Post: #1

I'm 17 and just got my body fat measured at 26%. 6'1 and 208lbs. This may be an inaccurate % because I think i'm at 20% body fat but I still feel too fat. I want to start cutting but everyone says it is bad to cut as a teen because it affects hormone levels and overall growth (height etc.) should I cut since I'm fat or should I maintain like everybody recommends and hope I grow taller or that my fat turns into muscle from weightlifting like people are recommending? Thanks

Post: #2

Don't restrict your diet too much, just do more cardio. It is true if you restrict your diet too much it will affect your hormonal levels, eat as you are now just up your cardio.

Post: #3

I'm eating 3700 calories and have soccer practice twice a week ... will doing more cardio just kill all my gains?

Post: #4

Bodybuilding.com forum is the way you can learn all this easier

Post: #5

Cutting is bad for a teen, however at 6'1 you're already in the 90th percentile of male height. Any extra height is just icing on the tall cake.

What's your diet breakdown?

Post: #6

How did you get your body fat measured? If you did a proper bodpod test then there's a good chance it is accurate. Most people are fatter than they appreciate. 26% is not as fat as the internet would have you believe - I understand the upper limit (roughly) for the Navy Seals is 23% (I read that somewhere from an ex-combat diver in SWCC (I think that is the correct acronym, but I'm not American)). Of course most would expect to be significantly lower than that, but it sounds about right to me as a viable upper limit. The British Army reckons the typical BF% of a soldier is around 20%.

To address what you seem to be asking:

What are your goals? at 6'1 208lbs 26% bf you probably don't look all that good. It means you are probably 20lbs or so of fat away from looking good naked, perhaps more, since you're unlikely to have built much significant muscle due to your relative inexperience and the sheer amount of time it takes to build a good body for most of us.

If, as you stand on the cusp of manhood, your goal is to be fit, healthy and attractive, I would suggest your gut instinct to cut is a good one. Since you say you're a soccer player rather than a competitive powerlifter, you really have no reason to be overweight. However, your goals are your own and you must make them for yourself.

Most of us have drunk the cool-aid at some point about needing X many thousand calories to bulk, and have got fat as a consequence. Don't worry about it, it is useful experience and at your age you can make extremely quick progress in any direction you want. You are almost certainly eating too much, probably by around 1000 calories, unless you are working a manual labour job. If you're an ordinary 17 year old kid, you'd probably make as much progress on 2500-2800 calories as you are now, without the excessive fat gain. Your fat will not turn to muscle and statistically you are unlikely to grow meaningfully now. That means at some point you will have to cut and lose the excess fat.

Maintenance is a very vague term that can have different meanings. Generally it is only useful in the short term, during one of life's busy spells, though as you get older it may come to represent progress of a kind. Whilst you're young you should be trying to improve constantly, so that you have something that is worth maintaining when you are older. That may mean cutting, that may mean trying to eat a little more and gain some muscle, but fundamentally you should be trying to get better by whatever metric you are measuring.

If you'd like to post your training and a typical day's eating up here, as well as your training goals, I am sure we could help you along. If you prefer to do it over PM then I'm sure many of us would be happy to help.

Post: #7

H1N1 is correct just post a sample eating day from your Diet, and we'd be able to put you in the right direction

Post: #8

I do the Candito Linear Program.. it's an Upper-Lower split.
Upper is:
Bench Press
Military Press
Incline Bench Press
Rows
Lat Pulldown
Incine Bicep Curls
Tricep Pulldowns

Lower:
Squats
Deadlifts
Leg Press
Hamstring Curls

I do ab training and cardio circuits at soccer practice. My macros are 466 carb 124 fat 187 protein on myfitnesspal. I don't have a fixed eating plan (specific meals etc.) But I take 2-3 scoops of whey protein powder each day. I hope to reach 12% body fat without getting weaker than I already am. My lifts are 185lb bench, 245 squat, 315 deadlift (felt like I could do more so maybe its higher). I just want to be strong and look good before I go to university next year.

Post: #9

No need to cut as a teen. You've got enough natural testosterone to drop fat and put on muscle mass at the same time. Plenty of dudes I knew in high school who managed to transition from doughy to ripped just by lifting and eating clean(er). I do recommend finding a good coach and learning how to lift properly. Get the proper muscle memory now and it'll serve you well the rest of your life.

