Ni Hao! I'm a 42 year old male, trying to hit 12% body fat.

[TrustyMutsi]

Hi folks!

 

19 years ago when I first got married, I started a downward spiral into bad health. I ate horribly, and eventually got to 235 lbs (I'm a 6' 2" male, so that was definitely overweight). I finally had enough, and lost 60 lbs on Weight Watchers. It helped that I was going to get an Xbox (original version) when I hit my goal weight

 

Over the years I slowly went back up to about 190 lbs, give or take. I'm now 42, and about a year ago, I crawled back up to 200 lbs. I started doing 30 day shred, as well as counting calories on myfitnesspal, being great about keeping a deficit. I took pictures of myself when I started, weighed myself, and used a body fat calculator (which I'm not sure works very well). My guess is I was at about 22-27% body fat. 1.5 months later I got through the 30 Day Shred program, plus some extra weeks of doing the program over. I finally decided to check the scale and take another picture.

 

No change.

 

AT ALL.

 

In fact, I gained 2 lbs. The second picture (which I overlayed the original in photoshop) showed NO change. Needless to say, I was very disheartened. I didn't quite give up though. I gave the Atkins diet a try, following everthing, and lost about 15 lbs. I was excited to finally see a change, but I was getting miserable, and Thanksgiving came. I took a "break" and never went back.

 

Now I have gotten back on the wagon. A friend of mine has gotten me started with strength training. I'm doing low reps at high weight. At his house I use a combination of his weight machine and free weights. At home I use my dumbells to do this program: http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/dumbbell-only-home-or-gym-fullbody-workout.html

 

I am also using myfitnesspal to eat at a 750 calorie deficit per day (1,600 calories per day for a 202 lb 6' 2" 42 year old man). I'm keeping my carbs under 100 g per day. One of those sources is usually a banana. I'm using whey protein to help keep my protein at around 100-120 g a day. I know my protein should be more, but I struggle keeping my proteins high for budget, time, and taste reasons.

 

Here are my goals:

 

1. I want to get to 12% body fat by the end of the year. I've been watching "Arrow", and when I see that dude I think "I want to look like that". I know that's a high bar to set, so for now I just want to hit 12% while retaining muscle.

2. I want my heart to be healthier. I lost my dad this year to a heart attack. He was actually really healthy. There was something genetic up with his heart, so I want to keep mine as healthy as possible.

 

Here are my struggles:

 

1. I am getting tired of chicken and eggs already.

2. My sodium is getting too high from lunch meat and sausage patties. I think these are a mistake, especially because of nitrates, so I plan on weaning them out.

3. I keep hearing "You're older, so you just won't be able to lose that weight/look like that." I worry at my age I just am not physically able to reach my goals. I see stories of people taht can't lose weight no matter what they do, and get concerned.

4. I am on a tight budget. Right now I can manage buying a few more weights for my dumbells at home. I have enough weight to make 3 sets of 6 reps just out of reach. It also makes it hard to buy enough protein and veggies. I think the food thing will work out. I know creative ways to be able to afford the food. The weight equipment is more of an issue.

 

So that's where I'm at. I'm 2 weeks in, and going strong. I REALLY don't want to quit again. I keep telling myself "Stick with it for a year. GIVE IT A YEAR!!" It gets hard when you see no change in a month, so this will be a challenge for me.

 

I'd appreciate any feedback.

 

Thanks!

[thegingerdances]

Welcome to NerdFitness, TrustyMusti!  You are never too old for fitness.  It might take a little more work to get where you are going (as opposed to when you were 20 years old and could bounce back easily), but anything is possible!  In his late forties, my dad starting working out and fixing his diet after twenty years of minimal activity, late night rehearsals, and frequent fast food.  Now, at age 55, he's in amazing shape and just keeps getting fitter.

 

Congratulations on taking the first steps to a better life!  We're excited to see you move forward!

 

By the way, I think we have a recipe thread on the forums.  It might be a good place to find some creative and delicious recipes to mix up your eggs and chicken!

