Losing weight at a young age?

R

Rein

New member
Well, school has just finished and I've got around 3 months to do with as I please...

I play football a lot but recently stopped because of exams - I'm 15 years old. I eat quite radically and randomly :/, but not much, a regular day would consist of about downing jugs of water (to keep me from eating)... lunch which is normally just chicken and rice and dinner being pasta, and maybe cereal at night if I'm desperate D:... I eat apples/bananas/grapes in between and other vegetables with my dinner/lunch.

I weigh 10 and a half stone at the moment but have particularly chubby cheeks, not that chubby but still irritatingly noticeable. Also I have "flab" around my stomach... I look skinny whilst wearing clothes but underneath I'm quite flabby... I wouldn't say that I was overall chubby though...

The reason I'm posting here is that I've always had a tough time to get rid of this flab, no matter what I do... I've taken advice from my mum mostly but it really doesn't seem to work, and she even acts in an unmotivated way by offering me food constantly, meanie :/.

Anyway, in the 3 months that I have free I'm planning to lose this flab once and for all D:, I'm planning to get up early in the morning around 7am, go jog around the field I live very close to then work out in the "mini-gym" in our garage - and want to do so everyday. Also I want to cut down on salt... I put A LOT of salt on my dinner, and so does my mum - to be honest she really goes wild with it ... then I myself add more to it ><. I've quit drinking any fizzy drinks etc and have been drinking water with my food for a year now. I don't eat any sweets/crisps/chocolate etc either. So... to lessen my diet I want to quit using salt and stop eating a cooked lunch, and maybe just have a cereal in the morning and then dinner at night and leave it as that.

Also lately I've been having CONSIDERABLE diarrhea problems and have had so for the past few months, an irregular pattern and most certainly irregular outcome O_O;;. So I'm wondering if theres anyway to combat this aswell?

I don't smoke but do drink on the occasion - I live in the US after all, but I only drink on special occasions and thus can give this up immediately if it effects any sort of dieting/exercising etc... which I'm guessing would.

Overall I'm asking what kind of exercisers/diet etc I should be doing to lose the little flab I have and build a somewhat respectable, slim, (maybe muscular :(?) build. I appreciate all advice ;D, thanks for reading... and if I'm missing anything which I should include please tell - I'm not really used to forums etc... Oh and I am a very paranoid person, some people tell me I have "puppy fat", which should not even be considered a problem, but whenever I take off my shirt etc I can realize that there is unneeded flab to be lost, and thats what I would like to achieve in the next 3 months - is it possible?
 
Last edited:
I would talk to a doc about the stomach issues - there's pretty much no good reason it should last that long. Your body is probably trying to tell you something.

Cutting out sodas and salt is a great idea. kudos:)

Don't cut out lunch, in fact, add more meals - one every 3-4 hours.
 
Thanks for the advice, yeah I have contacted the doctors but they're ignoring us. :/

Oh and isn't adding more meals bad D:?
 
What do you mean the doc is ignoring you? That's insane, get a new doctor.

No, adding more meals is not bad at all. It keeps your body leveled out, rather than a constant cycle of spiking and dropping.

The trick is, you figure out your BMR (basal metabolic rate) -

***Make sure you do the second part---multiply by the appropriate activity level.***(Many people leave that out, and end up with a much lower number than they should)

For wt loss, you take that number and subtract 500 kcals and/or 20% - that gives you a good range of caloric intake.

The ideal is to take your final number, and divide it by 4-6, giving you the goal amount of calories to eat at each feeding. (For ex. if your BMR estimation comes out to 1600 kcals, then you would aim for 400 kcals, evenly spread 4 times a day, or 6, which would be 266 kcals per feeding). Obviously, it isn't always possible to eat the exact same amount of kcals at each feeding, especially if you aren't doing your own cooking. Try to get it as even as you can though, and that probably would mean eating smaller portions at dinner.

Eating more meals does not mean eating more calories (unless you are undereating to begin with) - it means dividing the calories you eat equally throughout the day, rather than in 2-3 big chunks.

Each feeding should contain a good protein source, and a carb (that doesn't mean a starch each time).
 
The site doesn't work :(

()

Is this it: ?

"You have a BMR of 1728.2." but I don't see the "second bit" which you're talking about : (

Oh I think I found it, 1728.2 x 1.55 = 2762.41
 
Last edited:
i wouldnt really recommend a calorie deficit for a teenager. your metabolism is actually going to be higher than what that equation estimates because you have higher hormone levels and are still growing. caloric deficits can screw with those things if not managed carefully. use the equation to get an estimate, and then aim for that estimate. eat healthy and frequently, and keep exercising, and i think youll find good results soon enough at your age.

its great that you are concerned for your health at a young age, but dont do anything too drastic, as you could just make it worse for yourself in the coming years of adulthood. cutting out meals and reducing calories too much could be a very bad thing at your age. figure out what you burn on the average day (not including specific exercise), and allow any calorie deficit to come only from any extra activity you toss in on top. find a weight training program you can follow, and get a decent amount of cardio in too. learn to listen to your body though, when you feel fatigued and worn out, then take it easy and let yourself rest. learning how to manage this at a young age can be one of the most valuable parts of being healthy for a lifetime.
 
Thanks for the help guys.

My parents think I'm stupid for wanting to lose the little flab I have... but I'm still gonna go for it and after my exams in 10 days time I'll be starting exercising and cutting down on salt etc.

Another question, since I'm a teenager when I go out with friends etc they all obviously buy fattening food etc etc etc - anyway to fight these cravings :/... at a young age I really have no resistance to such things ><
 
That is sound advice Crimson. Teenagers are not finished growing and do have to be very careful to provide their bodies with what they need. A reasonable caloric deficit can be ok, as long as it's done carefully. More importantly, imo, is the quality of what is being eaten. A teen can be eating a lot of calories of typical junk, and not be feeding their body half as well as one on a slight deficit who is eating quality food.* Note the key words are carefully, and reasonable. *

Handling eating out with friends is a life long challenge that doesn't get easier with age. It does, however, get easier with practice. It is perfectly fine to "cheat" sometimes and allow yourself to not worry about it so much (in fact, it's often quite helpful). Just get into the practice of not using every time out as an excuse to let go. Knowing that you can cheat next time you go out can make it easier to stay on track this time.
 
Can someone give me a typical 6-meal day? What would you have for each of those meals etc and what do I need (ingredients) etc etc etc :/... If I were to have 6 meals a day I'd end up having an egg each time... ><
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top