42, Working Hard, Muscles Growing, Fat Still There...

[bnorris64]

42 year old male, at the gym 6 days out of 7, sometimes 2x a day..mixing cardio and weightlifing, at least 60 minutes a day...eating right (food pyramid) and well below calorie recommendations. Been working hard since Jan 07. Even hired a personal trainer to help me for 4 months (2x a week).

I am gaining strength and size of muscles as well as endurance, but cannot get rid of fat around the midsection. Its been with me for years and doesnt want to leave.

Getting frustrated since I have been told that increasing muscle mass
(and adding cardio) would burn more fat. Should I be looking into "supplements" to help kick start the process?

[bgnb]

get your teste and este checked ... if your estradiol is high
(like mine) you won't be able to get rid of that gut without
some help (like an aromatase inhibiter)

once you get the estradiol down, your test should go up
and the fat will be gone.

[LordHalbert]

I heard there's a over the counter Estrogen inhibitor that one can buy that does not require a prescription - what's the name of the product?

[lukamar]

Get your Thyroid checked at the same time.

There are a lot of anti-estrogen products. Estrodex & Novedex are both good products, IMO

[Bronkko]

well,

its tough to buld muscle and cut fat at the same time. its usually one or the other. if you want to cut the fat..get your diet in order.

[TuffGirl]

OK, a womans opinion here...

You've been working out hard and heavy since January 2007. That's 5-6 months, huh?

Straight talk - You didn't gain all that belly fat in 5-6 months, so what makes you think you going to lose it in that short amount of time? 6 months ain't that long!

Be real. Why not be pleased with your muscle gains and continue on the path that you're going on? You are obviously making some headway.

I doubt very seriously that after this short amount of time you can honestly think that there is anything suspect about your test, este, or thyroid levels.
In my opinion, you've not given it enough time...

YOU ARE DOING GREAT! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

[mfsteve]

OK, a womans opinion here...

You've been working out hard and heavy since January 2007. That's 5-6 months, huh?

Straight talk - You didn't gain all that belly fat in 5-6 months, so what makes you think you going to lose it in that short amount of time? 6 months ain't that long!

Be real. Why not be pleased with your muscle gains and continue on the path that you're going on? You are obviously making some headway.

I doubt very seriously that after this short amount of time you can honestly think that there is anything suspect about your test, este, or thyroid levels.
In my opinion, you've not given it enough time...

YOU ARE DOING GREAT! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

I agree 100%. You're doing good but you gotta give it time.

[bgnb]

You've been working out hard and heavy since January 2007. That's 5-6 months, huh?

Straight talk - You didn't gain all that belly fat in 5-6 months, so what makes you think you going to lose it in that short amount of time? 6 months ain't that long!

sorry, but if his este is high he can workout til he drops and
he won't make good gains nor lose the belly fat: if he gets it
checked and its low normal then yes, I 100% agree that
diet and exercise will help immensely and that he needs
patience for it to happen.

if his este is too high (mine is almost maxed out in the normal
range for men!) he will have to look at ways to lower it ...

for me its been 12 years and no amount of diet and execise
have done twiddly until i learnt about natural aromatase inhibiters
(zinc etc) and NOW the belly fat is slowly going down when in the
past it would not budge.

And anyone, male or female, should be getting a full checkup and
blood work to make sure there are no other problems ... you don't
want to know the misery i went through with undiagnosed problems
because some doctor thought a basic blood panel was sufficient!

(sorry, not meaning to rant here, just frustrated some times ...)

<- end with a smile!

[design2]

Good idea to have the full blood work and checkup done. If that's ok then start with a low fat regiment. Lots and lots of good carbs, (no starches or pasta). No snacking at night unless it's low-fat or cardboard. Back off on too much cardio to save your calories for lifting (no jogging, just walking). Drink about 3 protein drinks per day. Do varied ab work twice a week. This regiment shoudl your middle right off.

