Diet Strategy for an Older Guy

Diet and Nutrition
1

T-Nation is the bomb - I credit this site for helping to change my life. I’ll do my best to keep this, my first ever post, as short as possible.

I’m 42, 5’10", 210 lbs., probably >20% BF. Still fitting into 34" pants, but they can be a struggle now, LOL. 4 years ago I was 233 pounds and essentially obese. A couple years ago I had cut all the way down to 183 pounds, but I felt run-down and slight. Big and strong is where I want to be, but not too fat. I think I’d like to reach and maintain about a 15% BF level, but I don’t want strength gains to suffer.

I’m currently running the basic 5/3/1 4 day per week plan with no cardio and a goal of reaching the 1,000 pound club for the Big 3 (currently at 945, 960 is in sight this month). I lift at lunchtime as it best fits my schedule as a busy professional with a wife, home, and 2 young ones at home. I don’t have much other time for consistent training, but am considering adding a weekend weighted vest walk session, as Mr. Wendler recommends as a conditioning tool.

So aside from the workouts described, I am pretty sedentary (desk job, home/kid obligations). I am not looking for a very specific diet plan (eat chicken and broccoli, take this particular brand of supplement, etc.), but more of a general set of guidelines to follow as far as macros/calories, timing, and BASIC supplementation.

I currently eat 3 meals per day (breakfast/2.2g fish oil at 9, BCAA pre-workout, lunch/post workout/creatine at 2, dinner/2.2g fish oil/multi-vitamin at 7, ZMA/2kIU vitamin D/1.1g fish oil at bedtime around 11. I eat carbs post workout and dinner on lifting days, very judicious at all other times (relatively low). I shoot for > BW protein grams each day and plenty of fats to maintain hormone levels (I am low T and hypothyroid - treated for both).

What sort of meal frequency/macros would you suggest I try to recomp/slightly cut and continue setting PR’s?

2

First, congrats on dropping some weight and what sounds like a lot of body fat percentage.

Your supplement schedule looks very rigid, but how about your food?? Does it receive the same amount of discipline? Why not give us a training day and non-training day. What do your normally eat for lunch? Do you have enough time to fit in a whole meal?

You look to be on the verge of complicating things and it would be best to keep it simple. Three meals a day is absolutely fine, especially considering your goals.

Some guidelines:

  1. pick and set a reasonable macro guide and calorie level. Track this for awhile so you know how your body responds and you can make -incremental- changes.
  2. 1.0g protein/ BW will be plenty for you. Remember your lean body mass is not that high, so 1.0g/BW is actually pretty high.
  3. shoot for at least 30g of protein (3+g of leucine) at each meal / every time you consume protein.
  4. if you got some protein and other food in you one hour or less before training, sip a workout drink during or after your session. If it has been a few hours, get 25-30g of protein and some carbs before the session. Keep this simple.
  5. loads of veggies and low GI carbs with a protein source outside of workout meals. Higher GI after your workout. Keep in kind, this doesn’t mean to -not- consume carbs, just to eat slow digesting sources most of the time.
  6. don’t become cardiophobic. Consider the amount of work real athletes do. A brisk 20 minute jog or fast walk is NOT going to ruin all your gains. low intensity cardio can be a very valuable tool for losing weight and changing body composition if used wisely.

Don’t stress the timing and details too much. Find out what you need to work for YOUR schedule, and make sure to be consistent within that window. If you can provide more info on your current habits, I’m sure others and myself can give some more advice.

3

Sutebun - thanks for the time.

My supplementation is a combination of medical advice, trial and error, and info from this site. Multivitamin, vitamin D3, vitamin C (forgot to mention that one - 1g also at night), fish oil, ZMA, BCAA, and creatine are all pretty basic staples, I’d say. Just want to maximize performance and recovery without breaking the bank too much.

Food - I am not perfect here, but I’d say I am a healthy eater in general, working within the framework of a household with busy working parents and young kids. Fast/junk foods are rare for me, though certain processed foods such pasta, breads, etc. are somewhat common. Staple family-type stuff is often on the menu - we do pretty well considering, though.

