I don't know where to start...

[Bucky44]

For anyone who cares, my name is Grant and I am currently a junior in high school. I have reached my highest weight of 300 pounds this year and have been told by my baseball coach that if I do not lose weight, there is no way that I will be playing. I have no idea where to start and how to do it. I have a YMCA membership card but I haven't set foot in there for over a year. I just need someone's help. I'm confused, stressed, and have no faith in myself. I honestly just don't know what to do and I need somebody's help.

[UGM77]

Step 1: Drop all candies and soft drinks. Sugar is your enemy. No more extra helpings or piling food on your plate. Cut out fried foods as much as possible. Learn to bake anything you normally eat fried. Water is good for you. Zero calorie flavored/sparkling water helps control the soda pop cravings.

Step 2: Turn off the Xbox. Go outside and explore your neighborhood. Do more of everything except sitting or lying down.

There's your first 50 pounds easily shed. It's all about willpower.

[Fuzzley]

Step 1: Drop all candies and soft drinks. Sugar is your enemy. No more extra helpings or piling food on your plate. Cut out fried foods as much as possible. Learn to bake anything you normally eat fried. Water is good for you. Zero calorie flavored/sparkling water helps control the soda pop cravings.

Step 2: Turn off the Xbox. Go outside and explore your neighborhood. Do more of everything except sitting or lying down.

There's your first 50 pounds easily shed. It's all about willpower.

Mostly good advice but this guy is 16, his parents probably cook all of his food and relying on other people to change their bad habits is always a bad idea in my opinion. I think portion control will play a big part instead, when eating unhealthy food try to limit how much you have, eat until you don't feel hungry instead of eating until full, swap the regular soda out for water or diet, try to avoid any sweet foods and check your weight weekly to see if it's going down and become a bit more strict if you're still gaining.

It's also important at your age to not go overboard, if you're constantly feeling hungry or tired then you're not eating enough and that's not good for someone who's still growing. Just start slow, cut out the empty calories like sweets and sugary drinks, and try to figure out how much you need to eat to feel satisfied without overeating.

[Bucky44]

Ok I will definitely cut out all of the sugary drinks and candy and I will stop taking so much extra food. I've read a couple of easy to make recipes such as chicken, broccoli, rice, and teriyaki sauce. I do have a weightlifting class at school but that's only for about 45 minutes. Thank you for your help

[Bucky44]

Mostly good advice but this guy is 16, his parents probably cook all of his food and relying on other people to change their bad habits is always a bad idea in my opinion. I think portion control will play a big part instead, when eating unhealthy food try to limit how much you have, eat until you don't feel hungry instead of eating until full, swap the regular soda out for water or diet, try to avoid any sweet foods and check your weight weekly to see if it's going down and become a bit more strict if you're still gaining.

It's also important at your age to not go overboard, if you're constantly feeling hungry or tired then you're not eating enough and that's not good for someone who's still growing. Just start slow, cut out the empty calories like sweets and sugary drinks, and try to figure out how much you need to eat to feel satisfied without overeating.

Ok, I will. I do take hot lunch at school so I was wondering what you would recommend to eat. I usually have applesauce, water, grapes, and soup, however sometimes they do not have that so I have to take whatever they would normally give out. They offer sandwiches but I've never actually gotten one so I don't know what's inside them.

[t_raven]

It seems like most people I've known that want to lose weight but don't, give up because they don't want to work out. They typically can handle cleaning up their diet, but when they can't stay motivated to work out, they give up entirely.

Nutrition is more important than exercise, so start with what you eat, and don't feel like you have to force yourself to do a bunch of exercise you don't want to. I would imagine you'll get plenty of exercise at baseball practice, but if you're gonna go to the gym, I'd pick weights, or calisthenics over cardio any day. Don't push yourself so hard that you won't want to work out next time, just try to improve little by little. Find things you enjoy so it's not a chore to work out.

