I need to make a change.

[Joe1994]

I've decided I really want to make a change in my life.
Im 16 years old, 6 feet tall, and weigh ~170 pounds. Im very out of shape, and very chubby and I really want to get rid of all this extra weight.
I live my life very uncomfortably and hate the way I look.
For 2 years I've been trying to hide it, telling myself "It's just the way I am. I'm built like this. I can't do anything to change it."
Well for the past week or so I've really been thinking about trying to make that change. I was searching online tonight and I found this website. I looked at a lot of the before and after forum topics, and the changes people did is truly incredible. I have this image of myself and its what I want to look like, being able to fit into the clothes I want to wear and be able to go out in public and not be embarrassed. I've decided that I am going to try to loose weight.

I need some beginning tips from you guys.
Obviously I need to eat healthy, no more fast food or sodas, only water.
How many meals a day should I eat? Im thinking some healthy cereal in the morning. The only problem I have is im a growning boy, and im very hungry, haha. How much food should I limit myself too? What is off limits and what is what I should be eating?

Next is exercising.
I would think a lot of running. Maybe 2+ miles a day and work up from that.
Weight lifting later? My mom has a lot of work out videos I could do to.

So what diet and exercise have you all found most effective in loosing weight?
I really appreciate the help and hopefully I can set my mind to it and achieve this goal of mine. Thank you.

 

[hanknicholson]

Some quick tips:

Try to eat 5 or 6 meals spread over the day instead of just a few large meals.

Try to include a whole source of protein in each one of them, such as:

- Lean meats
- Fish
- Dairy if you tolerate it

Focus on whole sources of carbohydrates:

- Fruits, vegetables...
- You can do cereals and grains, but choose the 'whole' and 'brown' variants.
- Potatoes are fine too.

At any rate, always include a protein source in a meal too.

This is the first step, switching to a diet with healthy, whole foods. No processed stuff. Just try to stick to food that's as close to its natural state as possible.

Exercise is essential.

Running is fine, but I'd strongly suggest to do some form of resistance training as well (like training with weights).

But most importantly, find something you like to do, so it doesn't become a rut. Pick a sport or something.

Hope that gets you going!

 

[Jericho]

Or...you can start by cutting the junk and soda from your diet. Diet soda is ok, it really is. Processed foods are ok too. It really is all about how many calories you eat. You can run 2 miles every day and you aren't actually going to burn that many calories to show weight loss. You have to cut the calories in your diet. Exercise actually is NOT essential.

Some of the tips the above posted gave is good but not all. The multiple meal idea was disproven to show no real effect.

Look eat a balanced diet and make the cuts you already know to cut. You are young so don't cut too hard. maybe a better overall idea is start with a food journal. Write everything you eat for a week and look back at it. You will see the glaring items (junk food and such) that you can cut out or at least restrict.

 

[ChefChiTown]

I've decided I really want to make a change in my life.
Im 16 years old, 6 feet tall, and weigh ~170 pounds. Im very out of shape, and very chubby and I really want to get rid of all this extra weight.

I'm sorry, but I find it hard to believe that a person who is 6' tall, who weighs 170 lbs can be "very chubby". My dad is 6' tall and he weighs around 185 lbs and he's super skinny. I don't know if you just carry your weight differently or if you just have a typical 16 year old's point of view on yourself, but, even without seeing you...I don't think you're "very chubby".