Teenage "Chubbiness"

irish_teen_15

Hi all;

I'm a 15 year old male in County Wexford. I'm 5' 7" tall and weigh approx. 80 kg. I'm very unhappy with this - I could be classified as "chubby".

I was just wondering if anybody could share some advice.

In terms of exercise - I don't exercise much, apart from walking from time to time which has probably prevented me from becoming obese.

In terms of diet - I live on fast food. Especially chips and pizza. Not always take-outs - usually home-made. I snack a lot on sugary foods and drink Coke to no end.

But I can't really change my diet much. I don't particularly want to advertise to my family and friends that I'm trying to lose a little weight. It's quite an embarrassing situation, really.

I used to swim a lot, and lost some weight when I had just suffered the onslaught of "puppy fat", but now I'm not confident enough about my body to go swimming in a local pool. When I'm in Dublin I don't mind swimming in the WestWood club in Leapordstown - no time limit, fast and slow lanes, no young kids in the main pool etc... And nobody knows me. But I don't get up much any more, and, as I said previously, I am not confident enough to swim here.

The only option, as far as I can see, is walking, but is that really effective? Especially with little chage to my diet? I don't want to lose weight overnight, but I don't want to wait aeons before I see a difference. Really, it's all about self confidence and, at the moment, it's pretty low.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks,

Matthew

sionnach

dont b scared of trying to change ur lifestyle a little, if you don't take that important first step to a healthier, fitter life just because u think ur m8s and family will laugh at you, then you never will. Just go ahead and start jogging or take up a sport and dont pay ne attention to what ur firends say. Sure tehy might tease u a little, but after a few days that'llb it, if u stick at the exercise they wont have nething to tease you about. Don't wait around saying "well tomorrow im gonna start". Go out for a short jog NOW oh and change the diet too, surely u can stop all this sugary snacking?

irish_teen_15

I find it hard to give up things like Coke, ice cream, chocolate etc... From time to time I convince myself that I'll give up, and I'll go a day or two on more healthy foods but then just give in. I drink two litres of water a day, and that doesn't seem to keep my appetite in check.

As for the jog - will have to do it tomorrow. Have a music class now and by the time I get back it'll be dark. (That's some other exercise I get - a quick aerobic warm up at the start of a vocal lesson and then the actual singing itself, which is pretty physical, especially musical theatre and classical.) On that note, I would love a career in musical theatre, but I think chubbiness is going out - despite Michael Ball's yo-yo like weight.

Thanks,

Matthew

Jak

Well I personally always think it is tragic when folks feed their kids predominantly on fast food. Not saying I can't understand why some do it - I just think it is unfortunate.

Anyhows as for you, you seem to know what the problem is.

You are young and fat. You don't like the latter aspect of yourself. There are no tricks here - you are a product of inactivity and diet. Now if you don't want to change enough - to start cutting back consistently on junk food - then no amount of words here will do anything other than make you feel ok about not doing anything just yet. So in terms of diet - make an effort to eat less junk - swap coke for diluted drinks if you have to - try for some of the "healthier" options if possible when your family are ordering food. If you can't do this, then maybe you just aren't that bothered about being fat, if it really matters you would do at least this much.

As regards excersise, thankfully you are at a stage where your body should be pretty receptive to a bit of work. I'm not going to suggest weights, rather I think you should get involved in some team sport in school. Simple as that.

You say you currently walk and so on, this is nothing to be proud of as a kid. You should be active - you're young, it's summer - etc.

JAK.

seamus

As Jak says.

Don't bother with weights. You're young, so with weight training, you'll notice very little difference in muscle bulk, and if you do it too much, you risk stunting your growth.

You say you don't want to change your diet, but in reality you'll have to. In theory, you could keep eating all the same crap, just increase your activity level, but you'd want to be going for at least a 2 hour cycle every day, to even begin to lose weight.

Losing weight, eating healthily, getting fit, all require a certain amount of commitment, of want. It's a bit like alcoholism. You can have every good intention in the world, but until you're fully prepared to admit to yourself that you need to do it, you won't stick with it.

Being embarrassed about it is a symptom of this denial. Going on a diet, starting to do more excercise, is equivalent to standing up in front of your friends and family and saying "LOOK AT ME! I'M FAT AND I KNOW IT!". But of course, they already know that. It's not like they're suddenly gonna go, "Oh yeah....I never noticed that!", and start slagging you. You'll be surprised that they don't even notice. They may even want to join you, confessing that they think they need to lose some weight too.