[thomasale]

I have a regular endocronologist for diabetes. would he be the one to check my testosrone and estrogen?

[kodlawnman]

Last week I was kinda feeling the same way,I been eating clean for 12 weeks and working out the right way,but when I looked in the mirror I could still see the fat guy,even though I lost twenty pounds, cloths
fit better and seeing gains from the workouts,I realized It is going to take time,I invested quite a few years getting the gut so it will take some time,it seems any thing worthwhile does take alot of time and effort,otherwise you would see buffed folks everywhere, It is my opinion that folks nowdays are fast to say I got this or that and it slowing progress,this is off that is off,

Iam going to take it day by day and work everyday to be healthy,I plan on getting there,(dont know when)but it has been awsome so far to make the progress and learn about a new lifestyle,I have never been fast at anything but I always thought slow and steady will win thw race.

Iam with you norris64- and they dont call her tuffgirl for nothin

[bnorris64]

thanks. all good advice. i will keep my head down and keep doing what i'm doing. you are all correct that it took a long time to put the weight on and it will take an appropriate amount of time to get it off. i will also give the doctor a visit and make sure things are in order. i appreciate the feedback and support.

[bgnb]

I have a regular endocronologist for diabetes. would he be the one to check my testosrone and estrogen?

he should have checked it first thing when you were diagnosed!

testosterone in men helps with the uptake of insulin and sugar into
the cells for energy ... and, any sugar that is not taken up does
become a type of plaque, but worse is that it also attacks
your testicles causing permanent damage!!! your testosterone
may, therefore, depending on how long it took to get your
blood sugar normalized, damaged to some extent: if you do
have high este you want to get it down and see if your
test will come up. HCG may help restim your testes.

if not you may want to consider HRT as it does help with insulin/
sugar and general health.

There is lots of info under the Steroids / sub section HRT
(Hormone Replacement Therapy) site on this board ... well
worth some reading, printing out some articles and go in
well-informed to see your endocrinologist!

[thomasale]

he should have checked it first thing when you were diagnosed!

testosterone in men helps with the uptake of insulin and sugar into
the cells for energy ... and, any sugar that is not taken up does
become a type of plaque, but worse is that it also attacks
your testicles causing permanent damage!!! your testosterone
may, therefore, depending on how long it took to get your
blood sugar normalized, damaged to some extent: if you do
have high este you want to get it down and see if your
test will come up. HCG may help restim your testes.

if not you may want to consider HRT as it does help with insulin/
sugar and general health.

There is lots of info under the Steroids / sub section HRT
(Hormone Replacement Therapy) site on this board ... well
worth some reading, printing out some articles and go in
well-informed to see your endocrinologist!

I was diagnosed in 1989 and maybe he did test then I don't know. I will tell you that until this board I never knew that there was such a test or that one would be needed. Other than carrying around a spare tire forever, I cannot think of any of the common symptoms of low test that would apply ot me.

I do not think that either of these apply but I will have him check next time in there...

Thanks.

[domineaux]

OK, a womans opinion here...

You've been working out hard and heavy since January 2007. That's 5-6 months, huh?

Straight talk - You didn't gain all that belly fat in 5-6 months, so what makes you think you going to lose it in that short amount of time? 6 months ain't that long!

Be real. Why not be pleased with your muscle gains and continue on the path that you're going on? You are obviously making some headway.

I doubt very seriously that after this short amount of time you can honestly think that there is anything suspect about your test, este, or thyroid levels.
In my opinion, you've not given it enough time...

YOU ARE DOING GREAT! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

I agree with this posting 100%. It can take a couple of years in many cases to lose the Jellyroll. I'm always amused at the people that have put on all the weight over 10-20 years and want to take it off in 6 months. LOL

If you think losing a bunch of weight is tough when your body is in reasonably good health, then you just get Diabetes II or heart problems. Then the job of losing weight when you have health issues takes inordinate discipline and restraint. You can't push your body beyond your health limitations. Getting fit is an enormous almost impossible task, especially if you health issues.

