Just another new guy. Age 15.

[Braden]

Hey guys! Not sure what to say besides I want to drop about 50lbs and stick to this way of eating for the rest of my life.
My story goes that ever since I have been little I have played sports, weather it be hockey, baseball, soccer, basketball ect. But for some reason the pounds just kept coming and coming. In grade 5 or so I had already weighed around 100lbs. Fast forward to grade 10 (right now) and I am 5'7 and weigh 220. Depending on fit/style of jeans I am around a 36.
I just don't get it. At meal time I do not eat a lot and I am active but the pounds just pack on. I never really got teased for being big until the last 2-3 years. I usually just shrug it off Im pretty sure that it is snacking... Well anyway. For the past 2 days I have been eating only 3 meals with no seconds and sweets or snacks. I did cheat and had a piece of home made bread last night and a cookie today. Other than that I actually feel good, I had an awesome sleep last night and I actually start to get hungry between meals. Whenever I used to get MC'Donalds for a treat I would usually get a big mac with some nuggets but I feel myself going for the Cesar salads now. I think tonight we are going to go get some MC'D's (about a 3 time a month thing) and I am craving a salad. I also want to start lifting weights and using the treadmill for 15-20 minutes a day. I have also started doing sit ups every night. If I stick with it do you guys think that I can lose 50lbs within a year/year and a half? I want to get down to about 170lbs which is a healthy bmi for my height. I am just looking for some advice. Tomorrow I hope will be a complete success! No cheating!
Thanks
Braden

[bluebunny27]

Sure, it can be done - - but not easily - - You have to work at it eavery day, except for the occasional slip up.

I'm almost done now losing even more than that (90 pounds within a year, from 280 to 190, I'm 5'10", 37 years old.)

McD is a place to be avoided, all fast food ... lots of calories, not a lot of nutrients ... and you could be tempted to have Big Macs and fries, ruining your entire week of progress within a few minutes.

Anyway it's all about the calories you need vs the calories you eat ... so I calculated what you need based on the info you provided.

http://walking.about.com/cs/calories/l/blcalcalc.htm
You need approx. 2,850 calories per day now to remain at your current weight (moderately active, weighing 220, this would change if you drop some pounds or trained harder of course and you would need to calculate again in a month or two, I eat 2,700 every day now and I weigh 192 - - but I train hard every day too....)

If you only eat 2,350 calories per day and you do moderate exercise, you have a 500/day calorie deficit - - Do that 7 days in a row and that's 3,500 calories - - basically, you lose a pound that week - - do that 52 weeks in a row, give or take and that's your ultimate goal achieved, 52 pounds in a year. I'd suggest eating a lil' more even - - 2,600 calories but training really hard to burn off the excess. You can create the calories deficit with the diet but also the exercise - - Plus since you're young it should be easier than for older people too, you probably have access to a gym at school, no charge, all that good equipment is right there for you to use.

It takes a serious commitment to achieve this of course, you have to be 100% sure you are doing this no matter what, no cheating (or as little as possible since nobody's perfect) and training regularly too, at least 30 minutes 5 times per week, any sport/activity is good as long as you push yourself hard of course, I'm not talking about slowly walkin' to school or anything like that, it has to be hard to make progress, right ? When it gets too easy you make it harder, always push push push.

Ok, good luck on your journey. You can check out my 'Daily check in' to see what I've been doing for nearly a year ... many tips and tricks there ... I don't do Vanilla No-S so I have made changes to help me get through this without feeling hungry all the time ... especially before my training sessions. I believe more in the total number of calories for the day rather than the no snacking thing, but that's just me.

Cheers !

Marc

[frugaltexan]

Welcome Braden!

I think that losing 50 lbs in a year to a year and a-half is doable with no-s. However, I'd like to really suggest that you ask your mom or dad to take you to the doctor and have a physical. Maybe even look into some bloodwork such as your thyroid. It may just be a problem of snacking, but you might want to get any other possibilities checked out at the same time.

[Braden]

Thanks guys, I don't even really snack, it was just a granola bar after school or a little bit of chips at night when we relax and watch tv.
About the physical, well ummm... I wasn't planning on getting the finger until I was around 40

[bluebunny27]

hehe ! That 'Finger' bit is *GOLD*, that's pretty DARK humor too .... so I like it.

Anyway, you'd see a really big difference even losing only 25-30 pounds so don't worry too much about the whole 50-in-a-year thing, you've got plenty of time anyway being only 15 ... it's nice that you are doing this early rather than waking up 10 years from now and weighing 275 ... doing this will save you a lot of work in the future, easier to lose 40-50 than 100-125, right ?

Oh, this reminds me I saw a program the other day on an 11 year old girl who was quite heavy - - I forget her weight now but it was over 200 pounds. The doc said if he weighed 1,000 girls her age only 4 would be heavier than she was according to the charts - - so that was a pretty big eye opener.

11 - that's pretty young to be on a diet. (But her parents were a lil' on the stupid side, complaining about her weight, not being supportive and still buying bad food all the time. I mean she's 11 years old, she's not the one bringing in pizza, fried chicken and ice cream all the time for dinner, right ? She lost 20 pounds within 2 months just exercise a lil' bit and eating in a more healthy way.

