41 year old starting all over

[BigOleGuy41]

Hello folks, I have been away from the gym for quite some time. I have recently joined a local gym with a buddy of mine and am excited to begin another journey down the road to fitness. Here's a little history before presenting questions. I am 6'3'' and 320 lbs and approximately 30-35% BMI. I work night at a nearby hospital and will be working out either before my shifts or afterwards when I have the night off. I'm a sugar addict, to say the least, and I have been working on getting away from the empty calories in sodas. I want to shed the inches off my waist and the weight in general off my body. I can't jog as I have a bone spur in both knees. It doesn't bother me most of the time but I would like to get some of the weight off before attempting any kind of running.
With all of that said, here are a few questions that I have. First, when I am looking at pre a post workout meals, what should I be looking for, a solid meal or shakes? Since I will be considered a beginner, how many reps and sets should I be utilizing during my first few weeks of getting acclimated in the gym once again? How many grams of carbs/fat/proteins should I consume per meal and per day? I have been working on consuming 6 smaller meals a day rather than 3 huge meals like I have always been eating. I want to get cut and gain in muscle as well, but how much cardio should be in my workout? Should I have a day of rest in between workouts? And what muscle groups should I workout for each day?
I know this is alot for an initial pot, but I am curious in all aspects of fitness as I want to start on Monday in the gym. The last time I was working out, I barely had any assistance with the nutritional side, as all I took was muscle milk w/10 oz of milk, or any ideas on maximizing my muscle potential. I'm not looking to be as big as the Rock but I'd love to just feel better. Photos can be posted in the morning when I get measurements. Thanks ahead of time for any advice that anyone can give me. I'm sure there are posts on these topics as I've looked through some of them, but It's hard reading so many on my phone.

[ironwill2008]

Hello folks, I have been away from the gym for quite some time. I have recently joined a local gym with a buddy of mine and am excited to begin another journey down the road to fitness. Here's a little history before presenting questions. I am 6'3'' and 320 lbs and approximately 30-35% BMI. I work night at a nearby hospital and will be working out either before my shifts or afterwards when I have the night off. I'm a sugar addict, to say the least, and I have been working on getting away from the empty calories in sodas. I want to shed the inches off my waist and the weight in general off my body. I can't jog as I have a bone spur in both knees. It doesn't bother me most of the time but I would like to get some of the weight off before attempting any kind of running.
With all of that said, here are a few questions that I have. First, when I am looking at pre a post workout meals, what should I be looking for, a solid meal or shakes? Since I will be considered a beginner, how many reps and sets should I be utilizing during my first few weeks of getting acclimated in the gym once again? How many grams of carbs/fat/proteins should I consume per meal and per day? I have been working on consuming 6 smaller meals a day rather than 3 huge meals like I have always been eating. I want to get cut and gain in muscle as well, but how much cardio should be in my workout? Should I have a day of rest in between workouts? And what muscle groups should I workout for each day?
I know this is alot for an initial pot, but I am curious in all aspects of fitness as I want to start on Monday in the gym. The last time I was working out, I barely had any assistance with the nutritional side, as all I took was muscle milk w/10 oz of milk, or any ideas on maximizing my muscle potential. I'm not looking to be as big as the Rock but I'd love to just feel better. Photos can be posted in the morning when I get measurements. Thanks ahead of time for any advice that anyone can give me. I'm sure there are posts on these topics as I've looked through some of them, but It's hard reading so many on my phone.

You'll find everything you need in the links in this post:
https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showt...hp?t=168581133

[BigOleGuy41]

Thanks for the link, I've read the beginner workout link before posting my initial post. As far as pre-workout meals and post-workout meals should both be liquid for quick absorption? Or would a solid meal still be suitable?

[ironwill2008]

Thanks for the link, I've read the beginner workout link before posting my initial post. As far as pre-workout meals and post-workout meals should both be liquid for quick absorption? Or would a solid meal still be suitable?

There's no need for 'quick absorption,' and regular food is always preferable to supplement powders, pills, and potions. The links to the nutrition information will answer all your nutrition questions.