For me, I do well on a low carb diet. Some don't, but at you're weight, you've gotta be insuline resitant, if not borderline diabetic, so cut back on carbs. As was said, cut out sugar as much as possible. I do better with competely eliminating it than I do if I try to fit small amounts in. After a few days of no sugar, I don't even want it.

Don't get discouraged, and don't let set backs get you down. It's better to keep trying and take longer to meet a goal, than to give up entirely. It takes time to get used to new things. For example, cutting carbs was hard the first time I did it, but now I can go months with no carbs and it's not very hard.

Idk if anyone has ever said this, but I thought it up the other day. Motivation will make you start something, dicipline will make you finish it. People often ask how people stay motivated. Motivation comes and goes, you've gotta have the dicipline to do what you told yourself you're going to do. Set goals, write stuff down, make check lists, etc and hold yourself accountable.

[BecomingSmaller]

Sugar is the devil's work. So no sugary drinks, sugar coated cereals, cookies, cakes, pie. If you have been eating that regularly there will be a whole bunch of calories right off the top.

I find motivation by taking a picture of myself once a month. 10 or so pounds lost a month may not sound much, but 3+ months down the line when you compare the now to then you realise what bad shape you were in and how good you are starting to look, it gives me motivation to continue.

[BoringWesley]

For anyone who cares, my name is Grant and I am currently a junior in high school. I have reached my highest weight of 300 pounds this year and have been told by my baseball coach that if I do not lose weight, there is no way that I will be playing. I have no idea where to start and how to do it. I have a YMCA membership card but I haven't set foot in there for over a year. I just need someone's help. I'm confused, stressed, and have no faith in myself. I honestly just don't know what to do and I need somebody's help.

Bucky, we all care as most of us have been there (a position of adversity) and have had to develop a plan or system to guide us through a new chapter of our lives. Having no idea to start is typical so don't feel discouraged. I highly recommend reading Bill Phillip's book Body for Life (link below) as it is a good starter guide and it was written just for people like you (who didn't know where to start). As you get more advanced you can move on to more advanced training methods, but I think it would be a good foundation for your new lifestyle.

It won't be easy as it's not supposed to be, but it will be rewarding as everything in life worth working for generally is. Good luck kid.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_for_Life

[Bucky44]

It seems like most people I've known that want to lose weight but don't, give up because they don't want to work out. They typically can handle cleaning up their diet, but when they can't stay motivated to work out, they give up entirely.

Nutrition is more important than exercise, so start with what you eat, and don't feel like you have to force yourself to do a bunch of exercise you don't want to. I would imagine you'll get plenty of exercise at baseball practice, but if you're gonna go to the gym, I'd pick weights, or calisthenics over cardio any day. Don't push yourself so hard that you won't want to work out next time, just try to improve little by little. Find things you enjoy so it's not a chore to work out.

For me, I do well on a low carb diet. Some don't, but at you're weight, you've gotta be insuline resitant, if not borderline diabetic, so cut back on carbs. As was said, cut out sugar as much as possible. I do better with competely eliminating it than I do if I try to fit small amounts in. After a few days of no sugar, I don't even want it.

Don't get discouraged, and don't let set backs get you down. It's better to keep trying and take longer to meet a goal, than to give up entirely. It takes time to get used to new things. For example, cutting carbs was hard the first time I did it, but now I can go months with no carbs and it's not very hard.

Idk if anyone has ever said this, but I thought it up the other day. Motivation will make you start something, dicipline will make you finish it. People often ask how people stay motivated. Motivation comes and goes, you've gotta have the dicipline to do what you told yourself you're going to do. Set goals, write stuff down, make check lists, etc and hold yourself accountable.