Healthy Diet & Exercise, strange new concept, heh !?
Never heard of that before, right ??!!

Cheers !

Marc

[Braden]

Thanks Marc,
I know that even if I do lose 20-30 lbs in the next year I will be happy. Then I can slowly work down to my goal. I am still growing yet so I may get another 2-3 inches taller too. We got subway tonight, I was on the tredmill for 15 minutes then went for a walk with my mom (brrr... Its -2c here and snowing, I am in Canada), the walk was about 2 miles.
Today wasn't the "greenest" day and I am hoping that tomorrow will be better and by Monday I will be having consistent green days. My mom always used to prepare huge meals every day since she stayed at home with me when I was born because she came from a farming background where the men farmed and the girls prepared 3 meat and potatos meals a day. But oh well, what can you do. I had no snacks tonight what so ever. I am hoping that within the next year I am no longer a slave to food. I kinda just asked about the 50 in a year deal so I can see what kind of responses I can get to how much would be doable in a year.
Braden

[wosnes]

Don't worry about being perfect, just do your best. That varies from day to day (sometimes minute to minute) depending on lots of things. But if you always do your best, you've got nothing to feel bad or beat yourself up about.

[Starla]

Welcome, Braden! First of all, congratulations! I wish I had had the sense to start this approach to eating when I was 15 - it would have saved me years and years and years of having my life revolve around food.

I agree with everyone who's told you not to focus on the number on the scale. Can you lose 50 pounds in a year? I don't know. SHOULD you lose 50 pounds in a year? I don't know that either. You're 15; at this point your body is still growing and developing, and you will be putting on muscle (which is heavier than fat). One thing I DO know is that you can TRANSFORM your body in a year to one that is leaner, works better and looks better.

It's nice to have you with us.

[Kevin]

Hi, Braden. I hope it all goes great for you.

You haven't given us too many clues about what you eat, but two things stick out - a lot of refined carbohydrate (potatoes and McDonalds) and a fair amount of snacking.

Consider asking your Mom for more straight-up vegetable and less white potato (probably the worst of the starches). You'll shock her, but she'll probably be *happy* to comply. In my experience, the combination of fat and refined carb is the worst possible thing. Like french fries. Awful for weight gain. If you want to learn more about what carbs to avoid (because they make your body produce insulin very rapidly, which leaves you hungrier and edgier), look up "glycemic index" on the internet.

You noticed that you sleep like a baby when you don't eat after dinner? Wierd, isn't it? I sleep so much better on an empty stomach that it makes not eating after dinner worth it - even if I'm hungry before I go to bed.

If you are going to start lifting, don't fret too much if you don't lose too much weight quickly. Muscle weighs much more than body fat. Trade one for the other and your weight might not drop quickly.

Dropping a pound a week is about as far as I'd try to go.

Good luck, and stay plugged-in with us.

[wosnes]

Potatoes are not a refined carb. They're a whole food. What I wrote a while ago about white rice applies to potatoes:

Rice is a thoroughly sustaining food. According to Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid in "Seductions of Rice," a beautiful, well researched survey of rice traditions around the world , “Rice has the highest protein digestibility and energy digestibility among all the staple foods.†In most rice-consuming cultures, rice is supplemented with vegetables and legumes, small amounts of meat and fish, and oil.

I don’t share the current national aversion to white rice. True, nutritionists prefer brown rice because the high fiber content slows down the carbohydrate absorption rate. But you can get the same benefit by combining rice with high-fiber vegetables and legumes.

Mr. Alford and Ms. Duguid make another interesting point about the nutritional quality of brown rice:

“It is true that brown rice has more calcium and iron as well as higher protein levels and significantly more of the B vitamins [and] more fiber than white rice. But brown rice is less digestible than white . . . rice. The aleurone layer and embryo, still present in brown rice, contain phytate phosphorus, which seems to interfere with the absorption of calcium, zinc, and iron.â€

Bottom line: if you prefer white rice, just make sure you’re also eating lots of vegetables or beans with it.

Potatoes, including white potatoes, have sustained various populations throughout history, too.

Here's the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/healt ... =nutrition

[Too solid flesh]

Welcome, Braden.

At 15, you may well still be getting taller, in which case you may find that you do not have to lose as much weight as you think to get to a healthy BMI. Even maintaining weight while getting taller would mean that you were becoming slimmer.

It's great that you are looking at such a sustainable way of eating.

[Braden]

Wow thanks for the support guys. Nah, we don't always have potatos. A typical lunch is baked chicken nuggets with fries or soup and sandwiches, something simple. Supper can vary, somtimes it is chicken with corn ect. (couple times a month) and we only eat out when its a very busy day or for a treat (3 times a month or so). Other times it is just a sandwhich or something.
I know one thing, my legs are going to be nice and strong if I lose some wight, I was doing 450lb leg presses at the school gym the other day
I can feel that today is going to be a green day for sure!
Thanks

[wosnes]

Braden, when I was about your age I lost 30 pounds over one summer -- without "dieting." The only thing I did was walk more. I wasn't walking for exercise, but as a means of transportation. I continued to walk a lot for the next, oh, 25 years or so. Never had a problem with my weight and I ate well. It was only as my level of activity decreased (for various reasons) that weight became an issue. I still walk as much as I can, but it's no where near the amount I used to walk.