is this enough

[dirtywater]

I am a 16 yo male who is 5'7" and weigh 180. my goal is to get down to around what i heard was the norm for me:150. ive been lifting weights for about a half hour a day, benching, bicept curls, and leg curls and extensions. also, i play basketball for about a half hour a day too.

as for eating, ive stoped eating snacks, i only eat my 3, most the time 2 meals a day. i drink lots of water. and i do around 3 sets of 50 sit-ups/crunches aday.

despite all this, ive lost about 3 pounds in the last 2 months. i would like to lose the 30 pounds by the summer, is this possible, and what should i do to improve?

[Calamity04]

You sound like your off to a good start. You probably haven't lost more then 3 lbs because you are gaining muscle mass which weights more but also speeds up your metabolism. In order to get to 150 by summer you will have to lose about 4lbs a month (until June)which is a very healthy rate to lose it at. As far as meals as long as you are eating the recommend portion sizes then you should be doing good. Also I found that eating less sugar and carbs will help you lose weight faster.

Don't feel bad if you arent seeing drastic results. You are losing at a great pace and more importantly you are becoming more healthy. Good Luck on the 30lbs.

[Jess75]

Actually, I would eat more. If you are only eating 2x a day, then your metabolism won't work as well as eating perhaps six small meals a day. You can snack, just as long as it's fruits and veggies, yogurt, chicken, tuna, etc, etc. 2x a day isn't enough to sustain a proper, fast metabolism. You'll lose more this way, although you don't want to lose no more than two pounds a week. Thumbs up on the exercise!

[mrmojo]

If you are 16, first thing is DONT TRY TO LIFT TOO MUCH WEIGHT!!

Your body probably isnt ready for the weight programs that build bulk & heavy weight lifting ability

Pick a weight for each exercise that you can comfortably do 75 - 100 reps and it will tone your muscles and cut fat but wont bulk you up & wont damage any bones, ligaments, etc that arent fully grown yet

(actually, i'm 38 & this is what i do now, its what i did when i used to play baseball, later I got into bodybuilding & heavy lifting, i hurt myself & all that bulk turned to fat, took a year to get back to where I had been when i was playing)

If you run or use a nordic track or something like that before you use the weights it will bring your heart rate up & increase the effect of the weights as long as you keep going & dont stop to rest for too long

Make protien a high percentage of your diet, but dont cut out all of the fat, (just dont overdo it) you need some fat, especially at your age or your brain can get really screwed up & you will feel like crap - if you have a glass of whole or vitamin D milk with at least 2 meals a day you will get some milk fat & protien at the same time

there are some pretty good protien shake mixes out there that if you mix them with milk you will get a good meal replacement that i have had good results with

And 150 lb may be a little low, if you look good at 160 be happy with it, those "ideal weights" were ok 50 years ago, each generation gets a little bigger as diets & medecine improve, I'm 6'2", (I was shorter than you at 16) they say my ideal weight is 190 - 200, but I havent been under 230 since I was 20 & i look & feel good at 230 (no, i'm not that now), but then I wear a size 50 jacket, my dad is the same height and he wears a 46, my best friend from high school is 6' 3" & built like a beanpole, he hasnt been over 180 in his life, so take your bone structure into account with that "ideal weight"