Too late at 49??
Moderators: Boss Man, cassiegose
Too late at 49??
Just turned 49 in June and decided to make a change. I've been working out and eating healthier and lost 18 pounds since April. I'm trying to build up speed on the treadmill, currently at about 2.5 mph (I'm short so this seems fast to me!) for about 60 minutes 5-6 days per week. Additionally I do strength training with hand weights and work on abs about 2 days per week. I'm eating all the time - 7:00 a.m. breakfast (generally yogurt) mid morning snack (9:00-10:00) also usually yogurt. Lunch around 12:00 is generally Lean Quisine or Weight Watcher meal of 250-350 calories, afternoon snack of fruit or something in the 100 calorie range and then dinner by 7:00 usually chicken or fish, sometimes small piece of lean steak plus salad or veggies. Total of about 1200 calories per day. I tend to build muscle quickly, particularly in legs. However, I've been on a plateau for about a month. In the last month I've gone weeks at a time without losing anything. Any thoughts?
re: Too Late at 49?
Forgot to mention - I'm 5'0" and 134 pounds
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cassiegose
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Hi Pam!
Nope. Its never too late! :)
First of all... congrats on the weight loss! Thats absolutely FANTASTIC!!
I think by tweaking that diet and fitness routine you should be able to get off that plateau in no time.
For diet the two most important things to remember is that you need a protein with every meal and you should be eating every 2-3 hours. It looks like you're getting some protein with every meal although probably not enough. At 1200 calories you've most likely hit a plateau because you're not consuming enough calories and your body has gone into starvation mode, thus holding on to all of your fat and calories. I would gradually increase your caloric intake over the next few weeks until you get back up to around 1600-1800 calories. With the correct balance of foods and the right exercise routine this should get your metabolism revved back up so you can start losing that weight again. I know this goes against everything that we've been taught about dieting but it really works. Also, I would recommend getting away from the lien cuisines and going to real foods like lean meats, whole grains, fruits, veggies, and healthy fats. Examples would be:
Protein: chicken breast, turkey breast, fish, lean red meats, eggs/eggwhites, some cuts of pork, and tofu
Carbs: whole wheat pasta/bread/couscous, sweet potatos, quinoa, brown rice, oatmeal ect
Also fruits and veggies of every variety are a great choice for carbs.
For your meal plan you might consider something like this:
meal 1: oatmeal or high fiber cereal, eggs/eggwhites, fruit
meal 2: fruit, protein
meal 3: veggies, protein, carb (from list above.. this is optional)
meal 4: veggies, protein
meal 5: veggies, protein
meal 6: veggies, protein
You should also make sure to add some nuts, avacados, and coconut or olive oil in there to make sure you're getting enough healthy fats.
For your exercise it seems that your body has become very efficient at that treadmill workout you've been doing and it therefor isn't doing you much good as far as fat loss. If I were you Id cut that cardio workout down to no more than 30 minutes 2-3 times a week and add in some intervals, hills, stairs, and sprints to the workout. That should help to shock your body and burn some of that fat off as your body won't be used to doing a workout that intense and should be working harder. For weights... I would do these 3 times a week. What kind of exercises are you currently doing with those hand weights? You might set those weights aside for a while and just work on basic bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, dips, pushups (incline and decline), pull ups and rows.
What do you think so far? I hope this helps! :)
Nope. Its never too late! :)
First of all... congrats on the weight loss! Thats absolutely FANTASTIC!!
I think by tweaking that diet and fitness routine you should be able to get off that plateau in no time.
For diet the two most important things to remember is that you need a protein with every meal and you should be eating every 2-3 hours. It looks like you're getting some protein with every meal although probably not enough. At 1200 calories you've most likely hit a plateau because you're not consuming enough calories and your body has gone into starvation mode, thus holding on to all of your fat and calories. I would gradually increase your caloric intake over the next few weeks until you get back up to around 1600-1800 calories. With the correct balance of foods and the right exercise routine this should get your metabolism revved back up so you can start losing that weight again. I know this goes against everything that we've been taught about dieting but it really works. Also, I would recommend getting away from the lien cuisines and going to real foods like lean meats, whole grains, fruits, veggies, and healthy fats. Examples would be:
Protein: chicken breast, turkey breast, fish, lean red meats, eggs/eggwhites, some cuts of pork, and tofu
Carbs: whole wheat pasta/bread/couscous, sweet potatos, quinoa, brown rice, oatmeal ect
Also fruits and veggies of every variety are a great choice for carbs.
