I’m approaching 50, vegetarian, and am about 60 pounds overweight. I want to start a full body transformation what should I do?

woodgood

New member
I’ve worked out in the past. Lifted weights when I was younger and expect that will be part of the routine. I’m also vegetarian (but vegan options would be best) so any advice on diet would be welcomed.

Basically I’d like to pull off what Rob McElhenney did since I’m just a bit older and about the same size and body type. Right now I look like the Fat Mac photo.

With that info, what diet (calories, macros, food) and workout routine(s) should I follow to get there before I hit 50 in a few years?
 
@woodgood
  1. Don't skip leg day! People are always saying/commenting about women doing it to develop their backsides, but it's probably more important for men bcz it increases testosterone production, which is going to help you drop weight and build muscle faster. But with ~60 extra lbs, I'd opt for leg presses, cycling and walking until you lose some of that extra and then later add compound/higher impact stuff like squats, lunges, and/or running.
  2. Start with bodyweight or light weights, and as you drop weight, add weights. Again, you are starting off with a 60-lb "pack" on your back. When you get to the point where you've lost the 60 on your body and picked it up in weight on compounds, then start your progressive loading. My personal opinion is that, yes, it takes longer to build muscle as you get older, but it takes even longer to build and train your tendons and bone to support those muscles, so don't overdo. Slow and steady wins the race over 50. But you are younger and you've trained before, so this is going to go fast for you.
  3. I use a lot of vegan products bcz I don't eat red meat or dairy, and I like the Orgain plant-based protein powder. It's not as good on mixing or as high a gram-count per scoop as whey, but it's pretty tasty. I mix it with hot water and matcha. I've also embraced nuts and seeds and their associated butters to up my protein intake. They are my go-to snack now. My biggest problem is managing my carbs bcz I love deep, dark, dry red wine and French bread, LOL!
If I think of more, I'll come back and update.
 
@woodgood And, let's be honest, no actor hired by a studio to get jacked for a part is getting there without PEDs, no matter what they say about it in public. So, don't use them as a measuring stick unless you want to get on the sauce yourself, which, no judgement, if that's what you want. Just sayin' don't think McEllhenney's transformation is natty or realistic to match it.
 
@woodgood I find so much help, and get results, from the CICO sub. You can eat anything you like. Just eat less and exercise more. It works. It's not fast, but it is sustainable.
 
@woodgood One piece of advice overall is don’t try to look like a particular person/body type. Everyone is different, so for example don’t go for a swimmers body unless your body type is that of a swimmer. A person who is shorter in stature and more compact in their body type can swim forever and won’t have a swimmers body. Just as there are very few shorter competitive swimmers there are also few tall competitive gymnasts.
Also whatever u do u have to be consistent, showing up is 90% of the battle. Good luck!
 
@amtelan Fair enough. The reason I was using him as a reference is that we have very similar body types. But totally understand that everyone is different regardless of that.
 
@woodgood I work with Men over 50 and with the goal of making them "harder to kill." Our initial focus is getting to 15% body fat. Here is the framework we use:

1) Mindset. It starts with creating your future self...an identity shift. Write down who you want to become and document the behaviors and habits of that person. Then start doing those things. Model the behavior of someone who has what you want. Google Dr. Benjamin Hardy and Future Self for more on this topic and James Clear and Atomic Habits - Identity shift and Identity based habits for more info. Once you do this, adopt a morning and evening routine. For more details on what these routines look like, google Hal Elrod and Dr Benjamin Hardy Morning routines. This is the most important step. Change your mindset, change your life.

2) Sleep. I recommend an Oura ring to understand what drives high quality sleep. Quantity and qualitative are both important and understanding deep sleep, REM sleep, Heart Rate Variability (HRV), heart rate and sleep environment are all critical to sleep quality.

3) Nutrition. It starts with understanding macros, calories, food quality, food quantity and your goals (fat loss, muscle gain, performance, etc.)

4) Fitness. I like Peter Attia's framework for fitness: Stability, Strength, Zone 2 (low intensity, steady state or LISS) and Zone 5 (think High Intensity Interval Training). cardio

5) Hydration. We follow this formula: half your body weight in ounces every day (minimum). So a 200 lber drinks at least 100 ounces. Also, Hydration = water + electrolytes. You need to replenish minerals (sodium and potassium are critical).

Set standards for each of the 5 components above and everyday record if you met the standard or not. 1 = met your standard 0 = did not meet your standard. A perfect score for a week is 35/35 (5 components * 7 days = 35). Aim for at least 32 every week.

Over time, raise your standards until you reach your desired state (body fat % is a great metric to target).
 
@b4jesus93 Very good list.

Sleep is incredibly important. So much so I very rarely drink alcohol. One drink a week, maybe. Two drinks will destroy my sleep for a night or two. My Garmin details the stress data while I sleep.

As for nutrition I try to avoid eating foods out of a box. However, since I travel a good bit and eat out, I try to maximize simple meals for the macros and stay away from desserts and alcohol.

Fitness has a lot of facets.

Water is my friend. If I need electrolytes after a morning run I have some trail mix and/or a banana. Coffee only in the morning so it won't adversely affect my sleep.

Everything affects the other. Recovery is also important for proper rest cycles. Doing too much too soon is a recipe for injury and and inductive to poor habits.
 
@woodgood I'm 52 soon and dropped about 65-70 pounds last year. I am not quite as cut yet as the guy in your photo but I'm 85% there. I got here by simply cutting calories (used Myfitnesspal) and a lot of cycling. I am a bit of an extremist and I don't actually recommend doing it as fast as I did, but if you can cut 500 calories a day from your diet you will lose about a pound a week, and that's not counting exercise.
 
@roberto1820 Wow congrats on your progress, it’s inspiring to hear. I need to build discipline using MyFitnessPal, I’ve got it but not using it all the time. Maybe I’ll setup some reminders. CICO is a no brainer so definitely need to build this in. Thanks for your help.
 
@woodgood Sure, it's totally doable. Here is a pic of my progress up to now. Currently at about 19.5% body fat, aiming for under 18%.

I was a hardcore drinker and smoker for DECADES. If I can do this, literally anyone can!

*And one more thing. I have used MyFitnessPal on and off for three separate stretches of time. The first two times, I dropped a nice amount of weight and then stopped using the app because I thought I was "done". I promply gained it all back. Only now, on the third time, have I stopped yo-yoing and kept the weight off, because I have stayed on MFP. It's very clear to me: when I use MFP I lose weight, and when I don't I gain weight.

I was able to keep every single pound off all winter, too, which amazed me. TBH I'm more proud of that than I am for losing the weight in the first place.
 
@roberto1820 Hah! That’s awesome. Ya I’ve done the same thing with MFP I think this time I’ll learn the lesson and keep it on after hitting the goal. Good luck with hitting 18%!
 
@woodgood At 50m now, what I've learned in the last 2.5 yrs of running is you can't outrun your fork. Give quality time for your heart and your gym work. You'll get a lot of good results.

For me after walking, then run walk, then running. I'm not fast but I lost enough weight to fit so much better into my old clothes (and I'm pretty cheap buying new). Now I'm in a gym with my daughter and we're both working out (in addition to my running). Our gym goals are different from each other but her participating with me means a lot.

Keep an eye on your nutrition and get in motion on a treadmill, elliptical, or cycle, or sidewalk. When in motion try your best to keep your heart rate around 120-130 and enjoy the activity. Don't go too fast too soon or you'll risk injury.

The transformation will take some time and you'll need every fiber in your body to keep the commitment. Discipline is more important than motivation.
 
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