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Well, amongst all of the internet garbage, old wives' tales, and co-worker gossip, it is a hassle to find out what the best thing to do for your body is.
I am a 5'8" 160 pound 16 year old. Barely average. However, I still have lots of belly fat and back fat. I want a good healthy routine to keep my whole body in good health, including my hair.
My schedule: Eat about 1400 to 1600 calories a day. Weight-lift for 30 to 45 minutes (bench presses and leg lifts, every other day), 20 minutes of a little routine that includes sit-ups, step-ups, abdominals, tricep lifts, push-ups, shoulder blade squeezes, and jumping jacks.
I recently started this, and I am hopefully awaiting some nice results, if I stick to a protein and vitamin rich "diet".
To any of the health buffs here, is there anything I could do to somehow get rid of my back fat/belly fat faster besides just the burnage o' fat? And, should I alter my plan in any way, incase of it damaging my body somehow, or just for sufficient fat burning activities?
Thanks a lot.
Are you actually growning your hair out or seeking dietary advice? None of what you are doing will signifcnatly alter your hair one way or another.
Well, no. But isn't your hair's health pretty dependent on your overall health?
But yeah, mostly dietary advice, really.
Don't think there's anything better than burning fat through exercise. Because that fat gets transformed into muscle. You're actually at an advantage compared to the skinny people around here, because they don't have much fat to convert to muscle and hence weightlifting doesn't yield as many results.
Btw, have you tried jogging?
Anyway, good job on the initiative and good luck with sticking to the routine.
Er. Fat doesn't transform into muscle. It may get REPLACED with muscle, but it can't magically evolve into muscle.
You need fat to make muscle. It has loads of components that are required to build muscle, and so when you burn the fat, the components that are stored within are released, and then used for muscle growth. This is why skinny people find it hard to build muscle unless they start eating a lot (which isn't easy to do).
Jogging is a great way to get excercize....just be forewarned....
it's hard on the knees when you're jogging on concrete/asphalt.
I was jogging up to 6+ miles a day, the knees started to
complain. Try bicycling, weights, mountain climbing, etc.
I can only wish I had the stamina to do that. I'm still only starting out, but everytime I jog it just feels great.
I heard that exercise may release some hormones which induce a feeling of mild euphoria or something like that, but i'm not sure.
Yes, it does. They're called endorphins.
Ah right, that's what they are called, thanks :)
Congrats dude, im a good 2inches taller and weight about 152.
Try working your obliques and lats if you want to get your back fat off. They grow really fast you will be surprised how fast you gain "wings" on your back/under your armpit area. Now I know you are quite aware of this but to see real results takes a good 3 months for most body parts. But your routine seems sound just wait it out and keep it up, and include jogging in your routine.
One thing though you might want to include more rest days if you want to gain muscle as you may already know you only grow muscle during the rest time. Don't overwork yourself bud.
-animosity
Haha. Thanks. Yeah, I know. I am going to do the weight lifting every other day, not every day.
But yeah, thanks a lot.
As someone who is also 5'8" and 160 pounds I have to tell you
your weight right now is ideal. I lost about 45+ pounds to
get down to my ideal weight, now the key for you is to
1. keep the weight off and 2. get excercize to tone the body.
Loosing weight is pure math, getting regular excercize and
cutting calories is the key to weight loss.
This means stay with fruit/veggies, avoid the big macs,
ice cream sundeas, etc.
But your weight is ideal, you shouldn't loose any more.
Well, that's what all the BMi calculators and shiz say, but all of this fat makes me pretty self conscious. So I am trying to gain some muscle back.
Make sure you get in some endurance/aerobic exercise and some stretching exercise as well as strength-building exercise. You need a plan that incorporates all three for a fit body. These other two types of exercise may help make you a bit more trim.
Bill
The best thing you can do for yourself is to go read the book "Fit for Life."
