Good nutrition over 40

[icerat]

My doc prescribed Fosamax. But a little digging turned up stories of bad fractures in the bones of people taking it, including a doctor I work with.

Can't do that so I have to get ready calcium into me, along with vit D to make it rock.

Casebro is correct in pointing out K2 is important as well. Ensure you're getting D and K2 as well otherwise calcium may be dangerous

 

[Mark6]

Hey, that was uncalled for! I'm sure they're very nice people.

Nice enough, but not much for intelligent conversation.

 

[dlorde]

If you're trying to gain weight, the endurance aerobic things like running may be working against you. As I understand it, such endurance activities can reduce muscle mass as your body looks to get energy from the muscles since its easily available - especially if you're not eating enough of the right stuff.

Unlikely, unless he's badly malnourished. Protein isn't usually metabolised for energy unless there's no alternative.

 

[madurobob]

Unlikely, unless he's badly malnourished. Protein isn't usually metabolised for energy unless there's no alternative.

Yes, true. I think I heard this originally related to folks who were dieting and ingesting very little fat and carbs. MG did say he was downing protein drinks and eating ice cream by the 1/2 gallon - this shouldn't be a problem!

 

[GlennB]

Unlikely, unless he's badly malnourished. Protein isn't usually metabolised for energy unless there's no alternative.

Aye. There's not that much glycogen in the muscles. Then it's over to liver glycogen and then on to fat. If you start burning muscle protein you're in trouble.

 

[Tatyana]

A few of my fav things to add micronutrient rich healthy calories are things like nuts and seeds (typically raw brasil nuts, walnuts, home roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds).

If you want to put on more muscle, then obviously eat more protein, I always have a few grilled chicken or turkey breasts in the fridge, and doing a big roast on the weekend is another way to have easy food for half a week.

You can steam a few veggies and boil a few baby new potatoes and presto, quick and easy healthy meal.

Another great way to get protein and far less boring than just a whey protein shake is to blend whey protein into yogurt and add some muesli for breakfast (adding whey to oatmeal is also great, I especially like chocolate whey and a wee bit extra cocoa).

We have also invented this fab desert, which is 50 g of yogurt, 40-50 g of whey protein and 100 g of some sort of frozen fruit (blueberries are my fav) and then you whip them up with a hand mixer until it goes fluffy. Just amazing texture and taste.

Another great combination is frozen banana, strawberry, yogurt and the vanilla whey protein in a blender. Yum.

 

[Eddie Dane]

The big trend in bodybuilding is intermittent fasting.

You can skip breakfast, and get absolutely ripped.

At work we have a new "food concept". Lots of salad with nuts, olives, bacon, greek cheese, you name it.

That's lunch for me baby! Guess I'm lucky.

 

[madurobob]

We have also invented this fab desert, which is 50 g of yogurt, 40-50 g of whey protein and 100 g of some sort of frozen fruit (blueberries are my fav) and then you whip them up with a hand mixer until it goes fluffy. Just amazing texture and taste.

Another great combination is frozen banana, strawberry, yogurt and the vanilla whey protein in a blender. Yum.

I do that quite a bit. We have apple, pear, plum and cherry trees and blueberry and blackberry bushes in the yard. What fruit we don't use right away gets tossed into the freezer. Then, protein shakes are soy milk, protein powder, and a handful of whatever fruit is in the freezer and an ice cube or two. They're pretty darn good.

 

[GlennB]

A few of my fav things to add micronutrient rich healthy calories are things like nuts and seeds (typically raw brasil nuts, walnuts, home roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds).

If you want to put on more muscle, then obviously eat more protein, I always have a few grilled chicken or turkey breasts in the fridge, and doing a big roast on the weekend is another way to have easy food for half a week.

Another great way to get protein and far less boring than just a whey protein shake is to blend whey protein into yogurt and add some muesli for breakfast (adding whey to oatmeal is also great, I especially like chocolate whey and a wee bit extra cocoa).

