Support NeoGAF

[chris121580]

I'm 41 and had become really self conscious about my belly. I was also a person who could just eat anything and never get fat but that's not the case anymore. I've started doing 30 minute workouts 5 days a week on an iFit bike, drinking those premier protein drinks for lunch(they're delicious by the way), limiting my portions in my other meals, cut out candy and soft drinks, and not snacking at night. Not snacking at night is ridiculously hard. I've been at it for about a month and I've lost 10 pounds and feel the best I've felt in a long time and plan to keep going. It takes a lot of work and you have to be dedicated to it. The hardest part is to get started but once you do, it just becomes a normal routine. Just know there are others out there that feel just like you and are self conscious about it. When I had to go from large to extra large shirts, it completely bummed me out.

 

[ÆMNE22A!C]

I'm 70% Endo and 30% Mesa i would guess. Most of my fat goes to my thighs and belly.

 

[Raven117]

That's a broad subject, it is a bad idea when going for mass and having a stable gain-oriented training schedule but I'd advise against it when trying to stay lean, especially carb heavy ones.

Fair point. I know for me. As an extomorph, I lose weight when I keep up with at least one protien shake a day (usually the one casin protien at night). On training days, I do the before workout shake.

As extomorph, getting enough good calories and protien is difficult and you need as much help in recovery as possible. (If Im doing HIIT and not enough protien, I become even more lanky and sinewy).

 

[tommib]

I'm 41 and had become really self conscious about my belly. I was also a person who could just eat anything and never get fat but that's not the case anymore. I've started doing 30 minute workouts 5 days a week on an iFit bike, drinking those premier protein drinks for lunch(they're delicious by the way), limiting my portions in my other meals, cut out candy and soft drinks, and not snacking at night. Not snacking at night is ridiculously hard. I've been at it for about a month and I've lost 10 pounds and feel the best I've felt in a long time and plan to keep going. It takes a lot of work and you have to be dedicated to it. The hardest part is to get started but once you do, it just becomes a normal routine. Just know there are others out there that feel just like you and are self conscious about it. When I had to go from large to extra large shirts, it completely bummed me out.

You’re basically doing what I’m doing in terms of diet. I stopped with night snacking as well. After dinner at 8, no more food getting in. I actually don’t have a big problem with that. I can deal with not eating as long as the results are there.

 

[MacReady13]

I'm 41 (turning 42 next week). Have had body issues basically my whole life- was always a fat/chubby kid. Got to the point where I noticed women so ran every day and stopped eating too much. Got down to around 66kgs and then slowly put weight back on. By the time I hit my early 30's I was over 110kgs.

Went to the docs as I had sight issues and a problem where I was drinking fluids and peeing straight after, non stop! Type 2 diabetes. Given the ultimatum- change your life or you're dead. Within 6 months went from over 110kgs down to 70kgs and felt great!

Since that 10 years though i've once again slowly put weight back on. The type 2 diabetes has come back from remission and in the last month I have gone back to my "old" way of eating less and trying to eat a little healthier (grilled chicken over fried, low fat cheese over normal cheese and no snacking on chocloate or chips but having nuts etc...). I was sitting again at over 100kgs and now after a month I'm back under 100 (just hit 98kgs). It's a long journey and will be harder as I'm not getting younger but the belly is going down and the man boobs shrinking slowly.

I figure this is my last chance to make it work (doc was scared I may have developed type 1 and that scared the shit out of me) so I am committed to this lifestyle in the long run. Just work at it and you'll get there.

 

[WoJ]

I'm overweight. I am about 240lbs. right now. Pre-covid I was about 205. I should probably be 180 based on my height. My belly is where most of my weight goes. And I can feel it now that I've put on covid weight. My last doctors appointment had my A1C pre-diabetic and my BP was pre-hypertension and my cholesterol is high.

So I've got some work to do. I'm starting to focus a lot more on macros and making myself eat more vegetables. This is going to be a slow process but I want to be healthier and hopefully be leaner in the gut. I just turned 40 btw.