It explains how diets don't work, and not just fad diets.. ANY diets. It explains how to eat right, and proper food combining (something that, IMO, is America's major downfall).
The first two weeks of reading that book/following its procedures... I never felt better or more energetic in my life. I dare say truly everyone can benefit from it. Try it.
After years of off and on exercise, toning classes, aerobic classes (I disliked those as I am simply not the jumping to the beat of music with an exuberant instructor type) and health club memberships, here's what I learned that works for me:
Consume less calories than you burn. It's that simple. Basic physics is the way to lose weight. Two weeks ago I was out running and two ladies in sweat suites passed by me going the opposite direction. They were stolling along drinking lattes. Perhaps they thought they were exercising but I'm certain their net calorie status was a positive number.
Your body has a natural look that's based on your frame, height, and muscle mass potential. When you do everything right, your natural healthy look will be a good look for you but if you are say, 5 1/2 feet tall and big boned you will never have the look of a lean marathon runner. I am moderately tall and lean--I will never look like a muscle beach body builder because I don't have the frame and muscle building potential, unless I go against my genes and nature and move iron 4 hours a day and do some steroids. Then I'll get bulked up, in a routine I can't maintain.
The reason this last part is important is that once you accept your natural healthy look, you can get into a routine that you are comfortable with and can maintain for the long term and enjoy.
I cut out most of the saturated dairy and animal fat in my diet. I started consuming fat free milk and yogurt, low fat cheese, and soy "ice cream." I also began eating fruit, salads, oatmeal, and whole grain cerials and mixed nuts. Oh, I have some butter, cream cheese and real ice cream from time to time and chili with beef in it. Also some junk food. To make up for my lost protien from cutting out all the meat, I started getting protien supplements I can mix with milk. I had to do this because I was building up arterial plaque. I was Mr. double cheese burger bratwurst deep dish pizza gyros polish sausage steak sandwiches whole milk brown cow yogurt with the cream top ben and jerry's ice cream. I dropped weight and felt a lot better but it took a month or two.
Many guys fall off radical diets because they don't like the way they taste. don't think it tastes bad. think it tastes different and, "I'll get used to it." You will. I'm at the point now where I don't even like that food I used to eat.
I used to go crazy with exercise and do these unsustainable bursts of working out that would peter out after a few months. This time I started a minor amount of work with free weights and aerobic exercise (running for me). I'm up to running 4 miles now and doing some work with dumbells. This together with the diet is letting me get to a point where I feel good, and in the best shape I've been in, in years, and I have a program I can continue for a long time. Oh yeah, all this assumes you have already cut out drugs, alchohol and tobacco.
Well, my backround is in Dietetics, and I worked in that field for a number of years. So, I'm going to address the one thing I haven't seen anybody else comment on, your diet needs.
As a still growing, maturing adolescent, you NEED anywhere from 2800 to 3000 calories a day. Restricting yourself to 1400 to 1600 calories a day, is a drastic measure that is not only unhealthy, but it will backfire on you and the goals you are trying to make.
First of all, to make muscle mass, you need to consume enough calories. If you don't consume enough calories, your body starts to turn to it's fat reserves for energy. You are genetically programmed to have so much fat, so when your body can't use it's fat stores, it starts using muscle mass. At
a time when your body is attempting to develope more muscle mass (you will gain quite a bit between now and age 20/21, with a gradual slowdown that peaks in your mid to late 20's), you don't want to deprive yourself of necessary calories.
Second, if you don't meet your caloric and nutrition needs, your hair WILL suffer. Hair loss and thinning will occur, and growth will slow down, in order to conserve energy for necessary body functions. You need a good balanced diet that is rich in vitamins and provides sufficient calories. Many adolescents go through awkward stages where there bodies may have pads of fat in undesirable areas. Eventually, things even out. Your weight seems to be ideal for your height, not overweight in any way.
