Older guy Fitness

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!

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

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.

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.

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!

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

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.

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.

Okay, first thing I wanna say is 1500 calories is too low. Find out what your tdee is and go by that if you are trying to maintain. I am around your weight and my calories are 1718 a day and I would imagine it would be even higher for a man. I also find this useful to try to lose weight too because its much easier to see how much "in the green" you are at the end of the week then it is to crunch numbers. A calorie is not just a calorie but the rule of thumb is you have to have a deficit of 3500 calories to lose a pound of fat. That means exercise at least 500 calories a day from your tdee.

Exercise, exercise, exercise. If your bored, try challenging your body. If your dong the same exercise over and over your body will get used to it and sometimes stop losing weight or even gaining muscle. I know this from experience. Weight lifting is where its at! Okay, for an example. Right now I am at 209lbs and 5'7. I wear a size 12 jean. I told some girls on here that and I got attacked because when they were 170lbs and 5'7 they were still in a size 16 jean. At 170, I will be a 6-8. Know why? Because I lift and have muscles. Its not just about the scale, its about getting tone too.

I dont believe in any "diets" that cut out a whole food group. Such as carbs, fat, sugar...etc etc. To me, those are not long term solutions to losing and or maintaining weight. The rule of thumb is, if you cant go without it for the rest of your life, don't, and I repeat, don't cut it out now. That's the biggest mistake people make. They don't learn how to eat a balanced diet for the rest of their lives. Yeah, I could go on these diets and drink shakes 3 times a day, take pills, cut out sugar and all that but you know what? I wont being doing that 10 years from now so its a no-go.

I hope that helps

Sorry to edit...had to post this pic

If no injuries/joint issues - vary your exercise routine - switch it up, it's easy to get bored. Ideally you have some different activities you can integrate into your life/friends. Hiking/Biking/Skiing etc...

There are endless debates here on some of the nutritional aspects of certain diets. But personally I feel much better when I eat low(er) carb - carbs make me hungry, moody. Limit starches/grains/sugars - Increase your protein and don't be afraid of some good fat.

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.

Dude! EAT! Husband is your age and eating 1890 - with 1 or 2 -5 miles walks a week plus weight lifting 3x a week. Hes eating about 15% below TDEE and more when hungry. Still wants to lose 6 lbs (down 25) but hes willing to let it fall off verrrrry slowly since if he doesnt eat he wont be able to function and hey- at this level hes not gaining, feels good and looks sooooo much better.

Congrats on what you have achieved thus far! Now- go figure out your TDEE - minus 20% from it and try that calorie goal for 2-4 weeks and see what happens. Do NOT be hungry!! No one likes hungry. Remember- this isnt a diet- its how you will live the rest of your life. So if you're starving - you're dieting and doing it wrong.