Weight loss for guys over 40

[BCatl]

1) Try to walk 45 minutes a day (not always easy).

2) Work on the meal of the day you have the most problems with. Mine was lunch. I would be in a hurry, and scaf down fast food. Spend some time thinking about your problem meal, and plan what to do about it. Don't let yourself ever get too hungry, you'll eat anything an it's usually bad.

 

[BCatl]

One other technique I used. Eat bran muffins. Heavy ones. It helps if you dont' really love bran muffins. There's tons of recipes out there. Check the Bob's Red Mill bags. I have found that it's almost impossible to snack yourself to death eating bran muffins. Your stomach usually can't take more than 2.

 

[SalvadorMontenegro]

Well, talk about thread resurrection! This month the thread is four years old. I am now 47. Time flies. Here is where it stands and I am none too happy. First up I kept the 25 pounds off for quite awhile. As mentioned in the other thread I put about ten back on but it stayed that way for a good while. Then about two years ago I put on weight like I have NEVER put it on before. I topped out at just under 250 pounds!

I was really down and just flat out ticked off. Okay boyo, time to get to it. And I did. I dropped exactly thirty pounds in two and a half months last summer. Nothing crazy, just seriously limiting caloric intake. I also got back on the elliptical trainer for the cardio it was a good decision. I could REALLY tell how out of shape I had become. So this went pretty good but damned if I didn't notice I have picked up ten or so these last months. So I hover around 230 and I am still mad. To be fair, when I eat poorly like I did I should weigh 400 pounds. I tell you I can put away food when I want to. Anyway, back to it. I am just flat out tired of being fat. In all honesty I am one of those people who can kind of conceal it a bit. Unlike most guys with no arse who carry it all as a beer belly, I put on weight uniformly so I don't look completely out of proportion. Still, no one would call me slim! I can assure you all the advise in this thread will be keyed on. Particularly the resistance training. It was roundly criticised in the seventies and eighties and now it seems you shouldn't do without it. I will get this done. I just have to get it mentally first.

BTW, I agree with those who say it is a lifestyle. A lady at our church sponsors a healthy lifestyle class and it is quite helpful about healthy living. Both physically and spiritually. Thanks again for bringing my old ramblings to the fore.

Regards, Todd

Your writing style was so ahead of its time that I didn't even realize this thread was from four years ago when I responded!

 

[Phog Allen]

It is okay Salvador. Your response was great. I completely agree with your overall idea. Particularly the comments about being a fitness model. Sometimes people lose sight of the fact that when you see folks advertising gym equipment or movie stars, you are seeing people who make their living by being fit.

Look at Robert Downey jr. in Sherlock Holmes and Iron Man. He was in the best shape I have ever seen him in his entire career. I think he is around my age. You can bet he has a personal trainer, access to the best fitness equipment, able to buy the best foods, etc. It makes a huge difference. He also has the time to devote to his fitness since it is part of his employment. Same goes with all those cut up guys and girls on late night informercials. I do not think it dawns on us how many HOURS per day these people put into looking like that. For most of us, life gets in the way! For them, fitness is their daily job.

Anyway, thanks for your reply on this subject. There is a lot of very good advise in there.

Regards, Todd

 

[Geeno]

Well, yeah, if I had millions in the bank, or a company willing to invest millions on my physique I would look good, too.

In addition to "Iron Man" I am thinking about most of those guys in the movie "300".

I went through this thread and noticed that nobody said anything about Starbucks, or any of the "speciality" coffee shops. They sell drinks that have major calories in them. Have a few of those each day and you are out major bucks, and consumed your whole daily allowance of calories...with no food eaten at all.

I just turned 55, and struggle to stay in any kind of shape. I also travel all the time, and most of the places I stay at have no gym, or really scary looking gear I wouldn't trust. A while back I read an essay about cave man style workouts (whole body instead of targeted muscle groups) that seemed good to me...you can do squats, lunges, pushups and burpees in a hotel room. My doctor tells me at my age I need an hour of solid workout each day, so I just need to get off my lazy butt and do them.

Good luck on your quest!

Geeno

 

[MelanieSisk]

Evening fellas. The post about the home gym got me thinking about weight loss and working out in general. I would like input from other over 40 guys(under 40 is good too!)about how to maintain weight loss and break plateaus in weight. I am just a fraction under six feet and have a medium build. I can usually lose weight semi-easily if I put my mind to it and behave at the table. I weighed 225lbs last year and that is WAY too heavy for anyone but a body builder at my height. I dropped 25 lbs. in 2.5 months last fall and kept it that way for ten months. I've adde back ten and hate it. Even so, at 200lbs, I couldwear 34-36" waist jeans(at near waist level too mind you)and run about 46" in the chest. I am not horribly out of proportion but could EASILY do without 20-25 pounds of excess me. In fact, putting on the tenner makes all my clothes tighter than I like at ALL.

