Harder to get lean past 40. Need advice

[Lunarr]

Am 45, 5'7, 170 lbs. Bodyfat at 23%.

I lift weights 3x a week, run 3 x a week for 45 minutes per session but nothing much is happening.
For breakfast, I eat a big bowl of oatmeal with milk and a piece of fruit, a peanut butter sandwich before lunch, a serving of meat and rice for lunch, another sandwich for mid-afternoon and meat and rice in the evening (Rice is usually a bit over a cup).

Would like to bring bodyfat down considerably. Thanks for any answers

[Hulkotron]

How long have you been at it?  Losing fat takes time.

Also you might be eating a bit much for a 170-lber trying to cut fat.  Maybe try cutting out the morning sandwich (eat some vegetables too).  Why not run four or five days a week?

Good luck!

[Lunarr]

Been trying for more than a month. Okay, will try your suggestions. Thanks!

[nasht5]

to much runnin' not enough liftin'. just cause ya lift 3x a week doesn't mean you know what your doin'. please post your training information.

all that runnin will cannabalize (sp?) your muscles.

[Lunarr]

Okay, here's a sample of what I usually do:

Day 1: Chest/Shoulders/Tris

Dumbell Bench Press- 4 sets, 12-6 reps
Dips-3 sets- 8-6 reps
Peck deck- 3 sets, 10-6 reps

Behind neck presses- 4 sets, 12-6
lateral raises- 4 sets, 12-6
rear laterals- 2-3 sets, 8-6 reps

Lying extensions- 4-5 sets, 12-7 reps
Pressdowns-4 sets, 12-8 reps

Day 2: Back/ Biceps

Pull-ups- 4 sets, 10-6 reps
Seated rows, 3 sets, 10 reps
Straight arm pulldowns-3 sets, 12-8 reps

Hammer Curls, barbell curls, 4 sets ea, 12-6 reps

Day 3- Legs

Squats- 4 sets, 12-6 reps
Leg Extensions- 4 sets, 12-8 reps
Seated raises- 5 sets, 12-8 reps

( i intentionally don't do too much leg work since soreness interferes with cardio)

Overall, I rest a minute or less between sets since I have to rush off to work.
I also lift to failure.

Thanks for comments...

[John O]

Doing cardio first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach is the best time to do it for maximum fat loss.When you do your cardio workout, you are burning calories. Lets say you wake up, eat breakfast, eat lunch later in the day, and then a few hours after lunch, you do your cardio. All you will be doing during that cardio is burning the calories and carbs of the food you just ate. When you do cardio first thing in the morning, you haven't eaten anything for the last 8 or so hours  So, when your body sees that there are no carbs to burn, it goes directly to stored bodyfat.

[Lunarr]

Thanks for the explanation. I do cardio on an empty stomach. Read about it in M and F..was it Arnold?

[Hulkotron]

One month is nowhere near long enough to see substantial body composition changes.  Just keep at it.

The soreness will get less severe as you keep it up.  Work your legs!!

[Meso_z]

I dont think its that hard to get lean at any age the hardest part imo is to STAY lean. 

[DK II]

Thread is useless without a detailed nutrition plan.

[coltrane]

You need to drop calories imo if you're to lose bf.  You're doing good cardio, but not seeing much difference.  Try cutting the rice at night.

[Lunarr]

thanks for the help!

[WOOO]

there is no scientific proof that doing cardio on an empty stomach does anything...


agree with the few intelligent posters in this thread that a detailed nutrition plan with %s is required to calculate possible weight loss...

my advice: 2 peanut butter sandwiches a day is a bad idea... why not just replace them with 2 whey protein shakes per day... tons more protein, less calories, just as easy to carry around / prepare.

[newmom]

I agree with WOOO about the cutting out the sandwiches. I honestly do feel doing cardio in the am on a empty stomach is the way to go, but thats my opinion.

