General Health & Fitness - Stay/Get Back in Shape

[BlueSteel]

On the topic of supplements, 49yo male here. In good shape. I work out 5x/week (two days cardio, three days weight training or HIIT).
Current daily supplement intake:

AM
D3, CoQ10, red yeast rice (for chronic high cholesterol which I inherited -- thanks dad!)

PM
Fish oil, Magnesium glycinate, and second dose of RYR

We eat quite healthy so I don't see a need for a multivitamin. Blood analysis and PCP both agree.

Am I missing anything? Any insight or suggestions are welcome!

 

[BlueSteel]

Sorry if you already covered this but as someone with obstructive sleep apnea, I’ve been to the other side and back with trying to figure out sleep.

Do you practice proper sleep hygiene? No caffeine like 12 hours before bed? Sleep in a cool, dark room? No food three hours before sleep? No drinks two hours before sleep? No screens an hour before sleep?

Do any meditation or reading or things like that before you go to sleep?

I will say, it’s pretty bizarre that eating healthier and working out has led to worse sleep.

I'll add to this that you should perhaps consider an eye mask for sleep. When I use it, I often sleep all the way through the night. Much deeper sleep with the eye mask. They make great ones now that have pockets for your eyes so no obstruction. And silky soft so you barely feel anything on your face. Just a suggestion you might try.

ETA: Also, obviously any amount of alcohol before bed will really affect your quality of sleep. I'm guilty a lot, but on the nights I don't drink a drop, I wake up feeling notably well rested and rejuvenated.

 

[TigerBTM]

They did indeed. Took the Michael Jackson propofol nap. Time traveled and was given a mostly clean bill of health.

Hopefully not with the same scope…or at least in the more preferred order…haha.

 

[billybobblockhead]

Recently I've started tracking my meals and snacks and one of the first things I've realized was how much I was overeating - servings are much smaller than I realized

You are correct re: servings. I did some tracking for a while, but I finally just told myself just stop eating these huge servings and if I don't feel full, wait 15-20 minutes and eat a bit more then to fill up. I found that I just skipped entering stuff when I tracked. Now I don't track and I rarely snack. I posted earlier on in this thread about my weight, and I"m down to 202 now. Slowly but surely....

I'll add to this that you should perhaps consider an eye mask for sleep. When I use it, I often sleep all the way through the night. Much deeper sleep with the eye mask. They make great ones now that have pockets for your eyes so no obstruction. And silky soft so you barely feel anything on your face. Just a suggestion you might try.

ETA: Also, obviously any amount of alcohol before bed will really affect your quality of sleep. I'm guilty a lot, but on the nights I don't drink a drop, I wake up feeling notably well rested and rejuvenated.

My wife is a former 3rd shift nurse and she bought one of those very large silky eye masks 3 or 4 years ago. She loves it and it REALLY helped her quality of sleep when she was on 3rd. She still takes it with us on vacations and the like just in case there are bright lights outside of our room shining in.

 

[stankeylegjones]

I'll put a plug in for creatine. Not only is it beneficial to workouts, it's also beneficial to brain health.

 

[Ddseddse]

On the topic of supplements, 49yo male here. In good shape. I work out 5x/week (two days cardio, three days weight training or HIIT).
Current daily supplement intake:

AM
D3, CoQ10, red yeast rice (for chronic high cholesterol which I inherited -- thanks dad!)

PM
Fish oil, Magnesium glycinate, and second dose of RYR

We eat quite healthy so I don't see a need for a multivitamin. Blood analysis and PCP both agree.

Am I missing anything? Any insight or suggestions are welcome!

Protein. If you’re getting close to 1 gram per pound of body weight daily, you’re good. If you’re getting half that then I would work towards getting that higher. If you want to outright supplement protein, shell out for the whey protein isolate.

I also swear by supplementing L-Leucine. We lose a lot of muscle mass as we age and there’s some good research showing that we lose sensitivity to L-Leucine (just an amino acid found in most proteins) which serves as a signal to build and maintain muscle mass. Supplementing additional Leucine can offset this and help you build and keep muscle.

 

[p5mmr9]

I dont do any supplements except multivitamins and magnesium. Caffeine is somewhat moderate. I drink about 2 keurig pods per day and usually a diet mt dew. Workout sometimes late night after I teach. Class ends 1030. Doesn't seem to be a difference in the routine and outcome. Last night, no class and no workout. In bed by 930. Got up at 630 but slept maybe 3.5 hours of that time.

