New Guy - looking for direction

62Rich wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

62Rich wrote: »

Good day - I am your typical 57 years old man, who is 40lbs overweight. I work 50+ hours a week, sitting behind a desk. Which doesn't leave mush time to workout. It's time for me to get healthy for me - my wife - my children - my grandchildren.
I'm wanting to know more about the percentage of macros I need. I know the MFP defaults to 50% 30% 20% - but for a guy my age is that still a good ratio?
I'm also starting (as of yesterday) to sneak in a little bit of activity during the day... as I am tele-working like so many of us, I'll take a quick walk around the block (0.4 mile). Drop and do some pushups, planks etc.

You are just starting off and you are not resistance training (I would recommend you do if at all possible). So the default macros are fine. If you are able to resistance train, you'd want to bump your protein up to about .8 grams per lb of goal weight.

That being said, different people find certain macros more satisfying than others. Personally, I find protein and complex carbs with higher fiber very satisfying. Some find more fat satisfying. The important thing is to recognize the priority of macros. Minimum of protein for tissue building, minimum of fats for hormonal and brain health. Carbs are less critical and are really driven by energy level and physical performance. They also contain many micro-nutrients. So, within these parameters, let preference and physical performance drive your choices.

11 years ago, I was you. 57, 40 lbs overweight and working long hours. I started with small changes, calorie control and increasing exercise as I could. Now, at age 68, I have been retired for 2 years. I am 180 lbs, down 40. I strength train 3 times per week and get about 2 to 3 hours of some kind of aerobic exercise ranging from high impact to medium impact to low impact. I run stairs, I run or jog and I walk a lot. I lost 5 inches off my waist and reduced my body fat from close to 30% down to around 20%.

People who guess my age, never have me within 10 years of my actual age and I can pretty much do anything I ever could. Maybe not quite as often as with age brings a slight increase in recovery time. And BTW, my labs come back pretty much ideal and have for the last 4 years or so. This is what is possible for you.

Great job brother. As I said I am 57 weighing in at 237 this morning, I'd LOVE to see 185 again, but I'd be so ecstatic to be at 200. I used to run but my knees and back and big fans of running, and I'm SO out of shape these days.... I'm starting doing just bodyweight exercises and some calisthenics. I hope this will kick start my metabolism.

Good news: Your metabolism is ticking away in there; it requires no kicking. You can't really break it (or you'd be dead, frankly).

It's really about moving, and eating, not literally "metabolism". Moving and eating, you have 100% control over, right now. Sure, muscle tissue burns a few more calories daily than fat tissue, and that might represent "improved metabolism", but it's a tiny difference (like 2-4 calories difference per pound per day), and building muscle is a long-term proposition (a worthwhile one, BTW).

Moving more is a good strategy, and that burns extra calories of course. "Exercise" counts, but so does daily life movement. As your mobility and fitness improve, it gets easier and easier to move, and we tend to do more of it in daily life without even thinking about it. It becomes a virtuous cycle.

For weight loss, eating is the key thing. I'm a poster child for weight management being primarily about eating, and specifically how much we eat, calorically.

In my mid-40s, after cancer treatment, I gradually became very active (alongside one of those 50+ hour a week jobs, at the time, BTW, though I'm now retired). I even rowed (boats, machines) in competition. (I didn't beat the world, but I got where I could hang with the local/regional pack.) But I stayed obese. It was pretty easy to eat those few hundred extra daily calories that I burned via exercise. My weight was steady (at class 1 obese) for over a decade, even with a steady, energetic workout schedule. I got stronger, fitter, more energetic, even got a couple of sizes smaller, so there were many benefits, but I stayed fat.

Finally, at age 59, with my doctor threatening need for statins, I decided to try weight loss. Some other health issues, ones fostered by excess weight, sealed my intent. Over the course of a bit less than a year, I lost about 50 pounds, keeping pretty much my same exercise routine. My high blood pressure became normal, my blood lipids came down to normal, all kinds of good results.

Personally, I was already a reasonably healthy eater: Vegetarian, getting my crucial nutrients . . . but then eating lots extra on top of what was needful for a healthy weight. I still eat pretty much the same foods I always did, just in different portions and proportions. I was completely stunned by how straightforward it was, and really not even white-knuckle difficult, once I figured out how to eat in a way that was tasty and satiating at the right calorie level.