Post: #10

Diet wise the constants are: four slices of bread with nutella/peanut butter and a glass of 2 or 3% milk. At school for lunch I have rice, protein (meat/chicken) and salad. Third and fourth meals are a free for all (depends what is made by mom). As mentioned I have a protein shake after my workout. I lift Upper-Lower-rest-repeat.

Post: #11

^^

Post a typical day, all meals. 'Free for all' - this means nothing. Is that typically meat and veg, or is it processed stuff? If you ask for help, you will get the most out of the process if you answer specific questions properly. Help us to help you.

Here is an example. I do IF. Yesterday I ate:

Lunch:

130g (uncooked weight) white rice
250g steak
4 mushrooms
2 carrots
1 handful of kale
1 apple


Snack:

150g slice of homemade pork pie - home made pastry, pork shoulder, apricots, chorizo


Dinner:

2 large chicken thighs
100g pasta
3 tomatoes + some passata
Capers
Artichokes
Olives
1 small handful of cheddar


If you want specific help, be specific.

That training program looks like a P/P/L split crammed into 2 days. Again, you've provided no sets and reps, so it's hard to say much useful, but it looks like an awful lot of exercises to hit hard and effectively in a single session.

Personally I think the advice that you shouldn't cut as a teen is terrible, and that your body will not simply take care of matters. People who are fat at 18 often tend to be fat through much of their adult life. If you are eating too much, your body is not suddenly going to scream 'I've got this' and go into overdrive. Because of your age you will find it much easier to make more improvement by taking less drastic steps, that much is certainly true, but you will not get there simply by continuing with what has already demonstrably not been working for you.

I'm all for the odd bit of junk food, or a slap up meal where you blow the day's calorie count in a single session, but your day to day diet should focus on health, performance, and body composition. This means starting by eating a good dose of vegetables with EVERY meal. Then a moderate helping of protein, 25-50g per meal depending on what is available. Some decent carbs, maybe 300g (uncooked) a couple of times a day if you want to gain a little weight, fewer carbs (200g uncooked or less) if you want to lose some weight. Minimise sugar intake, try to keep it to fruit and honey. Bread and nutella is ok if you're running out of the house and won't get to eat again for 8 hours, or some such situation, but generally you'd be better skipping this meal and just going hungry for a couple of hours.

You will not get the results you want by accident. You will have to take full command of your diet and your training, and do so for a very long time before you see meaningful progress. Unless you're born a genetic freak, you will have to work very hard and smart to get the results you want. Overeating will not get you there quicker.

Post: #12

To add to what H1N1 just explained, you're simply fat because you eat wayyy to much fat. And pretty much everyday on your diet is a cheat day. Since you're still living at home, it is understandable that you eat this way, so it's not a knock on you.

If my current self would be in your situation, I would drop the fat cals dramatically. Since Chicken Breast are expensive, you probably won't be buying it since you ain't doing the groceries. Keep your Whey Protein, cut the meat if it ain't chicken breast, cut the nutella, add in some Chilli beans ($3,00 for 900 Grams) for the protein, and you're starting to get somewhere.

The key is cutting your fat intake and processed sugar intake. I would recommand a 70% carb, 20 Protein and 10% Fat. I would recommend between 13 to 15 calories per Lbs for your bodyweight since you mainly need to lose Bodyfat, not directly lose weight. Doing the former will take care of the ladder without strength loss for you. After you lose the weight, then you can play around with your fat depending how you want to look. And just 1 daynof added sugar to your diet per week, just 1

Post: #13

Ok Here is what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast:

Cup of 2% Milk with 2 cups of All Bran Flakes Cereal
4 Eggs Scrambled

Lunch:

2 cups of white rice
2 Cups of Kidney Beans

Post Workout Meal:

2 Slices of Whole Grain Bread
2 Tablespoons of Kraft Peanut Butter
Protein Shake w/ 2 scoops of whey, 5 strawberries and cup of milk

Dinner:
1 Cup Kidney Beans
Potato
93% Ground Beef 4 Oz
Chicken Breast 4 oz
Steamed Vegetables (Carrots, Broccoli, Kale)

Macros are 340c, 210p, 70f. 2830 calories

Post: #14

To build on what H1N1 said, in my estimation, the mirror is by far the most useful and powerful indicator of body fat.