Working out after 1030 pm is difficult if you plan on sleeping shortly after. I'd consider dialing back your caffeine. 2 Keurig Pods + Mt Dew is right at the recommended limit. If you are over 50 I suggest a NAD supplement like NR. You are probably getting enough Vit D, B, and K from your multi but I'd make sure...same with Zinc. You might want to consider supplementing creatine daily. The other issues consider sleep hygiene (most importantly keeping the same sleep schedule every day)...but most likely all of this is tied to working out so late in the day.

 

[p5mmr9]

On the topic of supplements, 49yo male here. In good shape. I work out 5x/week (two days cardio, three days weight training or HIIT).
Current daily supplement intake:

AM
D3, CoQ10, red yeast rice (for chronic high cholesterol which I inherited -- thanks dad!)

PM
Fish oil, Magnesium glycinate, and second dose of RYR

We eat quite healthy so I don't see a need for a multivitamin. Blood analysis and PCP both agree.

Am I missing anything? Any insight or suggestions are welcome!

A NAD supplement. I'm over 50 and noticed a significant difference once I started taking NR. You may also want a joint supplement...or you will eventually.

 

[stankeylegjones]

Working out after 1030 pm is difficult if you plan on sleeping shortly after. I'd consider dialing back your caffeine. 2 Keurig Pods + Mt Dew is right at the recommended limit. If you are over 50 I suggest a NAD supplement like NR. You are probably getting enough Vit D, B, and K from your multi but I'd make sure...same with Zinc. You might want to consider supplementing creatine daily. The other issues consider sleep hygiene (most importantly keeping the same sleep schedule every day)...but most likely all of this is tied to working out so late in the day.

Related, there is a story about Bulgarian weightlifters drinking vodka in order to sleep at night, due to the incredibly intense workouts of the day.

 

[p5mmr9]

Protein. If you’re getting close to 1 gram per pound of body weight daily, you’re good. If you’re getting half that then I would work towards getting that higher. If you want to outright supplement protein, shell out for the whey protein isolate.

I also swear by supplementing L-Leucine. We lose a lot of muscle mass as we age and there’s some good research showing that we lose sensitivity to L-Leucine (just an amino acid found in most proteins) which serves as a signal to build and maintain muscle mass. Supplementing additional Leucine can offset this and help you build and keep muscle.

There is research suggesting supplementing leucine alone has no effect on muscle growth and retention in all adults regardless of age. The belief is that it is not through leucine alone that muscle is built or retained but rather the combination of amino acids that spur muscle growth and retention. It IS important to eat protein though and the amount of protein required increases as one ages - so taking a simple whey protein supplement could be helpful if you aren't able to meet your protein goals.

The leucine isn't going to hurt you - just not sure you are getting much out of it.

 

[Ddseddse]

There is research suggesting supplementing leucine alone has no effect on muscle growth and retention in all adults regardless of age. The belief is that it is not through leucine alone that muscle is built or retained but rather the combination of amino acids that spur muscle growth and retention. It IS important to eat protein though and the amount of protein required increases as one ages - so taking a simple whey protein supplement could be helpful if you aren't able to meet your protein goals.

The leucine isn't going to hurt you - just not sure you are getting much out of it.

You sound like you know more about this than I do. That being said, I don’t supplement Leucine alone, only ever with whey protein, I think the result is like a Leucine rich protein source. I would guess simple Leucine supplementation without the additional protein would not provide an additional benefit while the combo may. I’m very open to being wrong here, though. When I have a moment I’ll see if I can find a citation that supports what I was referring too.

 

[TarHeeledTexan]

An unfortunate side eemffect for me of focusing on eating well and being fit has been a steady degradation of sleep. Im lucky now if I get 4 hours of good sleep. 5-6 hours of constant waking and tossing and turning is the norm. And it definitely correlates directly with working out, etc. I lift 4 days a week and do 4 more that are cardio/core. As I've move up on activity and honed in on eating, my sleep has gone to shit.

So the net is that im more fit than ever but probably more prone to dropping dead of a stroke or heart attack. Those extra 24 hours have to come from somewhere.

Working out eight days a week might be contributing to that sleep issue.

 

[Ddseddse]

Working out eight days a week might be contributing to that sleep issue.

Great point! Shitty sleep is a number one sign of overtraining (at least for me it is).

