Weight Loss For Men Over A Certain Age

Guys, did your doctor tell you to "Lose the weight... or else?"
It’s time to take control of your life and get healthy again. Really!

You're a boomer guy. You're getting older. Deep down you know you aren't doing the things you should to live a healthy lifestyle. In days long gone, you could eat and drink almost anything you wanted and it didn't seem to have an effect — you were young, active and climbing the mountain. But now it's gotten to the point where your doctor has, or is about to, put you on medication to control one or more of the common problems that guys our age face: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes or some other equally fun maladies. And now you are feeling old, overweight and over the hill.

I remember the day when that happened to me. After weighing in (I weigh how much?!) and having my blood pressure taken by the nurse, the doctor came in with the results of my blood tests. After a routine exam he delivered the results: my blood pressure was high (again), my cholesterol was high (again), my blood-sugar level was high (again). He told me I was overweight, pre-diabetic and had several risk factors for heart disease.

And after the discussion, as I was leaving the exam room he grabbed me by the arm and stopped me in the doorway. He stared at me with a furrowed brow and said, "LOSE… THE… WEIGHT!!" My response? Oh, crap!

So what do you do with news like that? Run out and start researching plans for weight loss for men over 40 or 50 or whatever? Well, except for filling the prescriptions, most of us go into denial. We just say, "I'll do a better job of watching what I eat." Yeah, right! And the pounds just keep creeping up as the years roll on. I'm sorry to say it took me over three years to get really serious about getting healthy. (More on that later.)

When you finally DO try to get serious — maybe some unpleasant life-changing event (your "Aha! Moment") triggered you to really get started — what do you do? There are so many options out there: pre-packaged food delivery programs, programs that involve going to meetings, diet pills with claims that are just absurd, celebrity-of-the-month programs, online programs, and on and on. And on. And on some more.

I looked at a whole bunch of them and even got suckered into trying a few. As time went on, I started learning that, like many of you, I had fallen for some of the blatant myths about weight loss for men. But I finally learned the real truth:

Myth: Low calorie diets work
Truth: Low calorie diets are the equivalent of forcing a "famine" on your body. Your metabolism will detect any major drop in calories and it will eventually adjust itself by burning fewer calories each day causing your body to hold on to fat energy for survival instead of burning off the fat. The second you are forced to go back to normal eating, your body thinks "Oh Boy! Time to store this stuff for the next time I'm starving!" Not to mention you’ll be battling hunger throughout the day. Every day. Forever!

Myth: Low carbohydrate diets work
Truth: Despite the popularity of low carb diets, your body actually needs a certain amount of the right kind of carbs for energy. Low carb diets only work temporarily — sure, you'll lose weight for a short while, but once you're off your diet, you'll gain it all back. And then some. Low carb diets make you feel like crap. (I know, I've tried them.) When you decrease your carbohydrate intake by a large amount, your body is left with no energy, your mood and balance are off, you have a lack of focus, and you therefore have less motivation to exercise. Plus you can develop bowel and/or elimination issues. (Need I say more?)

Myth: Low fat diets work
Truth: Low fat diets are the reason so many people today are so damned FAT! Your body actually needs fat. Dietary fat controls many critical processes in your body, and burning fat is one of them. Go figure! Not only do low fat diets create a negative hormonal environment, but they also force you to eat more carbohydrates, often with high sugar content. Most of the low fat foods around are VERY high in sugar.

Myth: Expensive pre-packaged, home-delivery diets work
Truth: While many of these programs are not inherently bad, they are expensive, boring and you still must buy additional food to go with what they sell you. What is really objectionable is they don't really work in the long term. A government review found that two-thirds of American dieters regained all the weight they had lost within a year, and 97% had gained it all back within five years. But the bigger question is this: Is this the way you want to live the rest of your life? Eating out of plastic containers with a limited choice of foods? Hmmm…

There are plenty more myths, but you get the picture.

You can't live your life constantly on a diet. It's no fun. Life's too short to live that way. You have to learn how to eat every day in the real world — at home with your family, at restaurants, at parties — the things that happen in life. So you have to learn how to eat the right foods in a way that causes your body to lose weight naturally. And by losing weight naturally and getting healthy, there is a great chance that you might no longer need all those high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high everything medications.

I had been on Nutrisystem for two years, dutifully buying $300 worth of pre-packaged home-delivered food each month. I gained weight. One day I met a friend for breakfast at a local restaurant. He was eating a great breakfast. I sat down and unwrapped the pre-packaged breakfast I had brought with me because I was running late. It consisted of two pre-molded blueberry muffins in a clear plastic tray. He looked up at me and asked, "When are you going to stop eating those hockey pucks?" I realized then and there that I had to change what I was doing. I called and canceled my next Nutrisystem delivery that day. I've never looked back.

I started doing a lot of research into what really leads to healthy weight loss for men over, well, my age. The scary thing about the "weight loss industry" is that everyone is so busy trying to confuse you and take your money that the "plain and simple" solutions that really work get lost in the shuffle. I found a remarkable consistency in what most of today’s experts really think is the proper way to lose weight. It was much more straight forward than I thought it would be. And it was inexpensive!

This research all came about after the aforementioned breakfast buddy, who is one of us GuysGettingOlder and also a type 1 diabetic, suggested that I try eating the way that he was taught by his doctor and nutritionist which, in his case, was necessary to stay alive! They put him on a simple, effective, life changing plan that lets him eat real food, successfully control his weight and never be hungry. It’s a plain and simple plan that is directly in line with what the majority of experts say are the right things to do, not only for weight loss for men, but to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Some of the simple rules he follows are listed below:

• Eat on a schedule — don't wait until you are hungry
  o If you wait until you are hungry you will eat too much
  o And when you’re hungry, you often eat the wrong foods
• Balance your intake to manage your blood-sugar levels
  o Big breakfast - medium lunch - small dinner
  o Small snacks in between meals
• Eat the right foods
  o Correct mix of high quality carbs and protein
  o You can mix and match to include "fun food" in your diet
• It does not have to cost a lot
  o Buy real food at the grocery store and at restaurants
  o Forget the processed "hockey pucks" from the "major marketers"
• It is a lifestyle change — not a "diet"
  o Permanent change is only possible if you can still have fun
  

And it works! My buddy has managed his weight perfectly for years. I recently started eating like he does and for the first time I am succeeding too! After only two months, I've lost twenty pounds and my doctor has cut my cholesterol medication in half! My blood pressure has lowered but I'm still on the meds – for now. I am well on my way toward my goal to kick those meds entirely by eating right! Maybe you can set the same goal.