burning fat over 40

[pipeliner41]

I'm 40 and have lifted off and on since I was 21. I have the typical look of a guy who once lifted alot. I have big shoulders, big arms and my big problem a big gut. I just can't seem to lose it. When I was young I had no problem but now when you see some one you haven't seen in a couple of years their like what happened you always looked so good. I practise a demanding boxing program and I do bodyweight exercises and lift steel weights. I eat as clean as possible, I cheat on Sundays. I really watch the unhealthy fats and carbs and sugar. Please any help will be appericiated.

[DeepDiver]

Welcome and visit the diet forum for some great tips. sounds like you have some expierience, and I dont want to state the obvious, but.... It really is a pretty simple equation, figure out your BMR, your activity level and then you know how many calories you need a day. Its just not watching fats and sugars. After you find out your caloric need every day, remove 10 to 20% of the calories from that figure and you will begin to loose weight. Cardio is king durring this process so if you are consistant with your cardio and diet, the weight will come off, just stick with it. It will take at least 3-months before you see any results. Put a notebook next to your scale and take a reading every week. You will see the results... I had the exact problem you had, feel free to look at some of my posts to see my before and after pics. Some thing that worked well for me on the belly fat was a neoprene belt durring cardio, it helped my midsection sweat like crazy. You can pick them up in any sports store, i think they call them back supports these days. If you have a real big waist you may need two in the begining, I did! Good luck!

[kaju]

I'm 40 and have lifted off and on since I was 21. I have the typical look of a guy who once lifted allot. I have big shoulders, big arms and my big problem a big gut. I just can't seem to lose it. When I was young I had no problem but now when you see some one you haven't seen in a couple of years their like what happened you always looked so good. I practice a demanding boxing program and I do bodyweight exercises and lift steel weights. I eat as clean as possible, I cheat on Sundays. I really watch the unhealthy fats and carbs and sugar. Please any help will be appreciated.

Welcome to the forum. I too am a former boxer. If you are familiar with the boxing gym you do not need advice from us on exercising. the problem is diet. That is the toughest opponent that I have ever challenged in my life. You can loose all of your body fat from diet alone but it will come off faster if you exercise with it.
In my early twenties I boxed it three different weight divisions. In my early thirties I had to only fight in two divisions. By my late thirties I had to box only in the light heavy weight division because I just could not get the weight off. Now in my late forties, I do not box anymore but I still go to the gym and exercise but mostly lift weights. I now have a harder time keeping the weight off. It is only when I keep to my diet I do keep the fat off, no matter how much I exercise.
My point? As we age diet is more important than the exercise. It is gong to be 60% diet and 40% exercise.

[gcguiness]

Maybe we should be in the boxing forum.. I was an amature boxer for about 9 years in the late 70's through the 80's. I used to be able to eat anything and keep the weight off. For years I have been 185 to 195lbs, and cannot seem to drop below that. I have learned alot about diet at this site, but I cant seem to drop below the 185lbs. Just keep plugging along.. I sure feel stronger and more healthy over the last 3/4 year...

[kuad]

any diet advice?

[yannick35]

Get yourself a copy of brad pilon eat stop eat , and educate yourself on the wonderful world of fasting. This as changed my life, no more cooking all day, eating 6 small meals, you will lose weight no matter what age you are, i am 37 almost 38, i have gone from 231 pounds to 215 in a month and a half apply very basic eat stop eat principles.

Fasting does wonders, how much food you really need, how much protein you really need, how many calories your body needs, and eating less.....

He also has a book on how much protein you really need that is amazing too.

[lovbyts]

It's still about diet and learning what and when to eat.

Im 47, I got back on track at 45 and went from 205+ to 165 in under 2 months by eating right alone, very little gym time and no cardio.

If you think your diet is good then you have more to learn. Read up on the diet section.

