Becoming deliberately less bulky in middle age.

[BurtonLazars]

popeyewhite said:

Ok I accept that’s poor wording on my part. In my mind I meant gains against the objective (to be lean).

I wanted to (try!) to make the point that someone who doesn’t want to run for running’s sake but to get/remain lean, who runs the same route around the block for a long while, will find diminishing returns from a leanness perspective.

[ORD]

Exercise is a bad way to get lean, in my view. It’s massively easier to not eat 500 calories than to burn them.

[BurtonLazars]

ORD said:

Exercise is a bad way to get lean, in my view. It’s massively easier to not eat 500 calories than to burn them.

For some people it’s massively easier.

Also let’s not forget the musculoskeletal benefits of decent weight training exercise. Someone who moderates their calories instead of exercise won’t get those benefits: Posture, mobility, range of motion, osteoporosis prevention, etc etc... plus the well-known cardiovascular benefits.

[ORD]

All those things are good. But exercise burns very few calories. People massively overestimate it.

[jontysafe]

jontysafe said:

Cycling body type is incredibly specific and actually pretty unattractive. My wife calls them T. rex arms.
Need to mix cycling up with weights and something like Pilates. I think bodies look best when there’s a struggle between endurance training and resistance training getting the upper hand.

I`ll never be the quickest on a bike or lift heavy but I don`t have the pitfalls of concentrating on either discipline. Still find controlling calorie intake V difficult as I love a beer and a burger. Currently have backed even further out of the weights and was doing 1000km cycling a month until a really blue mood descended on me a month or so ago. Not seeing my folks for 14 months will do that.

[Big Rig]

usn90 said:

I went from 16 stone 6 to 12 stone 12 last feb- august, no exercise just calorie control, I aimed for 1500cal intake a day

Losing weight is all about the mind, it took me 10 years of failed dieting to realise that.

I didn’t cut anything out of my diet, I wasn’t interested in carbs/fat/sugar, just the calories.

Download MyFitnessPal and track your intake, it’s a very useful tool

Serious question, how did you deal with the hunger pains for the first few days/weeks?

[Big Rig]

lord trumpton said:

I think the quality and type food you eat are important factors

Im 48 this year and into my boxing. I train 7 days a week spread between 3 boxing club attendances (cardio/tech/sparring) and when I'm not there Ill train at home.

12 months ago I was super lean but wanted to add quality weight to improve my explosive energy/punching power The old 'eat more calories' and lift more weights was suggested.

I decided to incorporate some weights into training at the expense of some conditioning. I cut back a touch on carbs and increased protein on the weight days, but my calorie count was roughly the same.

In 12 months I'm where I wanted to be - still in good shape, little fat but heavier and stronger.

So for me focusing on what type of calorie served my needs

12 months ago at 73kg. Im 47 and 6'1"



Last week at 78kg

How many calories a day do you eat?

[StreetDragster]

I don't have anything to add on the methods of losing weight/training etc but i do have something to add on keeping you in the right frame of mind.

Some people may benefit of having a weight analogue to track their progress, app's and graphs are great but they are not very tactile.

I measure my weight in metric grams and kilograms. As I lose weight i fill up empty 2l bottles of Pepsi with water to match the weight loss.
I.e. lose 200g, add 200ml to the bottles, gain 100g and drain 100ml from the bottles.

May not seem like much, but when I'm having a wobble its easy to see a fleet of filled bottles, and try and lift them up and feel the weight that my heart/knees/ankles etc are not carrying now all the time. It really helps me not crack when I'm feeling weak.

At the moment, I'm at 24kg, 12 bottles of water stacked up, makes me feel better than just numbers on a tracking app.

Its working for my wife also, gives her and feedback week on week and the act of filling or draining the bottles is a mini celebration/punishment that inspires the following weeks effort.

Hope that helps someone

[smn159]

StreetDragster said:

I don't have anything to add on the methods of losing weight/training etc but i do have something to add on keeping you in the right frame of mind.

Some people may benefit of having a weight analogue to track their progress, app's and graphs are great but they are not very tactile.

I measure my weight in metric grams and kilograms. As I lose weight i fill up empty 2l bottles of Pepsi with water to match the weight loss.
I.e. lose 200g, add 200ml to the bottles, gain 100g and drain 100ml from the bottles.

May not seem like much, but when I'm having a wobble its easy to see a fleet of filled bottles, and try and lift them up and feel the weight that my heart/knees/ankles etc are not carrying now all the time. It really helps me not crack when I'm feeling weak.

At the moment, I'm at 24kg, 12 bottles of water stacked up, makes me feel better than just numbers on a tracking app.

Its working for my wife also, gives her and feedback week on week and the act of filling or draining the bottles is a mini celebration/punishment that inspires the following weeks effort.

Hope that helps someone

Maybe just me, but I can't help thinking that so many empty 2L bottles of Pepsi could help explain the weight gain in the first place

Good work on the loss of 24kg though

[lord trumpton]

Big Rig said:

lord trumpton said:

I think the quality and type food you eat are important factors

Im 48 this year and into my boxing. I train 7 days a week spread between 3 boxing club attendances (cardio/tech/sparring) and when I'm not there Ill train at home.

12 months ago I was super lean but wanted to add quality weight to improve my explosive energy/punching power The old 'eat more calories' and lift more weights was suggested.

