What's your diet and exercise plan?

[Gunanddoglover]

This is not a thread for the my plan is better than your plan crap. This is a thread for all of us trying to lose weight and get in better health to help each other. Everybody is different so what works for me may not work for you and vice versa.
We can learn from each other and pick up a few things that may help in the journey.
Start by giving some information about yourself and goals. As much or little as you are comfortable with. This is not a pecker measuring contest, so please let's break from ODT tradition and leave the tape measure in the tool box.

I'll start: I'm 61 and in decent health for a fat guy. I take blood pressure and cholesterol meds. I'm about 6 foot and have weighed as much as 290 lbs about 18 years ago. For me setting short term goals while working towards the main goal works best.

My goal is to weigh 200 lbs, get into better physical condition, lower my BP and cholesterol and get off of the meds if possible.

My plan which I change as needed:
Stationary bike 20 minutes 5 times per week in the morning, followed by crunches and other ab exercises.
Weight training 4 times per week. I start with 10 minutes on the stationary bike for a warm up. Monday is chest and arms. Tuesday is leg day. Thursday is back and shoulders. Saturday is chest, arms, back, and shoulders. I work my abs in between sets.
I work out in the evenings due to my work schedule except for Saturday. I have a protein shake after and take BCAA before and after.

Diet:
Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit, lean meat.
Lunch: mixed greens salad with chicken or fish, oil and vinegar dressing.
Dinner: mixed greens salad, chicken or fish.
I stay away from processed foods as much as possible. I cook and bring a lunch to work. I primarily eat salmon and chicken, but also include Ahi tuna, flounder, turkey. I eat lean beef, pork, or eggs twice a week. I need some variety or I would fail.
I rarely drink soda or eat fast food. I very seldom eat bread, pasta, rice, or drink alcohol. Water is my main drink. To eliminate temptation I do not keep crap foods in the house. If I want to snack it's salad, chicken, or fish.
I do have some cheats. Nothing that set's me back. Smoked wings or the BBQ salad with sliced pork from Sonny's for lunch every other week. Cookies at church on Sunday. Oatmeal raisin and white chocolate macadamia nut are my Kryptonite.
I also take vitamins and minerals.

January of this year I had a physical. Weighed 242 lbs my BP was high but acceptable 130/90. Blood work was good.
I started riding the stationary bike and eating better. I had a check up in July. I was down 10 lbs and BP was 110/70. Blood work had improved.
Just before I turned 61 I decided to take it up to the next level and started my plan. Started slow and easy because I may not be old, but I ain't no kid either. The older you get the more prone you are to injury or maybe even a heart attack. Mid August I weighed 228 lbs and wore a size 40. I now weigh 215 and my pants fall off without a belt. I'm still fat but not as fat and my man boobs are going away. The first twenty or so pounds fell off now the weight loss has slowed down. But, as I stated physically I'm changing for the better. Muscle weighs more than fat. My knee and back no longer constantly hurt, mobility and flexibility have greatly improved. Overall I feel better and have more energy.


Okay it's your turn. What's your plan?

 

[Shortcut]

Just some advice, if you want. May want to look at a 4 day workout lifting plan. something like upper, lower, rest, upper , lower, rest. If you want to do a 6 day plan go for push, pull, legs, rest, push, pull, legs. If you are going to do cardio for a warm up keep it light as to not take away from your strength training or move to after your strength work. you will get more results from focusing on compound movements, bench, overhead press, squat variation, dealifts, etc... and hitting each muscle group twice a week. Just starting out I would say 4 days or even 3 days of total body would be best.

When I started exercising I was turning 40 and had done none thru life. Done alot of plans over the last 3.5 yrs. The constant is each muscle group twice a week.

If I can answer any questions I am happy to. Good luck and great for taking up exercising.

 

[yardboss1]

I got thru college on an athletic scholarship. I have been in the gym / exercising / active my entire life. At the end of the day when you think things thru you have two options.

1. Follow your doctors advice for good health and let that be your measuring stick.
2. Get on a vanity program and do whatever makes you feel good about yourself when you look in the mirror.
3. How much you weigh is not a bench mark of good health or how long your lifespan will be.

