Older guy Fitness

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dekomp
dekomp Posts: 9 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi , im Dekomp 56 year old guy , been on a aprox 1500 cal daily diet for the last year ,along with daily stepping type exercise ( about 45 mins duration) lost over 36lbs and now reached a maintainence weight of 206 lbs , im not happy with this ! im bored ,hungry all the time, and very tired , cosidering atkins type diet any help ?support from you guys would be welcome.
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  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
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    1500 would have me hungry all the time also. What do you do in terms of resistance or strength training to maintain muscle mass?
    Atkins works fr some people for short term loss, or to kick start a stall but it isn't something I personally would try - I hate that format.

    Good luck!
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    I'm not surprised. you arn't eating enough and you are probably denying yourself things you enjoy treating. try a fresh approach on exercise...vary your cardio workouts, so you do the stepping, some walking, possibly running/swim/zumba ( yes guys can do zumba too) and add some weight/strength training??

    and eat back the calories you burn.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    how did you determine 1500 was a good number to shoot for?

    are you 5'3?

    atkins is kind of a severe change. I think your calories are too low unless you are 5'3 or so.

    if you want a change, check out eat stop eat or leangains and try some intermittent fasting. it really isnt necessary, but its a change and you might like IF.

    first though, I would eat more
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    Not a guy...
    but even I can lose weight on 1500 a day plus exercising... and I'm a 5'2" 122 lb female...

    Seriously?
    You're tired and hungry because, well, you're TIRED and HUNGRY!
    Try a heavy lifting program and eating at TDEE. Which for you is most likely over 2500, you didn't give your height so I can't calculate anything...
  • xRedHeaterx
    xRedHeaterx Posts: 37 Member
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    Not a guy...
    but even I can lose weight on 1500 a day plus exercising... and I'm a 5'2" 122 lb female...

    Seriously?
    You're tired and hungry because, well, you're TIRED and HUNGRY!
    Try a heavy lifting program and eating at TDEE. Which for you is most likely over 2500, you didn't give your height so I can't calculate anything...

    I agree with this pretty much. I'd have a couple of weeks eating at maintenance, a 're-feed' if you like. Then I'd look to implement a weights program. Think about switching up your cardio at some point as well. If you do exactly the same exercise routine for a long period of time your body can adapt to it. After your re-feed do something that challenges it in different ways. Maybe include muscle groups that weren't included before if that is possible.

    Well done with weight you have lost already - 36 pounds is a very good effort.
  • glennstoudt
    glennstoudt Posts: 403 Member
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    Your BMR is 1857 ( I guessed your height at 5'10"). So bored, tired, etc makes sense. For example, I am 58 yrs, and maintaining 168 pounds on 1920 cals a day PLUS eating back most of the time the exercise cals. In the last two days I had 3000 cals and 2300 cals respectively because of the activity cals burned (golf). No worries about gaining. I lost 50 pounds in 9 months and not one day did I consume less than my BMR plus exercise cals. I do not do a stepper or any other same program daily because it can be boring. I have done many 30 min weight training sessions but am currently on an off period for that. Probably back to the gym in December.

    Sorry about the anecdotal example but just noting this as evidence that you having had success can make things happen but are looking for a different approach.

    Some of what I have done was modeled on the Primal Blueprint, so look at that and take from it what you will.

    In short, 80% of all of this is what we eat. My formula is net carbs <150 everyday. (Carbs minus fiber). Atkins is definitely too extreme except in the most necessary situations (and yours is not). Change it up and see what happens, you can always change it back. Good luck.
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
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    Atkins is a flash-in-the-pan short-termist fad, not a way-of-life in my opinion.

    If you at a goal then go with your BMR plus activity.

    If it is making you miserable then you will either not sustain it or you will be a pain-in-the-backside to all around if you do.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    Atkins is a flash-in-the-pan short-termist fad, not a way-of-life in my opinion.

    I dont do atkins and am not suggesting that you do it but it is not a flash in a pan and it is not a short term fad and many people sustain on it for years with great results
  • jezcomblue
    jezcomblue Posts: 15
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    get yourself a bike, you burn loads of calories and its great fun as well. I'm losing weight and having full English breakfasts and restaurant Curries with all the trimmings.. sometimes on the same day!
  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
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    If you at a goal then go with your BMR plus activity.


    no, if you're AT GOAL, and you eat bmr, you'll still lose

    To maintain a goal you eat TDEE, which is MORE than BMR plus exercise, hundreds more, due to "living your life actvities" that you don't log as exercise.
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
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    Atkins is a flash-in-the-pan short-termist fad, not a way-of-life in my opinion.

