Is it even worth it?

[Luclin999]

I guess I wasn't clear. I was eating right, in my opinion, to lose belly fat AND ALSO put on muscle. I wanted to look shredded. I lost some weight, but gained no muscle. So I got one of the two things I hoped for. I was simply curious that me not eating enough contributed to the lack of muscle gain, or if it really was me starting this too late in life.

It is extremely difficult to build muscle while in a sustained calorie deficit losing fat. That is why most people practice cycles of both cutting and bulking.



As to being too old...

Me where I started at age 48 to today and age 54...



... And I am nowhere close to being "finished" yet.

[xTeTe]

It is extremely difficult to build muscle while in a sustained calorie deficit losing fat. That is why most people practice cycles of both cutting and bulking.



As to being too old...

Me where I started at age 48 to today and age 54...



... And I am nowhere close to being "finished" yet.

That's a hell of a transformation

[Junsuiakai]

I started at 7 yrs ago. I don't have before pics, but I'm s grateful I found this forum and all my bros with great advice and support.. Bunch of tough love but it is needed.

I was overweight until 2012, then started lifting in 2013. So I started when I was 28, Age is a cope, sure it might be more of an uphill battle but how far you get is entirely based on how bad YOU want it.

[kyle38]

I did it a while ago. They said the top of the range was 185 pg/ml and I was at 158. I think the low end was like 49 pg/ml

No upsells at all. The kit was through everlywell. They have like 25 different types of home tests you can do.

I can pm you a link directly to the results if you'd like to see what it looks like.

Yeah, I'd be interested in seeing what they have to say.

[xTeTe]

Yeah, I'd be interested in seeing what they have to say.

PM sent

[nitefeatherz]

I guess I wasn't clear. I was eating right, in my opinion, to lose belly fat AND ALSO put on muscle. I wanted to look shredded. I lost some weight, but gained no muscle. So I got one of the two things I hoped for. I was simply curious that me not eating enough contributed to the lack of muscle gain, or if it really was me starting this too late in life. I guess just saying "I'm too old and have low T" is the easy excuse, right?

You can usually gain muscle OR cut body fat. Not typically both. Building muscle means being in a surplus. Losing fat means being in a deficit. So someone will generally target one or the other at a time.

[MrCarrot]

Sorry if this post comes across as a debbie downer. I'm 37 years old. I'm 6'5 220 lbs. A year ago I was 240 lbs. I wasn't happy with how I looked, so I joined a gym, hired a personal trainer, starting eating right, etc. I was lifting 5 times a week. I lost 35 lbs and got down to 205, I looked pretty good but I wasn't totally satisfied - still had a small belly. I was kind of happy with my results because I lost weight, but no noticeable muscle gains. Didn't increase my bench AT ALL in a year. I can only bench like 175. I have really long arms, which might be a problem?

Then COVID happened and my gym shut down. I'm up to 220 lbs, not quite the 240 I was, but I really want to lose my belly fat. I need motivation to go back to the gym but I am not sure I have the motivation. I honestly wish I would have started lifting in my 20's. I know I'm not old, but I'm not young either. I think I feel really disheartened by the fact that I was taking in 200g-220g of protein a day on average, lifted for 45 min to an hour, multiple times a week, and my arms and chest look no bigger than it used to. I lost weight, that's great, probably from the cardio that is involved with lifting weights, but I honestly just wanted to have a bit more lean muscle. I've done some research, a lot of people on YouTube train for 2-3 hours which I don't have time for, others will eat 4 or 5 thousand calories a day to gain muscle, I can't afford to eat like that.

Is it pointless to keep trying? Should I just accept the fact that I started too late in life and just start jogging more often to lose some belly fat and call it a day? Ideally I would like to grow my biceps up to perhaps 16 inches, right now they're 14.5. I don't want to ever be huge like the rock, but like I've said, I haven't gained AT ALL. Might be a low T issue? Not sure. Would appreciate any advice.

I don't know what to say really... I'm 40 this year and in the best shape of my life. Partly thanks to this forum dispelling half the myths out there regarding training and diet.