[roguesenna]

Hey!

 

 I am also new and have some of the same issues with budgeting. Have you tried alternative weights? I don't know what weight you're at now, but you could try using milk jugs, coffee cans or something similar.

 

 Personally, i signed up for a membership at Planet Fitness. It's stupidly cheap and the gyms don't have that many amenities (though they do have massage chairs!) and with a 20$/mo membership, both my SO and I can go as many times a week as we want. They also have free training and half-priced drinks. not to do a PF add, but I'm really happy with them so far (been going about a month). They have a cheaper membership too that is 10$/mo but you can't bring guests and you don't get the things I listes (massage chairs, half off drinks). The general attitude there is pretty nice too. no body shaming or intimidation. very low key.

[Guzzi]

3. I keep hearing "You're older, so you just won't be able to lose that weight/look like that." I worry at my age I just am not physically able to reach my goals. I see stories of people taht can't lose weight no matter what they do, and get concerned.

I'll just leave this here...

Nuff said

[TrustyMutsi]

Hey!

 

 I am also new and have some of the same issues with budgeting. Have you tried alternative weights? I don't know what weight you're at now, but you could try using milk jugs, coffee cans or something similar.

 

 Personally, i signed up for a membership at Planet Fitness. It's stupidly cheap and the gyms don't have that many amenities (though they do have massage chairs!) and with a 20$/mo membership, both my SO and I can go as many times a week as we want. They also have free training and half-priced drinks. not to do a PF add, but I'm really happy with them so far (been going about a month). They have a cheaper membership too that is 10$/mo but you can't bring guests and you don't get the things I listes (massage chairs, half off drinks). The general attitude there is pretty nice too. no body shaming or intimidation. very low key.

 

I was tempted by Planet Fitness, but do they have free weights, or anything for heavy lifting? I'd heard they frown on any grunting and groaning, which is hard not to do with strength training

 

So far I've been upping my dumbbell plates, and that's working so far. I need to prove to myself and my wife that I'm taking this seriously before investing in a gym membership or power rack and barbells.

[TrustyMutsi]

I'll just leave this here...

Nuff said

 

Wow. I feel better now

[Guzzi]

This is another favourite of mine...

http://www.allthingsgym.com/athlete-vs-couch-potato-quadriceps-mri-scan/

Hope it inspires you.

[Barfly]

How about bodyweight training? If you want to go heavier, you can toss a few plates in a backpack and workout like that.

[kellbot]

I was tempted by Planet Fitness, but do they have free weights, or anything for heavy lifting? I'd heard they frown on any grunting and groaning, which is hard not to do with strength training

 

Planet fitness doesn't have a power rack or barbells beyond 60 lbs, they expect you to do all your heavy lifting on the smith machines (blerg). 

I go to one because I don't have a good place to put a full rack of dumbbells / bench / etc, but if you've got those at home then I don't think PF will do much for you.

[roguesenna]

I was tempted by Planet Fitness, but do they have free weights, or anything for heavy lifting? I'd heard they frown on any grunting and groaning, which is hard not to do with strength training

 

So far I've been upping my dumbbell plates, and that's working so far. I need to prove to myself and my wife that I'm taking this seriously before investing in a gym membership or power rack and barbells.

 

I don't know much about heavy lifting because it's not my thing. I am a tiny 5'3", 120lb assassin, so I'm not looking to deadlift or bench press really. That said they do have some smaller free weights. Also, the facilities are different depending on which one you go to. My local one is kinda small but since I have the black card (20$/mo) I can go to any one in the city and I can bring a guest with me. I use them mostly for cardio.

 

Oh and as far as their "grunting" thing goes, in my experience it's kind of lipservice. They don't encourage it, but there are plenty of "lunks" there anyway. They just don't want people showing off or making other gym members feel intimidated. Don't wear those spaghetti string tanks and keep your eyes to yourself and you should mostly be fine.