    I dont do atkins and am not suggesting that you do it but it is not a flash in a pan and it is not a short term fad and many people sustain on it for years with great results
    It's an opinion
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    Atkins is a flash-in-the-pan short-termist fad, not a way-of-life in my opinion.

    I dont do atkins and am not suggesting that you do it but it is not a flash in a pan and it is not a short term fad and many people sustain on it for years with great results
    It's an opinion

    opinions are fine but when they have no relationship with reality they should be countered
  • dekomp
    dekomp Posts: 9 Member
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    Tnx to all you people who have replied ! for those who asked for more detail , im 5ft 11 generall healthy, i tend to become very goal orientated, 1500 cals was a easy target i sorta got to that amount without trying , im still very supple due to martial art training for 17 years , have always used resistance machines ( prefered them over free weights ) although will still use dumbells ,frightened of heavy training seem to injure myself recently and recovery seems to take forever , hence the stepping and cardio .
  • dekomp
    dekomp Posts: 9 Member
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    you sound like someone who knows any advice from you would be welcomed ! im actually 5FT 11 tnx dekomp
  • KevinNichols
    KevinNichols Posts: 7
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    I have tried the south beach diet and that worked pretty good for me, lots of meat and very little breads. I have gone the strength training route and that works awesome. I dont feel tired, get a better nights sleep and feel refreshed in the morning, and wake up with weight loss or break even. Never a weight gain. Now I just eat regular but more frequent and eat whatever I want(love sweets) but make sure I counter it with excersize. This site has been great in keeping track and motivating me.
  • FitEndAg_i
    FitEndAg_i Posts: 37
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    I'm another vote for cycling. We're very close in age, height, weight. My target is around 190 but as importantly is my blood pressure, heart rate, cholesterol/triglycerides all are heading in the right direction. I'm still losing weight but more slowly than previous loss of 30 lbs. I have an eye on my plate but am going to incorporate Harvard University's Healthy Eating Plate. They present a good argument that USDA's MyPlate may have a little political pressure involved in their recommendations. It comes to mind that cardiovascular, metabolic health and reducing mass be it muscle or "other" is my best physical health plan. I'd be happy to offer more but don't want to become a bore to you or everyone else here, so drop me a note if interested and I'd like to ask for your success experience as well. Great Health to you!
  • dtpss188
    dtpss188 Posts: 85
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    get yourself a bike, you burn loads of calories and its great fun as well. I'm losing weight and having full English breakfasts and restaurant Curries with all the trimmings.. sometimes on the same day!

    What he said! Get a bike and ride like a freak. I'm 45, and I ride, lift, do a lot of core strengthening, eat carefully, and even occasionally do some running, swimming, or elliptical. The biking has me hooked. I can have days where I blow my calories on beer or crappy foods - and guess what - that keep me feeling like this "diet" and fitness stuff is not a life sentence but rather a life style that now I actually choose to continue!

    So far as eating, and what to eat, I use many of the principles of the south beach diet, although I do not use it's recipes. You will find that south beach principles are touted all over the place but not necessarily as south beach. ie. many experts are saying the same thing. I also find that the bicycling resources are closely linked to dietary and effective training resources as well. Basically the competetive cyclists know that they can't compete if they're overweight. So if you read about cycling, inevitably you will find yourself reading about proper diet as well.

    Good luck, I hope we win over another person to cycling.
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
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    Atkins is a flash-in-the-pan short-termist fad, not a way-of-life in my opinion.

    I dont do atkins and am not suggesting that you do it but it is not a flash in a pan and it is not a short term fad and many people sustain on it for years with great results
    It's an opinion

    opinions are fine but when they have no relationship with reality they should be countered
    which is what I did
  • dekomp
    dekomp Posts: 9 Member
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    Well ive read up on several pieces of advice from various people who id very much like to thank , some of the advice was a little technical for me , but most people agree i seem to be eating to little! hence the tiredness.
    i have decided to go with high protein / low carb but keep my eyes on the weight , for exercise im going to vary my regime to cardio followed by heavy slow weights and see if i can hold off the injuries . oh and im gonna ditch the alcohol ,
  • hughtwalker
    hughtwalker Posts: 2,213 Member
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    If you at a goal then go with your BMR plus activity.


    no, if you're AT GOAL, and you eat bmr, you'll still lose

    To maintain a goal you eat TDEE, which is MORE than BMR plus exercise, hundreds more, due to "living your life actvities" that you don't log as exercise.
    That's why I wrote "BMR plus Activity"

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