( I usually do Power Clean, Bench, Push Press, Squat, and some complementries for super setting.)
I run every day, lift every other, and also Mountain Bike. My running usually is at a 10min / mile or so pace for 2.5 miles.
My diet usually is:
Breakfast: Special K Cereal
Snack1: Half a Tuna/Turket sandwhich / Apple
Lunch: Other Half / Apple
Snack2: 2 Peices of break ( 1 with peanut butter on it )
Dinner: Brown Rice / Grlled Chicken Breast / Veges
Before I go to sleep: 3 Egg Whites

They vary, and I usually try a sample of my parents food. Now, my parents have been on my case forever, they keep on saying I'm losing weight too fast, and I will get sick. Now I dont know if it is the affect of my parents words, but Im getting worried =( I dont know if if increase my food intake, if Ill get fat again, and if I am losing muscle, because my friends have same weight class as me and are gaining strengh while im stil the same. I am worried for myself now also because I dont want to get sick, as my teacher says if I lost weight too fast I lose muscle tissue, including the ones in my intestine. Does anyone have any advice? I really would love some.

P.S.
BASICALLY, I just want to know if I am in danger of an health risk?

Thanks any sorry for the long arse essay!
-Gordon

Hey Gordon,

I'm no professional but I am a lady who lifts. From your menu, I'd say you're not eating enough protein, or enough food period for the exercise you do. Remember, calories In, calories out, so with all that exercise you are probably living on too much of a calorie deficit. Not good, and definitely not healthy, and the way to muscle loss in spite of your weight lifting efforts.

Perhaps you might want to look into Body for Life by Bill Phillips, or other comprenehsive body building plan if your weight lifting class doesn't include proper nutrition with the program.

Good luck.

dip

I see! Thank you Dip for the good info. So what about losing weight? Do you think it is unhealthy at that rate? Also, what should I try to increase in my meals? Thanks !

Well Gordon, sounds like your doing great, but I'm not a Dr. and I kinda think you maybe loosing a little too fast being that your still growning.
but I don't know, maybe if you eat a whole sandwich and the whole apple.
and maybe the egg yolks too? the yolks do have proteen.

As PartyTime said, at your age while still growing, you are not eating the proper foods for adequate minimal nutrition. I am not qualified to advise what you should be eating. But, IMHO, you definitely need some nutrition counseling. If you don't want to seek professional help, perhaps Dr. Phil's son's (Jay McGraw) book for teens would give you some insight.

dip

My diet is 1800-2200 calories... How much do you think should be needed?

Hi there I just noticed this thread ,and I looked at the average requirements for a boy 14 to 16 years of age is around 3000 calories.
What you are eating is not enough protein for muscle growth.
You also need WAY more veggies.
Try the whole egg for breakfast with a small peice of lean ham.
A sandwich and veg soup for lunch on whole wheat Or Pita...and for dinner 3 or 4 oz. of meat chicken or fish 2 cups of salad and 1 cup of veggies. add 2 fruit for snacks and you should still lose weight ...just lay of sauces and junk foods .
You also have to aternate weight lifting with cardio every second day. Good Luck ...............Linda

Gordon, even at 188 lbs at 5'8" you not overweight. Particularly being 16 years old you need to be eating more, you still got lots of growing to do, probably 4 or 5 more inches of height I'll bet and for that you need food! Losing weight rapidly can be very dangerous, not only losing muscle tissue but necessary vitamins and minerals. It sounds like you are very concerned about building muscle and for that you need protein and from what you have listed you are not getting enough. I'm sorry if for some reason you have felt that you are overweight, I don't need to even see you to know that you were not, even at 188lbs. I'm not sure what your primary goal is, to lose weight or gain muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat even though 5 lbs of muscle is much, much smaller than 5 lbs of fat. The bottom line is that you need to be eating more. Kids are fat today because they sit in front of the tv channel surfing or playing videos and eating too much fast food (this maybe a generalization but true nonetheless). You are not doing that, you sound very active so you can eat good healthy food and not worry about gaining weight.

Wow Jen! That message really got my moral up ! ( Hope that isnt a bad thing tho ) LAtely, I have been eating a lot more ( actually i dont mean it, ive been cheating! ) I am feeling awful about myself, because I cant stop eating these Granola Bars ( Quakers ) and they have 10 g of sugar each =( Also I been eating my parents food a lot more ( WHITE rice and chinese stuff...greasy! ) and i ate some sushi at my sis's party.... i feel so guilty. Can you give me an idea of how much to eat?

I'm glad that you are feeling a bit better about yourself. In my honest opinion there is more to being overweight than just eating too much or eating unhealthy foods. A lot of it has to do with our mental attitudes and I think these attitudes are formed when we are quite young. I'll tell you part of my story just to show you. Until I was about 9 I think Iwas a fairly normal sized kid then I had an emotional upheaval in my life and a lot of things changed. As a result I started eating more for comfort and was less active so naturally I gained weight. I can remember when I was 11 my mom started getting on my case about my weight and started talking about diets. I think that really screwed me up about my weight and eating because she was always on me about my weight yet still shoving food in my face. Okay so I can't blame mom now for my weight problem but I think the attitudes that were formed as a result of her nagging when I was a child have a lot to do with my being overweight.

