Maintenance mode but................................

for_ever_young66

Okay,
I'm finally in a maintenance mode and I figured at 211 lbs (6'2"), I no longer need to "lose weight." However, I would like to do a better job at distributing my existing weight. I'm a lifter for the most part and I do cardio only out of a necessity, though I did once enjoy a good run before I broke my ankle 5 months ago. My current waist is 39 inches and I'd like to get it closer to 35 without losing muscle. Of course, I'm also on the wrong side of 50 and cannot do much running because of my ankle recovery. I've recently upped my intake of lean proteins and lowered my sugar/bad carb intake.

I'm just looking for some ideas.

sijomial

Recomp.
Short for recomposition, gaining muscle and losing fat while maintaining (approximately) your current weight.
What I used to call "getting in shape" but now it has a label.

Worth a read/skim....http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/recomposition-maintaining-weight-while-losing-fat/p1

Your ankle injury/rehab isn't ideal for training hard of course.

ritzvin

Cycling. There are a lot of former runners in my cycling group (many in their 50s, 60s and quite a few in their 70s). Excellent leg workout & cardio if you are trying to keep pace with a group. (unless the ankle will be a problem).

TavistockToad

Lift heavy stuff

allie2girlz

I believe you just answered your own question, "I've recently lowered my sugar/bad carb intake"
Give it a few weeks and see if you see a change in your waist. I have the flattest stomach/smallest waist measurement since Jr. High dropping carbs and sugar out of my diet-not doing any crunches!

for_ever_young66

allie2girlz wrote: »

I believe you just answered your own question, "I've recently lowered my sugar/bad carb intake"
Give it a few weeks and see if you see a change in your waist. I have the flattest stomach/smallest waist measurement since Jr. High dropping carbs and sugar out of my diet-not doing any crunches!

That's inspiring Allie2girlz. I'll just stick with it a while.

fizzie5

Id started Getting bulky doing the weights daily and I hate the cardio on the stepper and treadmill so took up cycling three days a week many say I've lost weight, I have but I hasten to add it's all fat loss.
It was strange getting back on a bike the last time I'd rode a bike was in my teens. Now at 57 I'm enjoying training daily and setting small goals. As for diet I've simply tidied it up is cutting sugars and fats

CharlieBeansmomTracey

for_ever_young66 wrote: »

allie2girlz wrote: »

I believe you just answered your own question, "I've recently lowered my sugar/bad carb intake"
Give it a few weeks and see if you see a change in your waist. I have the flattest stomach/smallest waist measurement since Jr. High dropping carbs and sugar out of my diet-not doing any crunches!

That's inspiring Allie2girlz. I'll just stick with it a while.

you dont need to lower your sugar unless you have a health issue and as for bad carbs, carbs are carbs and carbs=sugar. even fruits and veggies are carbs, cutting carbs out completely isnt healthy,you will miss out on important vitamins and nutrients.to lose fat you either recomp or eat in a deficit.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

fizzie5 wrote: »

Id started Getting bulky doing the weights daily and I hate the cardio on the stepper and treadmill so took up cycling three days a week many say I've lost weight, I have but I hasten to add it's all fat loss.
It was strange getting back on a bike the last time I'd rode a bike was in my teens. Now at 57 I'm enjoying training daily and setting small goals. As for diet I've simply tidied it up is cutting sugars and fats

so you cut all fat? because your body needs some healthy fats, and all sugars? IE fruits,veggies,etc?

CharlieBeansmomTracey

OP the first 3 replies are helpful and I would listen to them. you also dont have to cut down carbs and sugar unless you have a health issue. its not going to make you lose fat any faster or make you distribute your weight. fat comes off where it wants when it wants and cutting certain foods out wont make a difference,unless it puts you into a deficit.carbs are helpful when it comes to working out as well. there are no bad carbs out there. food is food, the only bad foods are ones you cant eat for one reason or another.

fizzie5

I drink a lot of coffee and was putting two spoons in cut that to one I get you on the fats this time of year I wouldn't lose all my fat also I've had some health issues with blood pressure so I've been tinkering with the diet to get that down to sensible readings which I'm pleased to say are now Bob on

trigden1991

With 4" to lose from your waist I would eat in a calorie deficit and lift weights until you're much nearer your goal.