All I would say is even if you could train for 2-3 hours at a time, it would indicate your workouts are not intense enough. If I was working out for 2 hours or more, it would start to become a waste of time because I wouldn't have the energy to be productive for that long.

Regarding diet, I'm currently eating 3,000 - 3,500 calories a day. You can easily bump calories up with cheap food. In the UK a big tub of natural peanut butter is around $7, and a cheap loaf of bread is around 50 cents. I buy ready made packet rice, but if you buy it dry and cook it yourself it costs pennies per serving. Don't think that all those calories need to be chicken breast and finest fillet steak.

[Luclin999]

That's a hell of a transformation

Thanks.

[meloncap78]

I don't know what to say really... I'm 40 this year and in the best shape of my life. Partly thanks to this forum dispelling half the myths out there regarding training and diet.

All I would say is even if you could train for 2-3 hours at a time, it would indicate your workouts are not intense enough. If I was working out for 2 hours or more, it would start to become a waste of time because I wouldn't have the energy to be productive for that long.

Regarding diet, I'm currently eating 3,000 - 3,500 calories a day. You can easily bump calories up with cheap food. In the UK a big tub of natural peanut butter is around $7, and a cheap loaf of bread is around 50 cents. I buy ready made packet rice, but if you buy it dry and cook it yourself it costs pennies per serving. Don't think that all those calories need to be chicken breast and finest fillet steak.

Beautiful Mr. Carrot! Packet rice....uncle bens original?? I eat 2-3 of those on lift days. Also PB in my oats with 8 eggs every day upon waking. Lots of good advice here OP and all healthy stuff. Add some boneless skinless chicken thighs, so much cheaper than breast. Lots of cheap ways to get in calories.

[Payton1221]

All I would say is even if you could train for 2-3 hours at a time, it would indicate your workouts are not intense enough.

Agreed! I've changed my routine since May, but before that every workout consisted of just three HARD pressing sets (either incline bench or OHP and after a few warm-up sets), three HARD pulling sets (usually chins or weighted chins to failure), and then legs done rest-pause. Many a night after leaving the gym (just 40 minutes after arriving) I'd be on the verge or actually "shaking" somewhat and I'd often feel the need to get a bite to eat before I went home.

[nkilmart]

Sorry if this post comes across as a debbie downer. I'm 37 years old. I'm 6'5 220 lbs. A year ago I was 240 lbs. I wasn't happy with how I looked, so I joined a gym, hired a personal trainer, starting eating right, etc. I was lifting 5 times a week. I lost 35 lbs and got down to 205, I looked pretty good but I wasn't totally satisfied - still had a small belly. I was kind of happy with my results because I lost weight, but no noticeable muscle gains. Didn't increase my bench AT ALL in a year. I can only bench like 175. I have really long arms, which might be a problem?

Then COVID happened and my gym shut down. I'm up to 220 lbs, not quite the 240 I was, but I really want to lose my belly fat. I need motivation to go back to the gym but I am not sure I have the motivation. I honestly wish I would have started lifting in my 20's. I know I'm not old, but I'm not young either. I think I feel really disheartened by the fact that I was taking in 200g-220g of protein a day on average, lifted for 45 min to an hour, multiple times a week, and my arms and chest look no bigger than it used to. I lost weight, that's great, probably from the cardio that is involved with lifting weights, but I honestly just wanted to have a bit more lean muscle. I've done some research, a lot of people on YouTube train for 2-3 hours which I don't have time for, others will eat 4 or 5 thousand calories a day to gain muscle, I can't afford to eat like that.

Is it pointless to keep trying? Should I just accept the fact that I started too late in life and just start jogging more often to lose some belly fat and call it a day? Ideally I would like to grow my biceps up to perhaps 16 inches, right now they're 14.5. I don't want to ever be huge like the rock, but like I've said, I haven't gained AT ALL. Might be a low T issue? Not sure. Would appreciate any advice.

Definitely worth getting your T levels checked. On the motivation issue, sometimes when I'm struggling for motivation I purely focus on the health aspects of training, even if I'm on a bit of a plateau, I know that it's keeping me healthy which gets more important the older you get. These habits that you're developing will stand you in good stead in later life.