 

[Vestal]

Personal experience.
I had been bouncing between 190 and 220 for the better part of the last 10 years. Start of last year I began playing tennis again, and aggressively. I am playing 3-4 times a week along with completely changing my diet. I used to eat "Everything" without much thought. But in order to get in shape I went on a HIGH protein very low carb diet. Over the course of 3 months I went from 220 in January last year, to 185 in late march last year. Since then I have been keeping with the diet, keep working out by playing tennis and doing strength training at home(tonal)..

Right now I am honestly in the best shape of my life. Always wanted a six pack (Almost had it when I was a teen playing basketball until I broke my wrist in a tryout after I graduated from school). I got my six pack, and heavy muscle definition through out my entire body. Now I am working on gaining 5-10 pounds of muscle in my upper body(Shoulders/arms/torso) which will help with tennis, and continue to improve my cardio. My diet is a lot more relaxed now, I eat what I want but I am also concious to not over do the carbs(sweets, bread etc).

For reference.

I am 43 years old/ 6'3, and my height comes more from my legs than the length of my torso.

 

[Delt31]

Vestal - Interested to hear what you're eating during the day. You and I seem to be similar in exercise. Do you drink beer at all? IPAs are my killer.

 

[-Minsc-]

40 years old.
6' tall.
142 lbs according to the scales here. Let's assume they weigh light and bump it up to 147 lbs.

Safe to say I have no belly. Yet.

 

[Vestal]

Vestal - Interested to hear what you're eating during the day. You and I seem to be similar in exercise. Do you drink beer at all? IPAs are my killer.

So.. Like everyone else that first year of the pandemic saw me drinking pretty much every night.. Start of 2021 i decided to completely change that. Now I only drink socially maybe once or twice a month..

Now my diet is as follows.
Snacks:
1. Organic dried mangoes from costco(just for that sweetness)
2. FitCrunch Protein Bar
3. Celcius Energy Drink

Meal Replacement/Get out of making food deals:
1. Nossa yogurt with Natures Own Protein Infused Granola(I eat at least 1 bowl a day of this)
2. Smoothie Kings Strawberry Pineapple Slim Fit 40oz smoothie, with addons of Muscle Builder, Vanilla Frozen Yogurt and Whey Protein.. (This one I usually do right after working out every time).


If none of the above are used:
Breakfast: 2 hard boiled eggs and 2 whole wheat toasts, or a Tri-Athlete order from a local Florida breakfast restaurant (First Watch)

Lunch/Dinner: Always high protein as my first step. Add in some carbs through potatoes, whole grain/wheat pasta/bread. Quick options like a whole rotisserie chicken from Costco, naked chicken wings etc.. Wife and I will make variants of "normal" foods such as tacos. Instead of using a flour tortilla we will use romain lettuce leaf etc.. That whole Costco chicken also lends itself to making a nice White Chicken Chili.. When making it, I try to avoid high sodium ingredients(hello Northern Beans). If I go out to eat its the same deal. Avoid too many carbs(Doesn't mean I completely avoid them, ill eat the table bread if I feel like it or order a normal sandwich)..

Lastly, I keep track of my workouts and calorie burn/intake. Right now I am trying the best I can to keep my intake/output to sort of be balanced. I have a rough idea of how many calories I burn playing tennis for 2hrs (1k-1.5k).. So I try to make sure that I go over the "recommended" daily calorie intake by 1k-1.2k calories to balance stuff out when I am working out.. On non workout days, I lower my intake by about 500-700 calories roughly.. I am not running an exact science on this, but you get the idea.

 

[MastAndo]

I never really had a big belly as I retain fat in a spare tire/love handles and tits, which is so much worse aesthetically if you ask me.

The quarantine hit me pretty hard - didn't realize how much a difference walking to and from the train station and running around an office all day helped me keep some weight off until it was gone. With not much of a change to my diet, I ballooned up to 220 (at 6'1") after just a few months of sitting on my butt all day working remotely. I've since come down to a little under 200 lbs. for the first time in a while after cleaning up my diet a bit.