[Paleolife]

Simply put at the weight you are right now. You need to focus on Diet more than anything. Do not worry about pre and post work out meals. You have close to a half of a million stored calories for energy in your fat reserves. You have to put your body in negative calorie burn. Now being a sugar junkie I fully understand.( I was in your shoes a year ago). Count your calories and measure your food. I love French vanilla coffee creamer it's 35 calories per tablespoon. So I poor 2 tablespoons in 32 ounces of coffee 70 calories. I cook 3 eggs with olive oil spray that's 215 calories counting 5 calories for the spray. If I have ketchup it counted. Drop to 1800 REAL CALORIES a day. Get your heart rate up for 30-40 mins a day. Than continue to step it up. Your big and out of shape just like I was. Injury is very common when your big. I popped a rib out of place and let me tell you OUCH!!! For 5 weeks it hurt to breathe! Go easy at first and watch the changes happen!!! GOOD LUCK MY MAN AND STAY DEDICATED!! Remember your changing a lifetime of habits you will trip up and you will cheat just make up for it and strive to make changes!! I still wear my same belt. I punch a new hole when I need to. Can I buy a new belt... Yes but it's my daily reminder and watching that thing go all the way to my back is a great feeling!!!

[EjnarKolinkar]

As far as pre-workout meals and post-workout meals should both be liquid for quick absorption? Or would a solid meal still be suitable?

At 320 I would be concerned with getting your real food plan together, and getting started keeping track of what you are eating with a tracking app, or a $.69 composition book.

Special pre and post workout meals are generally not critical most of us eat meals both before and after training. When and how much we eat is something we tend to figure out on our own based on preferences and tolerances.

Scoops aren't magic. A quality protein supplement may or may not be a part of anyone's plan.

[BigOleGuy41]

Thanks guys for the comments. For the last couple of days I've been working on diet research. According to the website I've read on, I'm allowed 3000 Cal's a day. I'm looking at keeping it around 2400 plus gym and cardio, riding a stationary bike. I have a belt that's for a size 42 pants, I like the idea of using that as my reminder. I ask questions on workouts due to how I work with a pathway and not waiting until the last minute to figure anything out. At what point should I begin looking at workouts considering I have that many calories of fat stored?

[BigOleGuy41]

Although I've never given counting calories much more than a waste of time, I've got a notebook to keep a log. Here's an example of a typical day for me. Breakfast: sausage egg and cheese McMuffin hash brown and 32 oz sweet tea from McDonald's. Lunch: 3 hotdogs with ketchup, mustard, relish, and onions, approximately 1-1 1/2 lbs of fries smothered in ketchup and 40 oz of Dr pepper. Dinner: 2 plates of speghetti w/ 80/20 gr beef, half a package of smoked sausage, and 4 slices of frozen Texas toast along with another 40-60 oz of Dr pepper. I've never tried to total these calories more than likely due to being ashamed of consuming that much.

[ironwill2008]

Although I've never given counting calories much more than a waste of time, I've got a notebook to keep a log. Here's an example of a typical day for me. Breakfast: sausage egg and cheese McMuffin hash brown and 32 oz sweet tea from McDonald's. Lunch: 3 hotdogs with ketchup, mustard, relish, and onions, approximately 1-1 1/2 lbs of fries smothered in ketchup and 40 oz of Dr pepper. Dinner: 2 plates of speghetti w/ 80/20 gr beef, half a package of smoked sausage, and 4 slices of frozen Texas toast along with another 40-60 oz of Dr pepper. I've never tried to total these calories more than likely due to being ashamed of consuming that much.

And not a vegetable nor piece of fruit in sight. If you plan to make significant change in your appearance and body composition, you will have to make significant change in how much and of what you eat.




The road ahead of you will be a formidable one, opie. Good luck.

