just a little

Question
hey :) this summer i'd like to lose a lot of fat, and gain
muscle this summer, as wells as start eating a healthier
diet [less sugar, fat, junk food, -- which i often end up
eating too much regardless of how full i am, and it often
seems like its gone too quick, so then i start eating other
junk foods, and it just goes on and on :(  ] because i am at
risk of diabetes because of genetics, and also just to be
healthier, happier, more content, etc. :]
currently i am 5'5, weigh 126 pounds, and im 14 years old.
i know that i am normal weight according to the body mass
index, but i have a flab/fat on areas like the upper arms,
inner thighs, stomach, calf, etc :p it'd be nice to be a
little bit leaner, but certainly not stick skinny :]

i've tried to diet and exercise before [a couple years ago i  
tried and lost 8 pounds, but that was when i was working out
every morning during the summer], but its hard to stay
motivated, and its hard to stick to the diet plan after
summer's over ...

i would appreciate any advice, tips, suggestions, comments,
etc. you have :]

i also have a couple questions that came up since i started
thinking about getting healthier :

what's the difference between toning and strength training?

whats are some of the most effective exercises that don't
require equipment?

what are some ways to stay motivated?

what foods don't seem unhealthy, but really are?

is it better to have foods that are low in calorie but have
a lot of sugar, or that are high in calorie, have some
sugar, but also have some nutritional benefits? [example:
ice pop vs. fudge bar]

what are some ways to suppress cravings? [this seems to be
my biggest problem. i found that i tend to eat out of
boredom, regardless of whether or not im hungry-- i always
find some kind of an excuse to eat, even though i know it's
not healthy.]

i tend to feel tired pretty often, what are some ways to
feel more energized?

for some reason, i yawn a lot when i do workout.. why? isn't
exercise supposed to wake you up?

i can't really go out for a run for cardio exercises, and
jogging in place irritates my ankles ... what other cardio
can i do?

are pushups, crunches, calf raises, etc. considered toning
or strength exercises?

thank you!

p.s. i promise you these are not hw questions [i've had
other "experts" not answer my questions because they assumed
that they were hw questions]


Answer
Lynn-

First off Lynn your 14 I commend you on wanting to be healthy, second off Lynn your 14 what ever you do dont get caught up in the dieting getting very lean etc, so many people do at this age and you need to be fed your growing and maturing in body and mind you need calories and being super lean doesnt mean healthy.

Now BMI is worthless I my self by BMI standards am stage 3 obesity yet I am a natioanl record holding athlete. I have many women and men as well that are Very trim lean and healthy that come on as over weight or obese by BMI standards but to see them they are firm strong and tone. Muscle is very dense and that means the same volume of muscle weights much greater then the same space of fat.

Fat loss would mean eating changes mainly, not so much eating less and likely eating more volume. Less junk processed carbs and such like bagles, breads, crackers, sugar etc and go to real food such meat, fish, poultry, milk, eggs, diary, nuts, seeds, oils, fruits and vege's. You DONT want to go low fat You NEED fat like butter, olive oil, nuts, fish oil, and what you get from eggs and lean meats, Just stay away from the trans fats like margarine and the like.

Then start a training program 3 days a week or so of resistance training and then ad on some cardio could be as simple as going for a walk a few days a week.

--what's the difference between toning and strength training?

Strength training leads to tone, you have to have strength and muscle to have tone to your muscle. It's a fallacy that is wrongly projected out there that women in order to get tone should do endless high reps with tiny pink weights and cardio etc. Women need to lift and lift heavy, what makes men big makes women firm, tone, and HOT

-whats are some of the most effective exercises that don't
require equipment? push ups, pull up, lunges, squats, thrusters, sprints, jumps, carrying things that are heavy, maybe a few crunches, planks, its endless but has a good start

-what are some ways to stay motivated?
FUN and enjoyment. Find away to do something you have fun with for training. do your training with the idea of not kicking your butt but you going in and making progress, aiming to perform better, Join a sport or find people that like to do it with you. Make good food and learn to cook its amazing how great good food cant taste and above all you should enjoy your training and eating plan, if not try something else there are to many great ways to train and eat to stick to soemthing you dont like. Make little steps that you can make habit.

-what foods don't seem unhealthy, but really are?
Fat. Fat is a must eat fat to lose fat. Your body MUST have it there are at least three essential fatty acids that you must EAT for the body to get hem and be healthy and optimal. Other foods, red meat, eggs, both are great food that should be in everyones diet.

I think the better question is what are some so called Healthy foods that are junk, Things like special K cereal which is like sitting down to a big biolw of pure sugar. Its just processed grains that  spike your insulin actually to a greater degree then white sugar, JUnk like rice cakes, soy protein and many of those cereal bars

is it better to have foods that are low in calorie but have
a lot of sugar, or that are high in calorie, have some
sugar, but also have some nutritional benefits? [example:
ice pop vs. fudge bar]

--what are some ways to suppress cravings? [this seems to be
my biggest problem. i found that i tend to eat out of
boredom, regardless of whether or not im hungry-- i always
find some kind of an excuse to eat, even though i know it's
not healthy.]

Eat real food, if you eat a lot of real whole foods meat, veggies, and fruits and nuts etc, you will have to much good food in you and shouldnt get cravings, as well use the 90/10 allow yourself some so called junk. 1 out of every ten meals eat what ever you want if you eat good food 90% of the time youll be doing great and there is no reason you cant let your self enjoy whatever your little heart desires
i tend to feel tired pretty often, what are some ways to
feel more energized?

-for some reason, i yawn a lot when i do workout.. why? isn't
exercise supposed to wake you up?

I do that at times as well, yawning doesnt mean your tired its a bodily response top expell Co2 and get O2 its all good.

-i can't really go out for a run for cardio exercises, and
jogging in place irritates my ankles ... what other cardio
can i do?

I wouldnt have you run its horrible on the legs, knees ankles etc. Unless you really were to enjoy it jogging. I do like sprinting short distance though. Walk, hike, play a game, carry aback pack ona a walk, ride a bike, do complexes circuit type training with light weight anything that you can do continuously at a moderate pace can be cardio. Even resistance training has a strong cardio element/ I personally like walking, hiking, riding a bike and ocasional racquetball

- are pushups, crunches, calf raises, etc. considered toning
or strength exercises?

depends crunches and calf raises are pretty useless and dont do much, they should be used maybe at the end of a training session for a few sets they have very little impact and dont have the potential to burn many calories or build much firm lean mass
Pushups depends on the individual for one person a pushup could be a max effort exercises or even greater then max effort and for another person it could be more an endurance exercise

For more info you should join our free discussion forum, you will get lots of great advice and discussion there www.teamstaley.com start a training log. We can help with training, diet and then give advice on supplementation

Phil
www.staleytraining.com

I also ask you to take a look at my charity strength event with proceeds going to support Big Brothers and Big Sisters. Look at the online raffle make a donation no matter how small they all help the cause and give you a chance of winning some great prizes at the same time
http://www.lift4hope.org  

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http://phil-stevens.blogspot.com/

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