For your meal plan you might consider something like this:
meal 1: oatmeal or high fiber cereal, eggs/eggwhites, fruit
meal 2: fruit, protein
meal 3: veggies, protein, carb (from list above.. this is optional)
meal 4: veggies, protein
meal 5: veggies, protein
meal 6: veggies, protein
You should also make sure to add some nuts, avacados, and coconut or olive oil in there to make sure you're getting enough healthy fats.
For your exercise it seems that your body has become very efficient at that treadmill workout you've been doing and it therefor isn't doing you much good as far as fat loss. If I were you Id cut that cardio workout down to no more than 30 minutes 2-3 times a week and add in some intervals, hills, stairs, and sprints to the workout. That should help to shock your body and burn some of that fat off as your body won't be used to doing a workout that intense and should be working harder. For weights... I would do these 3 times a week. What kind of exercises are you currently doing with those hand weights? You might set those weights aside for a while and just work on basic bodyweight exercises like squats, lunges, dips, pushups (incline and decline), pull ups and rows.
What do you think so far? I hope this helps! :)
Thanks sooo much! I've been concerned that maybe I wasn't getting enough calories, but couldn't be sure. When I was much younger, I did major weight loss by starvation - dropped 30 pounds in about 5-6 weeks after oldest son was born, so you're right, this definitely is hard for me to get used to.
I have added nuts, semi - sweet chocolate, canola oil etc. in the last couple of weeks to get some Omega 3's in.
As far as weight training, I'm doing standard things like bicep curls, working on the flabby underarms, etc. I do push ups, some lunges etc and work on abs - around 100 crunches at a time. I do have an elliptical machine but I'm having a hard time building up any time at all on there. The treadmill is on a 5% incline, I have built up muscle but you're right, doesn't seem to be doing much for me although the numbers still show up as calories burned on the read out.
I have added nuts, semi - sweet chocolate, canola oil etc. in the last couple of weeks to get some Omega 3's in.
As far as weight training, I'm doing standard things like bicep curls, working on the flabby underarms, etc. I do push ups, some lunges etc and work on abs - around 100 crunches at a time. I do have an elliptical machine but I'm having a hard time building up any time at all on there. The treadmill is on a 5% incline, I have built up muscle but you're right, doesn't seem to be doing much for me although the numbers still show up as calories burned on the read out.
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cassiegose
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- Location: Prineville Oregon
You're welcome. :)
Yeah, 1200 calories a day is not enough. If I were you I would gradually increase it to 1800 and try that for a while to get your metabolism going again as its probably shut down right now.
For your weights... I would do more lunges and add in some squats. You could also do dead lifts and good mornings with those weights. By building up your muscles you will naturally start burning more calories (about 35-50 a day per pound of muscle). Don't be afraid of buidling muscle! legs tend to get fairly muscular also... Use this to your advantage because it will help you burn fat. :) Also keep up those pushups! Those are great for the arms and chest. Those situps probably aren't doing much good... Instead of those I would focus more on the other exercises I mentioned earlier.
Why are you having a hard time "building up any time" on the elliptical? Is it too hard? If it feels hard then that is the machine I would be spending time on. You could do intervals on there doing 1 minute as hard as you can followed by a minute easy then 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy for about 20-30 minutes. When that starts to feel too easy you could move back to the treadmill (or the road or local track) and start doing intervals on there. Intervals are GREAT for fat loss. :)
As for the numbers on the treadmill... Those things usually aren't very accurate. If you are putting your age and weight in they tend to be more accurate but they still tend to be off. Plus, if your metabolism isn't functioning at optimal levels then the reading on the treadmill is totally irrelevant. I've found that I have been results when I listen to body instead of reading the numbers on machines.
Hope this helps!
Yeah, 1200 calories a day is not enough. If I were you I would gradually increase it to 1800 and try that for a while to get your metabolism going again as its probably shut down right now.
For your weights... I would do more lunges and add in some squats. You could also do dead lifts and good mornings with those weights. By building up your muscles you will naturally start burning more calories (about 35-50 a day per pound of muscle). Don't be afraid of buidling muscle! legs tend to get fairly muscular also... Use this to your advantage because it will help you burn fat. :) Also keep up those pushups! Those are great for the arms and chest. Those situps probably aren't doing much good... Instead of those I would focus more on the other exercises I mentioned earlier.