Be grateful you can workout and manage a proper diet, you'll get results just be disciplined and stay with it.

[do1more]

Meh - I agree with TuffGirl - you did not get that way overnight!

But at our age a year is a LONG time. If a couple of blood tests can give the dude piece of mind and make sure there is no underlying problem , then why not have it checked out? After all why do we pay for health insurance?

Lifes too short to bust your hump for nothing.

Get it checked and make sure.

[krazyk]

After you get your health checked like others recommended you try adding intervals to your program. You may be spending too much time in the gym also. Maybe to little calories and not the right ones.

[domineaux]

After you get your health checked like others recommended you try adding intervals to your program. You may be spending too much time in the gym also. Maybe to little calories and not the right ones.

You made a good point. Intervals is the way to get the weight off fast. There is one big caveat. A thorough medical checkout should be done, because interval training can put your heart maxes into dangerous levels.

Many doctors might even recommend a stress test if you tell them how you plan to train (interval training).

Here is a good link:

http://www.musclemedia.com/training/hiit.asp

[irongrl]

42 year old male, at the gym 6 days out of 7, sometimes 2x a day..mixing cardio and weightlifing, at least 60 minutes a day...eating right (food pyramid) and well below calorie recommendations. Been working hard since Jan 07. Even hired a personal trainer to help me for 4 months (2x a week).

I am gaining strength and size of muscles as well as endurance, but cannot get rid of fat around the midsection. Its been with me for years and doesnt want to leave.

Getting frustrated since I have been told that increasing muscle mass
(and adding cardio) would burn more fat. Should I be looking into "supplements" to help kick start the process?

Can you describe your diet in more detail? You said you were using the food pyramid and eating below calorie recommendations. Perhaps you aren't consuming enough calories..

[bnorris64]

the "diet" i am on is based on a 2000 cal/day food pyramid. this includes the recommended servings per day of grains, proteins, milk, fruit and vegetables. i quite often find myself not being hungry and so not every day is 2000 calories. some over, some under.

i have found that i am getting a better response from my body by reducing the weightlifting and replacing that with cardio. i hate cardio, but so does my fat. so now i am trying to find the right balance between lifting and cardio.

[PeteB]

I would say you may be eating at about maintenance for your size, which may explain why the fat is not coming off.

I know that you can use all kinds of calculators that will give you a higher calorie figure, but that can be misleading.

First, if you have been working out for only a few months, you probably do not have a huge amount of lean muscle, and so you have to eat more in proportion to your lean body mass, and not total weight. At MOST in proportion to what your body weight would be at around 15-20% BF... say 155-160 lbs, and reduce from that level to achieve any real fat loss or waist reduction.

(Excess bodyfat does not burn many calories, except a bit on the treadmill.)

Second, the calorie allowances you can find online are estimates, and averages. Individuals can easily vary by 10-15%, and I have read sometimes even more.

Third, if you mean the government approved food pyramid, the old obsolete one or the new one, I believe that is just about useless for any recreational athlete, and probably worse than useless for anyone beyond that in terms of losing weight, building muscle, or performance... just my personal opinion.

Good luck.

[bkeithb]

Agree 100% I keep telling myself: It took 42 years to get my body out of shape, and it's going to take longer than the 1 1/2 years I've been consistently exercising to get back in shape!

Exactly - you two beat me to the punch!

From 1991 (when I left the military) to 2004 I allowed myself to get fat and very out of shape. In 2004 I decided to change the way I ate and I lost 40 lbs. In 2006 I decided to lift weights to get in shape. It's 2007 and I still have those darn "love handles" around my back and stomach. I get frustrated about it ... but realize it took nearly 15 years to grow those things. I also recall that they were way bigger than they are just a year ago. I'm thankful for the progress so far and anticipate more progress if I keep at it.

Slow and steady wins the race my friend! Keep at it!