understand I was NOT saying that he did not want to play I am just to used to parents pushing kids into things that they did (well or not so well) when they were kids. from your response I DO NOT believe you fit into that catagory. someone said what he should do before strength training, WHAT?? he should do NO strength training at that age, can he work out and maybe lift some wts. sure, but I am sure you will not let him do anything more than learning the exercises. his joints have a long life ahead of them don’t end it early. I can honestly say that I think 10lbs in a couple of weeks is too much for a 10yr. old to loose. now if he is REALY overwt. maybe, but if he is just a little soft then I don’t think its a good idea. if he makes it great!! but I would not try too hard. good lick. peace
I know you may have been trying to help the kid but a 10 year old takeing EXLAX to loose wt. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? great mesage to send to a 10 YEAR OLD. realy don’t some people get carried away with training KIDS. their “training” should be playing, eating healthy, MAYBE some wt. training REAL lt. to learn form,etc… like I said you were probably trying to help but EXLAX FOR A 10 YEAR OLD come on man, thats SICK. peace hetyey225
Delvin: Let me relate a personal story, and then my take on your delimma. A few years ago, some good friends entered their son in the Soap Box Derby (does that still exist?). This also had weight classes. Well, suprisingly,he ALSO had to lose about 10 pounds BUT IN A WEEK! Of course, it failed, the child was disappointed, but everybody moved on. You have two, tough (and conflicting) goals; 1) Weight loss in a child AND within a set period of time and 2) A loving parent’s desire to make it a little more comfortable for him. Weight loss isn’t so much about “clean, healthy and balanced” dieting (which I think you’ve created), but about caloric deficit. And creating (and living with) a caloric deficit is uncomfortable. My advice? (For whatever it’s worth); that diet you’ve created is sound. If your child is doing “okay” with it, don’t change it. If he doesn’t make weight, hug him, support him, tell him how proud of him you are and aim for next year. Ten pounds over 365 days will be MUCH easier…
For all those that provided helpful comments, I thought you might like to know the results. My son did end up losing the whole 10 lbs in 3 weeks. We used some of your tips to get over the hunger problems, which fortunately only lasted for the first few days. I just had him eat light, healthy and low carb, sticking to mostly chicken, fish, eggs, fruits and vegetables and absolutely no junk food. After he started to see the results, he stuck with it on his own, I didn’t even have to push him. Now he actually looks much better, is faster and even seems to have more energy.
Delvin: That is simply OUTSTANDING! Now…remember all that hugging and supporting I recommended? Do it TEN FOLD! (I’m sure a proud Daddy is probably doing that anyway! :)-----!!!)
I review the forum regularly, learning a few training ideas here and there…like most of you I do question and critique everything I read and usually there are multiple outlooks within each discussion … I just can’t sit back this time because it looks as though no one here is seeing the big picture.
do you all not see anything wrong with an 11 year old dieting down in order to fit into a weight class? (let alone losing 10 pounds in 3 weeks … ever consider what percentage of weight 10 pounds is for this boy). What about being the best athlete that you can. If this 11 year old has competitive drive/a t-mag like attitiude than shouldn’t he be told by the t-mag forum to train hard, get stronger, not diet down so right now you can fit into your weight class and be “a strong lightweight”. is it not about surpassing what you once believed was your personnal best? it’s sickening after you all have read so many of the atomic dog columns about breaking out of the cultural norm and becoming a nutritional and physical elitist that you all would follow in mass suggesting ideas of how a young athlete, a young growing developing athlete should diet down to fit his weight class. Since it was asked, as I get off my soapbox I will suggest to the 11 year old’s Dad that he shows his son how to train hard, and eat right … everything else will follow suit…
…WHOA!!!.. (the Lion DUCKS as he thinks about this one…)
DM, please read the previous posts in this thread for some background on the situation and I think it will answer your concerns. There were no “other” weight classes – it was make 150 lbs or don’t play football. We didn’t starve him (although he did obviously eat below maintenance calories for the 3 weeks), we just restricted his eating to only good healthy food. At his previous weight of 160 he wasn’t really fat, but definitely on the chunky side with more than 10 lbs of fat to lose. I’m not sure what you envision for training for an 11-year-old, but he has been involved in competitive sports (football, baseball, basketball, soccer and karate) almost year round since he was 6 years old. In addition to his other kid activities like bike riding, rollerblading, skateboarding, etc, I think he is getting a very well-rounded training experience. Feel free to respond if you would like to discuss this further.
Wish I had some parents around like DM when I was that age…
Be careful and make sure he stays on the diet, you could probably let him eat a few more calories a day, to ‘maintain’ his weight, since he really doesn’t have to lose anymore. But if this is Pop Warner we’re talking about, and it’s the same there as it is here… he’ll have to be under the 150 mark every week before the game.
DM, are you saying a real T-man would say screw the weight limit and just gain more weight, ignoring the fact, the hunger, the need and want to play a competitive sport? Hell no, a T-man would do what it takes to get it done and succeed.
Jake, you’re right he does have to weigh in before each game, so he must maintain his weight at 150 for the next few months. This shouldn’t be too hard though, since raising his calories to a maintenance level allows him to eat more (but still no junk food). He’s actually learning to eat much healthier and doesn’t seem to have cravings for sweets or pop anymore.
What if his body tries to get taller, but you’ve got him restricting calories? Just wondering, since a few months is a long time at age 11 to be the same height or weight.
If his body wants to get taller, then I think we will just let it do that. I’m not sure if you read the previous posts but currently he is eating a maintenance (not restricted) level of calories. Also he does still have some fat to lose so that could be used to fuel any growth spurts that might occur in the next 7 weeks.
What kind of football league has MAXIMUM weights - the Richard Simmons League? After I graduated, my high school in Texas had two 300 lb linemen at one time. I also have a problem with an eleven year old worrying about his weight, unless he is eating junk food all day.
As far as I know there aren’t too many 11-year olds playing high school football. Pop Warner football leagues, which are the only ones that I’m aware of for kids this age, do impose weight and age restrictions.