Most people will encourage you. If anyone pokes fun at you, the best comeback line is "Well, in fairness, you look like you could use a few trips to the gym yourself". Shuts them up every time.

At your age, you need to dramatically reduce the number of carbohydrates you're eating, slightly increase your protein intake, and increase your activity level. The first few weeks are the hardest. You think you're not losing any weight (and sometimes it looks like you're actually gaining weight). Some days you may lapse and eat too much, or eat half a box of chocolates. But under normal circumstances, gainind and losing weight are slow processes. Give it a while. One day of overeating and underexcerising won't make you gain lots of weight, any more than a day of undereating and overexercising will make you lose lots of weight. If you lapse one day, don't feel like you're forced to compensate the next day. If you're making an effort, all you need is net loss.

It took me years to realise all that. 6 months later I'm nearly stone lighter

Jak

Don't bother with weights. You're young, so with weight training, you'll notice very little difference in muscle bulk, and if you do it too much, you risk stunting your growth.

Not quite true. I started at around 15 with reasonable weight training and it certainly did not affect my growth. The reason I did not reccommend weights was that at 15 there are few kids with the knowledge or discipline to follow a strict appropriate program.

irish_teen_15

Thanks to everyone for your advice so far.

Correction of my stats:
~5' 7", 78kg, ~34" waist, ~38" chest.

Today I jumped onto the weight loss wagon again and I'm not going insane yet. I've had one very small chocolate bar, and that's been my only indulgence. No Coke - just water and diluted drinks, although there is a full, tempting bottle in the fridge... Otherwise healthy (or rather healthier). Not feeling too hungry, so I suppose that's good.

I know walking is pretty boring at my age, but when you're shy and live in the middle of nowhere it's about all you can do. I went for a two hour walk today, about an hour of that was brisk walking through local woodland - not hilly, but not completely flat either. Feeling pretty good.

Could anyone project how quickly I could lose weight? At 15, and ~5' 7", what is my ideal weight? How much would I have to lose before seeing results (i.e. less flab)?

I've only had one problem that's stemmed from the huge amount of walking I've had to do over the past few years, mainly out of neccesity due to my remote location, and that problem is: I have large thighs which are muscular, but have some fat on them, but my calves are quite thin (compared to my thighs) and don't have much fat on them at all... (With most parts of my body you can grab the fat but on my calves you can't even pinch it...)

Advice is wonderful so far - please keep posting.

Jak

Don't aim for any particular weight.

Just challenge yourself to find ways to enjoy your training, walks, excersise etc. This is probably the most productive thing you can do right now.

Usually people remark upon a quick improvement and then slower change - usually the point at which they quit. Consistency in being active will continue to pay dividends, you just need to be patient.

As for coke, junk food etc. - Try to find other healthier things you enjoy. People like Coke and fast food because it is easy - even I do - but then I train a lot to overcompensate for this.

Gluck,

JAK.

irish_teen_15

If I cut out most of the junk etc... from my diet and exercise for about an hour every day, do you think I'll see results quickly or will I have to wait? I know most people losing weight want instant gratification, and, honestly, I don't blame them - I feel like that myself, but, being realistic, I know it wont happen. I'm performing the lead, and love interest :cool: in a musical in October - could I expect some noticeable loss by then?

Thanks,

Matthew

Sangre

Just ask your parents to buy healthier food.
You don't have to tell them you want to lose weight, just say you just noticed you love the taste of salads etc..

If you find yourself snacking, I find it helps to fill up on vegetables at dinner or whatever. if you are really hungry, grab and apple/banna/kiwi. Everyone likes some kind of fruit.

Ask for more vegetables at dinner and less fatty chips or pizzas.

Victor

Get a bike, while energy-wise they are more efficient than walking running, that energy is used in a shorter bust. Work up to doing 20-30km a day (I used to do up to 200km a week when I was 18 and was down to 55kg.). Just make sure you get plenty of liquids and if you need a snack, take a banana or a bread roll with you. Oh, yeah, it's cheap and keeps you out of trouble.

Grow up, kids

With discipline, you should aim to lose half a stone by October. If you stick to the advice posted here, you'll easily to it. More importantly, you'll notice the difference invertly even more so than your appearance. Your energy levels and self confidence will go up.

When you go for a walk in the woods, why not go for a jog instead? Walk to the woods, then jog for a half hour or so there. Jogging is far, far better than walking, even if you can only manage it for a short while to start with.

