40yr old fresh start

[redesign]

Hi, I used to workout regularly and then had a non-related accident. I have finally been given the ok to get back into working out after rehab. It's been so long since I have been able to do anything. I am extremely greedy and want overnight results, HA! (which of course will never happen!). I have lost a lot of muscle, and the old huge tire I had on my waist came back and then some. I'm back to cardio now 6 days a week, I am working on my lifting routine now but want to lose the lard before I really focus on lean muscle.

Me: 40yrs, 5.7'ish, 210'ish
My Goal: Lose about 20-25lbs of fat and pack on a lot of lean muscle

I have a pretty full tub of creatine (Prolab Mono), I got it just to try it out, and actually saw some decent results before the accident and it expired in Feb, 2011. Do you think it's still ok to use, and will have the same strength? Any ideas for something more potent that won't rot my insides out and that won't break the bank?

I used to take creatine and protein and lift 3+ times a week, and 2-3 days cardio. Below is a sample diet, please let me know if this is enough, and what supplements you would recommend and what you think.

Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi Go Lean, 3/4 - 1 cup 0% milk, 1-2 kiwi or some pineapple
Snack: cup of fruit, or spinich, carrot, celery salad with lite dressing, or 1 can tuna with slight mayo, and spices (usually Ms. Dash) maybe some relish, or sometimes just with deli mustard. Protein Shake
Lunch: 2-4 cups either rotiss or grilled chicken with veggies, or just ground up to chicken salad, with veggies, etc.
Snack: cup of fruit, or spinich, carrot, celery salad with lite dressing, or 1 can tuna with slight mayo, and spices (usually Ms. Dash) maybe some relish, or sometimes just with deli mustard. Protein Shake
Dinner: totally depends, but try and do the same as lunch.

I like to keep it very simple. I will of course eat sirloin, salmon, etc. above is just an example. I can eat the same thing for each meal every day all week. I don't need a wide variety to keep me interested, etc.

Thanks for any advice you can give!!!

Redesign

Why give up? Rome wasn't built overnight, but it was built!!

[stillfit]

Don't know how much muscle you had before , but check out my bodyspace and you will see that I went through a long layoff myself. During my 18 + year layoff I lost most of my muscle mass and became what I call fat. I stripped the fat off first by eating very clean and lifting hard and then when the fat was gone and I started eating more the muscle mass came back very quickly. Muscle memory will in my personal experience allow you to get back the muscle mass you lost quite quickly compared to someone who never had it. So don't worry the journey back may be much faster than you think.

[RSTexas]

Hi, I used to workout regularly and then had a non-related accident. I have finally been given the ok to get back into working out after rehab. It's been so long since I have been able to do anything. I am extremely greedy and want overnight results, HA! (which of course will never happen!). I have lost a lot of muscle, and the old huge tire I had on my waist came back and then some. I'm back to cardio now 6 days a week, I am working on my lifting routine now but want to lose the lard before I really focus on lean muscle.

Me: 40yrs, 5.7'ish, 210'ish
My Goal: Lose about 20-25lbs of fat and pack on a lot of lean muscle

I have a pretty full tub of creatine (Prolab Mono), I got it just to try it out, and actually saw some decent results before the accident and it expired in Feb, 2011. Do you think it's still ok to use, and will have the same strength? Any ideas for something more potent that won't rot my insides out and that won't break the bank?

I used to take creatine and protein and lift 3+ times a week, and 2-3 days cardio. Below is a sample diet, please let me know if this is enough, and what supplements you would recommend and what you think.

Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi Go Lean, 3/4 - 1 cup 0% milk, 1-2 kiwi or some pineapple
Snack: cup of fruit, or spinich, carrot, celery salad with lite dressing, or 1 can tuna with slight mayo, and spices (usually Ms. Dash) maybe some relish, or sometimes just with deli mustard. Protein Shake
Lunch: 2-4 cups either rotiss or grilled chicken with veggies, or just ground up to chicken salad, with veggies, etc.
Snack: cup of fruit, or spinich, carrot, celery salad with lite dressing, or 1 can tuna with slight mayo, and spices (usually Ms. Dash) maybe some relish, or sometimes just with deli mustard. Protein Shake
Dinner: totally depends, but try and do the same as lunch.

I like to keep it very simple. I will of course eat sirloin, salmon, etc. above is just an example. I can eat the same thing for each meal every day all week. I don't need a wide variety to keep me interested, etc.

Thanks for any advice you can give!!!

Redesign

Why give up? Rome wasn't built overnight, but it was built!!

Welcome to the o35 forums

Your diet looks somewhat decent to me but I would personally cut out the Kashi stuff. That stuff is crap, marketed to be healthy.