 

[tommib]

I never really had a big belly as I retain fat in a spare tire/love handles and tits, which is so much worse aesthetically if you ask me.

The quarantine hit me pretty hard - didn't realize how much a difference walking and from the train station and running around an office all day helped me keep some weight off until it was gone. With not much of a change to my diet, I ballooned up to 220 (at 6'1") after just a few months of sitting on my butt all day working remotely. I've since come down to a little under 200 lbs. for the first time in a while after cleaning up my diet a bit.

I hear you. Cycling to the office and the whole office walking was helping me as well. Even with working out at the gym everyday, I don’t feel it’s the same thing. I should start to emulate that morning cycle somehow and come back home to work. We just spend less calories by working from home.

There’s a lot of good things about WFH but you need to be much more disciplined regarding your exercise activities. Otherwise it’s basically waking up, walking to the office room, eating breakfast in front of the screen and going to the gym 8 hours after with little activity in between.

 

[dr_octagon]

I didn't appreciate how sedentary you get with covid and wfh. I got 10k+ steps a day just with moving around, walking to station, going to meetings, lunch, coffee etc.

 

[Morrie’s wig shop]

Mines kinda weird, it has an indentation right down the center from my sternum to about my belly button and 3 bumps on each side that run parallel with the indentation, I don’t see many 45 year olds with this condition. Is there a doctor in the house?

 

[Morrie’s wig shop]

I never really had a big belly as I retain fat in a spare tire/love handles and tits, which is so much worse aesthetically if you ask me.

The quarantine hit me pretty hard - didn't realize how much a difference walking to and from the train station and running around an office all day helped me keep some weight off until it was gone. With not much of a change to my diet, I ballooned up to 220 (at 6'1") after just a few months of sitting on my butt all day working remotely. I've since come down to a little under 200 lbs. for the first time in a while after cleaning up my diet a bit.

Your diet is super important to your weight control. As is exercising but it’s the exercise you do and the food you put in your body is what dictates your weight. Don’t waste your time at a gym. You can do all the exercising from the comfort of your own home and around your neighborhood or local park. It’s only 3 exercises. Push-ups, sit-ups, and run/walk.

Push-ups - you want your goal to be 4 sets of 10. Take your time and do them properly google the Army guideline and SOP on how to do a proper push-up. Even if you start with doing 4 sets of 3, it’s perfectly fine you just gotta keep at it.

Sit-ups - you want your goal to be 4 sets of 30. Again take your time nice and steady you’ll get into a flow. There’s a parlor trick to this, you need to concentrate on keeping your feet planted flat on ground by using only the muscles in your legs, no putting them under the couch or someone holding them. Again google the Army SOP on the proper sit-up.

Run/walk - first you need to get the proper footwear for the type of foot you have. There’s no counting steps here instead you need to start counting in miles. I would start off with 2 miles either run or walk it. I highly and I mean highly recommend you do this in a park in the woods on a trail, the difference from running on asphalt or concrete on the side of a road worrying about getting hit by traffic or running in a zen like state in the woods on a trail is staggering.

There’s an order I do, Monday, Wednesday and Friday are run days. Tuesday, Thursday and sometimes Saturday are muscle failure days ( I feel cardio is more important). Also on the sit-ups push-ups, I do the first set of push-ups then I take a breather and I go to a yoga mat and do the sit-ups.

The beauty is is that you can do this right by your desk. I don’t care if it takes you all day as long as it happens. But the most important thing is diet, you can do all the exercising in the world but if you eat like shit your most likely going to feel like shit and look like shit. That’s right, I dare anyone here to go vegan/plant based I swear it will change your life. Cause let’s face it everyone in this thread is middle age including me and I’m not ready to be on a slew of fucking medication.

 

[Batiman]

I’m 35 and I finally have abs. It’s funny because when I used to do ab workouts I wasn’t getting them. Now that I’m doing like 400 push-ups a day they’re coming in nice. I’m in the best shape of my life right now. I don’t really diet. I just make sure I’m not eating too much junk and drinking lots of water. I have a very physical job and I’m constantly sweating and burning calories all day.