Today, for example (workout day):

Wake up 7AM - thyroid prescription, T-gel prescription, 2g fish oil.

Breakfast 9AM - 2 large eggs cooked in 2 tsp butter, 2 lean turkey sausage patties, two slices whole grain light bread toasted with 2 tsp butter, 1/2 large orange, ~50g whey protein concentrate in water.

1 scoop BCAA pre-workout (12:30ish)

Lunch 2PM - 8 or 10 oz skinless rotisserie chicken (light and dark meat), large portion (~1.5 cups) of mashed potatoes made with some butter and milk, 2 tbsp. barbeque sauce, 1 small kids oatmeal bar. Washed it down with 5g creatine in water.

Dinner 8PM - 2 ground chicken kabobs and 2 ground beef kabobs (maybe 3 oz each), 2 slices thin pita bread, 2 tbsp garlic sauce (pretty much like mayo), some tomatoes and pickled cabbage, 1/2 frozen banana dipped in chocolate. I take the multivitamin and 2g fish oil with this meal.

Bed 11PM - I’ll take 2,000 IU vitamin D3, 1g fish oil, and ZMA.

Off days would be similar, except the lunch and dinner would be lower carb meals.

Regarding your guidelines, I suppose I could start food tracking again, which I have done before, though it is a chore with a varied diet such as mine. Maybe the timing of my workout being at least 3 hours post breakfast poses a bit of an issue. I take the BCAAs then for that reason, but maybe a later breakfast with some more carbs would be appropriate? GI choices and timing may need some work, but again difficult when I am not preparing my own meals most of the time (wife or take-out, usually, for lunch and dinner).

Trying not to have such long posts, but it’s tough LOL.

4

Eat more veggies. I love those steamfresh bags (NOT the ones in cheese sauce or whatever), they’re not that expensive and are quick and easy to make. I try to eat a bag a day just by myself (in addition to any other veggies, salads, etc, that I’m making for everyone else); usually I’ll just nuke them and then add a shot of EVOO and salt and pepper flakes, maybe some Parmesan cheese. Delicious!

5

Your diet set-up doesn’t look bad at all. The timing is fine – sticking to good choices and being consistent is what will be important.

Have you been gaining or losing weight for the last month? How have your energy levels been? Don’t drastically change things if they are working for you!

Small changes I would make:

Cut the whey concentrate from breakfast or reduce the size to 20g or less. You have plenty of protein from whole food already.
After doing so, drop the bcaas and take the whey (25-30g of protein is plenty) pre-workout.
Watch the fat in your meals. You don’t need to be afraid of consuming fat, but calories can add up quickly. Things like turkey sausage patties can often times have more grams of fat than protein, and you seem to be consuming a lot of things with fat throughout the day.

This is why counting calories even for a short awhile can be useful. You need to see if you are really consuming as much as you think, or if you are consuming way over what you think you are. Don’t get too picky – counting 15 g of garlic sauce instead of 20g isn’t going to ruin your diet. The takeaway here is knowledge is power, and you need to know what you are putting into your body.

A good point for losing weight is to take as many calories as you can while still losing weight. A rough macro breakdown that could work for you would be:
90F/180P/315C = ~2800 calories
This is a bit on the (low) conservative side because you mentioned being quite sedentary and high body fat (meaning low lean body mass).

After setting macros and staying consistent watch for body weight changes over courses of two weeks or so.
If your weight doesn’t seem to change and is just hovering I would add in some morning walks or easy jogs (or preferred form of movement). Try to keep calories high while still losing weight so that you can lower calories when you really plateau.

During this time watch your choices and make slow changes! Find a way to fit in your macros while making relatively healthy choices and make sure to stay consistent.