[Paleolife]

Do some research and here's my point the two plates of spaghetti alone if they were the size of spaghetti plates I used to eat would be about 2400 calories alone. Your lunch was easily 2000 calories and your breakfast I actually calculated.
383 for the sandwich 147 for the hash brown and 600!!!! For the Tea!!! Thats 1130 calories for your smallest meal of the day. And if you drink soda like I did your hitting 2000 plus calories a day just in beverages. So my best estimate is your typical day is 6500-7000 calories. That really is accurate cause that's about how much it takes to maintain a 300 plus pound body. Heres the key. You need to eat solid food protein so you don't feel like your starving. White Chicken breast oven baked or grilled is going to become your best friend! 200 calories for 4 ounces. Now you will need a food scale! Guarantee you eat 600 calories of chicken breast and a nice pile of steamed broc**** you will be full. Get in the mind frame that you are eating to live and not living to eat. Commit to only eating what you make at home try it for two weeks. Weigh yourself today and weigh yourself in two weeks. Guaranteed if you follow a strict 2000 calorie a day diet you will drop 15 pounds or more in the first two weeks. It will slow down as your body adjusts but you are in control and what goes in your mouth will dictate your results. Good luck my man and do it for your health more than anything. At 37 I started your only 4 years older than me. Make 42 your best year!!! Report back and stay dedicated!!

[BigOleGuy41]

Thanks, I feel better about myself just knowing I've made up my mind. I'll post my first day of totals, bit I work third shift so it'll be a bit odd. As far as sodas, I sat down today and figured how much I drink in a typical week. It comes to be approximately 22-25k calories a week between the sodas and sweet tea.

[soccerdad5]

Thanks, I feel better about myself just knowing I've made up my mind. I'll post my first day of totals, bit I work third shift so it'll be a bit odd. As far as sodas, I sat down today and figured how much I drink in a typical week. It comes to be approximately 22-25k calories a week between the sodas and sweet tea.

Consistency wins at the end of the day. It is not about perfection but about consistency. You have a long road ahead but don't look at the long road but look at every step along the journey. There will be days you want to give up because you aren't seeing results. These are the days you need to keep going.

Good luck!

[BigOleGuy41]

After my first day on my transformation, I've consumed approximately 3100 calories and walked 6 miles while at work. I've eaten very well as I've had 260 g of protein, and have gotten 100% of nearly all my minerals and vitamins. The sugar craving hit really hard at the 4 am mark but I'm sticking to being soda free. One day down, many more to go. I took pics last night but I'm not sure how to post them from my phone.

[fatditcher]

good luck with this.

i started feb 2016 at around 320lbs at got down to 250lbs in about 8 months . the last 18 lbs have been much more difficult and a heck of a lot slower
currently at 232lbs around 27% bodyfat 34w jeans.

its going to take me 2 years to get to where i want to be , i will be 40 and hopefully look the best i have ever been. my only regret so far is not doing it 20 years ago in my prime.
so much time wasted

[bigtallox]

Although I've never given counting calories much more than a waste of time, I've got a notebook to keep a log. Here's an example of a typical day for me. Breakfast: sausage egg and cheese McMuffin hash brown and 32 oz sweet tea from McDonald's. Lunch: 3 hotdogs with ketchup, mustard, relish, and onions, approximately 1-1 1/2 lbs of fries smothered in ketchup and 40 oz of Dr pepper. Dinner: 2 plates of speghetti w/ 80/20 gr beef, half a package of smoked sausage, and 4 slices of frozen Texas toast along with another 40-60 oz of Dr pepper. I've never tried to total these calories more than likely due to being ashamed of consuming that much.

And not a vegetable nor piece of fruit in sight.(snip)

There are vegetables in sight: relish, onion, spaghetti sauce. Personally, I'd attack the soda consumption more than the lack of veggies. It's harder to stop drinking sodas than to add a few veggies into the diet, they can be disguised if necessary.



[QUOTE=ironwill2008;1506410671
The road ahead of you will be a formidable one, opie. Good luck.[/QUOTE]

Hmmm, I wouldn't say formidable.

[bigtallox]

Oh yeah, BigOleGuy41, just know 41 is not "ole". Stop doing that, it won't help your cause.

[bigtallox]

I've had 260 g of protein.

Personally, I think that's not enough. Given your soda addiction, it's going to make it *MUCH* easier to stop the addiction if you go high protein. Personally, I'd go paleo, ie no dairy too, at least for a little while to break any cheese addiction you might have too. It'll also help reduce your appetite in general. Go paleo for a month, things will be easier after, just my opinion.

[katya422]

IMO if you like sweet tea that is pretty easy to fix. There are a lot of teas that have good flavor without adding any sugar.

