Helping a female friend loose weight, advice is welcome

[paintballproam]

So my friend is 15, 5'3" and 184lbs. She has a decent amount of muscle on her (max bench is 130lbs) and her legs are pretty dense. She also has a large...um "chest".

so anyway, she is really commited to loosing weight but she wants to do it the smart/healthy way. She has access to all my equipment: 300lb olympic barbel set, dbs, olyimpic bench, squat rack, leg extensions, tricep press downs, lat pulls, rowing maching, ab lounge, ab scissor, tredmil, and a punching bag.

What i need from you is a good diet that can easily be done by a teenage girl and a good ruetine for her as well.

If you could give me an idea of protein, carb, calorie, and fat intake that she should be getting that would be great.

Shes not concerned about muscle loss but what kind of bf% could she drop between now and june? also, how many lbs do you think? sorry, no pics

[terracotta]

review the info on my website, it's all there - www.hotnfit.com

[Sable_Strenua]

and check out this sticky

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=659486

[paintballproam]

So what would you suggest for workouts?

Things to keep in mind:
1. She has slight scoliosis so dead lifts are bad because they really hurt her back
1. She has a bad knee, but if she wraps it tight enough she SEEMS to be ok to do squats.

[paintballproam]

also anyone know what kind of bf% could she drop between now and june? also, how many lbs do you think? sorry, no pics

[cindys76]

She should try to lose no more than 1-2 pounds per week MAX. I lost 55 pounds over 8 months, and was watching calories and exercising seriously for 5 months. The first 3 months I was only walking about 4x per week. Keep in mind tho that I'm not a teenager and kept my calories at about 1300-1400 per day. Depending on her exact age, I wouldn't go below 1500 calories per day, and maybe not even that low.

My best guess is that she should be able to safely lose probably 30-40 pounds by June - IF she's dedicated and sticks to what ever plan you two decide on.

[Eileen]

The actual amount of weight won't matter too much anyway. Once she is eating clean and lifting regularly, her shape will change and she'll need new clothes and possibly new boyfriends etc.

At her age, one really important thing is to make sure she eats plenty of protein, healthy fats and lots of vegetables. She does not need to go low fat, there's more and more evidence that it's not a good long term strategy, but eating lots of fish, eggs, meat, chicken, vegetables and whole grains will do the job.

[izzadawn]

She does not need to go low fat, there's more and more evidence that it's not a good long term strategy, but eating lots of fish, eggs, meat, chicken, vegetables and whole grains will do the job.

I agree Not Low Fat But She needs to be Smart about the Fat, "Step away from the deep fryer". Think Simple Healthy foods, Fresh Fruit Veggies whole Grains, and Steer clear of processed anything.

For excersize find something she likes to do.... Play baseball, Dance, Kick boxing, she will be more likely to succeed if she's having fun.

[c0ldhart]

as for her knee... if it's just 'bad' vs injured previously, etc (and I promise that i'm not undermining the statement or being patronizing)... work on strengthening it. I've always had problems with my knees and when i started lifting/reading about it, i tried LIGHT weight squats, but a lot lower than I was doing before (lower than 90degrees). it really helped to strengthen the soft tissue around my joints... ALOT, to where now i don't worry about them at all unless i'm running alot (5 miles +).

The other part is to have her STRETCH ALOT. I found that the 2nd part of my knee issue was that I tend to have tight quads and glutes, they will pull on the tendons/ligaments around the knee and cause a lot of problems, too.

I'm sure she'll feel more confident to do more if she doesn't feel that she has a 'weak spot'. I hope this helps, i realize you didn't ask for it, so take it with the grain of salt... but it's free and doesn't hurt to try, right?

[Chicka3000]

So my friend is 15, 5'3" and 184lbs. She has a decent amount of muscle on her (max bench is 130lbs) and her legs are pretty dense. She also has a large...um "chest".

so anyway, she is really commited to loosing weight but she wants to do it the smart/healthy way. She has access to all my equipment: 300lb olympic barbel set, dbs, olyimpic bench, squat rack, leg extensions, tricep press downs, lat pulls, rowing maching, ab lounge, ab scissor, tredmil, and a punching bag.

What i need from you is a good diet that can easily be done by a teenage girl and a good ruetine for her as well.

If you could give me an idea of protein, carb, calorie, and fat intake that she should be getting that would be great.

