17 year old competitive female athlete wanting to lose weight

So i'm 5'8 and 185. I play lacrosse, ice hockey, and field hockey and i rigorously workout/exercise for an hour or more 5 days a week. I'm generally a very healthy person. I eat a low carb, high lean protein diet with lots of veggies and fruits. My legs are really strong (very muscular; little to no noticeable fat), but i carry pudge around my midsection that I can't get rid of! I'm going to be playing lacrosse in college next year and really want to get rid of this chub before i start team workouts and everything. My portions are not in any way out of control. My doctor says I have a pretty slow metabolism and that since i'm a 'healthy athlete' I shouldn't worry about losing weight.... but i really want to lose that 15-20 pounds or so!! Any suggestions? Cut out carbs completely?? Some type of supplement/medication?!

thank you!
 
What do you do during your workouts? You're underage and don't necessarily need to answer this on the forum, but do you drink alcohol? Alcohol has almost as many calories per gram as fat, plus carbs, etc., depending on the drink. Are you on any medications? Some medications can make weight loss difficult.

Another thing to think about is that you could still be growing... Sometimes, kids and teens develop a little bit of a belly which can decrease when they hit a growth spurt.

No, don't cut out carbs completely - as an athlete, your body needs them.

No, don't start taking supplements, and definitely no meds to lose weight!

Can you give us a little bit of detail about your workouts?
 
Don't cut out carbs. There is no need for supplements. You mentioned '...generally a very healthy person' What is generally? Only on the weekdays? What about weekends? Do you eat out?
I have had many clients who started on low carb diets. I told them it is the wrong way to go. I have told many of my clients to actually INCREASE their carb intake based on their macro requirements and they started to lose weight. Low carb is not the long-term way to decrease body fat composition, especially for someone like you.
 
Losing weight isn’t a super fast process, it takes time. So be patience.

First of all you are going to need to cut out most fatty/junk foods, which is not easy as its sound. All you need to avoid pop, and drink water because it is the best thing for your body and it doesn’t have any calories. Although this sounds easy I find it very difficult at times and I do allow myself to splurge every once in a while.

This also means NO fast food what-so-ever. You should get at least 30 minutes of activity a day, but I would advise a high-impact workout for 30-60 minutes a day.

Start off with a short amount of time and continually add time on. Now I have read that eating fewer carbohydrates is an effective diet. Although it will make you tired because that is your sugars, it allows you to eat so many carbohydrates a day, and you can eat as many meats as you want but this isn’t exactly the healthiest route.

I recommend avoid foods that have been fried and ditch unnecessary calories by cutting out sugary drinks, such as fruit- flavored beverages and soft drinks. Replacing one can of cola with a glass of water will save you about 150 calories.
 
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