Sangre

Stay away from white bread for snacks.
Full of carbohydrates afaik.

irish_teen_15

With discipline, you should aim to lose half a stone by October.

Is half a stone a lot? (That's 7 pounds, right?)

More importantly, you'll notice the difference invertly even more so than your appearance. Your energy levels and self confidence will go up.

For me, a good appearance leads to self-confidence, so I'm hoping I'll see *something* in the not too distant future. I'll be happy when the fat on my abdominal area becomes less "grabbable" and when that area tightens up somewhat. My ab muscles are quite good from repeated use while singing, but with the fat there you can't see anything except ugly rolls of fat. (In saying that, however, when I've got clothes on I just look well built and muscular - not chubby...) Hmmmmm.....

Thanks,

Matthew

Grow up, kids

Half a stone is 7lbs, yep, and certainly noticeable. I understand what you mean about your appearance, but a body that is fit and exercises regular produces more endorphans, so you will undoubtedly feel better.

You going to give the jogging thing a go?

irish_teen_15

You going to give the jogging thing a go?

I already do it to an extent - but can only jog in bursts of a minute or so.

Half a stone is 7lbs, yep, and certainly noticeable.

How noticeable? "Smaller waist" noticeable? Less fat - especially around abs, chest and chin? For some reason I just need to know - maybe I'm trying to motivate myself without me knowing it... Very confusing.

Matthew

Grow up, kids

Originally posted by irish_teen_15
I already do it to an extent - but can only jog in bursts of a minute or so.

How noticeable?

Set yourself targets when jogging. Day one, you'll do 5 x 1 minute bursts, Day 2, 5 x 2 min bursts etc. etc. It's hard work, but that's the point - the hard work burns off the fat.

The first place you'll notice it is around your neck and face - any double chin or similar will start to diminish with even the slightest weight loss. If you get up to a decent amount of jogging, your chest will tighten next, followed by your abs and legs.

irish_teen_15

So - say I lost half a stone - would I lose much around my abs? I presume different people lose weight faster/slower in different places, but in general?

There are four areas of my body I really want to lose fat on. (Abs, chest, chin - not a double chin, but just flabby and buttocks - quite effeminate expectations, I know, but when you're wearing a tight costume a huge rear end doesn't look very attractive.) I'm happy with my legs and arms. If only spot reducing was possible.

Matthew

Man U babe

Abs = crunches. Lots and lots of them.
Chest? pushups and breaststroke swimming maybe.
You'll lose the chin as you lose weight.
Buttocks? If I knew that I'd be both a millionaire and a size 8!

Seriously, find something you like and stick to it.

tunney

Firstly, contrary to the advice that Man U Babe has givne there is no way to reduce the amount of fat in a specific area by doing a specific exercise. Its all or nothing. Just take your time and try to get into exercise as fun not a means to an end. You should try to get into a healthy lifestyle rather than a weight loss regime. Don't change too much too soon or you'll never keep it up!

seamus

Originally posted by tunney
Firstly, contrary to the advice that Man U Babe has givne there is no way to reduce the amount of fat in a specific area by doing a specific exercise. Its all or nothing.

Yep. As a male, you're less likely to have chubby arms, legs, and shoulders, but more likely to have a flabby gut and chest. So the very last place you'll notice the flab come off is your stomach. However, all is not lost, as crunches, and lower abdominal exercises can serve to sculpt the area, so even though there might be minimal fat loss, you look fitter and firmer in that area, especially at the sides.

As for having goals, or a weight you should aim for, well it works for some people, but not for me. I find that I set slightly unrealistic goals, only undermining my confidence when I don't reach them. I also don't bother with any type of schedule, as the nature of the way I live makes it impossible, rather I just make an effort to keep my training regular through each week, and it works better, for me anyway. Sitting down and drawing up an excel chart for the next 2 months has never worked, and has only served to disappoint me when I don't stick to it.

More importantly, you'll notice the difference invertly even more so than your appearance. Your energy levels and self confidence will go up.

Never a truer word has been said. No matter how slowly the weight is coming off, just sticking with it gives you a boost in itself. You'll notice yourself sleeping better, and more regular (i.e. not 6 hours one night and 14 the next), and also having more energy while awake.