Ok, I will see what I can do with the carbs and I will completely cut out sugar. The only thing that might get in the way of me going to the gym is I still have fall baseball 3 times a week but once winter comes around here I am basically free except for indoor practice. Also, I'm a bit intimidated by the gym so is there any way to get over that? Thanks

[Bucky44]

[QUOTE=BoringWesley;1465008511]Bucky, we all care as most of us have been there (a position of adversity) and have had to develop a plan or system to guide us through a new chapter of our lives. Having no idea to start is typical so don't feel discouraged. I highly recommend reading Bill Phillip's book Body for Life (link below) as it is a good starter guide and it was written just for people like you (who didn't know where to start). As you get more advanced you can move on to more advanced training methods, but I think it would be a good foundation for your new lifestyle.

It won't be easy as it's not supposed to be, but it will be rewarding as everything in life worth working for generally is. Good luck kid.


Thank you Wesley. I definitely hope that I can overcome this. I've always hated how I looked. My friends will crack jokes about how I have bigger boobs than girls at my school and I'll laugh along but on the inside I almost want to cry. I also ended up quitting football freshman year because I couldn't lift as much as some of the other guys and they just assumed since I was big I could do it. I've never lived that down but I'm tired of it you know? Again thank you for your advice and I will definitely read this when I get home.

[Bucky44]

Sugar is the devil's work. So no sugary drinks, sugar coated cereals, cookies, cakes, pie. If you have been eating that regularly there will be a whole bunch of calories right off the top.

I find motivation by taking a picture of myself once a month. 10 or so pounds lost a month may not sound much, but 3+ months down the line when you compare the now to then you realise what bad shape you were in and how good you are starting to look, it gives me motivation to continue.

I will definitely cut out everything with sugar. Also, what would you suggest I eat for lunch at school? I usually have applesauce, grapes, soup, and water but I don't know if there are any healthier alternatives for taking school lunch. I also drink water and have 2 pop tarts every morning so I'm pretty sure I will have to cut out the pop tarts.

[Jimmy5bellies]

Myfitnesspal app will help you keep an eye on what you're eating - even if you just log to start with, to see just how many calories you are actually consuming.

I don't know what your family set up is, but is there any way you can get involved in the evening meal cooking or prep? It's a good way to get some control over what you are eating. You can offer to cook, and make sure you cook something healthy with reasonable portion sizes. I'm sure whoever normally cooks will thank you for it, and you get to help yourself on your goals too.

The only way to get over beginners nerves at the gym is to get to the point where you're not a beginner. Just get in there and crack on with it. If anyone laughs or makes comments, stuff them. They should be worrying about what they are doing, not what you are doing. Take the piss out of people who don't get off the sofa, sure, but if I see a big dude/chick putting the time in at the gym, out on the trails or whatever then I am genuinely happy for them. They're trying to change.

You're young. I left it until I was in my 30's with a full time job, wife, 2 year old daughter before I started to make the changes I needed to and I can tell you that it takes some dedication - I'm often up running 10KM in the dark at 5am before doing a full day at work.

You're in your prime.

Hit it!

[Bucky44]

Myfitnesspal app will help you keep an eye on what you're eating - even if you just log to start with, to see just how many calories you are actually consuming.

I don't know what your family set up is, but is there any way you can get involved in the evening meal cooking or prep? It's a good way to get some control over what you are eating. You can offer to cook, and make sure you cook something healthy with reasonable portion sizes. I'm sure whoever normally cooks will thank you for it, and you get to help yourself on your goals too.

The only way to get over beginners nerves at the gym is to get to the point where you're not a beginner. Just get in there and crack on with it. If anyone laughs or makes comments, stuff them. They should be worrying about what they are doing, not what you are doing. Take the piss out of people who don't get off the sofa, sure, but if I see a big dude/chick putting the time in at the gym, out on the trails or whatever then I am genuinely happy for them. They're trying to change.

You're young. I left it until I was in my 30's with a full time job, wife, 2 year old daughter before I started to make the changes I needed to and I can tell you that it takes some dedication - I'm often up running 10KM in the dark at 5am before doing a full day at work.

You're in your prime.

Hit it!

Thanks man I definitely will!

