Diet/Weight Loss Help!

Hey everyone, kickoutthejams here. My name is Pete, im 16 years old, 221 lbs, 5’10.5-11 and looking for a way to lose some more weight. I’ve been on a carb diet, sticking to about 40g of carbs a day and lost 26 pounds net (went from 252->221, weight went up to 226 then got back down to 221.)

Here I have hit a plateau of weight loss and I havent managed to get down past 221. My doctor claims my healthy weight is 210, but I was looking to go down at least another 20-30 lbs. A trainer friend of mine said protein shake for breakfast, protein bar for lunch and chicken dinner with vegetables and a combination of aerobic and anaerobic excersize which I have been doing (lower weights, higher reps for lean muscles.

I can squat 600 with the machine (I have very strong legs, played soccer and football my whole life) and I dont know about bench, my arms are sort of week, but then again I do not use these weights to excersize. I use 140 for 4 sets of 14 reps for my legs to tone out my legs and lose the fat on them.

I use a 50 pound curling bar on my arms on mondays and wedensdays. Tuesdays and thursdays I run 2 miles, which i am aware I have to run for time length instead of distance now.)

My question for you all is what am I supposed to do to get down past this weight barrier? I am willing to change lifestyles because I have allready. I don’t drink soda or eat anything sugary or bad with processed carbs (usaully, have gone off diet for xmas, etc.)

I can keep a food log, that is no problem. I aam very desperate and want to slim down my stomach and legs to wear skinnier and better fitting jeans and better fighting clothing. Thank you all for your time and thanks for the response in advance!
-Peter

P.S- I have read beginner threads, and sorry if my post is out of order, im not a very big forum goer. hopefully this will improve. I am verry impressed with imformation available at this sight also! :smiley:

I was in pretty much the same boat as you when I was 16 except I wasn’t working with any kind of weights or real aerobic excercise. I went from 250(at 6’) to 175 in about a year and a half, but I don’t think that’s what you’re wanting to do and that’s not what I would do if I were in the same situation again.

While there are a few things I can tell from your post that you don’t understand yet, like “high reps for tone”, you’re on the right track, and really, if you can pick a program and stick with it you’ll do great. It’s mostly about consistency and not being stupid.

Read alot on this site, and pick one of the programs or use some other sensible program. Take everything you read and hear with a grain of salt and check up on your sources.

For me, after years of dieting, I know what I should and should not eat and how much, but a while back I got a book called, “The Body Sculpting Bible For Men”. It’s really nothing new, and it explains this, but it sets forward a very clear cut program for you.

I liked it’s format and because I read it before I came to this site I’ll continue to do the program for a few more months. However, there seem to be ALOT of good programs from authors at this site, so check those out too since you won’t have to pay for them.

But the real deal is, eat healthy, eat RIGHT, pick a program that suits your schedule that focuses on working all muscle groups and utilizes basic compound excercises, STICK TO IT, and you’re going to see results.

Good luck man.

Thanks very much for the post!

By any chance would you know where to find the programs that include packing on lean muscle and burning fat that include losing weight?

I mean lean out my muscles, not tone them. I’m in the company of body builders so I have to mind my mouth when it comes to these things I guess.

The difference is (sort of like everyone at sixteen) is the self esteem problem at least someone here had to encounter. It is also that Ive gotten a very positive response from the 26 lb weight loss and feel great, its just I am not very patient, and am looking for rapid or faster weight loss then a steady decrease of x amount of weeks/months.

I understand this is what I may have to do, im just struggling with personal problems here and thats what I’m looking to fix. I used to wear size 42 jeans about a month and a half ago, im wearing 36s now and going down to a 34 soon. I just want to get the weight off because I want to look good and feel good. I am also really motivated, which is also good.

Rant aside. I digress to my question…Which way do I go for the workout/weightloss plans?

Well you’re going to need to drop the idea that you can lost 20 pounds in 2 weeks and it be healthy. That is just bad mojo and sets you up for years and years of yo-yoing, and not to mention wil probably make you skinny-fat, which is really not very desirable.

