43, Getting Serious About Working Out

[quote]big nurse wrote:
Back to your thread now, busy earlier in the week .

With regard to eating out a lot : is that a work thing for instance having to eat out on the road ?

I was going to suggest having a good look at the first couple of sticky threads over on the beginners board --hoping that if you have been a lifter before that it would still be good value as ‘the basics don’t change’.

When you were lifting/training before what made you give up or did it just drift ?

One big thing to get a hold of now is that 43 is a very good time to get training again , the little i know of muscle physiology is that 35 seems to be the point at which most of us start losing muscle mass, catching it now should be easier than in 10 years time which is my perspective.

In my own limited experience it seems to work well to get one thing working at a time ie getting a good exercise programme and then starting in on the diet–and even then it has been a stage by stage thing : like firstsimply cutting down on the garbage, then cutting down on some of my lifelong basics like bread and pasta and gradully heading towrds a leaner/cleaner all round diet.

On very basic stuff, walking has worked very well for me for fat loss especialy an early morning fasted walk.[/quote]

Well in regards to my diet, it’s mostly about being on the go afterwork and not getting home to make dinner. It actually happens on work out days. Since I am out already (I hit the gym right afterwork), I go take care of whatever errands I need too and I usually eat out.

You know, I never gave up lifting, it is more about drifting in and out.

[quote]Mtal wrote:

[quote]cavalier wrote:
Welcome, Mtal. Hmmm, don’t know if we should let in the old geezers’ place, you’re mighty young at 43. Ah, if only I were in my 40’s again . . .

Seriously, be glad to help with restaurant questions and all. [/quote]

Thanks. I was thinking of when I am on the go, just trying to find those buffet type places and get some chicken breast/fish and steamed vegetables. Only thing is what I do when I have to go out for dinner?

I am still doing my diet research. I been reading stuff like have oatmeal in the morning, a snack (like some nuts) before lunch, lunch I will probably hit the buffet, afternoon a protien shake, then workout, and either home or a buffet/place I can get a chicken sandwich.

Does that all sound about right?
[/quote]

Well, it depends on your goals. If your first priority is to strip off fat as fast as possible, then we would recommend a strict Paleo diet:

For immediate fat loss, cut out all carbs, then slowly feed them back in. Nuts are low carb.

You’ll need to eat at least 2 pounds of meat a day, if you’re working on muscle gain, over 2 pounds. Or the equivalent in protein shakes.

When traveling, it’s always best to eat light, that is, keep carbs downs. I found chef salad, for example, is foolproof.

If you decide to go with Paleo, or something close like Atkins, try these places:

Steak houses. Push the potato aside and concentrate on meat and salad.
BBQ. Meat and coleslaw.
Boston Market. Entree plus non carb sides like creamed spinach and steamed veggies.
Seafood houses. Go for baked/broiled fish in butter sauce.
Buffet - I love Golden Corral, there’s others, Oriental buffets can be good. Go for some salad, then meat/seafood/poultry.

Breakfast - go for the veggie stuffed omelet plus bacon or sausage.

Fancy places offer a gluten-free menu which removes carbs.

Mtal.
I am glad that cav came in on this one because i have absolutely no knowledge of eating out well in the US.

One main perspective i do have on diet is about when to eat–for me it works best to eat heavier earlier in the day (especially carbs) and very light later, preferably nothing before sleep. For fat loss my fasted walk is almost certainly lypolitic after a 10-12 hour fast.

As cav says you do need to work out where you are going with this, i have had to learn more about food than anything else so far.