6

A good template…

7

the easiest change to make would be dropping some carbs. Don’t get all wrapped up in the minutia. Truth is to get to <15% for a 40+ man you are going to have to be a little more strict. It’s all what’s important to you. My advice if shooting for <15 is to go to a 40/20/40…p/c/f type diet. If that isn’t possible you have to…and I think you should be doing more anyways…you’ll have to cardio more. All the other advice is great–but this isn’t about getting perfect for a show. this is a lifestyle you want to adopt and maintain

8

Your story is almost exactly like my own: same age, hypothyroidism (I’m assuming since you’re taking thyroid meds), mostly sedentary…

I had terrific success with a low carb diet, you can read about it here: The Importance of Body Fat Testing - Bigger Stronger Leaner - Forums - T Nation

It’s my personal belief that being sedentary and in your 40’s creates high levels of carb intolerance. I did very well eating less than 60 grams of net carbs per day, I lost weight, my food comas disappeared, and my afternoon fatigue went away. I would also recheck your TSH, you might need to get bumped up.

<-------------- Not an MD

9

[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
Your story is almost exactly like my own: same age, hypothyroidism (I’m assuming since you’re taking thyroid meds), mostly sedentary…

I had terrific success with a low carb diet, you can read about it here: The Importance of Body Fat Testing - Bigger Stronger Leaner - Forums - T Nation

It’s my personal belief that being sedentary and in your 40’s creates high levels of carb intolerance. I did very well eating less than 60 grams of net carbs per day, I lost weight, my food comas disappeared, and my afternoon fatigue went away. I would also recheck your TSH, you might need to get bumped up.

<-------------- Not an MD[/quote]

I agree w/Doc; I’ve had great results from the low-carb approach.

10

[quote]skybluewater wrote:
Eat more veggies. I love those steamfresh bags (NOT the ones in cheese sauce or whatever), they’re not that expensive and are quick and easy to make. I try to eat a bag a day just by myself (in addition to any other veggies, salads, etc, that I’m making for everyone else); usually I’ll just nuke them and then add a shot of EVOO and salt and pepper flakes, maybe some Parmesan cheese. Delicious![/quote]

Thanks for this suggestion - I do need more veggies. Seems like I eat more of them on the low carb days, but overall I do have a bit of a deficit here.

11

[quote]Sutebun wrote:
Your diet set-up doesn’t look bad at all. The timing is fine – sticking to good choices and being consistent is what will be important.

Have you been gaining or losing weight for the last month? How have your energy levels been? Don’t drastically change things if they are working for you!

Small changes I would make:

Cut the whey concentrate from breakfast or reduce the size to 20g or less. You have plenty of protein from whole food already.
After doing so, drop the bcaas and take the whey (25-30g of protein is plenty) pre-workout.
Watch the fat in your meals. You don’t need to be afraid of consuming fat, but calories can add up quickly. Things like turkey sausage patties can often times have more grams of fat than protein, and you seem to be consuming a lot of things with fat throughout the day.

This is why counting calories even for a short awhile can be useful. You need to see if you are really consuming as much as you think, or if you are consuming way over what you think you are. Don’t get too picky – counting 15 g of garlic sauce instead of 20g isn’t going to ruin your diet. The takeaway here is knowledge is power, and you need to know what you are putting into your body.

A good point for losing weight is to take as many calories as you can while still losing weight. A rough macro breakdown that could work for you would be:
90F/180P/315C = ~2800 calories
This is a bit on the (low) conservative side because you mentioned being quite sedentary and high body fat (meaning low lean body mass).

After setting macros and staying consistent watch for body weight changes over courses of two weeks or so.
If your weight doesn’t seem to change and is just hovering I would add in some morning walks or easy jogs (or preferred form of movement). Try to keep calories high while still losing weight so that you can lower calories when you really plateau.

During this time watch your choices and make slow changes! Find a way to fit in your macros while making relatively healthy choices and make sure to stay consistent.
[/quote]

Once again - thanks a lot for the advice. Weight loss isn’t my primary concern at the moment (spring/summer is coming, though) and setting PR’s is. I am happy with maintaining/recomping while pushing towards the 1,000 pound club. Your calorie total suggestion is very close to where I aim on lifting days (maybe a bit higher on the protein and a bit lower on the carbs, but we’re in the same ballpark). Healthy food choices are the key - I agree.

12

[quote]RampantBadger wrote:
A good template…

Funny thing is I shoot for 100 grams of carbs on off days now (Weds/Sat/Sun). This is good information, and when I get serious about cutting (May timeframe), I may consider this approach. Thanks.