 

[MastAndo]

Your diet is super important to your weight control. As is exercising but it’s the exercise you do and the food you put in your body is what dictates your weight. Don’t waste your time at a gym. You can do all the exercising from the comfort of your own home and around your neighborhood or local park. It’s only 3 exercises. Push-ups, sit-ups, and run/walk.

Push-ups - you want your goal to be 4 sets of 10. Take your time and do them properly google the Army guideline and SOP on how to do a proper push-up. Even if you start with doing 4 sets of 3, it’s perfectly fine you just gotta keep at it.

Sit-ups - you want your goal to be 4 sets of 30. Again take your time nice and steady you’ll get into a flow. There’s a parlor trick to this, you need to concentrate on keeping your feet planted flat on ground by using only the muscles in your legs, no putting them under the couch or someone holding them. Again google the Army SOP on the proper sit-up.

Run/walk - first you need to get the proper footwear for the type of foot you have. There’s no counting steps here instead you need to start counting in miles. I would start off with 2 miles either run or walk it. I highly and I mean highly recommend you do this in a park in the woods on a trail, the difference from running on asphalt or concrete on the side of a road worrying about getting hit by traffic or running in a zen like state in the woods on a trail is staggering.

There’s an order I do, Monday, Wednesday and Friday are run days. Tuesday, Thursday and sometimes Saturday are muscle failure days ( I feel cardio is more important). Also on the sit-ups push-ups, I do the first set of push-ups then I take a breather and I go to a yoga mat and do the sit-ups.

The beauty is is that you can do this right by your desk. I don’t care if it takes you all day as long as it happens. But the most important thing is diet, you can do all the exercising in the world but if you eat like shit your most likely going to feel like shit and look like shit. That’s right, I dare anyone here to go vegan/plant based I swear it will change your life. Cause let’s face it everyone in this thread is middle age including me and I’m not ready to be on a slew of fucking medication.

Thanks for the advice. Yeah, I still do pushups basically daily and have cranked it up a bit in an effort to look better. I'll do at least a set before every meal, just to do them. I got fat but never all that weak and can still do a good 25 pretty strict pushups in one go. I used to incorporate some pullups too, but naturally with the added weight, I'm lucky to do just a couple of those nowadays. There's also occasional dumbbell work here and there, as I have those laying around from my less lazy days.

Running (and stretching) are a whole other story, and fully realize those are the things I should be prioritizing.

 

[LordBlodgett]

I know this thread hasn't been updated in a while, but I need somewhere to talk about this. I'm 41 and my gut has been growing nonstop for the last 5 years. Hit the high obesity level this last year. Add in autoimmune disease (Hashimotos) and constant hives and I decided to make a change. Tried the carnivore diet starting 8 weeks ago and I've lost 30 pounds. I know it's an extreme diet, but I feel great and my gut is disappearing. I'm not sure if I can go back....

 

[Punished Miku]

Im probably at 15% bodyfat now. Been dropping covid weight for a year. Nearing my end goal. The girlfriend and I just decided to drop meat aside from fish and eggs. Never felt better. Food sits light. No GI issues. Taking top tier shits; soft formed and medium size with no effort. Up to 1 hr of cardio 4x a week then weights. Probably 1200 - 1500 calories a day.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Started running 10K 2-4 times a week a month ago, weight drops like crazy.

 

[Raven117]

I know this thread hasn't been updated in a while, but I need somewhere to talk about this. I'm 41 and my gut has been growing nonstop for the last 5 years. Hit the high obesity level this last year. Add in autoimmune disease (Hashimotos) and constant hives and I decided to make a change. Tried the carnivore diet starting 8 weeks ago and I've lost 30 pounds. I know it's an extreme diet, but I feel great and my gut is disappearing. I'm not sure if I can go back....

Goodness. 30 pounds in 8 weeks...is....alot... But Maybe it isn't depending on where you started from.

