Diet for the elderly

[rdp]

I wonder how people are eating in order to gain strength and LBM without gaining (or failing to lose) excessive fat?

How many calories and how split among protein, fats, carbs compared to your weight/height? Favorite or un-favorite foods?

What works for you?

[2big2fail]

I find that as long as I keep the output (workouts) high and eat to fuel those efforts I can get away with not being so stringent on diet. In fact it seems I can get away with dietary indiscrestions without adverse effects. I just try to keep my diet fairly clean "most" of the time and keep my protein up. My issue is, that as I'm getting older (49) it's getting harder and harder to get in enough food.

[ColoWayno]

Check my log if you want. I'm eating "industrial quality" food on a military base so it's a bit of a challenge. I'm trying to lean out a little while making slow gains on 5-3-1. So I'm trying to go low carb. A few weeks from when I leave here I'll probably go very low carb.

Feel free to give me advice too for leaning out while maintaining strength (or making slow progress).

http://www.startingstrength.com/reso...772#post130772

[jimk]

I started SS in January, with the goals of getting strong and losing a pretty big gut. I was 215 then, and have dropped almost 20 lbs to about 195 with an ultimate goal of 180-185. I'm 56, 6'0, ride a train into and out of the city 1:15 minutes each way each day, sit at a desk all day, play tennis once or twice a week. Not a hyperactive lifestyle. I don't know what my body fat percentage is, I am going to pick up a set of calipers and see if I can start tracking that.

Rip's got a couple of especially memorable quotes for older guys I try to keep front of mind. From SSII, something like, "if you start the program fat you may not drop weight but your pants get looser and your shirts tighter." I have found this very accurate, I'm down 4 notches on the belt and while the collar button is easier to fasten, the shirts are noticeably less baggy in the shoulders and chest. The other quote is from the Training for the Aged chapter in Strong Enough: "If you're an older novice, you're not going to grow as fast as a younger one, don't eat like you are. This is how people who are actually in pretty good shape get to look like they're not."

Another guy I've read who has a pretty rational approach to eating is Tom Venuto, his book The Body Fat Solution is not overly preachy and has some useful ideas.

Overall, have not found any magic, just trying to be more aware of what I put in my mouth, increase protein, decrease carbs. I don't count calories religiously but am targeting 2,000 a day. I do a protein drink or bar after a strength workout, and also try to get a couple of 5k jogs in a week. Working out during the week has decreased my need for a couple of Johnnie Walkers at the end of the day to decompress, I have probably eliminated 400 useless calories a day with this approach.

And I am getting stronger, though not at the pace of my 18 year old son. I'm still picking up 5lbs a week in the squat and deadlift (3x5x255 and 1x5x290 are the goals for today's workout.) I've never had a strong upper body but am picking up 5lbs every 2 weeks on the bench and overhead press, just got some microweight 1.25 lb plates to try and keep linear progression going there a little longer. Reading up on the Texas method and planning a cut over to that over the next month or so.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[tennisgod]

I went from 83kg to 99kg in about 3 months with the "I'm-starting-to-train-so-Rip-says-to-eat-more-right-now" philosophy. The gut got real big culminating in my purchase of (god help me) 40" dress pants. I certainly got muscle gains and outside the gut things looked good. But the gut took over like the Blob.

My brother is on the Atkins diet for 10 years so he explained the carbs, so I have removed most of the carbs in the diet. I'm not too strict about it as I like a couple of pints on the weekends but I am certainly aware of the carbs at every meal. Such as having a drink of OJ and realising that its got over 30 gms of carbs, or eating a banana with its 25 gms of carbs.

So my usual day is:
Breakfast - big bowl of oatmeal (yeah, lots of carbs to start the day)
Snack - tin of salmon
Lunch - bacon/eggs
Snack - tin of tuna
Dinner - stir-fry usually with beef/vegies
Late-night - maybe a couple of eggs
A couple of protein drinks AM/PM.

I don't count calories... too much work. But I am down to 95 kg with no reduction in lifting weights. I'll stay at this weight until I have exhausted my progression at this weight and then eat to probably get to 100kg. I think the key is to try and get as strong as you can at a weight before moving on.

[Patrick L.]

I am a big fan of the Zone diet by Dr. Sears...seems to work for a lot of people.

[Wayne Riddle]

Eat real food.

Lots of veggies, meat, some fruit and nuts. Adjust as needed (i.e. add milk, grains, etc.).

[bob g]

Get the best quality food you can afford, learn to cook at home. Eat lots of meat, veggies, dairy (I have no problems with milk, cream and the lot) eggs, eggs, eggs. Body weight has plateaued but LBM keeps inching up.

53, 223 lbs.

[rdp]

Lots of veggies, meat, some fruit and nuts. Adjust as needed (i.e. add milk, grains, etc.).

Adjust as needed is the hard part, at least for me. The idea is to eat more if your lifts are not improving and you're not adding LBM, but to eat less if fat is increasing too much. Given day to day variations and that it takes a while to notice trends (other than in weight lifted), I find it difficult to figure out how to adjust.

We all seem to agree that eating real foods and avoiding unprocessed (or maybe all) carbs is a good idea.

[grubinski]

I eat "mostly paleo", with the addition of dairy and the occasional starch (rice or sweet potatoes mostly).

I do not weigh quite as much as Rip's skeleton, at 5'11" and 157#, fairly strong for a skinny little shit, though. 5x5 poundages currently are 195 bench, 225 squat, and 315 deadlift (currently doing volume on deads, so yes that's 5 sets).

I am trying to put on weight by consuming lots of steak and other meat. If I got to 170# it'd be the first time in my life... my "natural" bodyweight before I did my first serious lifting in my 20's was ~130#. I may go to whey protein powder shortly. I don't want to do GOMAD because of the carbs. I really think there are health benefits to avoiding them.

I'm 50.