Posted on 05/08/2009 8:02:54 AM PDT by knarf
I'm 61 and I'm fighting a gaining battle ...
I'm strugling with belly fat and love handles.
I'm a small guy (5 7-1/2) and I weigh 200 lbs. My torso is proportioned except for my belly and love handles (ok, a big ass is developing too)
I look like I'm seven months, carrying high, I think it's a boy ... oh yeah ... did I mention I was a guy? stupid film poster in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 .. I don't eat much (yesterday 6 pieces if toast with butter, coffee (3-4 cups) and an orange.
Today, 2 cups and 2 toast.
I eat a lot of rabbit food, but .... without going into any details ... what I ingest is so small (by weight) compared to what I egress and ultimately weigh, and it doesn't seem to matter.
Does the body take a few grams of butter fat and make it a pound of belly fat?
It sure seems like it.
checking later for shenanigans
The possibility exists that you have a medical disorder. Check yourself out.
Just drink more water, that always puts the body into gear like a well tuned engine. See watercure.com, they still have some good information even though the founder died years ago.
Serious inquiry ... but shenanigans guaranteed.
No expert here, but if you eat often (5 times a day with no more than 3 hours between meals) and well and exercise aerobically with some resistance work you’ll shed it rather quickly.
Weight Watchers has worked for us. Body weight is ruled by the Physical Laws of Nature. Eat too much, you gain. Eat less, exercise more, you lose.
In order to lose weight you must consume a minimum of 1980 calories to maintain your metabolism. You need to do the following: 1) 3 days of lifting weights 2) 3 days of cardio. Cut out sugars and do not over eat proteins. Talk to your doctor before you start any exercise program.
Two issues that I know help: 1) Go to an endocrinologist, make sure your thyroid is functioning properly. 2) Eliminate as many carbs as possible. Egg whites and turkey bacon are good choices for breakfast. Reduce bread to as little as you can. A protein and a salad or vegetable for dinner. Walk for 30 minutes a day, every day, you don’t have to bust a lung. You’ll lose the weight.
From what I understand, if you bounce back and forth with low calorie foods and periods of eating and then maybe ‘cheat’ for a few weeks (Christmas pounds, birthday cake, Thanksgiving, etc), your body is programmed to store that.
It is an evolutionary conditioned response to store when it receives extra for the times you don’t have enough calories. Consistency is the key.
Also, once you hit your 30s, you have to work twice as hard to maintain muscle mass. Muscle burns fat as it requires more energy to maintain.
Of course, I, like most other folks, am fighting the battle.. I’ve always been in good shape (6’0” about 200) but having a job that sticks me behind a computer all day is not helping.
Bad carbs is most likely your problem. Eat Quaker weight control high fiber oatmeal instead of toast. Eat eggs for protein and ‘sticking’ power. Walk.
I’m no Doc but am 65 years old and in good physical shape. I have followed this principle. Expend more calories that you consume. You will lose weight. By starving yourself with a couple of pieces of toast and butter, your body compensates and slows down your metabolism.
sounds like you are not eating enough, seriously ever heard of yo yo diets, the body thinks it is starving and as a defense mechanism the body works even harder to store fat for the next time you are ‘starving’
the only way to lose weight is to increase your metabolism by increasing your muscle mass, a bigger engine burns more fuel, so lift weights
if you want to gain size do three sets, increasing the amount of weight you lift each time but reducing the number of times you lift it, for example 15 reps with 50 pounds, 12 reps with 60 pounds, 10 reps with 70 pounds, to shape up without bulking up lift the same weight the same number of times for example 3 sets of 30 lbs 15 reps each, I lift weights three times a week and do 45 - 60 minutes of cardio 3 times a week and eat what ever I want, pizza burgers ice cream, I am over 40 and only 5 pounds more than I was at 20, 6’ - 210 lbs
******”Does the body take a few grams of butter fat and make it a pound of belly fat?”******
For me it takes a twelve pack of lawnmower beer, or a pat of butter so I just cut the butter out completely.
TT
Post a nude picture of Marilyn Monroe on your bedroom ceiling. Won't help you lose weight, but you'll enjoy it.
THAT makes sense.
You know you’re getting old when you talk about a trip to the toilet the way you used to talk about sex.
Well, you have several factors.
Being older your hormone levels are reduced. Converting calories to energy is harder.
Second, you can’t starve yourself as you’re doing now because the body will readjust and use less energy, and then when you begin to eat normally again, it will immediately want to store up this ‘excess’ of calories as fat.
Your best bet is eating lean protein sources for awhile. It keeps you fuller longer, it takes more energy to break down, it sticks around longer than carbs (toast) does.
And you have to have some physical activity, not hardcore but some. If you can do any weight training and build muscle, the muscle will help burn calories. If you can walk for 1/2 hour a day at a decent pace, it will help. You could wear small weights on legs and arms while walking and do both at the same time. It’s been shown that even 1 pound extra on arms/legs causes you to burn a decent amount more of calories.
Never buy another loaf of bread. I’m not kidding. Older than you, I’ve been to nutritionists over the years, tried a million diets. Have a lot of self-discipline or I’d weigh a ton.
On one gaining spree I was depressed, low energy, everything added to weight. Put on a diet that included ZERO flour products, but all the meat, fish, veggies, fruit I could cram in. Lost weight in such a hurry, energy soared. Friends were amazed.
You can read about similar diets in books: The Protein Power Plan is my fave, a doable effective diet. All the Barry Sears Zone Diet books are great too if you want to read a lot about WHY those carbs pile on the weight and lower energy. You need some, of course, but a little rice or potato or carrot supplies plenty.
Friend of mine who never read a diet book just lost 40 pounds, mostly right in the middle, by cutting out bread. She’d cheat once in awhile but never white bread, always WHOLE GRAIN. So you might start there, but do, please, for the sake of your health and appearance and energy level, eliminate flour products almost entirely. That includes pasta. Although you can find pasta made with rice flour that you can use, but not too much.
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