Trouble convincing overweight teen to do cardio

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7/11/12 12:42 P

Start with the parents. Are they buying him junk food? Do they feed him fast food for dinner?

Other than that, there isn't a lot you can do. The desire to lose weight and get healthy has to come from within, or else the person damn well just won't do it. But you could suggest running, because football players need to be able to run, right?

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7/11/12 8:15 A

Right, if a parent came to you, not a big sister. And, the weight stuff should start with the parents. The OP still hasn't given us any stats to see about how "overweight" her brother really may be. I would imagine if a coach had conerns about an athlete's weight, he wouldbe addressing it already, as it could affect his performance on the field. She's expressed her concerns to her brother and is trying to impose her own sense of what's right and what's not on him. As has been said many times, cardio is not essential to fat loss, though it does help. And, if, as Kylar and I are both assuming, he's a lineman, he's going to be worried much more about strength than some extra fat, and he'll worry that doing (more) cardio will lead to some loss of strength, which it could. She needs to address her concerns to her parents, so that they can have her brother assessed by a doctor for his health, imho.

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7/10/12 8:37 P

Since I am not an american, so I have never heard of a varsity team. I am, however, a teacher, so I know what it is like to have lots of people to worry about, and if a parent came to me and said that their child was struggling with x I would do everything I could to help them.

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7/10/12 8:28 P

Have you ever been on a varsity team? I'm just curious. A coach is so much more and different than a highly respected adult. He has the whole team to worry about and get to be better football players as a unit. What is she supposed to say to him? I want you to make my brother do more conditioning at practice? He's burning plenty of calories there, and if he's at a little surplus and lifting it'll add muscle.

Best way the poster can help this is by not saying anything at to a coach, or even her brother. The only person to talk to would be your parents. I'm assuming he's eating a large chunk of his meals at home, right? Make those healthier, and he'll eat healthier. That simple. Don't go all out health nut or he'll be in the Taco Bell drive thru line with his buddies immediately. Stop buying junk food to fill the pantry with and add in decent alternatives without him realizing it really. Meals start having more fruits and veggies with them and fewer deserts and presto, he's eating healthy 90% of the time. Couple that with lifting and practice and he'll start losing the fat without you having to overstep your bounds.

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7/10/12 4:44 P

How is going to his coach about this any different than going to a teacher about bad grades? I don't understand? Personally, I don't think it is the posters business to get involved at all, but if she insists on it, then we can't stop her.

To me a coach is a highly respected adult. Kids are more likely to listen to a highly respected adult. It was never suggested that the poster go to the coach, rather that the coach would be the best person to talk to the brother. The parents may want to go to the coach, or maybe encourage the boy to talk to his coach about this issue...

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7/10/12 7:57 A

I agree with Kylar about not going to his coach. I think that's bad advice. It's definitely not your place, and, he's already aware you think he's fat, he doesn't need you telling other people you think he's fat, too. Maybe talk to your parents about helping him with his eating habits. It would be interesting to know his stats and what position he plays. As Kylar said, many lineman carry around some extra fat, but are really strong. That happens a lot in powerlifters, too. It comes with the territory. In order to build muscle, one must eat at a surplus, the gains you make in muscle also come with a gain in fat. It's his doc who should really decide where he's at, healthwise. Perhaps your parents would talk to his doc about it (maybe even get some blood screenings done) at his next physical. I'm assuming a new one is required every year to play HS sports.

Edited by: JENMC14 at: 7/10/2012 (08:00)

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7/10/12 7:45 A

Do Not talk to his coach. That is not your place. That would be utterly embarassing and demeaning to him. If your brother wants to lose weight, he will work at losing it. If he wants to get bigger and stronger, he will work on that. You want to help him be healthier? Do a lot of research into powerlifting and give him advice on that.

You say he's fat and that all he does is overeat and lift weights. I'm curious what his size is. Height, weight, and if you have an estimate on his bench/squat/deadlift max weights. Linemen are generally fat, true. But is he soft? Just because he's big now doesn't mean he's unhealthy. 5'10" and 260 pounds definitely seems and looks fat to most people. But if he's benching 300 and squating 400 he's doing fine.

I just want to say that from a guy's perspective, who was likely a lot like your brother in highschool, do not get overly involved with this. And especially do not go over his head and talk to his coach. Your brother will make the decisions he wants to with his life. When he's done with sports and in his mid to late twenties and overweight and soft, then start talking to him about eating to lose weight.

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7/10/12 12:29 A

I agree with Anarie, maybe his coach would be a better person to talk to him.

He can lose weight from just lifting weights and healthy eating, and if his football practices are anything like Rugby practices, he will be doing cardio there, which is probably enough.

The thing is, he won't lose weight unless he wants to. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink, right? So while you probably have his best interests at heart nothing will change if he doesn't want to change...

