iljasTHAillest

9th grade is a bit too soon to begin taking dramatic steps to overhaul your body type. You're still growing at a rapid rate and you're body is still trying to figure out where it wants to level off. In short, I would recommend against being to fixated on trying to turn your body into something that could grace the cover of Men's Health magazine.

That is not what I am aiming for at all (although it would be nice I just feel that I have put on a lot of weight over the past 2-3 years and I really want to get back into shape (mostly for basketball purposes).

However, there is no doubt that life for teenagers in today's world certainly makes it harder to lead a 'healthy' lifestyle. So much of the food that teenagers stuff themselves with is pure crap. Too much time is spent in front of a screen (whether it be a TV, video game or computer/internet browser) rather than exercising/playing outside. If you can get those 2 areas under control I think you'll see immediate results.

I attempt to play basketball every day at lunch and afterschool but some days, my homework pile is just too much. I eat that "pure crap" but I'm definently trying to stop eating it and cutting back.

You sound frustrated and ready to translate that frustration into commitment. If that is indeed the case you are halfway there. Commitment and discipline are the foundation to body shaping. You'll find that to be even more so the case as you get older.

That is what I am hoping for, I am VERY frustrated and I'm ready to prove all the doubters/haters/myself wrong.

Write down everything you eat in a day and keep that log going for at least a couple of weeks. Then look at it and try to get a rough idea of how many calories it adds up to. You may be surprised at just how much you are taking in and then you can start cutting some of those things out.

Keeping a track of how many calories I consume is an excellent idea, I surprisingly have not thought of that. What is a good calorie intake for my age and for what I am trying to accomplish?

I have some very broad rules regarding diet that I live by that help me keep my weight under control: in the morning I eat complex carbs immediately after waking (usually a bowl of oatmeal) and then I eat between 3 or 5 more smallish meals throughout the rest of the day. BUT 12 hours after I wake up I try to avoid eating or drinking anything with calories. And 6 hours after I wake up (the 'mid-point') I cut back on the carbs significantly, typically eating only complex carbs like vegetables.

Can you perhaps make a little "plan" (basically an example of what you do including timetable and what you eat) so I can understand better? I would greatly appreciate it.

I eat tons of protein throughout the day (and keep powdered whey protein handy at all times) and stay away from sugars or foods that metabilize like sugar (a big culprit is 'enriched wheat'...people totally underestimate how many empty calories they intake each day in the form of enriched wheat.

What are some examples of "enriched wheat"? Is the biggest difference between enriched and non-enriched wheat the amount of calories and sugars?

I would concentrate less on adding a large amount of muscle via weight training at this point and instead focus on cardiovascular work, such as running, riding, swimming, etc. You want to get your heartrate up and keep it up for at least 20 minutes (shoot for much more than that) severaltimes per week if not more. Cardio (aerobic exercise) is your fat burning activity whereas lifting is anaerobic for the most part and is not focused on fat burning.

Weight lifting is not so much on my mind, right now: I am taking it one step at a time. Basketball would be a cardiovascular activity, correct? It's basically running up and down the court, sometimes non-stop so I would assume it is. I'd love to wake up in the morning and go for a short jog but I'm afraid there are not enough hours in a day. As for weight lifting, I'm just going to go to the gym maybe once or twice a week to do light lifting for my arms.

I appreciate all the help you have given me.

do you want to bulk up... or tone down.... And bulking up at your age isnt too healthy

I want to lose 20-30 pounds by August 31st and put on some muscle on my arms and abs.

and if she said no ?

Then life goes on. Don't worry about it too much, there's plenty of girls out there.

Here's a short little background check: I'm in 9th grade, I'm 5'5" and I think I'm overweight (I could lose like 20-30 pounds). I started becoming overweight around 7th grade.

I've recently gotten sick of being overweight, sick of hating to go to pool parties because of it, sick of it and all the consequences. Some people have no clue how stressful and frustrating this situation is.

I want to lose a lot of my fat and become more muscular by August 31st (just in time for basketball season). This is the deadline for me and if I don't reach this deadline, I'm selling things such as TV, computer, video games, movies, everything. This is how far I am willing to go and how dedicated I am.

I would love to hear suggestions to 1st off, lose weight then 2nd, gain muscle (abs, biceps, triceps, etc.). If anyone has a plan of what to eat, an excercice program or anything of the sort, PLEASE share it. I understand there are those workout machines or personal trainers and the like but I am tight financially and can't possibly pay for that.

I thank you in adavance.