I decided to incorporate some weights into training at the expense of some conditioning. I cut back a touch on carbs and increased protein on the weight days, but my calorie count was roughly the same.

In 12 months I'm where I wanted to be - still in good shape, little fat but heavier and stronger.

So for me focusing on what type of calorie served my needs

12 months ago at 73kg. Im 47 and 6'1"



Last week at 78kg

How many calories a day do you eat?

Not 100% sure.

I'm not minded to get into that and the worry/obsession that goes with it.

I eat extremely healthily though...mainly veg, fish, fruit, ulses, grains etc

I kinda know what I need to eat and how much based on how I feel.

I'm the 'obsessive' type with a personality that gets sucked into micro detail and worry so for this I 'listen to the body' as it were.

[StreetDragster]

It's diet caffeine free now, better than beer, probably not by much though!

[smn159]

StreetDragster said:

It's diet caffeine free now, better than beer, probably not by much though!

It's dreadful stuff and high consumption is increasingly linked to serious health conditions, including diabetes, fatty liver disease, dementia, heart disease, and stroke.

Bin it off completely if you have even a passing interest in your health!

[Prof Prolapse]

smn159 said:

It's dreadful stuff and high consumption is increasingly linked to serious health conditions, including diabetes, fatty liver disease, dementia, heart disease, and stroke.

Bin it off completely if you have even a passing interest in your health!

What is? Caffeine?

Caffeine is the most consumed stimulants in human history with no observable long term side effects. Do you not think we'd have noticed something by now?

Unless you consume poisonous levels it's perfectly safe. This is pretty obvious by the billions of people that consume it. Some to staggering levels.

I understand it's actually encouraged in many training programs (although I would have thought you'd need to "cycle" it to maximise benefit)

Edited by Prof Prolapse on Wednesday 24th March 14:02

[smn159]

Prof Prolapse said:

What is? Caffeine?

Caffeine is the most consumed stimulants in human history with no observable long term side effects. Do you not think we'd have noticed something by now?

Unless you consume poisonous levels it's perfectly safe. This is pretty obvious by the billions of people that consume it. Some to staggering levels.

I understand it's actually encouraged in many training programs (although I would have thought you'd need to "cycle" it to maximise benefit)

Edited by Prof Prolapse on Wednesday 24th March 14:02

No, fizzy drinks, including 'diet' and caffeine free.

Poster above appears to have dozens of empty 2L bottles, suggesting a high consumption.

[hyphen]

Prof Prolapse said:

smn159 said:

It's dreadful stuff and high consumption is increasingly linked to serious health conditions, including diabetes, fatty liver disease, dementia, heart disease, and stroke.

Bin it off completely if you have even a passing interest in your health!

What is? Caffeine?

Caffeine is the most consumed stimulants in human history with no observable long term side effects. Do you not think we'd have noticed something by now?

Unless you consume poisonous levels it's perfectly safe. This is pretty obvious by the billions of people that consume it. Some to staggering levels.

I understand it's actually encouraged in many training programs (although I would have thought you'd need to "cycle" it to maximise benefit)

Edited by Prof Prolapse on Wednesday 24th March 14:02

But people don't have pure caffeine. They have it within a product.Caffeine free diet coke still has acids, flavourings and sweetners.

Not everyone is manly like me and downs an espresso

[Prof Prolapse]

smn159 said:

No, fizzy drinks, including 'diet' and caffeine free.

Poster above appears to have dozens of empty 2L bottles, suggesting a high consumption.

Ah- sorry!

I was just thinking it was mental, caffeine is one of the few guilt free stimulants you can have!

[Prof Prolapse]

hyphen said:

But people don't have pure caffeine. They have it within a product.Caffeine free diet coke still has acids, flavourings and sweetners.

Not everyone is manly like me and downs an espresso

True, but I'd speculate Diet coke is probably the second most consumed commercial drink in human history.

So sside from the acids being mildly corrosive (but probably no more than fruit juice, maybe less) the same empirical evidence applies.

It's perfectly safe.

Although somewhat addictive.

I love a double Espresso. I like the small cup, makes me feel like a big man.

[smn159]

BurtonLazars said:

smn159 said:

Poster above appears to have dozens of empty 2L bottles, suggesting a high consumption.

Holy fallacious leap, Batman!

Man helpfully posts a neat and inexpensive idea to help people along their journey to health and Mr Internet leaps onto his soapbox to rant about a tangential topic having jumped to a false conclusion. I am in fact best friends with the guy who posted it - the bottles of (sugar free!) Pepsi were collected over a series of months from the charity lunches we organise to raise money for Down’s Syndrome and we’d carefully put aside for recycling.

This isn’t true but you don’t know that.

Hey, drink as many 2L bottles of Pepsi as you like, just some advice on a health related thread which you are free to disregard

[Vasco]

ORD said:

Exercise is a bad way to get lean, in my view. It’s massively easier to not eat 500 calories than to burn them.

Absolutely - and so often completely overlooked.

[hyphen]

Vasco said:

ORD said:

Exercise is a bad way to get lean, in my view. It’s massively easier to not eat 500 calories than to burn them.

Absolutely - and so often completely overlooked.

But is it sustainable? What's life without the regular, but not daily, naughtier food.