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7/9/12 9:44 P

I'd talk to the coach, or encourage your parents to do it. He's not going to be a good football player if he's that fat. Ask the coach why he doesn't have the kids running more. I know when I was in high school the football players ran at least 5 miles 3 times a week as training, plus another 5 anytime they mouthed off, moved too slow, didn't pay attention, or stepped out of line in any other way.

Of course, my high school hadn't had a winning season in a generation, but.....

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7/9/12 9:19 P

HEre's the thing. IF someone isn't willing to get fit, no amount of convincing will do the trick. In short: You're not going to be able to convince your brother to do ANYTHING until he's ready.

Keep telling him the facts. Keep doing what you're doing, and show him. But realize that this is his body, his choice... and the motivation to get healthy has to come from himself, not from his sister.

I know it's tough... I have a husband who is overweight, and getting moreso by the day... but he won't listen to me until he's ready, even though he's watched me lose more than 20 lbs doing this, and sees how much better I look and feel.

I haven't given up, and neither should you... but don't nag. Men don't respond to it, and it will only make them dig in their heels and deny you, even when they know you're right.

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7/9/12 7:48 P

No teen isn't aware if they are getting fat.
Play to his strengths.
See if you can lift weights with him.
Focus on what he is doing right.

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7/9/12 3:52 P

Being a guy, and a lineman myself in highschool, I feel I can emphasize well with your brother. First of all, if my sister ever told me that she thought I need to lose weight and do cardio, I would do the exact opposite. I don't know how the relationship between the two of you is, but its his life and he can make the choices he wants. Hearing something like that coming out of my sister's mouth would piss me off.

That being said, he's 16 and likely trying hard to make the varsity team next year. Size and strength are crucial to a lineman, even if we have to carry around some more fat with us. Two big guys with the same height and muscle mass, if one weighs 200 and the other 240, the bigger guy will likely be a better lineman even tho he's a little slower. Technique is still extremely important however. and more muscle is always better than more fat

But what are his eating habits like? If he's eating a lot of junk food, his body won't be building muscle and will put extra calories as fat. He would be fine not losing any weight actually. If he eats a good healthy diet of 2500 calories, or even 3000, and lifts hard he will build muscle, making his lean body mass to fat ratio better and therfore healthier. If he eats at a maintinense level and healthy, he can get his body to use the protein to build muscle and even burn a little bit of fat during his practices, which will be more than enough cardio.

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7/9/12 3:51 P

He's not going to do it unless he wants to. I'd also seriously question how much cardio he's supposedly not getting when he's playing football. Football requires a good amount of cardio in addition to being strong. I'd start I think with trying to push a healthier diet. Is he relying too much on fast foods since he's at practice all day, etc?

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7/9/12 3:30 P

You don't need cardio to lose fat. Cardio is for heart health. He can lift weights and eat healthier and lose the fat.

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7/9/12 1:21 P

Diet is most important. He's likely getting weight training with football. How about encouraging him to play some tennis with you...that really turned my weight around and I was able to enjoy for many more years.

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7/9/12 11:25 A

You can lose fat by only doing strength training. You don't "need" cardio. What is important is his diet. To lose fat, he must eat at a deficeit. If he's resistant to cardio, start there. You may also try to find articles that talk about using cardio for football training, go to where his interests lie. I mean, most positions do run the 40 and do jumps as part of the NFL combine, so clearly those are important things, depending on your position. if he plays defense (other than the line), he'll need to be able to run down offensive players, so there's that as well.

But, diet is where he has to start. No matter what, some loss will be from muscle, if you eat at a deficeit. But, if he continues to lift heavy and eat well, then he should start to see some fat loss. He may also be looking at some college and pro players and thining it's ok to have extra fat as well. Many Offensive lineman and some defensive players are big, strong guys who have extra belly fat because they mostly worry about being big and strong.

The most important thing is to be supportive and not nag. Don't tell him how fat he is. Follow his lead. Try to get him interested to make himself better at his sport. nagging will only lead to resistance.

I second the idea of talking to a doc, because kids should never really "diet". They need to get adequate nutrition for growing bodies. A nutritionist would be a good place to start, maybe one who specializes in sports nutrition or adolescent nutrition.

Edited by: JENMC14 at: 7/9/2012 (11:26)

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7/9/12 10:56 A

Can you take him to a doctor and get input there? Would he be responsive to articles about these things? Maybe a trainer at a gym? Can you talk to his coach? He shouldn't really lose much muscle with weight loss IF he's doing strength training at the same time!

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7/9/12 10:48 A

My 16 year old brother has packed on some serious fat lately. He is probably considered obese. However, he is in football where all he hears is that weight training needs to be his main focus. I've sent him articles that point out that you have to do cardio to burn fat, but all he sees is that when you are burning fat, you will also lose some muscle. He is convinced that all he needs to do is lift weights at the gym While you would think his expanding belly would tell him otherwise, he is resistant. I am worried about his health with his being so overweight at such a young age. Does anyone have any advice on how to convince him that cardio and strength go hand in hand, especially if you have fat to burn? javascript:void(0)