17yr weightloss/lean muscle building plan *Need pointers*

[paintball26]

I'm hoping I get all the details needed in first message. I just turned 17 and I am 6-foot tall. I weigh 190 pounds (was 235 on October 29th 2006.) I have hit a Plateau in weight loss, but I'm assuming that seeing as I'm building muscle that they are evening out. I'm trying to lower Body fat percent from current 26%.
I attend school from 7-2 and I work from 5-11 five nights a week, so workout time is limited. I use dumbbells and a Bench. I also run and do a mix of Ab workouts.

typical Diet is:

Breakfast(6 a.m.) - 2 slices of Whole wheat toast or two cups of cheerios

lunch(11 a.m.) - Protein bar

Afternoon snack(2:30 p.m.) - Protein Shake(2 scoops) + Banana

Dinner (9 p.m.) - 6 o.z. piece of grilled fish (mahi or grouper) + 2 cups of steamed vegetables (broccoli, carrots, Squash)

Snack before bed (11 p.m.) - Protein shake (2 scoops)

While writing this I realized that I don't get a lot of Carbs.
I drink only water

Any help I can get on improving current weight loss plan will be greatly appreciated

[Boss Man]

Breakfast(6 a.m.) - 2 slices of Whole wheat toast or two cups of cheerios. (Try the Toast with a Few Scrambled Egg Whites + 1 Yolk.)

(Snack 8:30. Protein Bar, here instead. Not great, but if you have one, your Carbs and Protein should be okay, just make sure your Bars have at least 25g of both in them. Doesn't have to be exactly the same amount of P and C, but at least 25g of both, so you're at least going to get 200 cals minimum, guaranteed.)

lunch(11 a.m.) - Protein bar (No, have a better meal, lunch is not snack food. I suggest if you have difficulties, have something like a couple of thin slices of Wheatbread, and then put some sliced Chicken or Turkey in them.)

Afternoon snack(2:30 p.m.) - Protein Shake(2 scoops) + Banana (No Banana. If your shake contains Maltodextrin, you'll get a lot of complex Carb anyway, so you don't want a Banana increasing Bloodsugar response too highly. Plus the Fruit Sugars could convert to Fat in the Liver. If your powder hasn't got Maltodextrin, buy one that does.)

(Eat something here, like about 5:30 / 6:00. Goodly amount of protein and Carbs.)

Dinner (9 p.m.) - 6 o.z. piece of grilled fish (mahi or grouper) + 2 cups of steamed vegetables (broccoli, carrots, Squash) (Good, but protein could be a bit excessive, perhaps cut fish size down to 4oz instead.)

Snack before bed (11 p.m.) - Protein shake (2 scoops) (I don't think you need one that large, have one scoop.)

[swanso5]

meal 1 - fruit, high fibre cerial like oatmeal, porrige ect...not a sugary one like cherrios
meal 2 - fruit, solid protein...this needs to be at about 9 - 10ish if we can
meal 3 - fruit, solid protein, veg, salad
train
meal 4 - 1sc protein than about 30mins later get some solid protein and some higher GI carbs such as pasta, rice or bread into you for recovery with veg and salad before work
meal 5 - dinner meal as you have now
meal 6 - maybe make dinner a bit bigger and half for dinner and half before bed...you want solid food before bed

[paintball26]

I plan on taking the suggestions into diet tomorrow. I was wondering if you could suggest a protein bar that had the 25g of protein and 25g of carbs. I was looking at a few stores and had to settle for one that was 17g of carbs and 20g of protein. I can care less about taste as I realized that losing weight isn't supposed to be fun.

[swanso5]

protein bars are complete rubbish and full of shit

[DianaB]

LOL I agree, the store bought stuff is full of who knows what:
try one of these maybe (Credit is given to phaledex)
For Bulking: MRBs (Meal Replacement Bars):

Combine in large mixing bowl:

3 Cups Oatmeal
1/2 Cup Natural Peanut butter
1 cup Skim Milk
4 Scoops Protein Powder
dash of cinnamon

Mix until a sticky batter is formed (may take a few minutes)

use a large spoon to spread out the mix into the bottom of a Pam-sprayed glass or metal cooking tray (spread until even)

top with 4-8 packets splenda

put in the fridge overnight and cut into 8 equal bars that yield:

11g fat (good monounsaturated fats)
26g carbs
21g protein

285 calories
-----------
For Cutting:

Combine in Large Mixing Bowl

8 Scoops Whey (Vanilla is very good)
3 Cups Oats
1 Package Sugar Free Fat Free Pudding (Any flavor is good)
2 Cups Skim Milk

Mix until a sticky batter is formed (may take a few minutes)

use a large spoon to spread out the mix into the bottom of a Pam-sprayed glass or metal cooking tray (spread until even)
put in the fridge overnight and cut into 8 equal bars that yield:
3g fat
28g carbs
29g protein
257 calories

BTW, don't think of it as weight loss and no fun. You're ensuring future good health and longevity, it's like saving money: at first it's hard, but when you have a nice healthy bank account, life gets a lot more fun! You're young enough that the good habits you build on now will pay off big time when your old.
best of luck
diana

[paintball26]

Well i look at it as I ahd the fun being lazy, eating whatever I want, and playing a lot of video games. Its me getting life back on track

[Boss Man]

Don't necessarily stop playing the Vid games though, as you can benefit from Hand Eye coordination improvement, Brain Gym, e.g thinking / mental stimulus.

Even if you just spend 30 minutes playing Tetris, or Solitare, or a bit of Need For Speed or Tekken as examples, 5-7 times a week, you might benefit mentally and coordination wise, so don't consider those as a bad thing.

You don't have to let the games be a way back to old habits, if you curb how much you play, but at least you can give your Brain stuff to do too.

We all need a bit of Brain Gym too. It's a bodypart that needs healthy stimulus too, just like the Heart, Lungs, Knees, etc etc.

Sometimes I play Cards, Varients of Mah Jongg, Puzzle stuff. Less the things like Fight stuff, Sports stuff, Racing stuff etc etc, these days, as most of computer time is utilised doing stuff like this, on the net, but sometimes I still endulge head as well .

[paintball26]

just thought that I'd give an update and say that by following the diet plan I'm down to 183 now. of course I've cheated a little on about 1 day a week, just as long as I don't go overboard and eat everything in sight.