We have also invented this fab desert, which is 50 g of yogurt, 40-50 g of whey protein and 100 g of some sort of frozen fruit (blueberries are my fav) and then you whip them up with a hand mixer until it goes fluffy. Just amazing texture and taste.

Hate to be all disputative and all, but even the hardest-working body builder or decathlete has a surprisingly low daily protein requirement. An industry has built up around the protein above all myth, hoping (and succeeding) to sell athletes of all kinds expensive food products and supplements. Around 6-7oz daily protein is at the very top end, and a fair sprinkling of that comes from incidental dietary components that aren't normally viewed as major protein sources.

The bottom line is that there's only so much damage you can inflict on your body in a day, and this sets the limit to how much rebuilding is needed. And the fitter and stronger you get then the less damage you are able to inflict.

 

[Kaylee]

Thanks! I do get fruits and veggies, but my diet is haphazard at best; whatever I eat is not enough of what I ought to. Some days I eat pretty much as I should, others I forget to put anything down until like 5 'oclock.
<snip>

Seriously - why do you "need" to gain weight? I'm 6' and 150 lbs (i.e. noticeably skinny) but reasonably fit and strong and I don't need to gain weight. I'd like to be more muscular for vanity (vanititious, vanitudinous ??) reasons, but dont need to be and certainly can't be arsed to do the vanity thing.

Like Glenn, I'm also curious -- why do you need to gain weight? I can see revamping one's diet to eat more healthily, but some people are just naturally wiry.

I recall that you work in a hospital so I'm going to guess that you don't have a set schedule and therefore might not have a set routine.

If that is so, that might explain why you sometimes forget to eat. People with set routines tend to eat at the same time everyday and I think force of habit helps them do that.

I recently read two books that I highly recommend:

Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

and

Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard

I don't remember exactly which ideas I got from which book -- but either one or both of them talked about how willpower is an "exhaustible resource" so its good to be able to rely on other methods to avoid exhausting it -- such as

* building habits or a routine
* "pre-loading the decision" that is deciding in advance what you are going to do if and when, if/when certain issues come up. For some reason, its usually easier for most people to follow through on a decision already specifically visualized and pre-made in advance that just basically deciding what to do as one goes along even if you have general guidelines.
* if its a matter of doing something you don't want to do -- don't allow yourself to do anything else at the appointed time. Boredom will help you do the thing that you need to do (eating perhaps) since you aren't allowing yourself to do anything else at the moment. (FWIW, I have found this little mind game surprisingly helpful with my procrastination issues. )
* other tips I don't happen to recall at the moment.

Like you, I'm also trying to eat more healthily (albeit lose weight, not gain it) and I find that deciding in advance what and when I'm going to eat is very helpful. I usually know a day ahead of time what I'm going to eat and when -- if not earlier. (Not as anal as it sounds since I do most of my own grocery shopping and cooking so it does naturally follow that I know what I'm going to eat in the near future.)

So ... using that tactic you could decide when you are going to eat the day before and set an alarm on your watch or cell phone to keep "your appointment."

Check! Yay! I do eat plenty of yogurt. Ice cream yah, but goes right to gut. Also I have a hard time controlling myself, shouldn't eat the whole half-gallon in one sitting...

Since you have no problem eating ice cream , I'm going to guess that you are just not a fan of food prep.

Healthy foods that require no or little prep and are easy to pack up and take with you are:

Fruits
Nuts
Seeds
Bread, whole grain (debatable with the primal paleo lifestyle crowd)
Sliced turkey, roast beef
Cheese

I esp recommend nuts, seeds and cheese for when you don't feel like eating but think you have too -- they are very calorie dense and healthy foods (in moderation). Even though I have a weight problem, I rely on them myself for the times when I'm very upset*. When I feel that way I totally lose my appetite for days at a time but I can still eat those things without much trouble.