Okay, all that stuff aside, weight training has been recommended to me as a near must add-on to my cardio exercise. So this post is relevant to me. I have a two car garage for workout space and that's it. The elliptical is a great machine. I heartily recommend it for those who want the effects of jogging without the impact. I can do 3.5-3.8 miles in 30 minutes at between 150-160 heart rate. More than is recommended by physicians for my age group but if you don't keep cranking up the resistance, it feels like you're not getting a stout workout. I do this every other day and wold like the weight training for keeping up muscle mass in the "off" days. I can't see myself getting carried away with weight training so need to keep it sane.

My main objective is to burn fat and maintain some muscle mass. It's an overused line but it's critical for men over 40 to keep dense muscle mass. It goes a long way toward keeping yourself from looking like a hunched over hobbit when you're in your 60's. I am especially having troulbe breaking the 200 pound mark. This is aggravating. I can just "tell" I would have tons more mobility, agility, and a better looking wardrobe at 180-185Lbs! I try not to live or die by the weight scale because adding dense muscle can mislead you in the weight category. I am trying to also add the seat of the pants factor to this, literally. If your clothes become a good bit looser, then you're making progress. Just a couple of caveats. No pills, $50 a can wonder powders or any of that other rubbish for me. Vitamins are one thing, magic bullets are another. I'd rather take a longer, slower road and keep the weight down. I just need a good place to jump start the weight loss again. BTW, I don't smoke cigarettes(pipes a few times a year), drink in moderation, and have no recurring health issues. Some may have caught the heart surgery comment in the other topic but that's not a big issue. The docs went in an fixed a birth defect. It was called a "valve resection". When I was ten, it was discovered that I had this membrane that had grown in place over my aortic valve. It blocked about 90% of the aorta's passageway. Not good but nothing to be done for it in 1973. They wouldn't touch me. So, in 2000 I made them go in and cut it out. It had given me a murmur that only got worse as the years went by. The membrane forced the outgoing valve to "leak" back into the heart and this wore a bit on the cusps and made the murmur. It's not serious anymore but it's there. Doc says the arteries, valves and heart are in great shape(no plauqe at all)but that it wasn't an invitation to McDonalds! Anyway, I had/have sense enough to keep the sawbones posted about any troubles or miscues along the way. So far, no probs with the elliptical making me dizzy or lightheaded. I've done some real hoofing it on this thing going 3.98 miles in 30 minutes before without any ill effects. Still, I need something to kick start my metabolism again. I would really like to get to 180lbs and get the waist back to an honest 32 inches or so. I know it's going to be hard work but you've only got one body, right? Besides, I want to wind up like elderly gent that lives across the street from me. He's just shy of 90, mows his lawn 3-5 times a week, digs weeds out by hand, walks all over the place, travels with his wife in a fifth wheel camper(btw, he washes this by hand on a ladder whilst holding a bucket of water), and looks like he's maybe 70. A nicer gent you'd never meet and a real stud for an octegenarian.

Regards,Todd

Many people might think they get enough exercise simply because they possess a hectic agenda, picking up and dropping off kids or non-stop business travel. Unfortunately that isn't the situation. Constantly running around is simply plain work, and all it will is tire you out of trouble. I recall thinking that walking around the mall all day long constituted my exercise for that week.

That could mean the US had the fittest teen population on the planet, and also you know there will be something wrong with this statement.

Imagine about this. Which categories of people can you say were probably the most fit, in-shape professionals around today? Probably our military guys and girls, athletes and health and fitness trainers. Just how long do you consider it might drive them to get out of shape when they stopped exercising and adopted the life-style on most ordinary consumers? Exercise should be structured and planned, however it doesn't have to become painful since you are suffering the pains and aches that include getting older.

Elliptical machines are ideal for the over 40 crowd because when they still provide you with a complete cardiovascular, fat-burning and muscle workout, they are able to get it done gently, accomplishing optimum effects in an exceedingly small amount of time.

 

[Thebigspendur]

Things haven't changed since this thread started. There are more hairbrained schemes and diets out there then you can imagine. Losing weight is pretty easy relatively speaking. The trick is keeping it off. The only way to lose and maintain is changing your mindset or you are doomed to failure. Look at people who have lost weight and reached their goal and check back 2-3 years later. How many still maintain their weight. The actual figures are at less than 10 percent.