13

[quote]sasquatch wrote:
the easiest change to make would be dropping some carbs. Don’t get all wrapped up in the minutia. Truth is to get to <15% for a 40+ man you are going to have to be a little more strict. It’s all what’s important to you. My advice if shooting for <15 is to go to a 40/20/40…p/c/f type diet. If that isn’t possible you have to…and I think you should be doing more anyways…you’ll have to cardio more. All the other advice is great–but this isn’t about getting perfect for a show. this is a lifestyle you want to adopt and maintain
[/quote]

Very true. And not too far off from what I currently do (closer to 40/30/30 maybe). I’ve added Saturday conditioning to my current routine (lifting Mon Tues Thurs Fri) for now, but come spring I’m thinking of trying the new 5/3/1 protocol which calls for 3 days lifting and 3 days conditioning. Thanks for the help.

14

[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
Your story is almost exactly like my own: same age, hypothyroidism (I’m assuming since you’re taking thyroid meds), mostly sedentary…

I had terrific success with a low carb diet, you can read about it here: The Importance of Body Fat Testing - Bigger Stronger Leaner - Forums - T Nation

It’s my personal belief that being sedentary and in your 40’s creates high levels of carb intolerance. I did very well eating less than 60 grams of net carbs per day, I lost weight, my food comas disappeared, and my afternoon fatigue went away. I would also recheck your TSH, you might need to get bumped up.

<-------------- Not an MD[/quote]

I haven’t read the article yet, but I will - thanks. I’ve noticed a bit of stomach bloat on lifting days when I eat more carbs, and that I look better (leaner) after a lowish carb weekend. My only issue is strength and performance in the gym - these are my primary goals, with aesthetics lower on the list (but still relevant). Thinking about trying to alter carb consumption timing (more earlier in the day, less later) first before going low carb all the time, but it may boil down to carb sensitivity as a whole and my personal goals at a given time.

15

[quote]BlueCollarTr8n wrote:

[quote]Dr. Pangloss wrote:
Your story is almost exactly like my own: same age, hypothyroidism (I’m assuming since you’re taking thyroid meds), mostly sedentary…

I had terrific success with a low carb diet, you can read about it here: The Importance of Body Fat Testing - Bigger Stronger Leaner - Forums - T Nation

It’s my personal belief that being sedentary and in your 40’s creates high levels of carb intolerance. I did very well eating less than 60 grams of net carbs per day, I lost weight, my food comas disappeared, and my afternoon fatigue went away. I would also recheck your TSH, you might need to get bumped up.

<-------------- Not an MD[/quote]

I agree w/Doc; I’ve had great results from the low-carb approach.
[/quote]

By results, I assume you mean fat loss? Not sure how you train, but if you’re here you probably do - how would you say your training results were? Did you require more targeted supps to compensate at all?

16

[quote]Sutebun wrote:
Have you been gaining or losing weight for the last month? How have your energy levels been? Don’t drastically change things if they are working for you!

Small changes I would make:

Cut the whey concentrate from breakfast or reduce the size to 20g or less. You have plenty of protein from whole food already.
After doing so, drop the bcaas and take the whey (25-30g of protein is plenty) pre-workout.
[/quote]

I guess I should elaborate on this a bit.

I have slowly gained about 15 pounds over the course of the past 4 months or so and kind of decided I needed to put the brakes on. I suspect this is partially due to the weather (less active in the cold months). Energy levels tend to fluctuate for me - tough to get an accurate read as to precisely why at any given time (sleep can be inconsistent at times, hypothyrodism I’m sure can cause fluctuations, TRT can also cause fluctuations I’m sure), but I am noticing the workouts are getting tough to finish lately (might get back to my thought of potentially front loading some more carbs pre-workout to see if that helps).

You have a point there with whey timing - I have been trying to consume ~80g of protein in each meal per day. Maybe this is too much in one sitting? Spreading them out a little more throughout the day might be better? 60g breakfast, 20g preworkout, 60g lunch, 20g mid afternoon, 60g dinner, 20g night - something like that?