Teen Weight Loss

[Amy_Noelle]

Hello everyone!

I am 16 years of age trying to lose 9 pounds fast and in the best way possible for cheer. Currently I am 139 pounds, but I am wanting to be 130 pounds. I'm 5'6 and I usually eat healthy, but I am wanting to start a diet that will help promote muscle growth. Most of the weight I want to loose is in my thighs, I have a few questions, and if you have good close to accurate answers please help me!

• What is a good diet?
• How much water should I be drinking?
• Good exercises to tighten up my thigh muscles?
• Are whey protein shakes good for me?
• Avocado Benefits?

Thank You all.....Have a fantastic day!!!!!

[Dominique · Accepted solution]

First of all, 5’6"/139 is BMI 22.4, and 130 would be BMI 21.0. The normal range according to BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, so the mid-point of that range is 21.7. In other words, you are currently only slightly above the middle of the normal range and would like to go slightly below it. It’s perfectly possible for you to lose 9 pounds: all you need to do is create a suitable caloric deficit. You can do so via nutrition (eat less calories), via exercising (burn more calories), or a combination of both (for instance, eat more calories, but burn even more). You may want to have a look at my rapid fat loss experiment. It’s just one way to do it, not necessarily the "best", but I started from almost the same BMI as you (22.3).

Regarding building muscle and losing fat: it’s very hard to do both at the same time, especially if you don’t have much to lose (as is the case for you). This is because you need to be in a caloric surplus if you want to maximize muscle gains and you need to be in a caloric deficit if you want to lose fat. You can affect where you gain new muscle mass (by doing exercises that stimulate specific muscles), but you can’t affect where you lose fat. If you are lucky, most of the fat loss will come from you thighs when you lose your nine pounds, but it could also come from other (possibly less desirable) areas as well.

Protein intake has a favourable impact on both fat loss and muscle building. Protein powder can be a handy way (compared to "normal" food) to get enough protein when restricting calories. Whey is a good source of protein, if you tolerate it well.

Avocados are delicious and a source of good fats. However, they’re not ideal when restricting calories for fat loss, precisely because of the high fat (and therefore high calories) content.

Generally speaking, I wouldn’t put so much emphasis on your thighs. Wouldn’t you want to have good overall muscle development, not just in your thighs?

[Amy_Noelle]

Thank you! You answered all my questions spot on, and I will gladly use your advice. 

[A_Lurker]

You could add bodyweight squats and lunges into whatever exercise you use now.  They won't make you specifically lose weight in your thighs, but both are functional exercises and great lower body exercises.  Also, you can pretty much do them anywhere and they require no equipment.