Karma

A bike will help with your thighs, the best is swimming as a activty that addresses excersise of your body- Are you near the sea in Wexford?- maybe a cycle to the beach(easy on the way there-cycling will tighten up certin mussles and loosen others) & then a swim?
Look for a water polo team to join- a good way to cover up your reasons for doing it.
I work on a push bike and still regard myself as overweight, all above the waist, so I go in search of a good fitness regime myself.

good luck with it Matt.

ps
man u babe
bikes & stairs will sort that.

Sleepy

Originally posted by irish_teen_15 If only spot reducing was possible.

To lose the spots: lose the 5 'C's:

Coke
Coffee
Crisps
Chocolate
Chips

When I was your age I went on anti-biotics for acne. They never worked, neither did Clearasil/Biactol etc. etc. etc. Once I cleaned up what I brought to school for my lunch though, my skin cleaned up almost overnight.

Walking is grand as light exercise but you really need to get some more intensive cardiovascular exercise going to burn the flab... try running (or even jogging initially) for 15 minutes of each of the hours you're out walking. Keep the 15 minutes as no less than blocks of 5 minutes. You only start to burn the fat when you get your heart rate up and keep it up.

You'll find that the exercise will do your skin a lot of good too... sweats out the impurities.

And finally: have faith. A guy I know was always the "fat kid" in school. Through hard training (and I mean hard, he's been known to spend 4 hours at a time in the gym) he's now a 32 inch waist, I'm unsure of his weight but every ounce is solid muscle. Good luck!

Benbaz

Originally posted by Sleepy
To lose the spots: lose the 5 'C's:

Coke
Coffee
Crisps
Chocolate
Chips

When I was your age I went on anti-biotics for acne. They never worked, neither did Clearasil/Biactol etc. etc. etc. Once I cleaned up what I brought to school for my lunch though, my skin cleaned up almost overnight.

LOL

That one really made me laugh this morning!!!

Cheers Sleepy!!!

Sleepy

It's not my quote to be honest. The credit has to go to the family doctor back in Galway

tunney

Sad thing is based on the rest of Sleepys advice I'd say he was being serious

no less than blocks of 5 minutes

Ignore this for starters, if your not used to running do 1 minute on 4 minutes off or better yet

Each week of the program, do your run/walk workouts on Monday,
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and take Tuesday, Thursday and
Sunday off.

10-WEEK TRAINING PLAN

Week 1 Week 6
Run 2 minutes, Run 9 minutes,
walk 4 minutes. walk 2 minutes.
Repeat 5 times. Repeat twice,

---

then
Week 2 run 8 minutes.
Run 3 minutes,

---

walk 3 minutes. Week 7
Repeat five Run 9 minutes,
times. walk 1 minute.

---

Repeat three
Week 3 times.
Run 5 minutes,

---

walk 2.5 Week 8
minutes. Run 13 minutes,
Repeat four walk 2 minutes.
times. Repeat twice.

---

-

---

Week 4 Week 9
Run 7 minutes, Run 14 minutes,
walk 3 minutes. walk 1 minute.
Repeat three Repeat twice.
times.

---

---

Week 10
Week 5 Run 30 minutes.
Run 8 minutes,
walk 2 minutes.
Repeat three
times.

Note: After completing week 9, if
you feel tired, repeat this week of
training before moving on to week
10.

Benbaz

Originally posted by Sleepy
It's not my quote to be honest. The credit has to go to the family doctor back in Galway

Sleepy I wasn’t laughing at the 5 “C’s” quote I was rather cruelly laughing at the fact that you misinterpreted what irish_teen_15 meant by “spot reducing”.
You see, in fitness “spot reducing” refers to the misnomer of being able to reduce fat from particular areas, e.g. the 3 “B’s” - Belly, Bum & Baps by doing specific exercises to those areas. And it doesn’t have anything to with getting rid of pimples!!
Sorry for taking the p1ss, but it was funny!!


B.

irish_teen_15

Hi All;

Again, many thanks for your wonderful advice.

I missed my walk yesterday - I'm in rehearsals daily from 10 am to 12:30 pm and then 1:30 pm to 3 pm. I was going to walk early but slept in. Pretty loose day yesterday - I had a 500 ml bottle of Diet Coke, one glass of ordinary coke and then indulged myself in half of a small home-made pizza (pineapple, ham etc...). A bit disappointed, but it's still better than I used to be.

