Weight loss diets for "senior men"?

[Lancaster]

I concur with a lot of what has been posted on here.

Several years ago my blood pressure was through the roof, partially due to work related stress, my cholesterol levels were silly, and I was on the very edge of diabetes.

I had to either change or die early.

Simply solution, no processed food, no white carbs, ditch/reduce the booze.

Typical main meal is veg, more veg, good protein, carbs, the more colours on the plate the better.

No snacks, no caffeine.

Google GI diets, not being evangelistic, but it did change my life

 

[JTO]

As has already been said. eat less. I now it sounds easy to say but, you will be surprised by how little food you need.

Instead of cycling would a brisk walk help? 35 to 40 minutes a day. .

^^^^^^

 

[@theroedeerguy]

Get yourself a copy of the Primal Blueprint book, essentially a low carb approach as others have recommended.

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[JTO]

Don't neglect fibre intake. Trust in the Lord and keep your powder dry bowels open.

 

[timbrayford]

Don't neglect fibre intake. Trust in the Lord and keep your powder dry bowels open.

celery!

 

[User00035]

No snacks, no caffeine.

I bought myself a barrista coffee machine after Christmas. Not sure I could give that up now. But not caffeine after 5:00 pm. Apparently, in moderation proper ground coffee (no cream or sugar and definitely not instant) is good for your heart.

 

[User00035]

celery!

Celery is a powerful anti-inflammatory food. Anyone who has high cellular inflammation should eat a lot of it. I don't like the stuff really but find it fine when cooked. And in stir-fries etc, it retains its crunch.

 

[FrenchieBoy]

Thanks for all of the words of wisdom, much appreciated!
We (The wife and I) have a plan worked out so we will see how we do.
Breakfast will be a bowl of Porridge with a dribble of honey for sweetness. (I do have a sweet tooth)
ALL Potatoes and Pasta are now out of bounds for me but a limit of 2 slices of Wholemeal Seeded Bread per day will be allowed. The Potatoes and Pasta will be replaced with rice where needed to "pad out" the meal a little. Cut right down on Red Meat, no fried meals and eat more veg, fish and salads - And meals will be a little smaller with the wife counting the calories for me and keeping me in check!
As for drinks I never drink Coffee and the Tea I have is always Decaf so no change there except for drinking less Tea and replacing some of it with Fresh Water.
For snacks (Which I tend to get through in the evenings) I will be eating fresh fruit instead.
As for alcohol that will be a little harder. I have been enjoying two or three 500ml bottles of Porter each evening - I am planning on cutting that down by one bottle a night each week.
As for exercise I will be trying to get a little more walking in as long as I can keep my heart rate to withing reasonable limits. I walk our dog around 7 or 8 times a day but only for short walks so I will be continuing that but trying to stretch the walks out to greater distances. I go to our Bowling Club most week day afternoons to play pool - I have always driven up to the club which is about a mile. I will be leaving earlier and trying to walk (with rest periods if needed).
I will see how things go over the next couple of weeks and see what can or needs to be altered if need be.

As a foot note I have been given a date at the beginning of April for an assessment for a hip replacement but I am still waiting for my appointment for the Cardiologist (Which I have been told should be happening within one month). Hopefully once those two things are sorted I will be in a position to take more exercise.

 

[Alantoo]

I bought myself a barrista coffee machine after Christmas. Not sure I could give that up now. But not caffeine after 5:00 pm. Apparently, in moderation proper ground coffee (no cream or sugar and definitely not instant) is good for your heart.

You have a choice with coffee...Cancer or Cholesterol.

The Cafestols in unfiltered coffee inhibit the process of removing cholesterol from the body, but have a beneficial effect in helping prevent Cancer and Diabetes type 2.

"Cafestol and kahweol can regulate a variety of inflammatory mediators to reduce inflammation. In addition, the two coffee diterpenes can prevent cancer from occurring by blocking the activation of carcinogens and improving liver detoxification function."

Cafestol and Kahweol: A Review on Their Bioactivities and Pharmacological Properties - PMC

Cafestol and kahweol are natural diterpenes extracted from coffee beans. In addition to the effect of raising serum lipid, in vitro and in vivo experimental results have revealed that the two diterpenes demonstrate multiple potential pharmacological ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Choices Choices...

Moderation in all things...especially moderation....

The Cafestols also have some of the flavour....So I enjoy the different flavours from the various processes and use paper filtered, Jug and tea strainer, and coffee machine as the mood takes me.

Alan

 

[dobber]

Its easier than all those other advice given, which will work as well so not dismissing them. I am not up there in age yet, but hoping to get there lol
Count calories every day, set yourself up with 2000 calorie intake a day. I was working on the road so lots of take out and snacks, but i watched how much intake every day and over a period of time i lost 40 pounds. Tried to get extra walks in as well, which always helps.
I had cheat days, every now and then a big mac was snuck in, but kept the calorie take at 2000 a day. At the start was tough to try and remember to count, but got easier the longer i did it.

 

[Rasputin]

There’s a lot of bollocks on the interweb these days about dieting. At its most basic level calories in needs to be less than calories out regardless of what these hippy cretins will tell you however due to your age simply cranking up the exercise won’t help.

If it were me I would do the following

Get some proper blood work done from the doctor you’re best of paying private it’s only £200 or so this will give you a decent view point of things like your testosterone, cholesterol liver kidney functions etc. from it you can look at dietary changes which may benefit a man of your age. It’s possible you might need a high carb high fat diet vs the traditional concept of high protein low carb which is often touted. Again I would take some clinical advice then choose a diet that is not only fit for purpose but actually easy to stay on and palatable.