 

[FunkMiller]

I've walked about 15-20 miles a week on average for many years, so not too bad on the belly front here. A bit of natural puffage thanks to the vagaries of age, but I still fit into 32 inch jeans and a medium t shirt. I pretty much eat and drink what I want, but never go mental. It's a lifestyle I'm content with.

 

[Fuz]

43, no belly.
But I don't drink and I don't usually eat carbs at night.

 

[I collect VHS tapes]

I’ve been sober for quite some time now. I lost a lot weight when I stopped drinking. YMMV.

 

[Rival]

Almost completely quitting drinking over the last 6 weeks and I’m noticing mine getting smaller for sure.

 

[Badlucktroll]

I am pretty in shape, but i have bigish squishy love handles and a little bit of a belly. Any tips? I read that eating lots of protein and fiber, and doing cardio will help with that.

 

[skneogaf]

I'm 42 and the best I can look now from weightlifting and general fitness type stuff is fat THOR.

I just can't shift my belly fat.

 

[Meicyn]

Ran another 5K yesterday in the heat. Gotta get my 6-pack back.

 

[Artoris]

I'm 42 and the best I can look now from weightlifting and general fitness type stuff is fat THOR.

I just can't shift my belly fat.

Try cutting as many carbohydrates from your diet as you can, as any excess ones you eat end up typically as belly fat
also, beer has lodes of carbohydrates in it, you better of with wine or spirits

 

[Mihos]

Over 50... not pretty... but better than my wife!

Spoiler

"Spoilers "I fucking love my wife!

 

[skneogaf]

Try cutting as many carbohydrates from your diet as you can, as any excess ones you eat end up typically as belly fat
also, beer has lodes of carbohydrates in it, you better of with wine or spirits

I don't drink alcohol and I'm not about to reduce carbohydrates fat THOR for the win.

 

[InfiniteCombo]

No belly here, relatively flat stomach.

 

[Ironbunny]

Happened to me too at the age 40. Before that I could eat everything without having a belly and always been a skinny.

Now I have to look at what I eat. Less sugars help but I'm bit of a baker so its hard.

 

[TTOOLL]

Almost 37 here and no belly, I have no 6pack to show either but I’m ok with it. I’ll never allow myself to have a belly, I swear to God. It’s disgusting and terrible for your overall health.

I’m actually in my best shape ever and I intend to get better, I’ve been a runner for years and this year I’ve taken up mountain biking, it’s amazing!! I might start Jiu-jitsu too.

Just burn them calories and take care, dudes. I burn 800+ calories in activities daily, I almost never hit my goal for the day since it’s pretty hard to eat 3000+ calories of healthy foods.

 

[p_xavier]

I know this thread hasn't been updated in a while, but I need somewhere to talk about this. I'm 41 and my gut has been growing nonstop for the last 5 years. Hit the high obesity level this last year. Add in autoimmune disease (Hashimotos) and constant hives and I decided to make a change. Tried the carnivore diet starting 8 weeks ago and I've lost 30 pounds. I know it's an extreme diet, but I feel great and my gut is disappearing. I'm not sure if I can go back....

I've been eating a keto diet mostly meat/dairy diet and hard liquor.

40 years old.
6' tall.
142 lbs according to the scales here. Let's assume they weigh light and bump it up to 147 lbs.

Safe to say I have no belly. Yet.

How do you stay on the ground when it's windy?

 

[Chittagong]

I know this thread hasn't been updated in a while, but I need somewhere to talk about this. I'm 41 and my gut has been growing nonstop for the last 5 years. Hit the high obesity level this last year. Add in autoimmune disease (Hashimotos) and constant hives and I decided to make a change. Tried the carnivore diet starting 8 weeks ago and I've lost 30 pounds. I know it's an extreme diet, but I feel great and my gut is disappearing. I'm not sure if I can go back....

Graet to hear it’s working. Just a word if caution to keep an eye on your blood glucose.

We have T2 diabetes in my family, so have been doing blood test once a year. Few years back I had been gaining weight and turned out that my fasting glucose was too high. I was on my way. I got a 24/7 CGM to figure out what I can and cannot eat.

