Protein? Good or bad?

Question

well basically i am 16 and weigh 83kg. I have some fat on my chest and belly. Now whats the best way to get a bigger wider body and a 6 pack. I was told to maximum protein and minimal carbs. Is that gonna work? Can anyone please advise me on the best way to get my 6 pack and be healthy.
thanks

Answer 1

iar,

Protein? That depends on the rest of your diet.

There is no magic food. Nothing that you eat will by itself make you lose weight or gain muscle. You have to do what we are made for: eating the right stuff and moving the right amount. Eating the right stuff includes carbs because they are the primary energy source for our body. Without carbs you'll become tired more quickly as you work out.

And you will have to work out. Crunches, pushups, pullups, and jogging at the very least. More on this in a minute, though.

Notice that what you were told to do (minimal carbs) would simply cut down on the calories that you eat. That will work, but it's just a kind of diet, that's all. There's no magic in emphasising one food or other without more exercise. Research has shown that, if all you want to do is to lose weight, then any diet will do because all "diets" do the same thing: cut down on calories. But if you want to be healthy, that's a different matter.

First, the food:

A good rule of thumb is that you need .75 grams of useable protein for every Kg of your body weight. So, since you weight 83 Kg, you need 62.25g (say 63g) of useable protein. That's not a whole lot. You can get that very easily in your diet--from one piece of meat, in fact--as long as you cut out the junk.

Now, "useable" protein means that during the day you need to eat all the essential amino acids in the right proportions. You don't need to at every meal, but you do need to in one day.

You see, protein is made up of strings of amino acids, and it's the amino acids that your body needs. When you eat protein--say, a hamburger--your stomach and intestines break the proteins in teh food apart into their amino acids and then your body builds them up into the proteins that you need. So you need amino acids. You can get those from many different places--meats, obviously, but also eggs and soy (the amino acid profile of eggs and soy are very similar to meat as far as your body is concerned) whole-grain breads and rices and grains, milk, and beans.

The only place that you won't find useable protein is in a lot of green, leafy stuff (very necessary for the vitamins and minerals in them, but very little protein), processed food, and certainly candy, including sodas. Stay away from the junk, but eat whatever you like of whole foods and you won't need a protein supplement. You won't even have to concentrate on protein-containing foods. Just eat well.

For weight training, though, one exception to this rule is milk.

Recent studies at McMaster University show that, when combined with vigorous exercise, two cups of milk a day increases muscle buildup and decreases fat. So low-fat or fat-free milk (it's what they used) is good for an exercise/weight-loss program:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070808104257.htm

Simply, what you need to do is to eat less and exercise more.

How tall are you? What's your Body Mass Index? (there are online calculators for that) That will help determine what amounts of food and what exercise program you need.

Let's say that you are a bit heavy. Your description of yourself seems to make that a safe conclusion. Then, here's what you need to do:

1. Eat less. We western humans simply eat too much. There's food all around us all the time, and we are not made for a life of constant feasting. We really are adapted to a life of feast/famine cycles, of summer plenty and winter lack. So we must cut down on what we eat just because there's far too much of it around us all the time. That's why evenings are the worst time of day for dieters. We have less to do and food is right over there in the 'fridge. And so much of it is sugary. Sugar is actually addictive. Look up "human endogenous opioids" in your search engine and study what those are. Then know that sugar (including "high fructose corn syrup," which seems to be everywhere these days) stimulates the production of those opioids. Sugar makes us feel good. That's why we eat too much of it. So you'll have to want to cut that out of your diet. Now, no diet will kill you if you have a piece of cake or some ice cream now and then, just keep track of what you eat because it's easy to think you don't eat as much of the addictive stuff as you really do. But stay away from it as much as you can.

2. Eat well. Lots of vegetables and fruit. Lots. Make those most of what you eat. Limit your meat to one piece the size of a deck of cards, and eat only that much for a couple of months. Later, as you increase your activity level, you can add more. You might need to as your muscles grow.

How much would you like to weigh? Convert that to pounds and then multiplly that number by ten, and that's the number of calories that you should eat each day. It's called "The Rule of Ten," and it works well.