By my 60th birthday, I was at a healthy weight. Now, at 64, I'm still at a healthy weight. It really is just about balancing eating with activity. This is a thing you can do, too.

You're off to a good start. The MFP macros are a good beginning. Work on getting those dialed in before worrying about customizing, other than maybe some tweaks for satiety and compliance. You don't need to be exact every day, just in the neighborhood, especially if over some days, under others. As mmapags said, hitting protein and fat minimums are the macronutrient priorities.

To lose 40 pounds, you don't need (and probably realistically shouldn't shoot for) a dramatically fast weight loss. Plan to average a pound a week, at least for a while, and you'll be at your initial goal well before this time next year, without much stress. Keep gradually and manageably buidling your activity level (exercise and daily life stuff) with a bit of a progressive challenge, and you'll get stronger and fitter.

Best wishes!

mmapags wrote: »

I'm on board with everything Ann said. Once we finally decide to address the weight, there can be a tendency to be impatient and want it GONE!. The best advice I can give you is to do this in the most enjoyable and least restrictive way possible. It won't be the fastest but that will be the most sustainable way and will help you learn the habits to maintain when you get to goal.

For many, the hard part isn't the getting to goal. It's the staying there and learning a new normal. For you, for now, body weight exercises, calisthenics and I'd add walking for 30 minutes to an hour 3 times per week or so. Walking is a great way to burn some calories and build some basic aerobic fitness.

I'd also invest the $10 to $15 in a food scale and weigh everything for accuracy. Another thing. You will not lose weight in a linear fashion. You will be up down and sideways. This occurs for various reasons and is totally normal. They is a very helpful thread about this but I don't have it bookmarked. Maybe someone who does will post it. Get yourself a weight trending app. Weigh in the morning without clothes, after toilet. The idea is under the same conditions each day. Then log it on the weight trending app. The important number and the one you will use to make any adjustments, if necessary, is the overall trend over time, not the daily fluctuation. Don't get too emotionally invested in the scale number on any given day. Best wishes!

Were you thinking this thread?

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p1

I think that link will work. The one in the "Most Helpful Posts" section is broken (typo).

Oh, and: @62Rich, as you have time, read the posts in the "Most Helpful Posts" sections of each forum topic, starting with the "Getting Started" and "General Health, Fitness and Diet" topic areas. There's gold in those posts! (You may also see these called "the stickies", because they "stick around").

AnnPT77 wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

I'm on board with everything Ann said. Once we finally decide to address the weight, there can be a tendency to be impatient and want it GONE!. The best advice I can give you is to do this in the most enjoyable and least restrictive way possible. It won't be the fastest but that will be the most sustainable way and will help you learn the habits to maintain when you get to goal.

For many, the hard part isn't the getting to goal. It's the staying there and learning a new normal. For you, for now, body weight exercises, calisthenics and I'd add walking for 30 minutes to an hour 3 times per week or so. Walking is a great way to burn some calories and build some basic aerobic fitness.

I'd also invest the $10 to $15 in a food scale and weigh everything for accuracy. Another thing. You will not lose weight in a linear fashion. You will be up down and sideways. This occurs for various reasons and is totally normal. They is a very helpful thread about this but I don't have it bookmarked. Maybe someone who does will post it. Get yourself a weight trending app. Weigh in the morning without clothes, after toilet. The idea is under the same conditions each day. Then log it on the weight trending app. The important number and the one you will use to make any adjustments, if necessary, is the overall trend over time, not the daily fluctuation. Don't get too emotionally invested in the scale number on any given day. Best wishes!

Were you thinking this thread?

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10683010/the-weird-and-highly-annoying-world-of-scale-fluctuations/p1

I think that link will work. The one in the "Most Helpful Posts" section is broken (typo).

Oh, and: @62Rich, as you have time, read the posts in the "Most Helpful Posts" sections of each forum topic, starting with the "Getting Started" and "General Health, Fitness and Diet" topic areas. There's gold in those posts! (You may also see these called "the stickies", because they "stick around").

Exactly! Gracias mi amiga.