In lieu of rice with you dinner, replace with veggies, such as a salad

[local hero]

i think the majority of people whove been there and done it agree with am cardio, it does seem to help that little bit extra, thats just 1st hand experience and not a scientific statement...

now it depends on how serious you are about achieving your goals, if i were in your boat id be doing 45mins cardio everymorning, perhaps having a sunday off

looking at your diet and the results your getting back, seems like your eating too many carbs, its not like your eating loads, but for your particular body and daily energy expenditure theres too much, or youd be lean and 8%

id cut the carbs out of all the meals apart from the morning oats, and replace with greens of some sort, ditch the sarnies for protein shakes as has already been stated..

id add green tea and some omega oil caps... possibly eca too if your that way inclined, if not plenty over the counter mild fat burners out there

[local hero]

the thing is, once your lean, its easy to stay there.... you dont need to kill your self in the gym and you can back off from the cardio, its just a matter of watching how you look,

you might find your self allowing  a few treats too many, but if your very lean you see your abbs start to fade and u can start to get a pinch of fat on your sides, you just give your self a slap, clean your diet back up and add a few exra cardio sessions in..

thats the advantage of being leaner, you can nip things in the bud before they start to slide, things you wouldnt notice being over 15%

[WOOO]

good points hero... the most important area to focus on for weight loss is diet... diet... and more diet...

cardio and lifting can only get you so far... i mean my daily cardio barely burns off the equivalent of 1 big mac...

last, i'll point out that age doesn't make it harder to get lean... it means that you need to set realistic goals based on body type, current weight, activity level AND age...

aim to have a negative caloric balance of -500 calories per day... that equals -3500 calories per week (which translates to 1 pound of fat)...

doing this consistently over a long period without screwing it up is the real challenge

[local hero]

definatly, biggest downfall to most people is poor diet, they always come back with ' i hardly eat anything', but fuck me, it doesnt take much to work out that they are eating too much for what there currently doing

ive got to say, i find it very hard and frustrating giving adice to people who dont live a bodybuilding life style, especialy women, i go to great lengths to avoid it

[WOOO]

i can't say that i live a bber lifestyle all the time... but having a basic level of understanding of the principles can help people make better choices...

to this day i find it funny that people post the same questions over and over again when they could search for the answers...

honestly, most people want a magic pill... might as well just get some magic beans

[DK II]

definatly, biggest downfall to most people is poor diet, they always come back with ' i hardly eat anything', but fuck me, it doesnt take much to work out that they are eating too much for what there currently doing

ive got to say, i find it very hard and frustrating giving adice to people who dont live a bodybuilding life style, especialy women, i go to great lengths to avoid it

Yes, if someone states that they are not willing to eat more protein and less carbs or saturated fat, you can simply tell them to F off.

[newmom]

definatly, biggest downfall to most people is poor diet, they always come back with ' i hardly eat anything', but fuck me, it doesnt take much to work out that they are eating too much for what there currently doing

ive got to say, i find it very hard and frustrating giving adice to people who dont live a bodybuilding life style, especialy women, i go to great lengths to avoid it

why, especially women?

[local hero]

i cant speak for americans,,,,, but all the brit women i know have the weirdest eating habbits, id say its almost impossible for them to look at a structured diet and get it through there heads...

typical womens diet....

monday .... eat nothing all day, have big plate of chips (french fries) for tea

tues..        have big bowl of cereal for breakfast, healthy cereal but with sugar poured on, eat nothing till 9pm
                which will be some sort of takeaway

wed...       feeling guilty about takeaway, eat nothing but fruit all day

thurs..       no breakfast again, bag of crisps(chips) for dinner, cheese sandwich for tea

fri..           etc

sat           etc

sun           etc


the crazy fuckers are beyond help....................
     

[Meso_z]

i cant speak for americans,,,,, but all the brit women i know have the weirdest eating habbits, id say its almost impossible for them to look at a structured diet and get it through there heads...

typical womens diet....

monday .... eat nothing all day, have big plate of chips (french fries) for tea

tues..        have big bowl of cereal for breakfast, healthy cereal but with sugar poured on, eat nothing till 9pm
                which will be some sort of takeaway

wed...       feeling guilty about takeaway, eat nothing but fruit all day

thurs..       no breakfast again, bag of crisps(chips) for dinner, cheese sandwich for tea

fri..           etc

sat           etc

sun           etc


the crazy fuckers are beyond help....................
     

SPOT ON!! 

[local hero]

must be a global phenomenon.........

[newmom]

ewwwwww why bother, they should stay chubbo and be happy, who wants that mess