[BecomingSmaller]

Forget the pop tarts. For breakfast have some eggs and wholemeal bread, or oatmeal with some powdered cinnamon sprinkled on for a hint of sweetness, or a healthy non sugar coated cereal. Anything you like, as long as it is not high in sugar and will satiate.

Soup for lunch is a good option, they are often filling.

For lunch I take a chilled lunchbox filled with salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, some low calorie balsamic dressing with some protein (chicken, tuna or eggs), or I take a large tortilla wrap filled with the same. If you buy sandwiches, don't get them on white bread if there is that option, avoid high calorie dressings like mayo, and get one that has protein of some sort in it (meat, fish, eggs) and plenty of salad to fill you up. For a drink, tea, coffee, water or low calorie flavoured water.

Bananas, satsumas, and apples are my fruits of choice. I take two pieces for snacks during the day. Grapes are OK, but I find I can just munch my way through a ton of them.

After dinner don't snack. Make that your last meal of the day. No grazing in front of the TV or computer. I allow myself one chunk of dark chocolate in the evening.

Drink plenty of fluid, just not any drinks with sugar in them.

Eat enough that you are not starving or you will binge and undo the hard work.

Don't lose heart if your weight fluctuates. That is what the body does, as long as the long term trend is downwards that's all that matters.

[Jeshi]

What does a full day of eating look like for you? On practice days and off practice days if they are different. Include any snacks or drinks you generally have as well.

[Bucky44]

Forget the pop tarts. For breakfast have some eggs and wholemeal bread, or oatmeal with some powdered cinnamon sprinkled on for a hint of sweetness, or a healthy non sugar coated cereal. Anything you like, as long as it is not high in sugar and will satiate.

Soup for lunch is a good option, they are often filling.

For lunch I take a chilled lunchbox filled with salad (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, onion, some low calorie balsamic dressing with some protein (chicken, tuna or eggs), or I take a large tortilla wrap filled with the same. If you buy sandwiches, don't get them on white bread if there is that option, avoid high calorie dressings like mayo, and get one that has protein of some sort in it (meat, fish, eggs) and plenty of salad to fill you up. For a drink, tea, coffee, water or low calorie flavoured water.

Bananas, satsumas, and apples are my fruits of choice. I take two pieces for snacks during the day. Grapes are OK, but I find I can just munch my way through a ton of them.

After dinner don't snack. Make that your last meal of the day. No grazing in front of the TV or computer. I allow myself one chunk of dark chocolate in the evening.

Drink plenty of fluid, just not any drinks with sugar in them.

Eat enough that you are not starving or you will binge and undo the hard work.

Don't lose heart if your weight fluctuates. That is what the body does, as long as the long term trend is downwards that's all that matters.

I'm pretty sure the sandwiches are on wheat bread and I think they have chicken or ham in them. I also saw that they have salads somedays so would that also be a pretty good option to go with? Thank you for helping me

[Bucky44]

What does a full day of eating look like for you? On practice days and off practice days if they are different. Include any snacks or drinks you generally have as well.

During the week I have a bottle of water and 2 pop tarts for breakfast. For lunch I usually have applesauce, grapes, a bottle of water, and a bowl of soup. For dinner it depends, if it's my mom's week we usually go out or have fast food, if it's my dad's he will make hamburgers and spaghetti but we still will pretty much eat fast food and go out.

[pondman]

All of your goal of losing weight can be accomplished with diet.

[Jeshi]

During the week I have a bottle of water and 2 pop tarts for breakfast. For lunch I usually have applesauce, grapes, a bottle of water, and a bowl of soup. For dinner it depends, if it's my mom's week we usually go out or have fast food, if it's my dad's he will make hamburgers and spaghetti but we still will pretty much eat fast food and go out.

Okay I am just trying to figure out where all the weight gain is coming from. You seem very active!

