Well....I've had enough

[Mosby]

I went elk and pheasant hunting this year. Passed on 3 spike bulls in Colorado and got 3 weeks of bird hunting in South Dakota. Had fun but I wasn't happy with my conditioning or stamina at all. Moved too slow and got tired too quickly. Look like an old man and hunted like one. Wife has had some serious health issues, surgery, chemo etc., so there was a legitimate excuse for being out of shape but she is doing better and I've decided that I've got to make some serious changes if I want to continue hunting to my standards. Can't do anything about getting old but I can fix the fat part.

Rejoined the gym last week and I've started on a low fat, low carb, low sugar, low sodium diet. Small portions and less than 1500 calories per day. No soda's, candy, fast food or junk food. Nothing but water or hot tea after 7:30 pm. Simple stuff. I've got a long way to go but I've got time between now and next fall. For me, I just had to hit bottom and get pissed enough to do something about it.

 

[Trial153]

Good luck ! Stick with it ! You can do it for sure!

 

[*zap*]

1500 calories is not enough.

Hire a good trainer to do an analysis of what you need to focus on.

Good luck.

 

[Marbles]

Honestly, congratulations on having enough and doing something about it. It sucks that you got their, but at this point that is done, it is what you do from here that matters.

Not just hunting, but overall life will be better because of your choice.

 

[blkqi]

Good that you made the choice to improve your health.

I would not eat that steep of a deficit, though, and I would eat more carbs for sure.

 

[eddielasvegas]

Even the longest journey begins with the first step.


Eddie

 

[Marbles]

Figuring an appropriate calorie intake depends on knowing several things we do not know about you. Too deep a deficit for too long can be problematic. How problematic depends on activity level, body composition, Etc.

The Valley to Peak podcast is a great starting point to learn. https://www.v2pnutrition.com/

There really are not one sized fits all solutions. There are lots of bad solutions that get pushed by many. Prolonged, deep calorie cutting is one such example. Assuming your base need is 2000 Kcal per day, then 1500 Kcal per day puts you at an estimated 1 pound per week weight loss (or less). To my understanding that is not extreme, nor unsafe, particularly if you have a lot of extra pounds to burn off. For me, at only 5ish pounds above my goal weight and training, that would be a poor choice.

I averaged a 1.5 pound per week loss when I first decided to make a change, I gained about 10 of that 40 pounds back and now am holding about 6 pounds over goal. I pushed my training hard, and went from running 3 miles being flat painful to running 50 K for fun less than 6 months later. I'm not advocating that approach, and there are lots of reasons why that was possible, to include a long history of being highly trained previous to getting out of shape, and being in my 30s. I also got a fitness tracker and added calories back in to avoid too deep a deficit with training. Now, if I deeply cut calories for a week or two I feel weak when I work out. I can work out after a 24 hour fast and set PRs, so it is not a need food now type thing, but a my body needs fuel to recover and train type of thing.

Hopefully, I have not said something dumb, but if I have @V2Pnutrition will hopefully correct it. (Well, he will say fasted training is dumb, I do not encourage others to copy me not do I say it is a good idea).

 

[*zap*]

Start working out. Strength & cardio. Push enough to make gains and eat all natural foods as much as you need
After a month or so work towards eating only in an 8 hour window.

Working out hard after a longer period of inactivity and cutting to minimum calories to survive is a recipe for disaster.

 

[swavescatter]

Why low fat? Healthy fats and proteins are satiating and allow you to retain lean body mass.

Sugar/refined carbs are the devil, so you got that right.

 

[The_Jim]

So many opinions on health and fitness. It took you a lot of years to get to this point, so just know there’s no quick fix. Lots of bad info out there so if it seems too good to be true, it likely is.

I’m a +1 for a good trainer of you can afford it. If they don’t start with some sort of assessment and don’t have you focused on strength at first they aren’t a good trainer.

Also, I agree on 1500 calories being really low. Definitely not a good long term strategy.

