Help me help a friend

[rampage jackson]

Hey guys, here's the deal. My neighbor boy is 16 years old, and horribly overweight. I've been taking him to the gym with me, and have shown him the basics as far as exercise goes. What I haven't addressed with him yet (I'm kinda waiting on him to take the step and ask), is how much he should eat. I personally find that a 40/40/20 macro split works best for me, but about how many calories does he need?

His stats are:

5' 11"
270 lbs
bf probably close to 35%

I know that his RMR is somewhere near 2300, and thats where I wanted to start him at. He's doing 3-4 30 minute sessions of LISS cardio a week, and lifting 3x a week doing a split I showed him. Should I be too worried about him losing muscle at that low of a kcal intake, or is his bf% high enough to sustain that kind of deficit. Thanks in advance, He is a good guy, just never had any guidance in life.

 

[Jayhawkk]

You should find out what he is eating now and slowly bring him down from there to the goal calorie intake. Also I would suggest giving him the 40/40/20 split to start and you can adjust from there. If he's a sweet eater like me then dropping carbs too fast will cause him to wake up in the middle of the night running for a twinkie.

 

[SwordBurn]

I bet he doesn't even need to put too much effort into exercise, to lose fat. Kids burn way more than we do. Simply changing his diet like suggested would be the key.

I believe all your efforts of trying to save this kid will be wasted if the parents don't eat healthy as well....

If the parents eat 3000 calorie meals three times a day, then so will the kid. If the kitchen is filled with soda and twinkies then there is no hope!

 

[RedwolfWV]

Reps to you for workin with the kid. That right there is more than most would do.

 

[rampage jackson]

well...he's had a pretty rough go of things, and essentially takes care of himself and his sister. I'm talking work, school, cooking meals, shopping etc...

 

[workin2005]

You should find out what he is eating now and slowly bring him down from there to the goal calorie intake. Also I would suggest giving him the 40/40/20 split to start and you can adjust from there. If he's a sweet eater like me then dropping carbs too fast will cause him to wake up in the middle of the night running for a twinkie.

Excellent advise...I would also encourage him to get involved with some type of sport he enjoys...Basketball, etc...just anything to keep his interest and keep him active. I also don't know if I would get too specific with his macro nutrient ratios...It may just frustrate him. A better approach might be to just teach him to make healthier choices at each meal...teach him the difference between lean healthy protein sources and those that may be loaded with fat...complex carb sources vs simple carbs and healthy fat vs saturated and unhealthy sources. If he knows this, it will empower him to select good food choices at each meal.

I commend you for taking him under your wing.

Workin