By normalising my bg I lost more weight than in a decade. This continued for a year and a half, until my blood glucose started to rise again.

Turns out keto can lead to insulin resistance - or “adaptive glucose sparing” as some want to call it. I had come off keto to get my blood glucose stable again.

So keep an eye out for it.

 

[LordBlodgett]

Graet to hear it’s working. Just a word if caution to keep an eye on your blood glucose.

We have T2 diabetes in my family, so have been doing blood test once a year. Few years back I had been gaining weight and turned out that my fasting glucose was too high. I was on my way. I got a 24/7 CGM to figure out what I can and cannot eat.

By normalising my bg I lost more weight than in a decade. This continued for a year and a half, until my blood glucose started to rise again.

Turns out keto can lead to insulin resistance - or “adaptive glucose sparing” as some want to call it. I had come off keto to get my blood glucose stable again.

So keep an eye out for it.

Oh, I'll have to keep an eye on that. I have some lab work coming up this week

 

[Valonquar]

I dropped from 260 lbs to 220 over 6 months just giving up soda and sugary cereal. I'm 6'7 and hate how I look with a gut.

 

[Pagusas]

sugar, cut as much of it as you can. Sugar is what gave me a belly as I got older and cutting it is what fixed it.

 

[fran.fernandez]

I start doing the exercise after I lost seeing of my huge dick.

Now my belly is back to normal and I can salute my pride.


I cut all sugar and others, plus running everyday for about one hour.

 

[LaughingStock]

43. Big belly.
I've been trying to lose weight.

 

[Wolfe]

It's true, I turned 40 in May and I've already put 20 lbs on in this year alone

Spoiler

It's all muscle though so still no belly

 

[Raven117]

It's true, I turned 40 in May and I've already put 20 lbs on in this year alone

Spoiler

It's all muscle though so still no belly

That’s really impressive if it’s muscke

 

[ahtlas7]

What I see

vs reality

 

[ahtlas7]

It's true, I turned 40 in May and I've already put 20 lbs on in this year alone

Spoiler

It's all muscle though so still no belly

20lbs of muscle in roughly 7 months? At 40?! HTF did you do that?

 

[12Goblins]

20lbs of muscle in roughly 7 months? At 40?! HTF did you do that?

 

[Wolfe]

20lbs of muscle in roughly 7 months? At 40?! HTF did you do that?

It's just newb gains I hadn't been to the gym in like 4 years.

 

[JCK75]

I'm 47 - Since I turned 35 my weight has been ALL over the place.. mostly on the overweight side..
I tried fad diets and while Keto was effective eventually a cracker barrel buttery soft biscuitt is going to find it's way on the table in front of me with a packet of
dickinson's blackberry preserves and my will power will be GONE.. so it was a bust..

So back in March of this year I just tried something.. eat the same shit just less of it
If I have to do fast food I'll order like a double QP or McDouble and no fries.. Unsweet tea instead of soda..
other meals I'll just eat half of it.. where like a subway sub I used to eat a 12" I'll eat half a 6" and fill up with water..

Lost 40 lbs since then, and looking and feeling awesome and never once did I struggle or feel hungry.

In fact I was doing too well in controlling calories and took in too little and made myself sick.. so started counting to get enough..
one night I had to have cheesecake and a beer to get enough in.

 

[Smokken]

At that age, I'd consider TRT. Been doing it for 10 years straight now, feel like a God 24/7.
115kg and still lean. Iit all depends on the diet.

 

[Ownage]

It exists.

I have to watch what I eat and drink so I won't get bloated and look like a mid 40s pregnant dude. If I keep on top of it I'll stay trim and have closer to the midsection I had in my 20s. Food sensitivities in my 40s are real. Gotta watch out for it.

I tried TRT as my % was slightly under norm and within a few days I wanted to HULK SMASH everything. Total global destruction without remorse. I talked with my doc and went off of it. Am happier and am fine with how things fall. Instead of bulking up I'm going lean fit... trim yoga strength versus gym super flex.