Hey all, hoping someone can chime in here. Ime closing in on my mid 50s, and have fallen far out of shape. The past decade has been a loss (physically) and covid made it worse. Post covid i have discovered that ive lost all willpower/discipline when it comes to dieting. I’ve lost considerable amounts of weight twice in my life, and both times slagged off and put it all back on for various reasons/excuses. My recent efforts have just all fallen flat.
Ongoing depression finally forced my hand, to do a couple of things I was previously very resistant to… I got my testosterone checked, and it was low, so I have gotten testopel treatment… and that has made a definite difference in several ways. I always said I would not supplement testosterone… But I feel better today than I have in years. It hasn’t been a cure all, but in general, it has made me feel better. The second thing, was finally getting on the standard GLP1. Again, something I never thought I would do, but again, desperate times…
For more background, I am a generally large framed man with a comfortably fit weight of around 260-280. Less than that I start to look sickly. However, I am well above that, and around 340, though I am losing. I am going to the gym and since I am doing solo workouts, mostly using machines, and still trying to figure out the weight ranges to use on them. It has been a slow process. I have always worked out with free weights, but I feel safer now on the machines, since I don’t have a spotter. Right now I am just doing a push day, a pull day and a leg day. As I proceed I plan on adding reps to duplicate muscle groups in each of these… but right now, I am just doing 3 sets of each exercise.
My primary focus is currently to keep moving and keep at it in the gym. I do not expect to get ripped, but I do want to build muscle… I hope that getting some power back is possible. Anyhow, I felt like that was all a lot of background for my main question… Is a whey powder like Gold Standard something I should be taking to supplement my exercising? I used it when I was very regularly in the gym before, but I was also younger and much more fit. I didn’t know if that owuld be considered flushing money down the toilet or not. I have already ordered some Creatine HCL, on the recommendation of a trainer at the gym. I have done some reading on it, and realize there is some debate on if it is better than Creatine monohydrate, worse, or generally undecided… But I figured something was better than nothing, and I didn’t want to deal with possible side effects from the monohydrate.
At any rate, I appreciate any input that anyone more learned on the topic can offer.
Thanks!
exact same situation, my friend.
if you are looking for a caloric deficit (fat loss with minimal muscle loss or even some reasonable muscle gain with the test) then absolutely. ON is one of the standard go to protein sources. I have been using IsoPure whey isolate over the past few years and find its as good as or better than others. either option is good.
some may say that you cannot build on a caloric defict - and I call BS on that. if you have fat stores and you can absolutely build while catabolic and using 90 - 120 grams of protein daily to take advantage of anabolic periods. eat healthy, whole food as often as you can, but lean protein supplements like whey can keep you burning fat and building muscle.
one one other thing… dont overthink it. 50+ with test and your body will recover and grow like whe you were younger - even in a caloric deficit. 12 to 24 months later and you may be shocked at how ripped an old body can get.
p.s. test after 50 (or if you have natural deficiencies) is absolutely valid and useful for quality of life. younger or with normal test levels…? well then you better understand how test supplementation can (and will) screw you over beforehand. talk with a medical professional.
edit: I have used monohydrate and HCL. unless the HCL prices have dropped, I don’t think its worth it. if you dont mind the monohydrate grit, its cheap as hell and effective. just be safe - test and creatine can make you feel as though you can lift more than you should. old men and joint injuries or serious muscle tears are generally incompatible :-)
Thanks for the recommendation on brand and the advice on both supplements! I am at a calorie deficit, and trying to keep it that way. Lol. My food intake has drastically changed. I might still have a giant shitty meal every now and again… But 1) the term “giant” now isna lot different than it used to be, and 2) the “cheat” meal doesn’t carry on for the following day/week/month/year.
Im trying hard to watch my workouts, so i dont get hurt. Ive already identified some tricep exercises im doing that are going to go back to dumbells, because the machine i was using did not feel great on my shoulder.
So far, ive been surprised at the calories I burn in a workout, and the enjoyment I get at doing it. Its a chore to drag myself there, but i always like being there and doing some work
I’m a little older than you, much less large-framed ( I ought be around 150-160-lbs ).
- optimize your diet for YOU: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ayurvedic-healing-a-comprehensive-guide ( you may also find Frawley & Kozak’s “Yoga For Your TYPE” key to improving your health! )
IF your metabolism is 1 fundamental-metabolism/dosha, THEN the experiment is:
- make pairs of dishes which have 1/2 be all pacifying-for-YOUR-metabolism ingredients, & the other 1/2 of the pair be all aggravating-for-your-metabolism.
- sit down without any distractions going-on, & experience each pair, & see what your body tells you, about the difference.
IF your metabolism is mixed, it may be harder to get clear signal.
IF your metabolism is all-3 mixed, then there isn’t any point doing the experiment, unless 1 is stronger or weaker than the others.
- DGLS: Dairy + Grains provides better-completeness of protein.
Grains + Legumes/Pulses does, too.
Legumes/Pulses + Seeds/Nuts does, too.
IF you’re using whey-protein, THEN you probably want some grain-protein with it, to give your body more-complete protein.
DGLS is from a hiker’s handbook, from a decade or 2 ago, btw.
