Doing anything wrong? Tips?

JackieBuddy

New member
Hello, I'm Jackie and I'm trying to cut off some weight. Never been on these forums before so this is something new, I tried to look around and see if I'm posting this in the right place and I'm pretty sure I am. Trying to cut 30-40 pounds in about 130 days. The reason it's so long ( if it is) is because I know I'll be going out of town on vacations, out to eat and other stuff every now and then I so have to make up for it.

Anyways, I weight 175 pounds currently and I'm 14 with a height of 5'9-6'0 ft ( can't ever get it exactly right) Over weight for sure considering I have a fat belly with a muffin top, doesn't go over my waist which is like 30-34 inches. Fat in calves, arms, cubby face.

I start off the morning with just a banana and a water bottle, it's a 40 minute ride to the school.

When I get there I eat the same thing everyday, oatmeal with oats and a small pack of brown sugar.

For lunch I eat the same thing every day, some salad with bacon bits and shredded cheese( 2 tea spoons each) with fat free French dressing.

When I get home I eat pistachios/mangos or bannas as a snack and stay in the house for like 1-2 hours and do whatever.

I play basketball or football with friends for about 2 hours or so, then I'll jogg around the neighborhood for like 20-30 minutes. It's about a mile.

I usually just tend to make a simple sandwich for dinner like 2 slices of ham and one cheese on whole grain bread or if my mom makes something to eat I'll eat that if it's something healthy such as baked chicken and rice etc. ( Not eating after 8 PM besides water)

After that I just do my homework around 8 PM which takes usually like 30 minutes then I do whatever I want like play games or something until 10 PM when I go to sleep.

Is this plan good or bad? Just looking for tips or advice. I can move things around if so.
 
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Welcome to the forum Jackie

To begin with, you are a healthy weight for your height and although loosing 40 lb is possible for you, it would place you only just above the under weight category. At first glance you are also under eating, and not getting enough protein. Also remember you are only 14 and still growing, so highly restrictive diets at your age are not recommended.

fruit is good, but in moderation due to the high sugar content, berries make a good alternative to high sugar fruit. You have no vegetables in your diet and adding sugar to your food is never good.

Jogging is ok but HIIT is better, try to spend your 30 minutes alternating sprint for 1 minute with jog 1 minute, this will also benefit your basketball performances.
 
Welcome to the forum Jackie

To begin with, you are a healthy weight for your height and although loosing 40 lb is possible for you, it would place you only just above the under weight category. At first glance you are also under eating, and not getting enough protein. Also remember you are only 14 and still growing, so highly restrictive diets at your age are not recommended.

fruit is good, but in moderation due to the high sugar content, berries make a good alternative to high sugar fruit. You have no vegetables in your diet and adding sugar to your food is never good.

Jogging is ok but HIIT is better, try to spend your 30 minutes alternating sprint for 1 minute with jog 1 minute, this will also benefit your basketball performances.
Upon further review, I'm actually 5'4- 5'5 ( yeah stupid right). I took the brown sugar out my breakfast and decided to top it with blueberries instead. For lunch, I removed the bacon bits and cheese and replaced it with peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers with chicken and fat free dressing. For dinner and snacks, I follow the same plan. Is this exceptable given the time frame or should I make changes?

I appreciate the well ridden feedback.
 
You don't want to make too many changes all at the same time, so for now, take the advice provided by Trusylver and implement it, giving it a chance to work. You may find that, through increased protein consumption and reduced sugar intake, no other changes need to be made.

However, I'd also agree with Trusylver in suggesting that you probably aren't providing the body with sufficient calories or protein. Remember, as a 14 year old, your body is still developing, so it requires a decent quantity of protein for growth, maintenance and repair.
 
You don't want to make too many changes all at the same time, so for now, take the advice provided by Trusylver and implement it, giving it a chance to work. You may find that, through increased protein consumption and reduced sugar intake, no other changes need to be made.

However, I'd also agree with Trusylver in suggesting that you probably aren't providing the body with sufficient calories or protein. Remember, as a 14 year old, your body is still developing, so it requires a decent quantity of protein for growth, maintenance and repair.
How many calories should I be consuming while trying to cut all this fat? I've been doing this for about 4 days now and it has been working out fine. Yea, I get tempted to eat candy and stuff but I get over it. I thought that the revised plan I mentioned above in my second post was good enough.
 
I wouldn't necessarily suggest that you need to reduce calorie consumption, JackieBuddy. Instead, as already recommend by Trusylver, you simply need to replace the calories contained in refined carbohydrate with more wholesome sources of nutrition, such as lean protein, complex carbohydrate, fruit and veg.

As I've already stated, since your body is still developing, you don't want or need to severely restrict calorie intake. By reducing consumption of refined carbohydrate (cakes/sweets/pastries) and replacing it with the above suggestions, the body will excrete less insulin (a fat storing hormone) when it comes to processing food.

Moreover, increased levels of physical activity encourage the uptake of glucose and fat throughout, thus raising insulin sensitivity levels, meaning that converted glucose is more likely to be used to replenish depleted glycogen reserves (in the exhausted muscles), rather than circulating the bloodstream, to be stored as fat.

If ever you wondered why moderate/intense exercise is recommended to type II diabetics, to help reverse their condition, now you know why.

As for how many calories you should be consuming, you should research BMR/TDEE calculators, since both are largely accurate in determining energy requirements. If you insist upon introducing a daily calorie deficit, introduce it from your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and not your BMR (basal metabolic rate).
 
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