While I'm still in the never-ending process of learning, I will tell you that if you want some actual advice on your diet you will probably want to post your macro goals, then show how these foods fit in to them. That being said I'll bow out and let the more knowledgable comment.

[ob205]

From just a quick look, that breakfast sucks, add protein there.

I would concentrate on diet (fat loss) and train regularly, muscle memory will be there.

Good luck

[themyth2009]

From just a quick look, that breakfast sucks, add protein there.

This. Plus muscle memory works wonders after long layoffs I am usually better than ever in 3 months.

[ajohnson5080]

In regard to your breakfast, I would substitute some vanilla whey protein (I personally use 1.5 serings of cytosport vanilla bean whey). It will add about three times the protein of milk without the sugar/carbs. It tastes better than milk, too!

[chodan9]

your not really getting enough food in my opinion,
while the weight may be coming off now you may stall if your cals are too low
I am guessing you are between 1200 - 1400 now.
when you start your strength training you will really notice this deficiency.

this is just my opinion though.

it takes us quite a while to get the right balance many times, so keep hitting it and training hard and tweaking the nutrition and you will get where you want to be.

[redesign]

If the stuff I have expired in Feb. think it will still be good and effective to use?

[Getsum]

Hi, I used to workout regularly and then had a non-related accident. I have finally been given the ok to get back into working out after rehab. It's been so long since I have been able to do anything. I am extremely greedy and want overnight results, HA! (which of course will never happen!). I have lost a lot of muscle, and the old huge tire I had on my waist came back and then some. I'm back to cardio now 6 days a week, I am working on my lifting routine now but want to lose the lard before I really focus on lean muscle.

Me: 40yrs, 5.7'ish, 210'ish
My Goal: Lose about 20-25lbs of fat and pack on a lot of lean muscle

I have a pretty full tub of creatine (Prolab Mono), I got it just to try it out, and actually saw some decent results before the accident and it expired in Feb, 2011. Do you think it's still ok to use, and will have the same strength? Any ideas for something more potent that won't rot my insides out and that won't break the bank?

I used to take creatine and protein and lift 3+ times a week, and 2-3 days cardio. Below is a sample diet, please let me know if this is enough, and what supplements you would recommend and what you think.

Breakfast: 1 cup Kashi Go Lean, 3/4 - 1 cup 0% milk, 1-2 kiwi or some pineapple
Snack: cup of fruit, or spinich, carrot, celery salad with lite dressing, or 1 can tuna with slight mayo, and spices (usually Ms. Dash) maybe some relish, or sometimes just with deli mustard. Protein Shake
Lunch: 2-4 cups either rotiss or grilled chicken with veggies, or just ground up to chicken salad, with veggies, etc.
Snack: cup of fruit, or spinich, carrot, celery salad with lite dressing, or 1 can tuna with slight mayo, and spices (usually Ms. Dash) maybe some relish, or sometimes just with deli mustard. Protein Shake
Dinner: totally depends, but try and do the same as lunch.

I like to keep it very simple. I will of course eat sirloin, salmon, etc. above is just an example. I can eat the same thing for each meal every day all week. I don't need a wide variety to keep me interested, etc.

Thanks for any advice you can give!!!

Redesign

Why give up? Rome wasn't built overnight, but it was built!!

Welcome and good luck with your goals!

IMO, you need to get a better handle on your diet. Do you know what maintenance calories should be; do you know how many calories you’re actually eating?

Good thread to start with: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=121703981

You can use Fitday.com or Livestrong.com to track your intake.

http://www.fitday.com/

http://www.livestrong.com/

Protein = 4 calories per gram
Carbohydrates = 4 calories per gram
Alcohol = 7 calories per gram
Fat = 9 calories per gram

Mix and match in order to hit your macros.

[NoJunk]

If the stuff I have expired in Feb. think it will still be good and effective to use?

You are trying to loose the flab at this point so I would avoid the creatine all together and focus on diet and cardio with weight training mixed in, but that's just me.

[redesign]

Thanks for the input!! I think I am going to focus on the fat loss for the first 4 weeks, and throw in 3 full or most body days of lifting, just to get back into the swing of things.

For breakfast today, I hadn't been to the store so I used what I had:

Rotisserie Chicken
Frozen Deluxe Stir Fry Veggies (wal-mart brand)
Ms. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning
1-2 tbs relish
2 tbs Smart Balance Omega mayo (next time I might try fat free greek yogurt instead)
Few dabs of hot sauce

I put the chicken, then the veggies in my food chopper, gound it up and mixed all the other stuff together. It was really good!!!!

Does that sound like a healthy meal? What if I maybe had a protein shake or some fruit with it, or maybe put it on a whole wheat tortilla, etc.?