Very tired today - couldn't walk for long because of the heat and the fact I was tired. As a whole, I walked at at least a normal pace for one to one and a half hours, with sustained brisk walking and some very short bursts of jogging. My pulse stayed above 120 for the whole thing - going to 140 when I walked briskly and 160 when I jogged. In terms of food, today's been ok. Had one of those FreshWays sandwiches from Tesco at lunch - something like 480 Calories... Bit worried.

Thanks Again,

Matthew

irish_teen_15

Hey all;

Since my last post, I have been very loose on my diet, but got completely and utterly fed up with myself today.

In a rehearsal, two people had to lift me up in a chair to be carried around the stage. I realised just how heavy I am when I actually hurt one guys hand.

So, when I was picked up, I told my mother that I'd need to lose weight before the show so that I could be lifted. This sorted the diet out - she's very sympathetic and is willing to feed me healthily.

Later, on my walk, I went into the local gym/pool and talked to a friend (who's in the musical with me and works at the leisure centre) about what happened at the rehearsal etc... I worked up the courage to ask about the Teen Gym (costs €4.50 or €7 with swim). I went home, got my stuff together, went back down (got in free for today because the manager had seen me and said "You're Orna's friend, right?". Went into the gym. Loitered for a few minutes before approaching the instructor, who put me through the following:

10 mins treadmill ranging from 4 kmph to 8 kmph
15 mins reclining bike, was told to keep above 70 (SPM, I think... Can anyone enlighten me?)
10 mins rowing machine - not sure what the reading meant (wasn't looking) but it was about 30 - 35. I know all gyms have different makes of machines - what could the 30 - 35 mean?
35 mins cross-trainer with increasing resistance and speed between 100 - 115 SPM (I spent so long on this because he was demonstrating some weight exercises to some people - he actually said I could cut it out of my workout... Not sure if I want to do that - according to the thing I burned over 200 calories.)
About 15 mins "body sculpture" - situps, lower back exercises etc...

If I keep this up more or less every day until the beginning of September and then about every second day until the show's opening night on the 13th October - can anyone endeavour to estimate how much I might lose, coupled with reasonably sensible eating and posiibly an hour-long swim every few days...? I'm pretty confident I'll keep it up - despite leaving the gym soaking wet it was great. I can even feel less grabbable flab around my abs - but I presume this is just a short-term after-effect of the situps etc...?

Thanks! :cool:

Matthew

Sleepy

Sounds like a fairly respectable workout for someone that's just starting. Keep it up. You'll get noticeable results faster than you think. What's harder is to keep getting results... you sort of plateau for a while... I'm sure someone else can give you a better explanation of this...

Benbaz - no worries;)

Grow up, kids

Good to hear it Matthew..

Remember, nobody said it was going to be easy. Going on day 1 and doing what you did is fine. It's more than fine, it's excellent, and you have every right to be proud. Now the hard part - will you motivate yourself to do it on day 2? And day 3? And 5 days a week up to October 13th? That's the hard part. If you can, and you eat healthily (with no lapses or binges) you could lose over a stone and a half at a reasonable estimate. That's a huge difference. It's great to hear your mother is behind you. Remember, she could have lapses too and give you a fattening dinner every now and then as 'her little treat' to you. If she does, politely thank her for the gesture, but tell her you'd prefer to stick to the healthy stuff all the time. Think of it this way - does someone who gives up smoking allow themselves to smoke once a week as a treat? No. Do reformed alcoholics have drinks on sundays? No. Same applies here - in for a penny, in for a pound. Your body will thank you for it.

Another tip for you - avoid eating late at night. A nutritionist will tell you it's not healthy to eat a big meal after 7pm. Your body's metabolism starts to slow at about 7pm, meaning very little of what you eat will be burned off, so a lot of it will turn to fat. If possible, have your dinner well before 7pm, and cut out late night snacks.

I reckon you can do it, you sound like you're committed. What you need now, is more posts like that last one, and no more posts like the one before (Aug 6th).

logic1

The SPM he was referring too was probably Spins per minute. Also known as RPM or CPM or IPM. Basically you should perform a full cycle 70 times per minute.

On the rower you were probably doing 35 strokes per minute.

I wouldn't do that volume of cardio every day. You'll quickly become dissillusioned wiht that amount.

Start slowly, do 3 maybe 4 days a week tops. That way it doesn't seem like such a huge obstacle which believe me if you train every day it quickly will.

You could still expect to loose the same amount of weight. Ideally a body should loose a maximum of 2lbs per week of fat.