 

[BDR1]

In for more replies.. I like this type of thread.. I’m about to 50 in just under a wk..
I’m 5’10’’ roughly 250 lbs.. it kinda hard for me to really clean.. as no one else in my house cares what they eat.. I know that’s just an excuse.. I need to lose 25 or more lbs myself.. I used to love to work out and be the strongest in the weight room.. I can’t keep that mindset now.. I need to be more fit

 

[Shortcut]

In for more replies.. I like this type of thread.. I’m about to 50 in just under a wk..
I’m 5’10’’ roughly 250 lbs.. it kinda hard for me to really clean.. as no one else in my house cares what they eat.. I know that’s just an excuse.. I need to lose 25 or more lbs myself.. I used to love to work out and be the strongest in the weight room.. I can’t keep that mindset now.. I need to be more fit

The mental drive for me comes and goes for sure. I keep the workout schedule, but definitely go thru phases where it is not my best effort.

 

[harrycalahan]

Almost 36. Current weight 188 and 5’10. Been on Keto for a month. Goal is 160. No work out plan. Reason for dieting other than weight loss/health is trying to reduce chronic muscle pains and fatigue that my doctors have been unable to diagnose.

 

[TheGman]

Subscribed, I have been a gym rat all of my adult life but age and time constraints have made me fatter and in the worse shape of my life.

burn more than you consume and do aerobic as well as aerobic exercise . Muscle burns / consumes calories . I need to lose 20 lbs

 

[Gunanddoglover]

Almost 36. Current weight 188 and 5’10. Been on Keto for a month. Goal is 160. No work out plan. Reason for dieting other than weight loss/health is trying to reduce chronic muscle pains and fatigue that my doctors have been unable to diagnose.

Between the dieting and exercise my old man aches and pain have greatly diminished. I also stretch and use an inversion table almost every night.

 

[Eggmanmja01]

Meal planning, portion control (300-450 cal per) and I eat 5-6 times a day. I can work out a little but not much. Don't eat 3-4 hours before bed. Don't let your body go into starvation mode by not eating.

I'm 49, 5'8" 195 lbs which is still considered overweight.

 

[WallsGa]

I didn’t really care much about fitness/health until I had a kid. Sure, I’d see the doctor yearly, and he never reported anything bad. I was only in my mid 30’s, no family history to speak of, cholesterol mildly elevated, but that was it.

I quit smoking at 35 after I finally decided I was ready to quit. I had a kid at 38, and after years of restaurant life (access to great food, poor hours, drinking more than the ‘normal’ human) i hit 201 lbs for the first time in my life. No way I was buying 36 inch pants, so I decided to get in better shape.

The easy part was to cut out refined sugar: no more cookies, sodas, ice cream sandwiches, double-white-mochas from Starbucks. And I cut way back on carbs, mostly bread carbs. I had been running for a few years since I realized during PT after tearing my ACL that I liked the exercise. Now I’m up to 2 miles 2 or 3 times/week and a 5k once a week (most weeks anyway). I dropped the first 15 pounds quickly. The next 10 were a bitch. I had to run more and work on smaller portions of food while eliminating heavily processed junk.

I did keto for a few months recently. I wanted to get down to 165 (My weight in high school). I’m mid 40s and 5’9”. I got to 169 before I fell off the keto wagon. I’ll probably start it back up again in 2 weeks, but I missed beer too much. I had some ice cream cake the other day and it made me feel like crap. I actually enjoy the keto diet but my wife and kid weren’t on it so it is tough to maintain.

The good news is I’ve kept all that weight off for the past 3 years. 175 is my usual weight these days. I’d still like to get under 170, but tone some muscle a bit. Started a little body weight exercise, light dumbell work, and still running 3 or 4 days/week.

I’m in better shape, bought SMALLER pants, and feel better than I have in years.

I’d actually like to start taking karate class with my son soon, but that requires another knee surgery, that just plain ****ing hurts, so it may wait a while longer.