I see pictures of myself at 175 and think, “yeah I wore size 32 jeans, but my arms and legs were tiny!”, at 195 I looked alot better, but because I have a naturally huge chest my arms looked small in comparison and my legs were lagging behind too.

Now I’m around 212-215. I think for our height(5’11-6’) this is a pretty good weight if we’re lean and muscular…myself, I’d like to maintain this weight but lose some of the damn bodyfat that doesn’t wanna go away.

Now is where I bitch about this site for once and go a bit off topic.(I’ll come back I swear)

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THE SEARCH FUNCTION FOR ME?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?

Since I got on this site everytime I press search it shows a blocked pop-up. So, I press shift and click the Search button again. Now another page does pop-up, but EVERY FRICKIN’ TIME it says “Page Cannot Be Displayed”!!! I press refresh, no dice. So could someone PUHLEEZ help me with this shit?

Ok, back to you.

What I HAVE read on here was the “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Program Design” by Alwyn Cosgrove. It doesn’t give you an exact plan, but it tells you what to look for in a solid one. I believe I also read a similar article about the 7 habits of an effective diet. Search for that one (IF YOU CAN).

So basically what I’m saying is, I’m having trouble navigating the site, maybe someone else can point you towards a good program.

Until then, think positive, and if you feel like spending 20 dollars go get “The Body Sculpting Diet For Men”, alot of the stuff on this site is also in there, but it has pictures and descriptions of all of the excercises you may not know, meal plans, tons of info., and a very easy to understand and follow workout with sections for beginners, advanced level lifters, and skinny guys.

I highly recommend it unless you can figure out another good program for free.

I’d check out Chad Waterbury’s 10x3 for fat loss.

A few key points on your comments:

  1. The low weight/high rep thing will just make you weaker (Read Thib’s Top 7 Tips for the full reasoning). Work in the lower rep ranges (The CW article will lay it all out if you follow that plan). It’ll challenge your muscles more, need more recovery time (read: burn more calories after you train), make you stronger, and give your muscles a denser look.

  2. If fat loss is your main goal use interval training for your cardio. It’s demanding but it works.

  3. Don’t squat with a machine. You want your body to expend more energy and challenge more muscles. Squatting with a bar on your back through a full range of motion will do this much more than pushing on a machine.

So going by what I’ve read:

  1. High Reps and Low Weights are bad and make me weaker.

  2. Losing 20 lbs in two weeks is by no means healthy, and is hard to do.

  3. Working out while losing weight will be best. Not neccasarily dropping twenty pounds will make me look good, sculpting and losing weight is better.

From these conclusions, questions arise.

  1. Easiest way to do this? eh, scratch that, most reliable and quick way to do this?

  2. Can anyone point me in the direction of specific plans of action for me to take?

  3. Any reccomendations for eating habits or excersizes? ( I am a beginner to weightlifting, but I can squat alot and do a couple of freeweight excersizes)

Thanks for the feedback!
-kickoutthejams!

[quote]kickoutthejams wrote:
So going by what I’ve read:

  1. High Reps and Low Weights are bad and make me weaker.

  2. Losing 20 lbs in two weeks is by no means healthy, and is hard to do.

  3. Working out while losing weight will be best. Not neccasarily dropping twenty pounds will make me look good, sculpting and losing weight is better.

From these conclusions, questions arise.

  1. Easiest way to do this? eh, scratch that, most reliable and quick way to do this?

  2. Can anyone point me in the direction of specific plans of action for me to take?

  3. Any reccomendations for eating habits or excersizes? ( I am a beginner to weightlifting, but I can squat alot and do a couple of freeweight excersizes)

Thanks for the feedback!
-kickoutthejams![/quote]

I’m telling you, the answers to all of those questions are in the book.

Just start reading…

While you are reading, keep on working out consistently and eating good foods. You’ll end up making changes over time as you read and figure out more things.

Just keep at it. Don’t worry about fast fixes… just worry about learning more and applying it as you go along.

The book being referred to being “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Program Design” by Alwyn Cosgrove?

Where would I find these links and posts you guys are referencing? I can’t use the search option for some reason.