In a few weeks this quickly adds up. The main thing about weight loss is diet, you can do all the cardio in the world but if your diet is **** you won't loose a pound.

Eat small meals and eat frequently, 5 or 6 times per day. If you have to have a big dinner then eat 4 other small meals. Clean proteins, some fruit, complex carbohydrates. All these things keep your metabolism ticking over and also help you preserve muscle mass while you loose fat.

Train 3 times per week and eat clean for two weeks and see how much weight you've lost. If you haven't lost any or well under your expectations then throw in another cardio session and increase intensity. Then weigh in again a week or two weeks later.

You basically need a calorie deficit in your diet. So if your BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate is about 2,500 calories a week then you need to eat 500 less than this.

In simple terms what this means is that each week your body needs a certain amount of calories just to maintain it's current weight. If you eat less than that, or burn extra calories off in training then you have a calorie deficit. This deficit has to be made up by your body in some way so it eats it's own fat stores for energy.

Also if your diet is going to be really strict I'd recommend you throw in one cheat day a week. This is a day where you can have one or two cheat meals. Like a snack box, or chinese take away or whatever else you want. This will keep you strict throughout the rest of the week and won't infringe on weight loss to any noticeable degree.

Also keep a fat loss diary. Very important. If you can make the effort every day to write down how your diet is going and how you felt during training, whether the session was good or bad, what you'd like to improve, whether you've cheated on your diet or not etc... etc.. then try to improve on the bad points on an ongoing basis. Also if you can get someone to take a photo of you without your shirt on once a week or once every two weeks it's a really good gauge of progress.

.logic.

Jak

Originally posted by Grow up, kids
Another tip for you - avoid eating late at night. A nutritionist will tell you it's not healthy to eat a big meal after 7pm. Your body's metabolism starts to slow at about 7pm, meaning very little of what you eat will be burned off, so a lot of it will turn to fat. If possible, have your dinner well before 7pm, and cut out late night snacks.

A nutritionist would be wrong then. Diet does not work on an hourly or daily scale - it is over weeks and months that the net amount you take in (eating) and the net amount you use (excersise) will affect your weight and fat stores. There is no magic hour and a healthy meal at 6pm is just as healthy at 9pm.

At the opposite end of the scale - serious lifters often eat or take a protein supplement in the middle of the night to maintain muscle growth.

JAK.

Grow up, kids

Originally posted by Jak
A nutritionist would be wrong then. Diet does not work on an hourly or daily scale

I was talking about metabolism and not diet.

And you say about weight lifters purposely eating at night - of course they do, as I said, metabolism is slower at night, meaning less of what you eat is expended on energy, and goes towards tissue growth instead (whether that be muscle or fat depends on the food and the individual's diet and regime). Matthew wants to do the opposite here, so avoiding big meals at night is definitely something he should keep in mind. It's not going to kill him, but all I'm saying is stick to a light snack at night as opposed to something heavy.

Some sources:

http://www.triathlonacademy.com/articles/LymanTrainStronger.asp

This recommendation bears repeating one more time. Remember that your metabolism is most active up until dinnertime, so the majority of your food intake should occur before that magic hour of somewhere between 5 and 7 p.m. High calorie evening and late night meals jeopardize normal sleep patterns and thus severely limit “human growth hormone” release, which is absolutely KEY for you to improve, grow stronger, and stay healthy. Sure it’s OK to eat a light balanced evening snack after a training session, but be smart about the amount and content of this snack. Something relatively light that is easily absorbed (liquid?) that contains both some quality carbohydrate and protein to restock glycogen stores and provide a bit of protein for rebuilding tissue is what you really need. Take in more than that, and you’ll end up stocking up on ‘stored’ fat rather than optimizing your health and fitness status.

http://www.leonardfitness.com/top10weight.htm

The reason late night eating needs to be avoided comes down to one main point: slow metabolism. When the body isn't moving or active, calories are being stored. These stored calories become a fat hatching ground. Be careful, late night eating is a sure way to gain unwanted pounds.

http://www.lef.org/protocols/prtcl-083b.shtml

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study reporting that food eaten early in the day generates more energy (diet-induced thermogenesis) than food eaten later in the day (Weststrate 1993). What this study demonstrated was that the metabolic rate of the body is high enough early in the day to burn off calories as energy, whereas these same calories consumed at night can be stored as fat. Based on these types of scientific findings, progressive physicians have advocated that overweight patients not eat anything after 6-7:00 p.m.

irish_teen_15

Thanks again to everybody.