Well I hope you aren't too bored with that story. I just want to say that while it is good to be aware of what you are eating and wanting to eat healthier don't get too obsessed with it.

Let me tell you in very simple terms how much you should be eating...eat when you are hungry and when you are no long hungry stop eating. I'm not going to bog you down in calorie counts or grams of carbs or whatever. I have no idea what it would be anyway. Eat a protein with every meal (meat, poultry, eggs, fish), a serving of carbs (pasta, rice, bread) with each meal and lots of veggies and fruits. Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full. Can't get any simpler than that.

will i still lose weight that way?

People gain weight for one reason...they are consuming more calories then what they are using. It sounds like you are a very active person, as long as you keep up that activity I can't see why you shouldn't maintain your weight and still eat enough to keep you from being hungry. Also when you are eating you have to listen to your body so that you can tell when you are full. Don't eat very quickly, your body doesn't have time to be aware of how much food is coming in. Enjoy your food, I know a lot of people eat like they may never see food again, I wonder if they even have time to taste it, it goes down so fast.

If you don't mind me asking where is the big concern about your weight coming from? Has somebody told you that you were overweight or have you just not been feeling good about yourself? If you have a lot of concern it might be a good idea to see a nutritionist, you'd probably get a lot better info from a nutritionist than from me.

You are more then enough Jen =) You are so helpful and patient. Well..... I have been told by my parents to lose weight all my life, but I really never cared. Recently, I have been wanting to look better physically. So I stalled and just talked to people about it for months. 2 Months ago, I finally gave in and laid out a plan. I want to be able to take my shirt off in the restroom and not be blinded by blubber ( and more importantly, my man-breasts, I know, its embarassing. ) They arn't TOO bad but I just want to have a lean muscular look. So far I want to lose body fat, I am going to do intense weight training over the summer ( I can't right now because I have a weights class, not intense but enough to do for now. ) Oh, and now I run and mountain bike because I can! I love being able to do endurance-based activities and doing it well. I can run a mile in 7-8ish minutes now, about 12-13 before...... Well sorry for the long essay Jen, basically I just want to be able to look good, and be atheletic....

(EXACTLY 76 days on diet. 16 Years Old Male. Im Chinese, if that matters, means chinese food every night if I eat with parents. 5'8 155 lbs. USE to be 188 lbs. )


oh PS!
Just remembered what got me started! One day I went in doctors for an eye check up and decided to weight myself ( i was 188. ) the doctor calculated my BMI ( never herd of it before then ) and i was like 28.5 or something and obesity I was told was 25-30. I thought to myself ( OMG.... I am in the high obesity range! And I know the weight isnt coming form muscle as I am not that high in muscle..) Yea I think that is why =)

Okay I think I have the picture now. It seems to me that you are more interested in toning and sculpting your body then really losing weight. You are not happy with how you look but I don't think that weight is really an issue. When you saw the doctor you were not really that overweight by the BMI index, only a few points. Also you don't really need to go by any particular number but you should judge your health by how you look and how you feel.

I don't know if you are interested in getting any books from the library or buying them at a bookstore, but I think you need to look at some books about nutrition and weight lifting. You cannot build muscle and have a nice sculpted look without protein.

I find that Chinese food can be quite greasy as well. White rice is not bad for you, brown rice is better but white rice is okay too. I would see if you could have it steamed instead of fried that way you aren't going to be eating as much fat.

Muscle weighs more than fat. this is a proven fact. Muscle is denser and leaner than fat. You could have 2 people stand beside each other with the same height and same weight but if one has a low body fat and lots of muscle you are sure going to see a big difference in how they look.

There is a reason that you are craving food and are eating granola bars etc. If you are very active and being 16 years old your body needs the food for fuel. You won't be able to keep up your activities if you aren't eating. Your body needs a certain amount of food just to keep your body working and then you are burning more calories because you are very active. Even when you are not working out your body still burns more calories than it might have before because you have increased your metabolism by being more active. However it won't stay that way if your weight gets too low.

Let me just end this by coming right out and saying what I am thinking. You sound like a very active young man with your biking and running and weight lifting. You don't need to worry about gaining fat as long as you keep these activities going. You will gain muscle if you are working out and eating a wide variety of foods. You need food to stay active and grow. I don't think you need to be this obsessed with what you are eating and how many calories or grams of sugar are in the food you eat. I understand wanting to look good and be athletic but there is also a point where it is unhealthy to be too worried about what you are eating. I would not be worried at this point about losing any more weight. Concentrate instead on improving your diet so that you can built muscle to get the lean look you want.

Ahh I am also starting to get the picture. But should I really eat unti im full everytime im hungry?
Everyone keep saying im "active" but I dont run AND mountain bike on the same day. When I run one day, I dont mountain bike, and vice versa. I only run for 25 min each day ( 20 min of H.I.I.T ) and rest 5 min just because I feel like it hehe. I understand that I need to gain muscle, but would I ever see my muscle if I got fat hanging around ( I still have a belly, and man-breasts =(, which I hate the most )

Oh and btw, I have herd not eating an hour after you run will burn more fat? Is that true?