TheCowboy;4924376 said:
I will first discuss the embarrassing truth. I am fat and need to diet lol. I am 17 years old, just got done with my football career and I am left with this 6' 300 lb body. Now it's not all fat, I have big arms and huge calves from 4 years of lifting, but the gut and the love handles really bother me. Plus hopefully it will give me more energy going into college.
I want to shed body fat, but I am worried if I lose weight I will also lose some of my strength and muscle. I will be honest and come up front that I know nothing about dieting. I don't eat junk food, but I am the type of man that will eat a lot of whatever you put in front of me. My current diet consists of lots of red meat.
Exercising isn't an issue. I work out 3 times a week, a lot more focused on lifting though. The food part is an issue.
For breakfast it is always cereal. Oatmeal squares, cinnamon squares, ect. Lunch's main food is a sandwich (PB&J, Ham, Turkey, Salami), some fruit and maybe crackers. Dinner is a variety of foods that really isn't a consistent plan.
Is there a specific plan you guys have done in the past to lose weight, or are currently on? What is the best way to lose weight? Cheerios in the morning, with whey protein shake as the milk? Don't take shakes? no sandwich at lunch? No snacks? No soda, just water? What's your plan?
Thank you for your help!
(I'm gonna try to put this into terms anyone can understand)
At 6 foot and 300 lbs., you can be completely still the whole day and still burn 2704 calories. This is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the minimum metabolic rate of you in a state of rest, at an empty stomach, and unstressed. Now, let's say we consider your 3 workouts a week a somewhat active lifestyle. Then we can say BMR * ~1.45 = 3921 calories per day is your required caloric intake. For the sake of advice, we'll stick with 4,000 calories a day.
START COUNTING CALORIES! This will give you a good idea on how many you are eating currently. But more importantly, do not be hesitant to eat. Starving yourself is not the way to go about losing "good" weight. That could do more harm than anything.
I need to know a lot more information about your metabolism to give you in depth advice, but here is some pretty general advice:
- Do not eat to get full. I eat 6-7 meals a day, but other than breakfast, they are all fairly small in content and simple not including breakfast. Ex: Breakfast: Protein shake, 3 cups of raw oatmeal with blueberries, strawberries, and 2-3 eggs on the side, cup of OJ. Brunch: Apple and can of tuna. Lunch: Turkey Sandwich and handful of raw spinach, Next Meal: Banana and one spoonful of natural peanut butter, Dinner: Chicken Breast, 3 handfuls of spinach. You get the idea.
-Gradually decrease your calorie intake throughout the day but don't worry about eating a little more before or after a workout. You need to replenish the body of the nutrients it needs that you lost during exercise and provide nutrients to recover properly.
- Like minimalist said, cut down bread, pasta, pizza, cereal intake after 6 or 7. This does depend on when you workout throughout the day. If you get a morning workout, the statement above holds true, but if you workout at night, you can have carbs with your post-workout meal. What is most important from this statement is holding back from the late-night eating. (Good luck with that in college btw
)
- Make a chart of your progress. Measure your weight twice a week, and find a way to measure your body fat % once a month.
- I've seen from your previous posts that you've played football and have lifted. Let's start speeding up the tempo to your workouts and keep that heart rate around 135 bpm. This is an optimal set point for fat burn at your age.
- Find motivation. If you have trouble being self-motivated to stick with your plan, find a workout buddy who has the same goals as you, and more than likely that will help you stick on your plan.
- Enjoy yourself every now and then with a burger and fries, or some pizza. Use the 2 steps forward, a small step back philosophy.
- My staple foods are spinach, chicken breast, all types of fruits, broccoli, cauliflower, snap peas, flax seed, non-fat greek yogurt, salmon, and wheat pasta. You can get most of those veggies in the frozen packages of mixed veggies. Throw that on the grill and bon appetite.
- Like many will say, cardio will be your right-hand man through all of this. Vary your cardio though. Don't just go run on the treadmill everytime for 20 minutes and that's that. Look into HIIT (High intensity interval training), use the elliptical at a slow to moderate pace for 1 hour, go swimming, play sports, etc.
- This might not come up, but I'll tell you anyway because I found myself in the situation. Don't be rude about not eating food someone is providing you because it doesn't fit with your diet. (Ex: My ex's mom would love to fill me up on delicious home-cooked meals. I follow a strict diet, but I didn't want to be rude by declining because it's too fatty or something.
- No more fast food. Say goodbye for now.
- This is going to be a gradual process if done correctly.
Let me know if you have any further questions about what I said. Feel free to send me a PM.
