50 and can't lose fat!!!!

[kilgoreta]

I'm a 50 year old male, 215 lbs. and 5'9" tall. I've been trying to lose weight (fat) and my goal is to be ~185 lbs. I'm doing cardio every morning before breakfast, typically 35-45 minutes on the treadmill inclined walking and some jogging. My typical diet looks like this...2 whole eggs and 4-6 egg whites with spinach and lean turkey for breakfast (I just eliminated the 1 cup of oatmeal for some reason), white rice and lean ground beef and steak, meal replacement shake or bar, steak and vegetables, and rice and chicken. I've been eating 4 meals a day of these combinations. I've even stopped lifting weights so that I could make sure I was losing fat and not gaining muscle. Part of the problem is that I travel for work, normally I travel for 2 weeks and home for 1. The weeks that I travel I'm gone Monday thru Thursday and try and eat healthy meals, but it's difficult as I'm sure you are aware. Am I not eating enough calories, not enough cardio???? I've been working out since I was 12 years old fairly consistently and the only time I stopped was a period of around 10 years between 36 to 47. I need some advice and am constantly confused by all the diet information out there.
Thanks,
Tim

[d2mini]

I'm a 50 year old male, 215 lbs. and 5'9" tall. I've been trying to lose weight (fat) and my goal is to be ~185 lbs. I'm doing cardio every morning before breakfast, typically 35-45 minutes on the treadmill inclined walking and some jogging. My typical diet looks like this...2 whole eggs and 4-6 egg whites with spinach and lean turkey for breakfast (I just eliminated the 1 cup of oatmeal for some reason), white rice and lean ground beef and steak, meal replacement shake or bar, steak and vegetables, and rice and chicken. I've been eating 4 meals a day of these combinations. I've even stopped lifting weights so that I could make sure I was losing fat and not gaining muscle. Part of the problem is that I travel for work, normally I travel for 2 weeks and home for 1. The weeks that I travel I'm gone Monday thru Thursday and try and eat healthy meals, but it's difficult as I'm sure you are aware. Am I not eating enough calories, not enough cardio???? I've been working out since I was 12 years old fairly consistently and the only time I stopped was a period of around 10 years between 36 to 47. I need some advice and am constantly confused by all the diet information out there.
Thanks,
Tim

Cardio is good for your health, but losing weight is all about calories.
If you are not losing, you are eating too much.
Read the stickies. Figure out your TDEE without exercise, and eat in a 4-500 calorie deficit.

[spradish]

You are eating too much to lose weight. You provided a lot of information but never mentioned calories.

1. Use a calculator to determine your TDEE. It doesn't matter which one you use as they are ALL estimates and you're going to use it as a starting point. Use your current weight and an activity level of moderate and leave the body fat box blank.

2. Subtract 500 from your TDEE. This is the number of calories you will eat every day for the next four weeks.

3. Get a digital kitchen scale and weigh all solid and semi solid foods and log them using good nutrition info. Measure liquids with a measuring spoon or cup and log those using good nutrition info.

4. Google "serving size chart" and look at the image results. Find one that shows how to estimate serving sizes with your hand or by comparing them to common objects (e.g., deck of cards, etc.) Bookmark the chart on your phone or print it and stick it in your wallet. Use it to estimate your serving sizes when you eat out. Log all of that food as well.

5. At the end of four weeks, weigh yourself. If you have not lost any weight, drop your calories a bit more (you might make another post at that point for guidance on how much to drop them.)

Do not stop lifting weights. Do not go crazy with cardio. Both are good for you but eating less is what will lead to weight loss.

[kilgoreta]

My TDEE is 2191 and I've been eating 1700-1800 calories a day (using MyFitnessPal). I did this several weeks ago and just try and eat roughly the same thing every day with not much variation. I thought about going down to 1500 calories but thought that was way too low. I'll give it a try though and see how it goes.

[bcradio]

My TDEE is 2191 and I've been eating 1700-1800 calories a day (using MyFitnessPal). I did this several weeks ago and just try and eat roughly the same thing every day with not much variation. I thought about going down to 1500 calories but thought that was way too low. I'll give it a try though and see how it goes.

You are not tracking correctly then. Get that on point and you will lose weight.

[skyjumper]

My TDEE is 2191 and I've been eating 1700-1800 calories a day (using MyFitnessPal). I did this several weeks ago and just try and eat roughly the same thing every day with not much variation. I thought about going down to 1500 calories but thought that was way too low. I'll give it a try though and see how it goes.

You have to make sure that you weigh everything and log everything. Don;t forget about calories you may drink, things like sauces and so on.

I'm 53 and I can drop fat, you can too. That said, I usually do a deficit at about 600 calories plus cardio most days. You can do 1,500 calories.

[BlvckDiamond]

Cardio plays a very minor role in fat loss.
put more emphasis into your diet - Portion control/control your caloric intake
Attend the gym or do some sort of physical activity consistently - progressive overload, lift intensely and heavy to gain muscle mass
be patient with the process.

I'm a 50 year old male, 215 lbs. and 5'9" tall. I've been trying to lose weight (fat) and my goal is to be ~185 lbs. I'm doing cardio every morning before breakfast, typically 35-45 minutes on the treadmill inclined walking and some jogging. My typical diet looks like this...2 whole eggs and 4-6 egg whites with spinach and lean turkey for breakfast (I just eliminated the 1 cup of oatmeal for some reason), white rice and lean ground beef and steak, meal replacement shake or bar, steak and vegetables, and rice and chicken. I've been eating 4 meals a day of these combinations. I've even stopped lifting weights so that I could make sure I was losing fat and not gaining muscle. Part of the problem is that I travel for work, normally I travel for 2 weeks and home for 1. The weeks that I travel I'm gone Monday thru Thursday and try and eat healthy meals, but it's difficult as I'm sure you are aware. Am I not eating enough calories, not enough cardio???? I've been working out since I was 12 years old fairly consistently and the only time I stopped was a period of around 10 years between 36 to 47. I need some advice and am constantly confused by all the diet information out there.
Thanks,
Tim

[oldestman]

Your diet looks good, as long as portions are not too big. Start lifting weights.

[BecomingSmaller]

Age is not the issue, log calories better. Make sure for instance your rice if weighed dry is off the dry calories weight as there’s a big difference vs cooked. Don’t assume your tdee calculation is correct, it can easily be 20% out.

[BrightonBomber]

My TDEE is 2191 and I've been eating 1700-1800 calories a day (using MyFitnessPal). I did this several weeks ago and just try and eat roughly the same thing every day with not much variation. I thought about going down to 1500 calories but thought that was way too low. I'll give it a try though and see how it goes.

Calorie trackers like Myfitnesspal are not accurate, no calorie or activity tracker is they just give estimates, which is why you have to adjust calorie intake based of the weight changes or lack or weight changes. If you are having 4 whole meals a day I find it hard to see how you are eating so little unless the portions are very small. If you are not losing weight then you need to adjust and drop calories.