Just wondering - was on the treadmill yesterday (spent a lot of time on the treadmill because the Simpsons were on and I had the best view of the TV - hehe) and I spent some time jogging/running between 10 km/h and 12 km/h. My heart rate went up into what the little chart described as anaerobic. My question is - does this still provide for weight loss, or is it the case that when I get up there I'm purely exercising anaerobically?

Already I'm feeling so much more energetic - feels great.

Thanks Again

Matthew

BatmanDar

The treadmill will definitely help you lose weight Matthew. As long as it says anaerobic, your pulse rate has risen, you are getting a workout.

Sounds like you're doing really well, keep it up.

Jak

Well I had a reply earlier that got rejected due to this 1millionth post shut down thing .. anyhows the gist before I head off for the weekend ...

What you posted that I take issue with is the following:

Your body's metabolism starts to slow at about 7pm, meaning very little of what you eat will be burned off, so a lot of it will turn to fat

For an active individual - what matters is your net expenditure of energy through excersise, metabolic rate and so on vs. your net intake. My point was that if Matthew is eating healthily over the course of the day and taking regular excersise, the timing of his last meal will not make a damn bit of difference on aggregate over the month in terms of his weight loss. Ideally he should be getting away from the 3 square meals a day approach, toward 5-6 smaller meals. This may also help nail the "snacking" issue.

This idea that because you eat something later in the day it will be stored as fat is nonsense as long as you maintain a regular training regime. Calories stored overnight can be used just as easily the next day in training.

Personally, whether in training more for cardio or powerlifting, I never noted any negative effects whatsoever from eating smaller meals frequently over the course of the day right into the late evening. The only thing to watch for is a heavy meal before sleep can affect good sleep, which would be a serious problem.

JAK.

Grow up, kids

Calories stored overnight can be used just as easily the next day in training.

Best not to store those calories at all in my opinion.

Jak

Best not to store those calories at all in my opinion.

Sure why doesn't he stop eating altogether then.

Net in and net out is what matters here.

Eating after 7pm does not necessarily mean the food will be turned into fat. If you don't do sweet F All during the days then you have bigger problems than the timing of your meals.

Your post had a loose comment

Your body's metabolism starts to slow at about 7pm, meaning very little of what you eat will be burned off, so a lot of it will turn to fat

It needed clarification.

JAK.

irish_teen_15

I usually leave the gym at 7 pm (teenagers only allowed in between 4 and 7), and have a meal when I get home. I presume the heightened metabolism from the exercise would help here...

Could anyone tell me, out of the following machines, which would provide the most benefit, both in terms of cardio and muscle development:

Treadmill
Reclining Bike
Cross Trainer
Rower
Stepper

I absolutely adore the rower because it burns calories so quickly and seems to develop a lot of muscles too, which is good because the instructor decided against weight training for me. Next down on my favourites list is the treadmill, then the cross trainer, then the bike and then the stepper.

Is anyone familiar with the Concept 2 rowers? Can anyone confirm for me that when the handle thing is set on 10, that's the most intensive workout? Or am I off track completely?

Weighed myself today. Don't know if I was dreaming (lol) but I got the instuctor to confirm it - 3 lbs down. If I could lose 2 lbs a week I'd be happy - the accelerated loss is from water loss, right?

On the downside - my PE teacher from school was bringing her kids to the pool today and saw me in the gym. She *must* have thought to herself that she'd won. lol. I have a habit of not bringing in PE gear because I absolutely despise PE classes. Hmmm.

I'm still feeling great. Have made the transition to Diet Coke. I've found myself eating chocolate, but mainly after workouts. I think I'll start bringing energy bars to the gym instead of going to a shop afterwards and buying something.

I can't stress how grateful I am to you all - I've got pages of good advice here.

Matthew

Jak

Glad to hear things are going well.

You seem to be in a good position if you enjoy the rower as it is by far and away the best of the lot. I have a concept 2 here at home and as regards cardio equipment there is nothing better.

A good site for cardio training and the rower is Concept2 - Sign up for free and get yourself and online ranking and training diary. It always helped me to push and compete more in my sessions.

Also form is critical on the rower so check through the form guide on the site to make sure you are doing things correctly.

As for the setting 1-10. No this is not the difficulty rating, though it is a very common misconception. 1-10 represents the catch point, and determines whether the resistance is primarily on the leg drive section of the pull or the arm pull. Thus you can vary it to put more emphasis on legs or upper body.