As Tatyana already mentioned I think, frozen vegetables are very easy to prepare. You can either steam them and have them with lemon juice and/or grated cheese or roast them with olive oil and spices. It does take some cooking time, but you don't have to hoover over the food while its cooking and it just takes seconds of prep work.

If you have a thermos, (and I highly recommend the two cup thermos size) you can take it with you.

Sometimes its just easier to have your food with you and not be concerned about figuring out what, where and when to eat in the middle of your day or evening. Another thing that one or both of the above books recommend is that when you need to make a change -- its easier to do so if you minimize having to make constant decisions.

Also, if you really don't like to cook ... consider hiring a neighbor who does and is willing to prepare what you consider to be healthy foods. Probably would be cheaper than eating take out all the time and you may have a neighbor who would appreciate the cash. It's obviously going to be easier to eat food if you find it really tasty.

Lastly, I'm surprised no one mentioned legumes. Not popular with the paleo crowd but AFAIK most of the health industry still considers them to be nutritious. If you decide to buy the canned ones just rinse off the sodium before using.


* rare luckily, but it happens

 

[Robrob]

Around 6-7oz daily protein is at the very top end, and a fair sprinkling of that comes from incidental dietary components that aren't normally viewed as major protein sources.

IIRC, a rule of thumb is a gram per pound of body weight. E.G. 175 pound person working out should consume about 7 ounces of protein daily.

 

[GlennB]

IIRC, a rule of thumb is a gram per pound of body weight. E.G. 175 pound person working out should consume about 7 ounces of protein daily.

That's a very rough+ready metric and not a bad guide, but overrates protein requirement even among elite bodybuilders. For everyday folk doing routine gym work and the like it's way over the top.

I suppose what I'm getting at is the idea that starting the day with 6 scrambled eggs on 4 slices of toast, plus a quart of milk - and continuing in that kind of vein - is somehow going to build muscle is a total fallacy.

The myth of 1gm/lb , which is quite an interesting read:

"There is normally no advantage to consuming more than 0.82g/lb (1.8g/kg) of protein per day to preserve or build muscle. This already includes a very safe mark-up. There hasn’t been any recorded advantage of consuming more than 0.64g/lb"

 

[fuelair]

Hey, that was uncalled for! I'm sure they're very nice people.

Great minds/timing...........

 

[Robrob]

That's a very rough+ready metric and not a bad guide, but overrates protein requirement even among elite bodybuilders. For everyday folk doing routine gym work and the like it's way over the top.

I suppose what I'm getting at is the idea that starting the day with 6 scrambled eggs on 4 slices of toast, plus a quart of milk - and continuing in that kind of vein - is somehow going to build muscle is a total fallacy.

The myth of 1gm/lb , which is quite an interesting read:

"There is normally no advantage to consuming more than 0.82g/lb (1.8g/kg) of protein per day to preserve or build muscle. This already includes a very safe mark-up. There hasn’t been any recorded advantage of consuming more than 0.64g/lb"

Certainly. I suspect it's simply easier for most to calculate 1g/lb than 0.64g/lb.

In addition to the waste of excess protein, the extraordinarily high in protein diet may also contain too much egg yolks (cholesterol) or milk fats. People are always looking for an easy way out. Much more tempting to down a protein shake than work at eating (multiple) balanced meals.

 

[Genesius]

Vitamin K2, menatetranone, works for calcium metabolism. It puts the calcium where it belongs, not building up in the kidneys or arteries, or on heart valves.

I've been taking 30mg/day for three months now.

Where in the world are you finding this dosage of K2? Every supplement I can find on the web is measured in micrograms, not milligrams.

Been taking a combo of 1,300 mcg menatetranone (MK-4) and 100 mcg menaquinone (MK-7) for a few weeks now. Having already lost one foot to Charcot, I'm always looking for ways to keep the bones in the remaining foot healthy.