Second, the exercise:

Get a good pair of walking shoes and start walking. Walk briskly for 30 minutes a day, even if you do it in two 15-minute stretches. Do that for a couple of months.

Then, start jogging, and jog for 30 minutes for the next couple of months. Then, increase your time to 45 minutes. Make that the minimum amount of time that you jog for two days one, one day off.

You need to burn calories and lower your BMI (Body Mass Index) to at most 22, preferably 21 or 20 if you're going to get a six-pack. No matter how you eat or how you exercise, if you don't lose weight you'll never have muscle definition, and that means the 6-pack. So walk and then jog.

Then you need to work on the rest of the upper body (you did say "bigger, wider" body, right?), which means weight training. A trainer in a gym will be best for you at the moment, but you will need to do crunches, bicep curls, pushups, pullups, butterflies, reverse butterflies, bench presses (have a spotter with you for this one if you get to the heavier weights), deltoid exercises, and lat pulls at least.

You could very well wind up needing a little more protein to achieve all this, but that will be in weeks or months to come. Right now, all you need to do is to eat well and start exercising. You will need discipline to do this, for it is a long-term program. It needs to be part of your life from now on, but it is the way to be healthy and strong.

Answer 2

I presume you mean you "were told"
by your doctor(s). If that's the case,
then I'd advise you to listen to closely
to their advice. You will, sometimes,
need to use your own discretion to put
it to the best use that you possibly can.
But whatever they told you should
be considered as the best advice
that can be offered.
Not knowing you personally, the
best advice I can give you is this:
1. Get an exercise routine going--
one that suits you, and you only.
You may or may not be athletically
inclined. But, regardless, you should
get in a good amount of walking on
a daily basis.
2. Whatever sort of diet you might
have, if it's got beef in it, then wake
up and smell the coffee. Because,
although it is a definite source of
protein, it's also very impure, and a
good source of BAD cholesterol!
So, stop eating beef--which also
means no sausages or hot dogs.
3. Eat eggs &cheese in moderation
only. (No more than three times per
month, if you're terribly worried about
your weight.)
But, if you weigh only 83 kilograms,
and are just 16, then I really don't
think you should be worried about it.

Good luck.

Answer 3

High protein low carbs will work for you, but the protein must be lean. Poultry, fish & beans are good sources of lean proteins. A good rule of thumb to keep your carbs to a minimum would be to avoid white foods such as potato, rice, bread etc. I'd cut out any juices or soft drinks and stick strictly with water.

Answer 4

First of all, talk to your doctor.

Secondly, 6 packs tend to be genetic unless you are very serious about training to lose all the fat.

High protein low carb diets will help you lose the fat, but they do have side effects......and as you're only 16 you need to talk to your doctor. Carbs help your brain develop and your brain has not stopped developing yet.

The healthy way:

Good healthy balanced diet low in saturated fat and high in fresh fruit, veg and protein sources. On top of that, lots of cardio at the gym to burn the fat.

Answer 5

Considering that there are whey proteins in milk, I wouldn't think that they would be bad for you. However, too much of anything can have a negative effect on your health.

Answer 6

try working out that will help

as 4 the person above she must be about 2. protein is in food such as chicken and is good 4 u. u need it to build muscle

Answer 7

drink that protein! don't listen to these women. Take in at least 1gram per pound of body weight, and work out four days on one off. hit the weights...oh yea and work on your cardio..thats very important on losing the flabby fat and being able to see those abs.

Answer 8

ya don't eat crpa for food and keep no don't take protein other wise that will just make u even fatter
and btw running and sit ups and push ups

best way

(and if u run with a sweat suit on it works best)

Answer 9

yeah for your body type, i'm assuming your a mesomorph by your description.
low carbs and alot of protein!
if you were skinny and wanted to bulk up you'd need alot of carbs and protien.

to get a six pack you'd have to lower your body fat levels!!
you MUST do cardio exercises(i.e. running)

doing toning exercises lowers body fat as well! (alot of reps, lighter weights)

HERE MAN, these tone your chest for sure!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NtybAAzJKs

Answer 10

GOOD!!! because it helps to build strong bones and raises hieght.