[HEK]

well I'm not sure if dieting alone, I put on some muscle in the last 3 years, tried dieting and lost muscle faster than fat...so my question to me was...do I want to have ripped abs and be on a "diet" for the rest of my life like when I was in my 20's and look ripped with my shirt off or look bigger with my shirt on and not have the ripped look....here in Massachussetts, Winters last long so as long I don't need a boomerang to put on my belt I'll keep the layer of fat that loves to stick to my abs.. sucks getting old..but ...there is very little to do to fight it...

[kaju]

well I'm not sure if dieting alone, I put on some muscle in the last 3 years, tried dieting and lost muscle faster than fat...so my question to me was...do I want to have ripped abs and be on a "diet" for the rest of my life like when I was in my 20's and look ripped with my shirt off or look bigger with my shirt on and not have the ripped look....here in Massachussetts, Winters last long so as long I don't need a boomerang to put on my belt I'll keep the layer of fat that loves to stick to my abs.. sucks getting old..but ...there is very little to do to fight it...

Both can be done. youcan loose fat and gain muscle at the same time. that is why we say diet and exercise.

[ScotchGuard]

When you get to our age, I'm 50, we just don't have the testosterone in our system like we used to when we were in our 30's. I know people that eat right and exercise like crazy but they just can't lose the last 5 to 10 pounds. You should get some blood work done and check the level of your IGF and Test. If your levels are low it's a good idea to start TRT or HRT. I've been on HGH for over a year and a half and I've been able to keep a nice six pack since about week 7 into the HGH. I look pretty young and when I tell people I'm 50 no one believes me. It's just easier to say I'm 35. The diet, exercise and the right amount of Testosterone will do absolute wonders.

[yannick35]

It's still about diet and learning what and when to eat.

Im 47, I got back on track at 45 and went from 205+ to 165 in under 2 months by eating right alone, very little gym time and no cardio.

If you think your diet is good then you have more to learn. Read up on the diet section.

That is 100% true, i have seen many people lose so much weight without training and worst no cardio. Just cutting portion and eating less that's it.

It's amazing and its all about your food intake.

[jeebling]

Hi, I am 41 and have been up and down with the fat my entire life. It used to be a heck of a lot easier to loose the fat and inches. In the past three months I have lost from 240 lbs to 212 lbs. Desperate times call for desperate measures...I get up a bit earlier and eat a hearty breakfast of meat and eggs but no carbs. I eat a meal of fruit mid-morning. I eat about 600 calories of meat and veggies at lunch and then around 3:00 or 3:30 I eat either raw vegetable salad with chicken or tuna, or another meal of fruits. I don't eat after that. I drink a lot of water and go to bed hungry. I don't sit at my desk for more than an hour without getting up to take at least a ten minute walk around the building and I walk, jog, or do calisthenics everyday either morning, noon, or in the evening. Getting my heart rate up to 60% of maximum and keeping it there for at least an hour seems to have helped immensely when used with the diet. I have lost a lot of fat and fluid weight.

all the best,
Jeebling

[kaju]

It all comes down to what you put into your mouth.

[bigbenny1]

buy a bike and ride it around town with a backpack. you will enjoy life, get great exercise, and save money

[lovbyts]

the word diet confuses a lot of people. Diet does not mean eat less or starvation. It means learning what to eat and when to eat it. I noticed the most weight loss when I eat all the time, 6+ times a day. If my body is not hungry it doesn't store fat.

Yes Cardio is always helpful. Over 20 minutes to start burning fat but to much will burn muscle.

[39+1]

There is a great diet section by a guy named Milos on this site. It squared me up right away.

[45factor]

I feel your pains and agree with getting your blood work checked.

As this is an older post please give us an update on your findings and or results?

Best of luck...