What do you estimate that your bodyfat percentage is?

for_ever_young66

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

for_ever_young66 wrote: »

allie2girlz wrote: »

I believe you just answered your own question, "I've recently lowered my sugar/bad carb intake"
Give it a few weeks and see if you see a change in your waist. I have the flattest stomach/smallest waist measurement since Jr. High dropping carbs and sugar out of my diet-not doing any crunches!

That's inspiring Allie2girlz. I'll just stick with it a while.

you dont need to lower your sugar unless you have a health issue and as for bad carbs, carbs are carbs and carbs=sugar. even fruits and veggies are carbs, cutting carbs out completely isnt healthy,you will miss out on important vitamins and nutrients.to lose fat you either recomp or eat in a deficit.

I didn't cut out all carbs but did cut out the bad ones, such as potato chips, white bread, white rice (which I really love) and just anything that comes in a package. I do try to eat a couple of servings of fruit per day and try to eat leafy green veggies for dinner. I do try to keep them below 130 per day.

for_ever_young66

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

OP the first 3 replies are helpful and I would listen to them. you also dont have to cut down carbs and sugar unless you have a health issue. its not going to make you lose fat any faster or make you distribute your weight. fat comes off where it wants when it wants and cutting certain foods out wont make a difference,unless it puts you into a deficit.carbs are helpful when it comes to working out as well. there are no bad carbs out there. food is food, the only bad foods are ones you cant eat for one reason or another.

I don't know about that. There's very little nutritional value associated with glazed donuts, ding dongs, potato chips, white bread, white rice, egg noodle pasta, etc. All I know is that when I stopped eating all of those things for 30 days, I saw some lbs drop off and my slacks fit a lot better than they did before.

for_ever_young66

trigden1991 wrote: »

With 4" to lose from your waist I would eat in a calorie deficit and lift weights until you're much nearer your goal.

What do you estimate that your bodyfat percentage is?

Last time I took a BF% exam, it said that it was at 21.3%. Before I broke my ankle and was consistently running as well as lifting, it was at 18.8%. Also, I'm still recovering from the holidays and I recently got married and went on a honeymoon cruise. And most of us realize how hard it is to resist that good food on those luxury liners.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

for_ever_young66 wrote: »

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

OP the first 3 replies are helpful and I would listen to them. you also dont have to cut down carbs and sugar unless you have a health issue. its not going to make you lose fat any faster or make you distribute your weight. fat comes off where it wants when it wants and cutting certain foods out wont make a difference,unless it puts you into a deficit.carbs are helpful when it comes to working out as well. there are no bad carbs out there. food is food, the only bad foods are ones you cant eat for one reason or another.

I don't know about that. There's very little nutritional value associated with glazed donuts, ding dongs, potato chips, white bread, white rice, egg noodle pasta, etc. All I know is that when I stopped eating all of those things for 30 days, I saw some lbs drop off and my slacks fit a lot better than they did before.

there is nothing wrong with white bread,rice,egg noodles or pasta. a lot of us here have lost weight eating those things. some people on mfp cant have whole wheat or whole grain types of those products and they lost weight too. as for losing some lbs if you cut those things out it was probably because it put you into a deficit or you dropped a lot of water weight because your carb intake dropped a good bit. as for chips and donuts, all things in moderation. I still eat what I want and make it fit into my calorie goal and I have lost weight and lost a half inch in my waist from the last week of jan to the first week of feb.

I mean if you feel better cutting those things out then its your choice. But Im just saying that those things wont prevent you from losing weight or fat,eating over your maintenance calories will.carbs are carbs and carbs=sugar which means fruits,veggies,grains. the only difference is anything with fiber in it will break down slower compared to say a carb with no fiber in it.but its all broken down into glucose for energy

for_ever_young66

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

for_ever_young66 wrote: »

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

OP the first 3 replies are helpful and I would listen to them. you also dont have to cut down carbs and sugar unless you have a health issue. its not going to make you lose fat any faster or make you distribute your weight. fat comes off where it wants when it wants and cutting certain foods out wont make a difference,unless it puts you into a deficit.carbs are helpful when it comes to working out as well. there are no bad carbs out there. food is food, the only bad foods are ones you cant eat for one reason or another.