A setting of 6 is generally ideal for training.

Gluck.

JAK.

Grow up, kids

The rowing machine gives a great workout, and it's good that you love it. The order you have there is pretty good - the stepper is good for building your calf muscles, but doesn't give as much of an all over workout that the rower gives.

As for your stomach muscles, you can help tighten them when you're doing nothing at all, believe it or not. When you're sitting, sit up straight, and suck in and tense your stomach muscles for 10 seconds, then release, then do it again, repeate, repeat. It's the equivalent of doing mini sit-ups. Not as effective as sit-ups, but as I said, it's something you can do when you're not doing anything at all.

Jak, you can try and turn this into a pissing contest all you like, but it won't work. All I'm doing is giving the guy some advice, he's a smart kid, he can make his own mind up.

Jak

You want to give advice, then be clear on the key points. Part of your comment was a loose bit of advice that will just seed another little gym myth.

If you want to post things on this board, I will moderate as I see fit. If you don't like that you can always PM the guy and take it off this board.

Gone for the weekend.

JAK.

Grow up, kids

Originally posted by Jak
Part of your comment was a loose bit of advice that will just seed another little gym myth.

:YAWN:

You said a nutritionist who would say that would be wrong. I produced a link from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. If you feel you are more qualified than this source, off you go...

Jak

Your sources do not back this ...

Your body's metabolism starts to slow at about 7pm, meaning very little of what you eat will be burned off, so a lot of it will turn to fat.

... up.

Show me the research that links evening eating with weight gain. Your metabolism slows when you sleep, but in the morning it will still use available energy sources. Hence the point that it is weeks and months not hours within days.

It is about net intake and net expenditure. I won't lock this thread for his sake, but continue to labour this incorrect point and you are gone. Pick somewhere else to share your theories.

JAK.

Grow up, kids

I've made my point Jak, I wouldn't waste my time on you..

logic1

Originally posted by Grow up, kids
I've made my point Jak, I wouldn't waste my time on you..

I'm afraid you haven't made your point very well. This web board is about debate.

Afaics JayK was trying to debate a perfectly valid point with you and you resorted to name calling and pettiness.

If you give an opinion be prepared to be challanged on that opinion. There are alot of bros using this board who are well up on their nutrition and training theory and practice.

Maybe you should pay attention to your own nick and "Grow up" a little.

As for the point that was being debated for overall weight loss total calorie expenditure over a given period is what counts.

If your BMR is 2,000 calories and you eat most of that at 8pm every night you still won't put on weight.

You need 2,000 calories in a given time period to maintain body weight, regardless of when you eat those you cannot gain or loose weight on them.

Of course if you ate 2,000 calories of mars bars at 8pm that'd make a difference, but when talking about clean foods it's not going to have a huge impact on your body eating one large meal later on at night.

.logic.

BatmanDar

Originally posted by logic1

Afaics JayK was trying to debate a perfectly valid point with you and you resorted to name calling

Show me where I did this?

logic1

Originally posted by BatmanDar
Show me where I did this?

And you are?

.logic.

Sleepy

Originally posted by irish_teen_15
Weighed myself today. Don't know if I was dreaming (lol) but I got the instuctor to confirm it - 3 lbs down. If I could lose 2 lbs a week I'd be happy - the accelerated loss is from water loss, right?

Just remember - weight isn't a great measure of how much healthier you are or what shape you're in. The muscle you're developing weigh's more than the fat you're burning off so try not to get too worried if you go through weeks where you don't seem to have reduced your body weight. If you stick to your current workout you'll be in good shape for the show. Keep it up after that and you'll keep seeing improvements.

Be proud of yourself: you've taken the hardest step. Now just keep it up!:D

irish_teen_15

Me again. Talk about a long thread. lol

Got "assesed" today.

Some results:

Height: 168 cm
Weight: 77 kg (Gone up again, but the instructor put it down to the building muscle)
Body Fat: 25.1%
Weight of Body Fat: 19.3 kg

The instructor thinks, at the rate I'm going, I should see the flab fly off but won't see much of a difference in terms of actual weight. My biceps seem to be bigger than before and my legs are a lot firmer - though they still have a "V" shape. I've been slightly slack on my eating habits over the last day or two - though not as bad as before. And, in any case, I figure with a two hour workout on at least 4 or 5 days a week, it's not going to break the bank.

Again, thanks for support and advice.

Matthew