If you can pinch any large fatty areas on your midsection, legs, or back, you could stand to get leaner. If you don't see definition anywhere (forearms, thighs, or midsection), you could probably stand to get leaner.
Measuring methods are usually flawed in some way. Unless you're paying money for a DEXA scan there's so much variance in what your result could be that the results are basically worthless.

I don't think you're too young to cut if you don't overdo it.

You could try a 2 week RFL run and see how you feel. It's much easier to cut out soda, sugar, non-foods and such if you jump in with both feet on an extreme approach and then scale back.

Post: #15

(03-31-2016 01:16 PM)TheYoungVeteran Wrote:  Ok Here is what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast:

Cup of 2% Milk with 2 cups of All Bran Flakes Cereal
4 Eggs Scrambled

Lunch:

2 cups of white rice
2 Cups of Kidney Beans

Post Workout Meal:

2 Slices of Whole Grain Bread
2 Tablespoons of Kraft Peanut Butter
Protein Shake w/ 2 scoops of whey, 5 strawberries and cup of milk

Dinner:
1 Cup Kidney Beans
Potato
93% Ground Beef 4 Oz
Chicken Breast 4 oz
Steamed Vegetables (Carrots, Broccoli, Kale)

Macros are 340c, 210p, 70f. 2830 calories

You have 1 meal with proper vegetables. White rice and kidney beans is not a proper meal, bread and peanut butter is not a proper meal, all bran cereal flakes are nutritionally worthless.

White rice and kidney beans is expensive in calories for little return. Same with bread and peanut butter.

Here's how I would adjust your day's eating for yesterday just to get you to a point where you were eating properly:

Breakfast:

4 eggs
2 slices whole grain toast, some butter (drop the peanut butter and the milk)

Lunch:

White rice
1/2 cup kidney beans
8oz Beef
2 cups vegetables

PWO:

Protein shake with water, keep the strawberries. Toss the milk, peanut butter, etc
Have an apple too if you're really hungry

Dinner:

Potato
Large chicken breast
Vegetables
Some butter or sauce for taste

That'd bring you down in calories a bit, keep your protein acceptable, and improve the quality of your food sources. You would probably recomp nicely if you made the changes I describe. People say that a calorie is just a calorie, but I've never found it to be the case personally. I look, feel and perform much better when I eat properly.

Post: #16

All right going to go slow but steady and see how I look in 4 months (or however long it takes me to reach my goals).

Post: #17

(03-25-2016 03:58 PM)TheYoungVeteran Wrote:  I'm 17 and just got my body fat measured at 26%. 6'1 and 208lbs. This may be an inaccurate % because I think i'm at 20% body fat but I still feel too fat. I want to start cutting but everyone says it is bad to cut as a teen because it affects hormone levels and overall growth (height etc.) should I cut since I'm fat or should I maintain like everybody recommends and hope I grow taller or that my fat turns into muscle from weightlifting like people are recommending? Thanks

Cut out junk food. You have nothing to gain from it. Listen to your body's hunger signals.

How did you get your body fat measured? If they used skin-fold calipers, you have a good reading.

Also, try eliminating all caloried drinks. Drink water and nothing else.

Finally, have a cut off time for eating. Don't eat after 8pm, for example. It will depend on when you go to bed.

Post: #18

(03-25-2016 03:58 PM)TheYoungVeteran Wrote:  I'm 17 and just got my body fat measured at 26%. 6'1 and 208lbs. This may be an inaccurate % because I think i'm at 20% body fat but I still feel too fat. I want to start cutting but everyone says it is bad to cut as a teen because it affects hormone levels and overall growth (height etc.) should I cut since I'm fat or should I maintain like everybody recommends and hope I grow taller or that my fat turns into muscle from weightlifting like people are recommending? Thanks

Its good that you are worried about your health. But according to what you have described above, I think you just need to maintain. Things you should remember are that you should exercise regularly, Eat healthy food, sleep well and drink plenty of water. Other than that you can add natural diet seeds which helps you to maintain and boost up your metabolism.