I don't know about that. There's very little nutritional value associated with glazed donuts, ding dongs, potato chips, white bread, white rice, egg noodle pasta, etc. All I know is that when I stopped eating all of those things for 30 days, I saw some lbs drop off and my slacks fit a lot better than they did before.

there is nothing wrong with white bread,rice,egg noodles or pasta. a lot of us here have lost weight eating those things. some people on mfp cant have whole wheat or whole grain types of those products and they lost weight too. as for losing some lbs if you cut those things out it was probably because it put you into a deficit or you dropped a lot of water weight because your carb intake dropped a good bit. as for chips and donuts, all things in moderation. I still eat what I want and make it fit into my calorie goal and I have lost weight and lost a half inch in my waist from the last week of jan to the first week of feb.

I mean if you feel better cutting those things out then its your choice. But Im just saying that those things wont prevent you from losing weight or fat,eating over your maintenance calories will.carbs are carbs and carbs=sugar which means fruits,veggies,grains. the only difference is anything with fiber in it will break down slower compared to say a carb with no fiber in it.but its all broken down into glucose for energy

I can agree with most of that. It's about moderation and portion control but it's also about self-control. For example, I was never a big fan of sweets and with the exception of maybe my mom's key lime pie, I can have one slice of a dessert or one or two cookies and be done with them. My weakness is potato chips and salty snacks like McDonald's french fries. Once I have a couple of them, I'm going to want to tear into the entire bag and then go back for more. Instead of doing it in "moderation," I'd rather just cut it out altogether, for indefinite period of time, until reach my goal. But, everyone's food addiction and vice will be different.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

for_ever_young66 wrote: »

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

for_ever_young66 wrote: »

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

OP the first 3 replies are helpful and I would listen to them. you also dont have to cut down carbs and sugar unless you have a health issue. its not going to make you lose fat any faster or make you distribute your weight. fat comes off where it wants when it wants and cutting certain foods out wont make a difference,unless it puts you into a deficit.carbs are helpful when it comes to working out as well. there are no bad carbs out there. food is food, the only bad foods are ones you cant eat for one reason or another.

I don't know about that. There's very little nutritional value associated with glazed donuts, ding dongs, potato chips, white bread, white rice, egg noodle pasta, etc. All I know is that when I stopped eating all of those things for 30 days, I saw some lbs drop off and my slacks fit a lot better than they did before.

there is nothing wrong with white bread,rice,egg noodles or pasta. a lot of us here have lost weight eating those things. some people on mfp cant have whole wheat or whole grain types of those products and they lost weight too. as for losing some lbs if you cut those things out it was probably because it put you into a deficit or you dropped a lot of water weight because your carb intake dropped a good bit. as for chips and donuts, all things in moderation. I still eat what I want and make it fit into my calorie goal and I have lost weight and lost a half inch in my waist from the last week of jan to the first week of feb.

I mean if you feel better cutting those things out then its your choice. But Im just saying that those things wont prevent you from losing weight or fat,eating over your maintenance calories will.carbs are carbs and carbs=sugar which means fruits,veggies,grains. the only difference is anything with fiber in it will break down slower compared to say a carb with no fiber in it.but its all broken down into glucose for energy

I can agree with most of that. It's about moderation and portion control but it's also about self-control. For example, I was never a big fan of sweets and with the exception of maybe my mom's key lime pie, I can have one slice of a dessert or one or two cookies and be done with them. My weakness is potato chips and salty snacks like McDonald's french fries. Once I have a couple of them, I'm going to want to tear into the entire bag and then go back for more. Instead of doing it in "moderation," I'd rather just cut it out altogether, for indefinite period of time, until reach my goal. But, everyone's food addiction and vice will be different.

thats why I said if you feel better cutting those things out then its was his choice. I know some people cant do moderation. I was just stating that aside from cutting out those things,they arent bad carbs.carbs are carbs. now some may have to lower carbs due to health issues and thats ok too.