 

[Heelsandeers]

Yeah, small chance your body is getting benefit from training that often with little sleep

Working out late also sounds like a recipe for not sleeping

I’d be cutting that frequency in half (if not more) and moving workouts to as early as possible

 

[Heelsandeers]

I drink a fair amount of caffeine but all in the AM, 11-12 at the latest

I definitely notice the effect on sleep when consumed later in the day

It’s been a while since I’ve taken creatine but have been meaning to get back on it

 

[hedge]

There are so many protein supplements out there derived from different sources (whey, milk, egg, peas, bone broth, etc), is there any or much difference b/w the final product (protein) depending on what source its derived from, or is protein just protein, regardless of the source? I like sardines and eggs (supplements with liquid egg whites), not necessarily together but sometimes. Are these "natural" sources of protein better or just the same as protein powder derived from whatever source they're derived from?

 

[wmheel1287]

Yeah, small chance your body is getting benefit from training that often with little sleep

Working out late also sounds like a recipe for not sleeping

I’d be cutting that frequency in half (if not more) and moving workouts to as early as possible

Yeah, but the bodies of those who have been morbidly obese for their entire lives work very differently. Every chart and calculation on earth says at my age, activity, height, etc, I should be consuming 3000+ calories a day just to maintain. If I ate 3000 calories a day every day, I would gain 2 pounds per week. Metaolic disorder is an irreversible bitch.

 

[wmheel1287]

I appreciate the feedback everyone. Can't really change my schedule. I teach until 1030pm. That means im not getting to sleep before midnight workout or no. I teach again at 9am. That makes getting up to workout pretty impossible. I already am up by 7 to walk dogs, make breakfast, shower, etc. To workout in the morning, that would have to be 5am.

My schedule mon-thurs is basically this:

9-2 teach
2:15-3 trainer workout (HIIT or core)
330-415 walk dogs
415-545 hang out with my husband
6-1030 teach
1 Or 2 days ill add in the late lifting. Otherwise I lift friday through Sunday when not teaching.

I guess i need to eliminate caffeine. It has never effected me much but my reaponses to things are definitely changing.

 

[p5mmr9]

There are so many protein supplements out there derived from different sources (whey, milk, egg, peas, bone broth, etc), is there any or much difference b/w the final product (protein) depending on what source its derived from, or is protein just protein, regardless of the source? I like sardines and eggs (supplements with liquid egg whites), not necessarily together but sometimes. Are these "natural" sources of protein better or just the same as protein powder derived from whatever source they're derived from?

The difference is small, but you can check the DIASS (digestible indispensable amino acid score). This will give you an idea of a protein source's bioavailability.

Digestible Indispensable Amino Acid Score - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Ddseddse]

Yeah, but the bodies of those who have been morbidly obese for their entire lives work very differently. Every chart and calculation on earth says at my age, activity, height, etc, I should be consuming 3000+ calories a day just to maintain. If I ate 3000 calories a day every day, I would gain 2 pounds per week. Metaolic disorder is an irreversible bitch.

I'm going to lay out the theory of the case for "reverse dieting". I'm not sure if you've experimented with this at all, and tbh, I would call it just a theory and not a known scientific fact, so take this with a grain of salt.

The theory (as I understand it) goes, that your body has taken the inputs of restricted calories in and extreme calories out and decided that the sensible thing for long term survival in this situation based on these inputs is to dial it's metabolism way down. Hence the limit to the calories one can consume without gaining weight.

The prescription is to back way off the cardio (i.e. eliminate it, maybe a couple of brisk walks a week) and focus on heavy duty resistance training (strength and or hypertrophy) to build muscle mass. At the same time the body needs to feel like it's ok to build muscle mass, so the idea is to start a reverse diet. Maybe add 300 calories per day and then maybe adding 100 calories a few more times over the months incrementally over time (actual amounts will vary by individual, the amounts here are just examples). The scale WILL SHOW WEIGHT GAIN and that's precisely what you want. The vast majority of that weight should be muscle. It's OK to gain some small percentage of body fat at this stage, but Ideally body fat composition will be consistent or minimal as you continue to gain muscle mass.

The theory is that after about 6 months of adding calories (and muscle), you can start to take them back off again in 100 calorie increments again but stopping a new maintenance calories that is greater (i.e. maybe by those initial 300 calories) than they were before. The additional muscle burns more calories even at rest, and (or so the theory goes) the lack of an "I'm starving!" input gives permission for you body to crank it's metabolism up a notch.

I've seen good anecdotal evidence that this doing multiple rounds of reverse dieting has helped people go from a 1500 daily calories maintenance to a ripped 3000 calories maintenance. But who knows, maybe it only works for some people? I want to be careful I'm not trying to teach my grandmother how to suck eggs, because I think you may know a lot more about this stuff than I do, but I thought I'd lay it out t here in case anyone finds it interesting.