I would recommend that you try target exercise that addresses your problem areas, that will burn the fat, and replace it with muscle mass. Incorporate whole grain foods into your eating plan. General Mills makes nearly all of their cereals with whole grains, and you can find whole grains among the other brands by reading the labels. Use low-fat dairy products, and replace higher-fat condiments with lower-fat versions. I love Hellmens or Best Foods reduced fat mayonnaise, taste as good as the full-fat stuff. There are plenty of choices of whole grain breads out there, and they are much tastier than the fluffy white stuff, which is pure starch. Brown rice and whole grain pasta's are available too.
Be sure you get plenty of fruits and vegetables, and choose lean cuts of meat and fish. Avoid sugary soda's and other soft drinks, drink plenty of water. Take it easy on the junk food, you can splurge a little, eat modest amounts and incorporate it into your calorie needs. Look for whole grain versions of chips, pretzels, crackers, or eat a small handfull of nuts. If you just make changes in the kind of foods you eat, while maintaining calorie needs, and adding an exercise program into your daily routine; you should lose any fat, and gain muscle mass.
Please, please, please reconsider the drastic calorie change. It really is not healthy for you to do. Studies show that people who eat a low-fat, whole grain, lean meat diet; not only lose weight, but keep it off in the future. Whole grains fill you up with less, and make you feel full longer; so you don't feel hungry that you reach for a junk food snack.
Carol
I just have a small question for you, and I'm sure this is dumb/obvious...but uh. So If your skinny, does that mean you have a poor diet, or just a very fast metabolism? I mean, if your skinny-does that mean your not getting enough carbs and other nesscessities, so your body always burn off your fat? Or?? Sorry if this isn't written very..legiablly, I'm tired and distracted. ;]
You may be one of those individuals who have faster than mormal metabolism. It depends how skinny you are. If you are not significantly underweight for your height and body type, then you are probably eating sufficiently, you just have a more efficient metabolism. If you are significantly underweight, either your diet is lacking enough caloric intake to sustain you, or you have a possible metabolic problem.
Some people have naturally very thin body types, as do their family members, so you may be genetically predisposed to be very thin. One metabolic problem that leads to excessive thiness, is hyperactive thyroid. People with hyperactive throid glands, burn calories easily, have a faster than normal heart rate, a slight bulge of their eyes, and a possible goiter (swelling) in the neck where the thyroid gland is located. I f you are concerned about excess thiness, a doctor can order some simple lab work to evaluate you for a possible, metabolic problem. Hope this answers your questions.
Carol
PLEASE READ
Check this out for calorie burning info:
http://www.primusweb.com/cgi-bin/fpc/actcalc.pl
At 160 lbs you will burn about 1400 calories in a day if you do absolutley nothing. I mean absolutley nothing, as in sleeping for 24 hours straight. If you are up and about for 18 hours, walking around and doing pretty much nothing, you will burn another couple hundred calories a day. If you are also exercising as you say you are, you are burning another several hundred calories a day, perhaps 500 or more. If you are a sixteen year old male, then you ARE still growing, getting taller and bigger.
You NEED MORE CALORIES then what you are taking in. Even if you are trying to lose weight, you NEED MORE CALORIES. What you are doing is unhealthy. If you want to lose weight, you want to take in a little bit less then what you are burning. A little bit is about 200-400 calories for someone your size. Right now it sounds like you are taking in about 1000 less then you are burning.
However, you shouldn't even think about losing weight at your age and size. You are still growing. Maintaining your current weight or even slowly gaining over the next few years would be healthy. The best thing you can do is make sure you aren't just adding fat. With that workout routine it sounds like you are all set, you just need to EAT MORE.
A routine like this is actually borderline counterproductive. If you eat little enough and exercise enough, your body will actually react to the calorie deficit by entering a sort of survival mode to conserve calories. Your body will react like there is a food shortage and start burning up some of your muscle mass to power itself and start saving the calories you are eating as fat.
Bottomline - Talk to a doctor, you should be eating more.