When I was in grade 10 my Mum sent me to a naturopath and they had me on a no dairy, bread, sugar, red meat diet. It worked really well (of course I didn't notice) but it was very hard and I ended up stopping only to balloon back up.

Obviously your breakfast needs some work.
The water is good but instead of poptarts here are some ideas:
- eggs and a piece of whole wheat toast maybe with some sauteed spinach and a slice of cheese melted onto it.
- overnight oats sweetened with a tsp of honey and add some cinnamon or sautee some apples in a bit of butter, cinnamon and brown sugar and add that in. I made my overnight oats with almond milk. They are handy... I make a few in advance and I can heat it up in the morning.
- greek yogurt (check sugar levels) with a bit of granola or fresh fruit on top
- smoothie with almond milk, banana, spinach, frozen fruit and protein powder

Lunch:
All in all the lunch doesn't sound horrible, although I am not sure how much applesauce or grapes you have which could potentially hinder you. I also don't know what type of soup. If you are worried about sugar try having cut up celery, peppers and cucumber in place of your grapes or have half your grapes and add in some veggies. Soup with lots of veggies and meat is good though I don't imagine you would feel very full. For lunch I generally just have left overs but that doesn't sound like an option for you right now.

- Soup (no crackers) and whole wheat sandwich or wrap
- soup (no crackers) and salad with veggies and protein (tuna, chicken, beef). Either balsamic vinegar with olive oil, oil based dressings, or get creative and make your own. I found an avocado lime one that sounded good.
- stir fry (more veggies and protein then rice/noodles and not too much sauce)

Dinner seems to be where you need the most help. I don't know your situation with each of your parents so maybe they have a lack of time to prepare healthier meals. I would talk to them and tell them you need their support in eating healthier. Something I do when I go out to eat is always look at the menu ahead of time and figure out what I want before I even set foot in the place. Almost every fast food place you might go to nowadays has healthier options. Grilled chicken, wraps instead of sandwiches/burgers, salads for sides instead of fries. Never biggy-size it or w.e Or ask to go to places like stirfry, burritos or pitas.You can always make those options healthier than you can a burger. If your dad makes spaghetti, then you can ask to make a salad with the spaghetti and fill your plate with mostly salad and have a tiny portion of pasta. If you make burgers then have only the bottom bun and make sure theres some veggies with it. My dad used to be in the 300lbs, he has kept it off for 10+ years. What he did was breakfast he would have eggs, smoked salmon and sweet potato. Lunch would be left overs.. if he ate out he would not eat bread or starches. Dinner every night would be meat (chicken, sausage, steak, meat loaf with minimal breadcrumbs etc), grilled veggies (mushroom, zucchini, peppers) and if he wanted a starch he would have sweet potato. This is pretty much how he eats to this day though he allows himself to have bread every once in awhile.

Keep drinking lots of water. Clean up your food. Get enough sleep. Be honest with yourself. Ask for help. Be patient. I am guessing you didn't wake up one morning and were your current size. It takes time to get it off. Luckily you are young and active so small adjustments now go a long way.

As for measuring progress... Take before pictures today. Front, side and back. Then in a month after changing your habits take another set from the same spot and look at the differences! Measurements are good too.

[BecomingSmaller]

During the week I have a bottle of water and 2 pop tarts for breakfast. For lunch I usually have applesauce, grapes, a bottle of water, and a bowl of soup. For dinner it depends, if it's my mom's week we usually go out or have fast food, if it's my dad's he will make hamburgers and spaghetti but we still will pretty much eat fast food and go out.

Let your mom and dad know you are dieting to stay on the team and you need them to make some healthy choices for you. Hamburgers are OK, you don't need to eat all the bread or cheese and have a good amount of lettuce and tomato with it to help fill you up. Get him to use wholewheat spaghetti, add veg to it and manage your portion size. Make sensible choices with the take out and again watch the portion sizes. I find using a 9" plate helps me control portion size.