 

[Tatyana]

Hate to be all disputative and all, but even the hardest-working body builder or decathlete has a surprisingly low daily protein requirement. An industry has built up around the protein above all myth, hoping (and succeeding) to sell athletes of all kinds expensive food products and supplements. Around 6-7oz daily protein is at the very top end, and a fair sprinkling of that comes from incidental dietary components that aren't normally viewed as major protein sources.

The bottom line is that there's only so much damage you can inflict on your body in a day, and this sets the limit to how much rebuilding is needed. And the fitter and stronger you get then the less damage you are able to inflict.

I think you are jumping to conclusions and I am not really sure what your point besides being disputative

Whey protein isn't expensive, it is a cheap source of protein.

There is a lot of scientific evidence that eating a higher amount of protein, especially whey protein promotes muscle synthesis as well as a more favourable lean tissue to fat body ratio.

6-7 oz?

That is almost 200 grams, (although it is a ridiculously old fashioned measurement which makes most scientific discussions difficult as most scientists do not have the foggiest about the ridiculously outdated emperical measurement means anymore, I had to find a conversion site) which is 1 - 1.5 g of protein per kilo of bodyweight for most people on this forum, which is what is recommended for athletes and muscle synthesis and what I would recommend as well.

I stated amounts of protein in my post, and none of them exceed what you have recommended.

Maybe if you were more familiar with the metric system this sort of useless argument just wouldn't be necessary.

 

[casebro]

Where in the world are you finding this dosage of K2? Every supplement I can find on the web is measured in micrograms, not milligrams.

Been taking a combo of 1,300 mcg menatetranone (MK-4) and 100 mcg menaquinone (MK-7) for a few weeks now. Having already lost one foot to Charcot, I'm always looking for ways to keep the bones in the remaining foot healthy.

Carlson Menatrenone, 5mg, from Drugstore.com , $15/60, free shipping. I take 3 morning, 3 afternoon. Plus 6000u D3 morn and night. Plus magnesium, 400mg same schedule. Drugstore,com is Wagreens net div. I haven't tried a brick store.

It seems to be working for me, but I hope for a drop in hypertension some day. (high was once 250/170. My meds are down 75% since, but weight is down 60# too.) I figure to keep up that dose for a year in those hopes. $45/month at this dosage, plus the other supplements.

Besides hypertension and murmur, I've also got a myopathy and tII diabetes. Both of which could be calcium related- Gliburide helps transfer calcium back out of a membrane in the pancreas, and myopathy is caused by muscle cells so weak they can't push the calcium electrolyte back out of a membrane. I'm sure I may be oversimplifying. But a lifetime of bad calcium metabolism could be my 'theory of everything', so is worth investing $500.

 

[Oystein]

... it's no picnic being underweight (pardon the pun). Low energy, getting cold easily because you don't have that insulating layer of fat ...

Slightly besides the topic here, but wouldn't it be muscles and not fat that keep you warm even when you are resting?

 

[CelticRose]

Slightly besides the topic here, but wouldn't it be muscles and not fat that keep you warm even when you are resting?

[Fat's] main role is to store energy in the form of lipids, although it also cushions and insulates the body.

(bolding mine)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipose_tissue
Fat provides insulation. If you don't have much insulation, you're going to lose heat faster than someone who has adequate or more than adequate insulation. It doesn't do you much good to produce heat if you can't retain it.

 

[GlennB]

If you want to put on more muscle, then obviously eat more protein,

There is a lot of scientific evidence that eating a higher amount of protein, especially whey protein promotes muscle synthesis ....

I'm objecting to the notion (that you've just now repeated) that a high level of dietary protein stimulates muscle growth. It doesn't. The most protein you ever need is enough.

Maybe if you were more familiar with the metric system this sort of useless argument just wouldn't be necessary.

I'm perfectly familiar with the metric system, thanks. I was using it in science studies from the 1960s onwards and these days live in mainland Europe. Most on JREF still talk in terms of "an 8oz steak" though, including the Brits and maybe others, and meanwhile the "1oz/kg" is a very familiar rule-of-thumb.