Regarding cardio I would personally look to exercise twice per day 30/45 minutes at a time but and here’s the kicker a very steady state cardio to raise the HR but not over do it. Personally I found that moving the bike indoors and setting it up on a turbo trainer so you can watch in front of the tv is perfect low impact and you can make it as hard work or low work as you require. A lot of people will do fasted cardio which is what I used to do a lot when younger I do not personally think this is wise as you age due to the diminishing energy stores.

Losing weight is a long drawn out process to lose a stone of fat property should take months not weeks and anyone claiming otherwise is deluding themselves about what they are actually losing

 

[User00035]

You have a choice with coffee...Cancer or Cholesterol.

The Cafestols in unfiltered coffee inhibit the process of removing cholesterol from the body, but have a beneficial effect in helping prevent Cancer and Diabetes type 2.

"Cafestol and kahweol can regulate a variety of inflammatory mediators to reduce inflammation. In addition, the two coffee diterpenes can prevent cancer from occurring by blocking the activation of carcinogens and improving liver detoxification function."

Cafestol and Kahweol: A Review on Their Bioactivities and Pharmacological Properties - PMC

Cafestol and kahweol are natural diterpenes extracted from coffee beans. In addition to the effect of raising serum lipid, in vitro and in vivo experimental results have revealed that the two diterpenes demonstrate multiple potential pharmacological ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Choices Choices...

Moderation in all things...especially moderation....

The Cafestols also have some of the flavour....So I enjoy the different flavours from the various processes and use paper filtered, Jug and tea strainer, and coffee machine as the mood takes me.

Alan

So drink real coffee but in conjunction with cholesterol busting foods like oats, oily fish, olive oil, pulses, avocado, brassica veg, nuts, aubergines and, if I must, tofu...

Actually, except tofu, I eat all those regularly anyway. Quite happy to eat more if I can keep the coffee machine brewing.

I admit I did have some tofu the other day after watching the hairy bikers in Japan. Made a Japanese dip and it was really nice. But I couldn't live on the stuff and it's bloody expensive for a tiny little block that's gone in tow mouthfuls.

 

[JTO]

You don't even have to go that far. The eight hour diet has proved extremely effective for most people. I know a chap in his 70's who has lost over two stone in as many months by following that regime.
Basically, you eat a normal healthy balanced diet but you eat all your food within an 8 hour period in every 24. So for example, if you eat your first meal at 10:00 am you wouldn't eat again after 6:00 pm. You can adjust the times of course to suit your day, as long as you stick to the 8 hour window.

I intend to try this! Can you drink, not alcohol, outside the 8-hour window?

 

[User00035]

I intend to try this! Can you drink, not alcohol, outside the 8-hour window?

Yes. Water and none-calorific hot drinks as much as you like. Most people don't drink anywhere near enough water anyway.

 

[timbrayford]

Thanks for all of the words of wisdom, much appreciated!
We (The wife and I) have a plan worked out so we will see how we do.
Breakfast will be a bowl of Porridge with a dribble of honey for sweetness. (I do have a sweet tooth)
ALL Potatoes and Pasta are now out of bounds for me but a limit of 2 slices of Wholemeal Seeded Bread per day will be allowed. The Potatoes and Pasta will be replaced with rice where needed to "pad out" the meal a little. Cut right down on Red Meat, no fried meals and eat more veg, fish and salads - And meals will be a little smaller with the wife counting the calories for me and keeping me in check!
As for drinks I never drink Coffee and the Tea I have is always Decaf so no change there except for drinking less Tea and replacing some of it with Fresh Water.
For snacks (Which I tend to get through in the evenings) I will be eating fresh fruit instead.
As for alcohol that will be a little harder. I have been enjoying two or three 500ml bottles of Porter each evening - I am planning on cutting that down by one bottle a night each week.
As for exercise I will be trying to get a little more walking in as long as I can keep my heart rate to withing reasonable limits. I walk our dog around 7 or 8 times a day but only for short walks so I will be continuing that but trying to stretch the walks out to greater distances. I go to our Bowling Club most week day afternoons to play pool - I have always driven up to the club which is about a mile. I will be leaving earlier and trying to walk (with rest periods if needed).
I will see how things go over the next couple of weeks and see what can or needs to be altered if need be.

As a foot note I have been given a date at the beginning of April for an assessment for a hip replacement but I am still waiting for my appointment for the Cardiologist (Which I have been told should be happening within one month). Hopefully once those two things are sorted I will be in a position to take more exercise.

One thing that I forgot to mention, use slightly smaller sized plates and bowls for your meals - aim to finish with just a very slight feeling of being hungry.

 

[FrenchieBoy]

One thing that I forgot to mention, use slightly smaller sized plates and bowls for your meals - aim to finish with just a very slight feeling of being hungry.

Thanks Tim. That is what I am doing.

 

[PeteL1]

I recommend "The Fast 800" by Dr Michael Mosley. It's a sort of an extension to the 5:2 regime. It's been very effective for me.
Peter

 

[Kwreid]

Eat more often and less in quantity from getting up in the morning, until early evening. Total calories under 2000 per day. worked got me. Losing on average 1kg per week without any increase in exercise. I used to skip meals, never had breakfast. All changed now

 

[slider]

Eat less calories than you burn. Works every time, the specifics of the diet are irrelevant

 

[User00032]

I cut out sugar…did it cold turkey then got my mitts on a woman ten years younger than me