Shes not concerned about muscle loss but what kind of bf% could she drop between now and june? also, how many lbs do you think? sorry, no pics

ok i am 5'6 and 220... most of my muscle is in my legs, and i have a very gifted chest.. is it ok if i can use the advise that was given?

[paintballproam]

as for her knee... if it's just 'bad' vs injured previously, etc (and I promise that i'm not undermining the statement or being patronizing)... work on strengthening it. I've always had problems with my knees and when i started lifting/reading about it, i tried LIGHT weight squats, but a lot lower than I was doing before (lower than 90degrees). it really helped to strengthen the soft tissue around my joints... ALOT, to where now i don't worry about them at all unless i'm running alot (5 miles +).

The other part is to have her STRETCH ALOT. I found that the 2nd part of my knee issue was that I tend to have tight quads and glutes, they will pull on the tendons/ligaments around the knee and cause a lot of problems, too.

I'm sure she'll feel more confident to do more if she doesn't feel that she has a 'weak spot'. I hope this helps, i realize you didn't ask for it, so take it with the grain of salt... but it's free and doesn't hurt to try, right?

The reason i said she had a bad knee is because, last year she tore her ACL and has yet to get surgery on it. Not going into detail as to how she tore it or why she hasnt gotten surgery on it yet. She does stretch every morning and it seems to help a little.

[paintballproam]

what would be a good low impact cardio for her? low impact for her knee obv

[terracotta]

what would be a good low impact cardio for her? low impact for her knee obv

Swimming.

[paintballproam]

Swimming.

You realize its november and we live in new hampshire?lol

[Eileen]

Cycling. Keep the gears low, and the pace high, and you get a great workout without stressing the knees. But get a good mechanic to check the relative placement of pedals, saddle and handlebars first.

[terracotta]

You realize its november and we live in new hampshire?lol

There are indoor swimming pools in most cities.

[paintballproam]

There are indoor swimming pools in most cities.

Haha if you lived around here, youd understand why we dont have that. but thank you for your advice

[terracotta]

Haha if you lived around here, youd understand why we dont have that. but thank you for your advice

enlighten me (serious).

[paintballproam]

enlighten me (serious).

We live in an area where there is pretty much nothing.
The only gym we had was a golds gym and that closed down.
One should be reopening up again soon but untill then, we dont even have a Y
so there is no where with an indoor pool

[terracotta]

We live in an area where there is pretty much nothing.
The only gym we had was a golds gym and that closed down.
One should be reopening up again soon but untill then, we dont even have a Y
so there is no where with an indoor pool

ok, no problem.

Next best thing is probably the recumbent bike.

[paintballproam]

ok, no problem.

Next best thing is probably the recumbent bike.

Im trying to get enough money together to help her out and get her an eliptical because she enjoys using those plus they dont hurt her knee.

[terracotta]

Im trying to get enough money together to help her out and get her an eliptical because she enjoys using those plus they dont hurt her knee.

Ok. There are some decent low cost ellipticals, maybe ask for a recommendation in the equipment section?

[N-cognita]

I have a busted knee that I never got surgery on. Torn ACL/LCL and meniscus. It wasn't due to tight muscles... I had a really bad skiing accident and could not afford surgery at the time, and haven't had the time off to do the surgery and recovery.

Cardio-wise the only things I cannot do are bikes (my knee is just too unstable and prone to locking) and running (except for sprints). If you have access to a treadmill, walking very fast with an incline and occasional sprints should be OK... just no running for 20 minutes. Ellipticals are great too. I agree that swimming is great for that too... I swim once or twice a week, but I do have access to an indoor pool and understand your friend doesn't. :/

Lifting wise, I stay away from leg extensions and lying leg curls (for hams). I can do seated leg curls though, I can do ATG squats (as well as seated squats with higher weight), and I can do lunges with limited ROM on that leg since the knee is too unstable to pick myself up. The leg press is also a great exercise... it has definitely helped me strengthen my legs, and my knees do feel more stable than they used to.

Point is, having a torn ACL is not going to be the end of the world in terms of exercising. There has to be care not to stress the actual joint (which is why leg extensions are a huge NO NO), but you can work around that.

And the biggest advice is to always, always stretch after a leg day. Gotta make sure the muscles don't get too tight.