Why are you having a hard time "building up any time" on the elliptical? Is it too hard? If it feels hard then that is the machine I would be spending time on. You could do intervals on there doing 1 minute as hard as you can followed by a minute easy then 1 minute hard, 1 minute easy for about 20-30 minutes. When that starts to feel too easy you could move back to the treadmill (or the road or local track) and start doing intervals on there. Intervals are GREAT for fat loss. :)
As for the numbers on the treadmill... Those things usually aren't very accurate. If you are putting your age and weight in they tend to be more accurate but they still tend to be off. Plus, if your metabolism isn't functioning at optimal levels then the reading on the treadmill is totally irrelevant. I've found that I have been results when I listen to body instead of reading the numbers on machines.
Hope this helps!
once you get into a decent resistance training program, you'll start losing again...
day 1 - lunges, mountain climbers, assisted chin ups (if you have one there), prone planks
day 2 - squats, inverted rows, push ups, burpees, side planks
do 3 x 15 for 2 weeks, 4 x 12 for 2 weeks and 5 x 10 for 2 weeks...alternate thriough the week for 3 - 4 a week (you might do 3 one wek and 4 the next doesn't matter), do in a circuit fashion so all in a row then rest 1min and go again
for cardio you've got to be able to run fast for 5mins before you can run fast for 60mins so build up your speed over 5mins then 10min etc
day 1 - lunges, mountain climbers, assisted chin ups (if you have one there), prone planks
day 2 - squats, inverted rows, push ups, burpees, side planks
do 3 x 15 for 2 weeks, 4 x 12 for 2 weeks and 5 x 10 for 2 weeks...alternate thriough the week for 3 - 4 a week (you might do 3 one wek and 4 the next doesn't matter), do in a circuit fashion so all in a row then rest 1min and go again
for cardio you've got to be able to run fast for 5mins before you can run fast for 60mins so build up your speed over 5mins then 10min etc
Swanso - you're right, and that's been thought to try to speed up gradually. Gosh, when I first started I could barely make 15-20 minutes at less than 2 mph. In the past, I've had problems with shin splints but haven't had that issue this time at all. I'm assuming because I've gradually increased speed and time. Also, I've done better about warming up for about 10 minutes before trying to increase speed. I do tend to add some intervals as high as I can handle for about 3-5 minutes then back down to slower speeds. It's funny though, when I first started and was having results of about 2 pounds per week, I was only working out about every other day. At that time, I was having a hard time even getting 1000 calories per day. Since I've started working out more, I bumped up calories to about 1200. I've tried to stick to that or a little more but sometimes it's hard to get that many. Time is definitely a factor but also, if I work out before I eat in the evenings, I'm not hungry at all plus it gets to be so late that I hate to eat a heavy meal.
Hi there, perhaps the diet and nutrition forum sticky could help...
"read this before posting" is the title and it is great information.
You may find having a protein and vegie meal about 1/2 hour to 1 hour before a work out and a protein whey drink right after the workout benificial. As for a meal after a workout, about an hour or so after the workout eat a lite meal. Something like a salad with some nuts and seeds, a wrap with chicken breast or ham or steak and some veggies. I love making a plate of small handfuls of cheese, a few veggies, some cold meats and a sweet fruit as a desert like half a peach, some pinapple or strawberries.
its all healthy food, easily prepared, refreshing and filling. It's all finger food and works great with people of all ages for a meal. daughter who is four loves it because she can pick and choose what to eat, use her fingers, and "camp-out" on the floor easily with it, watch tv, read, use computer, its unformal but great!
"read this before posting" is the title and it is great information.
You may find having a protein and vegie meal about 1/2 hour to 1 hour before a work out and a protein whey drink right after the workout benificial. As for a meal after a workout, about an hour or so after the workout eat a lite meal. Something like a salad with some nuts and seeds, a wrap with chicken breast or ham or steak and some veggies. I love making a plate of small handfuls of cheese, a few veggies, some cold meats and a sweet fruit as a desert like half a peach, some pinapple or strawberries.
its all healthy food, easily prepared, refreshing and filling. It's all finger food and works great with people of all ages for a meal. daughter who is four loves it because she can pick and choose what to eat, use her fingers, and "camp-out" on the floor easily with it, watch tv, read, use computer, its unformal but great!
yes
hardwork and time but yes.