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Earth-Sw...icy%2Btea&th=1

I like peach, mint, and gingerbread too when it's available. I think they taste fine straight, but you can experiment with adding a little stevia or other sweetener if you need it. Personally don't like the taste of those.

Go caffeine free if you like and it will help keep up your water intake.

For that little nagging "want something sweet" after a meal you could try gum or 1-2 pieces of hard candy. Maybe 20 calories and the sweet flavor stays in your mouth for awhile. This is presuming a little sweet something doesn't trigger you to want to eat all the sugar and wreck your plan for the day...if that is a problem then ignore this.

[drkelly74]

Running is hard on the knees, even if you lose a bunch of weight.

Set the treadmill at 15 degrees incline. ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HOLD ON WITH YOUR HANDS! Set the speed at a challenging pace, but something you can maintain for 30-45 minutes. Do that every other day.

[drkelly74]

One other thing. You are not going to end up looking like the Rock unless you take things to another level that cannot be discussed on this website.

[Paleolife]

Hope it's going well OP! Stay in touch and stay focused! The first week is the hardest!!

[BigOleGuy41]

I wasn't referring to being old but here in the south ole is a slang word. For example, " that's a big ole guy". The guy could be 20 for all we know.

[BigOleGuy41]

One other thing. You are not going to end up looking like the Rock unless you take things to another level that cannot be discussed on this website.

I'm looking at the Rock when he first come to the wwf not the roided one.

[BigOleGuy41]

IMO if you like sweet tea that is pretty easy to fix. There are a lot of teas that have good flavor without adding any sugar.


I like peach, mint, and gingerbread too when it's available. I think they taste fine straight, but you can experiment with adding a little stevia or other sweetener if you need it. Personally don't like the taste of those.

Go caffeine free if you like and it will help keep up your water intake.

For that little nagging "want something sweet" after a meal you could try gum or 1-2 pieces of hard candy. Maybe 20 calories and the sweet flavor stays in your mouth for awhile. This is presuming a little sweet something doesn't trigger you to want to eat all the sugar and wreck your plan for the day...if that is a problem then ignore this.

I've been looking at stevia as a sugar substitute. I'll have to start looking for those teas at my local Kroger

[Paleolife]

How's the new lifestyle coming along?

[BigOleGuy41]

How's the new lifestyle coming along?

Well with my busy schedule at work, my transformation has been going great. I weighed this afternoon after waking up, which is my morning, and I'm down 7 lbs. I'm going to the gym in the morning for my cardio. My dinner for tonight consists of the following. 400 g of whole grain linguine, 100 g of 93% ground beef, 200 g of organic roasted garlic spaghetti sauce mixed with 100 g of petite diced tomatoes. I'll calculate the calorie count for this after dinner.

[Paleolife]

Glad to see your weighing your food! One tip.. gotta calculate the calories before you eat them. Nothing worse than eating and then finding out your one meal is 850 calories. But hey if your weighing your food your light years ahead of the masses!!! Great job bud and keep on it!!!

[BigOleGuy41]

Glad to see your weighing your food! One tip.. gotta calculate the calories before you eat them. Nothing worse than eating and then finding out your one meal is 850 calories. But hey if your weighing your food your light years ahead of the masses!!! Great job bud and keep on it!!!

I
The meal that would be typically dinner is my breakfast and it was at 900 calories but when I get to work, I'll burn 2000 calories walking around the er for the first 6 hours before we can take a break. I snack on nuts and fruits during those hours to keep my energy levels up. I'm definitely feeling the sluggish feeling from not having such high levels of sugar in my bloodstream. Overall I'm already feeling a huge difference. Thanks for all the tips and advice everyone.

[bigtallox]

I wasn't referring to being old but here in the south ole is a slang word. For example, " that's a big ole guy". The guy could be 20 for all we know.

Yeah, whatever. I grew up in the south ( and southern utah, *is* also "south" ). Words really do have meanings and affect things, even when you don't see it. Good luck Ole Guy 41.

[bigtallox]

I've been looking at stevia as a sugar substitute. I'll have to start looking for those teas at my local Kroger

Don't substitute, it'll just prolong breaking your addition to sugar. Sad but true. It's hard, I went through it too ( about 10 years ago, ie same age you are now ). Just break the addition, no substitutes.