I'm currently 17 years of age, 6'2" 170ish pounds, I weighed 200 pounds but cutting down serving sizes, and not eating red meats/etc, I lost those 30 pounds, I probably still have weight to lose but the main weight is gone.

I'm going to end up body building a little bit, but I need to start eating healthier. At lunch we have a regular line, then like a side line, where I'll usually get a turkey sandwich, fries, and 2 chocolate milks, juice when they actually have it. I love juices, but yet won't eat a fruit in it's natural form.

We also have a salad line. If that helps, being in high school it is definitely harder. But what I'm trying to see, should I do the 3 big meals thing or should I do the 6 small meals? I'm going to definitely have an intense workout schedule, so I need to know what foods I should eat. Maybe breakfast meals, etc. I really need help almost writing out a plan on what to eat, ha, I'd almost pay someone for it, because I really don't know how to do it myself. I don't care if I hate the food or eat it repetitively, I'm going to start eating healthier, getting my serving sizes in every category, and so on.

I'm so determined.

Just some quick thoughts that might help. I am new to the forum, but have had a ton of experience with exercise and nutrition

-Juices are all sugar-try to stop that-get a blender and make the whole fruit into juice-blender is great for whipping up a fast healthy breakfast too.
-6 smaller meals is much better than three big ones
-Lose the fries-do you like any kind of nuts?-great protein and good fat
-Work out in the morning whenever possible
-Carbs before you work out (weights) and protein within 30 to 45 minutes after you finish working out. Be religious about quick protein after workouts and you will notice it quickly
-6'2" 170 is pretty good too!


Happy to help with anything else if I can

Cheers
Mark

I agree with what Mark said except for one thing: Meal frequency doesn't matter. It's all about the total amount of food you eat each day. Eat 6 times a day, eat 3 times a day, it's irrelevant. Whatever works best for you.

Aside from that:
Ditch the fries
Ditch the juice (it's wasted calories)

Make sure you're getting enough protein (at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight).

I know you really can't sit down and write out everything for a year. But would anyone here have skype/aim/msn, or an email. That we could almost type out a "one week practice schedule", I don't know how to not eat too much in one day and get all my healthy servings. Any help would be awesome

What do you recommend for breakfasts as far as blender or any food on the market?

What do you recommend to eat before and after workouts, I know you said proteins etc, but what kinds of food are good examples?

There are lots of threads on the forum that discuss what you might eat as part of your diet. Do some looking around.

Here's an example of what I eat during the day, which might give you some guidance. This is my standard weekday schedule - I usually eat the same thing every breakfast and snack. Lunch and dinner are usually different.

Breakfast: greek yogurt w/ honey and frzoen blueberries (you could whirl these in a blender for a portable smoothie)
Snack: an apple and string cheese
Lunch: soup leftover from dinner the night before (chicken chowder, in this case)
Snack: a V8 juice and a boiled egg (this gives me carbs and protein before my workout)
Snack: a protein powder drink after my workout
Dinner: Tomato soup and ham and cheese sandwiches, a salad

That's about 1700 calories and 112 g of protein

Yesterday I had:
Breakfast: greek yogurt w/ honey blueberries
Snack: an apple and string cheese
Lunch: tuna sandwich on whole grain with lettuce, tomato, pickles & baby carrots on the side
Snack: a V8 juice and a boiled egg
Snack: a protein powder drink after my workout
Dinner: chicken corn chowder and a salad (see how this was my lunch today?)

Tomorrow I'll have:
Breakfast: greek yogurt w/ honey and pumkin oatmeal
Snack: an apple and string cheese
Lunch: mexican salad w/ lettuce, black beans, tomato, cucumber, avocado, and some light cheese
Snack: a V8 juice and a boiled egg
Snack: a protein powder drink after my workout
Dinner: Roasted chicken, a spinach salad w/ feta cheese and cranberries

Friday we're having a luncheon at work so I'll have:
Breakfast: greek yogurt with blueberries
Snack: Skip
Lunch: A hamburger w/ lots of veggies, and some pasta salad and maybe some potato salad.
Snack: baby carrots and maybe some other veg
Snack: protein powder drink after my workout
Dinner: Big green salad with spinach, lettuce, tomato, cucmber, carrot, celery, and some sprinkles of blue cheese (lighter dinner ot make up for my heavy lunch)

... does that give you an idea of how you might plan things out?

Yes that does, that was a big help I'm going to be all over these forums, very helpful!

Now on the salads, should I lightly dress it, or no dressing at all? And are there any real no nos to put on a salad? I think Saturday and Sundays will be my hardest days, but I could eat a salad at lunch each day at school.

I put a variety of dressings on my salad, depending on what I'm in the mood for, but you shoudl avoid creamy dressings - lots of wasted calories there.

I make homemade vinegrettes with dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, a little olive oil, some garlic, and spices.
Or you get get "light" versions of dressings from the store. One of my favorites is Krafts "light" Asian sesame (I use it to make cabbage slaw with as well).

Just remember that a serving of dressing is 2 TABLESPOONS. Most people put a lot more than that on. Measure it out - 2 tbsp is really quite enough, most people just think they need more.

Avoid things like cheese, croutons, nuts (a sprinkle of sunflower seeds is healthy, a heaping spoonful of them is not), anything with cream bases. A lot of salad bars offer potato salad or pasta salad made with mayo or cream or something like that - those are diet busters.

Dried fruit is another thing you need to use lightly. I like cranberries in my spinach salad, but they're very concentrated with sugar, so only a light sprinkling of them.

this definitely helps alot, it's alot harder to measure out stuff at school, but I will definitely try my hardest

As you measure things at home, you'll get a better idea of what they look like at school. If you can, I'd suggest buying a food scale (you can get a digital one at Target for about $20). You can weigh things at home and see what it looks like on a spoon or plate. After doing this for nearly 3 years, I can tell at a glance what a teaspoons worth of sunflower seeds looks like, what a 1/4 cup of shredded cheese looks like, etc. At this point I can eyeball it and when I check myself on the scale, I'm within a fraction of the right amount, usually a little under.

It's really surprising at first; I used to WAY over-measure - which is what most people do. Now I usually ever so slightly under-measure.

Kara has some great details for you. All sound and all will work

I have also had a lot of success with thinking along the lines of "categories" and "techniques" as I am not great at measuring stuff and counting calories--details!!

This is where I think your mindset and habits need to be taken in to consideration-develop habits that suit your strengths and avoid your weakness. For instance when I work out I have to do things I enjoy or I don't keep with it-- If I can find a pick up basketball game, full court three times a week then I don't have to go running!!! Same concept

Examples of categories
Good carbs (green veggies, etc..)
Bad carbs (white rice, bread and most potatoes, etc..)
Lean meats for protein (fish, chicken, turkey, etc..)
Good fat (nuts, avacados, etc..)
Bad fat (anything with high saturated fat or trans fat on the label-period)

You get the idea. I'm sure others can add a ton to each list/category

Examples of techniques
Chew your food - every bite 30 times ( most people don't do near this!). You will eat less, get full quicker and absorb more of the nutrients in your food (another reason for a blender-everything is "prechewed"

Provided it's natural--If it's colorful it's good for you. If it's white it's not
Read the ingredient labels-If you can't pronounce it don't eat it.
Fresh is always better than frozen, but frozen fruit and veggies are better than fries

Anyway, I have had great success developing categories I avoid and techniques that increase the likelihood that I eat better and stay fit

Ask people with better detailed training than I for other categories/techniques/details and grab a few that work for you

Peace