- An experiment you’ll need to do, & periodically redo, is to find YOUR protein-requirement.
I don’t eat meat, anymore.
Not compatible with the meditations I need/love.
Ideally I do mungs+rice, but tofu’s MUCH less work than sorting mungs, to get the bad ones out, & eggs are much cheaper, per day, than tofu.
I need at-least 1/2-doz eggs / day, when on them.
( cooked is better than raw: more bioavailable for human digestion )
The diff beween 6/day & 3/day is like instant-disability.
When you find YOUR threshold for protein, you’ll KNOW.
Once you know, then you simply don’t need to bother buying more than you need, see?
Do well, & find your right-way.
_ /\ _
Protein supplement can be helpful, but maybe not necessary.
- Are you vegetarian/vegan? If not, I would just get your protein from animal sources.
- I would strongly suggest learning free weights. Particularly squat, deadlift and bench. Machines isolate your movement, so you don’t get the same physiological stimulus. Bench is the only one you need a spotter for, but pushups are a viable substitute. I’ve heard anecdotal claims that free weights can improve testosterone levels.
- 3 full body days will help you more in beginner stages. Splits are more advanced. I’ve been exercising fairly intensely for years and still don’t do splits.
I would consider protein supplement a kind of premature optimization. You’ll do better to
Thanks, i agree, I felt like it was premature as well, however i wasnt sure if at my age my body would benefit from taking some. I also agree with the free weights for those particular exercises… So I will likely try to move to those as i build a better base to work from. The only one that concerns me is squats… Which funny enough is the primary free weight exercise I want to do, sinply because loading and unloading the isolated squat machine with hundred of pounds of weight is a pain in the ass. Lol
Squats in a squat rack are very safe imo. What are you particularly scared of?
If you are scared of getting stuck, set the safety bars to the right height and practice bailing out with a lowish weight.
To bail out, drop the weight behind you and move forward. Maybe watch some videos, but imagine someone pushed your lower back forward from behind while in the bottom of the squat. If you do it well, it’s very safe. I’ve even bailed safely without the safety bars (don’t do that. I was dumb).
Post covid i have discovered that ive lost all willpower/discipline when it comes to dieting.
Will-power is a myth. Discipline is a long conversation but habits are 100x more important than discipline. It’s really not that hard to start a new habit (if you make make the habit visible, obvious, easy, satisfying, and attractive).
Is a whey powder like Gold Standard something I should be taking to supplement my exercising?
yes! I was recommended some of a particular brand and I bought twelve 5lb tubs when it went on sale for $40 about a year ago during amazon prime days. You should absolutely take the whey within 1 hour of working out because that hits optimal muscle protein synthesis timing. (or take it to replace breakfast since you’re trying to lose weight)
I’m mid-40s and went from 380 to 240 in the past 24 months. I also somehow became significantly stronger during those 24 months which I would have believed to be impossible when losing weight with not much motivation to gain muscle. I only became motivated about 6-7 weeks ago after noticing that my current muscle hypertrophy protocols are working. 💪
Regarding protein, the powders are something that are entirely optional depending on your diet. If you can reach your protein goals (0.7-1 gram protein per pound of ideal body weight, or 1 g per cm in height if you’re overweight) without whey, then you don’t need to supplement. Same thing with protein bars. If you struggle to get enough protein, then it’s really helpful to use.
One side note is that it’s also important to get that protein daily, not just on without days. You build muscle on rest days too. That’s a mistake I made when I was younger, and it make a big difference.
I am a much smaller frame, 5’11 @ 180 lbs. When I quit drinking, I was up to 250lbs for a bit, but I just stopped eating as much and I lost the weight. Even when I got a belly a time or two before that, I never went on a diet: I adjusted my habits completely. (Or just drank more black coffee… Not a healthy option, but it was an option that suppressed hunger and got me out of the get-hungry-more-because-I-was-eating-more cycle.)
These days, I just run. Cardio can really suck ass at times, but it works wonders. Once you get into extended aerobic exercise, your body has to burn fat for energy at higher rates. (I am absolutely lacking on the anaerobic side of things except for the sprints I do every week.)
Big, small, tall or short, your body needs protein. It needs more protein when you work out. Whey protein is the “gold standard”, but usually because it’s effective and usually a good value. Hydrolyzed protein is easier for your body to take in because it’s (essentially) partially digested proteins. (It’s easier on my stomach as well, which is why I take it.)
I would speculate that your protein intake calculation is not going to be near what you think it will be, or even close to what the interwebs will tell you (it’s all weight based calculations) until you get your fat to muscle ratio closer to whatever a “normal” ratio is so take that into account.
You didn’t ask for any opinion of mine, so take this with a grain of salt. It’s just my thoughts on supplementation in general, but you do you.
My method for adjusting any system is to establish a stable baseline first, before all else. If the system is stabilizing or going through massive changes, tuning that system for performance is the last thing on my list.
Supplements didn’t make sense to me until I actually started to need them and had some kind of stable system to work with after months of learning to run again. By all means, supplement but supplement when it is measurably effective. (Protein powder is expensive for what it is, and you shouldn’t just literally piss it out if your body doesn’t need it.)