There is a lady at gym who is between late forties and about 55. This lady has a 6 pack and a very firm body. She is one of the most in shape women I have seen in a long time. She skips, lift weights, does cardio and I would bet has a very healthy diet.
If she can do it, I'm sure you can.
Cheers
hardwork and time but yes.
There is a lady at gym who is between late forties and about 55. This lady has a 6 pack and a very firm body. She is one of the most in shape women I have seen in a long time. She skips, lift weights, does cardio and I would bet has a very healthy diet.
If she can do it, I'm sure you can.
Cheers
If you are talking about "batwings", then it is going to depend. Is your skin still tight? If you've lost a lot of elasticity it will be difficult. But you can probably improve the situation greatly.PAM8981 wrote:OK, here's a biggie - everyone tells me that at age some of problem areas are just a factor of age. IS it possible to firm underarms and chest at 49?
Of course, listening to someone who says it's just age and there is nothing to be done will get nothing done. I really can't accept that 49 is too old for anything, but that may be because I'm only a few years behind ya!
At your age, "fimining up", is definitely a possiblity.
For instance, I once saw a picture of someone about 4 years ago, winning a seniors bodybuilding event at 51. She looked about 41, and she was shredded to the max, and probably weighing a natural weight of around 115lbs approx. Definitely No Steroids that I could tell, and at her age, starting those, even in small amounts so you could get obvious things like hoarse voice and thicker Jawline, probably would be a bit pointless.
People like that would probably start in thier 20's.
There is no reason why you can "firm up". If you keep diet clean, and you train properly, then it's perfectly possible in view. I mention the person in question, (not sure who they are), as a reason to say what I have.
Providing you do the right things with diet and training, you shouldn't have issues tightening the body. 49 is not a reason to assume everything is going slowly worse.
Aging is inevitable in us all, and every second of time increases it, but good healthy protocols / regimen, can help to slow to down, and in some case partly reverse what time does. So can they for you
.
For instance, I once saw a picture of someone about 4 years ago, winning a seniors bodybuilding event at 51. She looked about 41, and she was shredded to the max, and probably weighing a natural weight of around 115lbs approx. Definitely No Steroids that I could tell, and at her age, starting those, even in small amounts so you could get obvious things like hoarse voice and thicker Jawline, probably would be a bit pointless.
People like that would probably start in thier 20's.
There is no reason why you can "firm up". If you keep diet clean, and you train properly, then it's perfectly possible in view. I mention the person in question, (not sure who they are), as a reason to say what I have.
Providing you do the right things with diet and training, you shouldn't have issues tightening the body. 49 is not a reason to assume everything is going slowly worse.
Aging is inevitable in us all, and every second of time increases it, but good healthy protocols / regimen, can help to slow to down, and in some case partly reverse what time does. So can they for you
.
Last edited by Boss Man on Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Nicaraguan
- STARTING OUT
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- Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:30 pm
Skin is EXTREMELY elastic. Most people who were once fat, and then lost the weight claim to have "loose skin" at 24.PAM8981 wrote:OK, here's a biggie - everyone tells me that at age some of problem areas are just a factor of age. IS it possible to firm underarms and chest at 49?
Your skin CAN come back, however, you NEED to remove the fat beneath the skin, otherwise the skin "thinks" it still needs to be there.
To address the matter of age, yes skin does lose elasticity with age. It will be MORE difficult... but certainly not impossible. Not even close. It just won't be as easy as when you were 21.
Weight/Fat Loss
Have just finished reading all the emails.......I am 53, it is possibly to turn time around if you are determined. Took me a while to mentally accept the fact that body is never going to be like it was many years ago, however I am determined to make it the best I can get it for age and health.PAM8981 wrote:OK, here's a biggie - everyone tells me that at age some of problem areas are just a factor of age. IS it possible to firm underarms and chest at 49?
You know, I only get more determined and motivated when people tell me "you probably cannot do that at your age". Bull****. however it is fantastic when someone says "you are how old!". I hate the phrase but I know that it is meant as a compliment. I have girlfriends age that are big, but sit on their arse, have stiff backs and get puffed. Yuck. It only spurs me on to not be like that.
I have been watching the Olympics today and the girl that won the 42km marathon is 38, another in the gymnastics is 42 and the USA swimmer that got silver is 41...these woman are inspirational. I will never be that good. but I can be the best I can be at time in life..stick with it..Go Girl, I am!!