[Bucky44]

Okay I am just trying to figure out where all the weight gain is coming from. You seem very active!

When I was in grade 10 my Mum sent me to a naturopath and they had me on a no dairy, bread, sugar, red meat diet. It worked really well (of course I didn't notice) but it was very hard and I ended up stopping only to balloon back up.

Obviously your breakfast needs some work.
The water is good but instead of poptarts here are some ideas:
- eggs and a piece of whole wheat toast maybe with some sauteed spinach and a slice of cheese melted onto it.
- overnight oats sweetened with a tsp of honey and add some cinnamon or sautee some apples in a bit of butter, cinnamon and brown sugar and add that in. I made my overnight oats with almond milk. They are handy... I make a few in advance and I can heat it up in the morning.
- greek yogurt (check sugar levels) with a bit of granola or fresh fruit on top
- smoothie with almond milk, banana, spinach, frozen fruit and protein powder

Lunch:
All in all the lunch doesn't sound horrible, although I am not sure how much applesauce or grapes you have which could potentially hinder you. I also don't know what type of soup. If you are worried about sugar try having cut up celery, peppers and cucumber in place of your grapes or have half your grapes and add in some veggies. Soup with lots of veggies and meat is good though I don't imagine you would feel very full. For lunch I generally just have left overs but that doesn't sound like an option for you right now.

- Soup (no crackers) and whole wheat sandwich or wrap
- soup (no crackers) and salad with veggies and protein (tuna, chicken, beef). Either balsamic vinegar with olive oil, oil based dressings, or get creative and make your own. I found an avocado lime one that sounded good.
- stir fry (more veggies and protein then rice/noodles and not too much sauce)

Dinner seems to be where you need the most help. I don't know your situation with each of your parents so maybe they have a lack of time to prepare healthier meals. I would talk to them and tell them you need their support in eating healthier. Something I do when I go out to eat is always look at the menu ahead of time and figure out what I want before I even set foot in the place. Almost every fast food place you might go to nowadays has healthier options. Grilled chicken, wraps instead of sandwiches/burgers, salads for sides instead of fries. Never biggy-size it or w.e Or ask to go to places like stirfry, burritos or pitas.You can always make those options healthier than you can a burger. If your dad makes spaghetti, then you can ask to make a salad with the spaghetti and fill your plate with mostly salad and have a tiny portion of pasta. If you make burgers then have only the bottom bun and make sure theres some veggies with it. My dad used to be in the 300lbs, he has kept it off for 10+ years. What he did was breakfast he would have eggs, smoked salmon and sweet potato. Lunch would be left overs.. if he ate out he would not eat bread or starches. Dinner every night would be meat (chicken, sausage, steak, meat loaf with minimal breadcrumbs etc), grilled veggies (mushroom, zucchini, peppers) and if he wanted a starch he would have sweet potato. This is pretty much how he eats to this day though he allows himself to have bread every once in awhile.

Keep drinking lots of water. Clean up your food. Get enough sleep. Be honest with yourself. Ask for help. Be patient. I am guessing you didn't wake up one morning and were your current size. It takes time to get it off. Luckily you are young and active so small adjustments now go a long way.

As for measuring progress... Take before pictures today. Front, side and back. Then in a month after changing your habits take another set from the same spot and look at the differences! Measurements are good too.

Wow! Thank you so much for this! I will definitely be talking to my parents tonight so they understand and so they can start making healthy food for all of us!

[Bucky44]

Let your mom and dad know you are dieting to stay on the team and you need them to make some healthy choices for you. Hamburgers are OK, you don't need to eat all the bread or cheese and have a good amount of lettuce and tomato with it to help fill you up. Get him to use wholewheat spaghetti, add veg to it and manage your portion size. Make sensible choices with the take out and again watch the portion sizes. I find using a 9" plate helps me control portion size.

Ok, thank you!

[anonymous]

let me make this extremely easy and simple for you

if it doesn't have protein in it then do not put it in your mouth