 

[COJoe]

It sounds like you've reached your point that the incentive is greater than your current situation. Good luck and know it's encouraging to all of us that you decided to make this choice. God willing, you will have many years left to enjoy your new healthy lifestyle. Maybe you can give us a progress report as you go forward. What worked or didn't work so others can be motivated.

 

[Matt5266]

Good for you! Stick with it

 

[Mosby]

Thanks for the ideas and thoughts. I think I've got a pretty good idea of what to do. I've been around a lot of athlete's, strength coaches and nutritionists. My dad was a HOF coach and my son was a D1 athlete. I've spent years in weight rooms hanging out with coaches and trainers....just not recently. One of my good friends is a strength coach, so I can go to him for advice.

I've had the benefit of doing this before and took off 45 lbs......unfortunately I put it back on over the last several years and I got older. Getting old sucks. I will need to make some adjustments along the way but I should see some early benefits just on my diet alone. At some point, my body will adjust to the diet and I will ramp up the work outs and will adjust my diet accordingly. l don't plan on going below 1500 calories and it is really just an early starting point. I can't maintain less calories regardless. My nutritional needs will change and increase as my work out's change and my lifting and cardio increase..

The next few weeks are going to be focused on diet, stretching and building up a base for my cardio and go from there. I've learned to be patient with this type of process, adjust as needed and take it one day and week at a time. If I can avoid injury, I should see the benefits I'm looking for over the next several months but I've never been this old before (64), so I will take it as it comes.

 

[Ecampbell25]

I’m a big fan of fasting 3 days of the week. I’ve been on a more ketogenic style diet and I feel great.

Mountain tough is a good investment as well . It can get you into a schedule and they provide the mountain specific workouts to keep you engaged and on track.

Hope you hit your goals.

 

[IDShane]

Good luck to you.

 

[Mosby]

I’m a big fan of fasting 3 days of the week. I’ve been on a more ketogenic style diet and I feel great.

Mountain tough is a good investment as well . It can get you into a schedule and they provide the mountain specific workouts to keep you engaged and on track.

Hope you hit your goals.

I've done 3 day fasts before years ago but I was in significantly better physical condition. It did provide some short term benefits when I was trying to get to a specific weight goal but I found it isn't something I can or want to do consistently. That's me though. A lot of ways to skin a cat and at the end of the day it's finding what works for you. Thanks.

 

[jimh406]

Most of what we learned in our younger days about health is incorrect. Restricting calories works until you go off the diet or until your metabolism adjusts.

If you watch YouTube at all, look into Dr Berg and Dr Ekberg channels. They explain why they believe what they do. Low carb and intermittent fasting works. Low fat and calorie restriction is not a long term solution. Also, look into the negative affects of highly processed foods.

Worse case, you burn some time watching some video. YMMV. Good luck.

 

[renegade0323]

right there with ya bro....its hard but it's worth it for what we love

 

[wapitipaw]

I’m with everyone saying 1500 cal is low. In my 40’s and I did that for a couple months and lost about 25 lbs, but also was just wasting away, and months later I suffered from sudden hair loss too! Malnutrition at its finest! Things turned around when I added good fats and lots more protein, worked out more effectively and stopped just counting calories. Take it slow and steady, hunting season 2024 is a ways off yet, you have plenty of time to get where you want without starving.

 

[Still Hunter]

Rucking Calorie Calculator | GORUCK

Use this Rucking Calorie Calculator to estimate rucking calories burned per hour and total calories burned over several days and weeks

www.goruck.com

Eat right, sleep right, basic weight train, ruck! Start with about 10lbs, then as you lose the weight off your body, add it into the pack. You will be rucking with the same weight you started with. Go check this site and other "Rucking" sites out. A few out there. Really helps prepare for the mountains.

I started light Keto, rucking back in 2018. Serious rucking. Built up to a consistent 60 lbs in the pack, 4 miles every single night, Rain or shine. Went from 252lbs to 192 lbs literally in 90 days. Way to much loss too fast but I was on a mission. Saw a pic of myself and it was disgusting.