[FTLdude]

well I'm not sure if dieting alone, I put on some muscle in the last 3 years, tried dieting and lost muscle faster than fat...so my question to me was...do I want to have ripped abs and be on a "diet" for the rest of my life like when I was in my 20's and look ripped with my shirt off or look bigger with my shirt on and not have the ripped look....here in Massachussetts, Winters last long so as long I don't need a boomerang to put on my belt I'll keep the layer of fat that loves to stick to my abs.. sucks getting old..but ...there is very little to do to fight it...

Dude, you give up too easy. I'm no expert but just to add to your comment about being on a diet for the rest of your life...I think thats a big part of what this forum is about. Eating clean, losing fat, and building a healthier and stronger body---its a lifestyle change, and you have to stay committed to it if you want to maintain your results. True that lotsa guys our age aren't in great shape, but from what I've been reading on this site, there are many who're in far better shape now than they were back in their 20s. Even the ones who've been training and running lotsa gear for years couldn't stay looking as good as they do if they don't stick to the right diet. So...maybe not for the rest of you life, but for as long as you can and want to.

Regardless of what your fitness goal is, I concur with what others have said, that it is still mostly about diet...just not necesarily about 'dieting' the way most non-BB's like me usually think about it. There IS something that you can do to fight it. You just have to figure out the right balance (for you) of diet and training to promote muscle growth and fat loss. You could look into lipo if you don't have the patience to lose it naturally. But even if you do lipo, if your diet needs work, you'll eventually regain some of that fat. Perhaps not as much, but still.

[sirupate]

I didn't ever want to do this...but calorie counting is working for me right now. I am using Nutrisystem to lose the big weight, but know I will need to devise a maintenance scheme when I get closer to my goal. I think even when my diet was relatively "clean", I was still eating portions that were too large. My daily calorie average right now is about 1500 with some cheating on the weekend (college football snacks/beers). The diet is working for me...attempting to go from about 250lbs. down to around 215lbs. over three months or so. When I get to goal weight, I am thinking lots of veggies and small portions of lean meats, low carbs, small meals throughout the day.

sirp

[40plusnewbie]

It's still about diet and learning what and when to eat.

Im 47, I got back on track at 45 and went from 205+ to 165 in under 2 months by eating right alone, very little gym time and no cardio.

If you think your diet is good then you have more to learn. Read up on the diet section.

I am also back on track at age 43. At age 40 I weighed 300lbs. I dropped down to 260 in like 4 months from dietary changes alone, diet high in lean proteins ,(egg whites, fat free cottage cheese, turkey burgers with no bread, skinless chicken breast) and tons of H2O. Low fat, low carb. I also went from eating 4 huge bad meals/day to eating about 8-10x/day or more. I was constantly 'picking' at food, but it would be like 2 egg whites and a glass of water, 3 tbsp of fat free cottage cheese and a glass of water..... This speeds up your metabolism so you burn fat quicker.

I got stuck at 260lbs for a while but managed to get down to 217lbs and looked kinda lanky given my height and body frame so went up to 220lbs. I'm now at 255lbs- 262lbs, most all of which is the addition of lean muscle mass.

Obviously if I were to have added in cardio in the beginning the wt would have come off faster.

BTW my goal is to develop my body to look v. similar to the body in lovbyts ativar.

[40plusnewbie]

well I'm not sure if dieting alone, I put on some muscle in the last 3 years, tried dieting and lost muscle faster than fat...so my question to me was...do I want to have ripped abs and be on a "diet" for the rest of my life like when I was in my 20's and look ripped with my shirt off or look bigger with my shirt on and not have the ripped look....here in Massachussetts, Winters last long so as long I don't need a boomerang to put on my belt I'll keep the layer of fat that loves to stick to my abs.. sucks getting old..but ...there is very little to do to fight it...

I live in MA as well so u can't use that as a cop out. I'm also middle aged at 43 (if I live to 86) so not 'young' either. I was and am damn determined to be successful though. And guess what? The results keep coming. I'm using different steroids now to aid in the muscle mass development but those first 40lbs came off quick and easy when I radically changed how I ate.