Reading time: approx: 7 minutes

LenDentonThrive Letter #43

Welcome to the LenDentonThrive Letter!

My mission is to help Guys over 50 to build thriving, healthy lifestyles. I call it the ThriveLife!

Gym First Vs. Gym Optional

If you’re an Over-50 Guy who’s looking to lose 20 or more pounds, then this week’s edition of the newsletter was specifically written for you. That’s because in this edition, I’ll share the best and fastest way for Over-50 Guys to lose weight and start building a sustainable, healthy lifestyle.

And, here’s a little-known fact… this works equally well for Under-50 Guys, too! Feel free to quote me on that.

To Gym or Not To Gym…

Let’s say that you decide one day to lose 25 pounds. You’ve been meaning to get around to it anyway. Your clothes are feeling tight, and you might be starting to feel your age a bit more than usual. So, today’s the day to start making a change!

Like any smart Over-50 Guy, your first move is to jump on your phone and do a Google search for fitness. And…BAM! You’ve got 15 pages of search results telling you exactly the same thing:

You need to get yourself to the GYM!

Maybe you’re not that excited about the prospect of going to the gym, so you jump over to YouTube…but, it’s the same result:

GO TO THE GYM!

Everywhere you look, the conventional wisdom for losing weight is the same: Hit the gym and start lifting hard!

So, following your quick research session, you are faced with three possible scenarios:

1. You decide that you need to think about it and ultimately choose to do nothing.

2. You join the gym and stop going after a month or two because you injured yourself or lost interest.

3. You join the gym and live healthily and happily ever after.

Unfortunately, Scenario #3 doesn’t happen very often for Over-50 Guys. The usual outcome is Scenario #1 or #2. I’ve experienced this personally. Maybe you have too.

The Gym and Weight Loss

Before my Gym-Friends get upset with me, let me say this: There’s nothing wrong with weight lifting or going to the gym. It is a great way to build strength and muscle mass. (Note 1) In fact, it’s the best way to systematically build muscle.

It’s just not the best way to lose weight!

Lifting weights can help you lose weight…eventually. As you add muscle mass, you will increase your metabolic burn rate so your body burns more calories throughout the day. But, it takes lots of time and hard work to achieve the weight loss results you’re looking for.

If you’re an Over-50 Guy carrying around 25 pounds or more of excess weight, there’s a high likelihood that much of that extra weight is deposited around your mid-section as excess belly fat. Extra weight and excess belly fat are key contributors to future medical bad news like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. You can read more about the dangers of excess belly fat here.

So, getting rid of the extra weight and fat quickly should be the primary goal for Over-50 Guys. Building muscle is secondary.

Fortunately, there’s a faster and more effective way to lose weight now and keep it off for good.

The Gym Optional Approach

The Gym Optional Approach is the better way for Over-50 Guys to achieve their weight loss goals. It’s designed to provide 3 major benefits as quickly as possible. These are:

1. Weight loss

2. Elimination of excess belly fat

3. Improved cardiovascular health

This approach prioritizes diet improvement and moderate cardio training over weight training as the primary path to permanent weight loss and better health. (Note: We’ll add weight training into our routine later as our weight loss progresses.)

There are two main components to the Gym Optional approach. I’ll provide a quick overview for each one, along with references to allow you to dive deeper into each one.

Step 1 - Diet Improvement

The single most important factor in our current weight is our daily food choices. When considering the importance of diet vs. exercise, exercise matters, but diet matters much more. This means that anyone’s weight loss battle is ultimately won in the kitchen, not the gym!

But, the key to improving your diet isn’t eating less, it’s about eating smarter! Calorie-restrictive diets aren’t sustainable. Eating Smarter is about eating more of the good stuff while eliminating the bad stuff. And, hunger isn’t part of this approach. When you focus on the good foods, you might actually find yourself eating more and still losing weight. I did!

The majority of our fat-causing problems are related to a handful of bad foods and food ingredients. And, our Standard American Diet (SAD) is full of these Red Zone Foods. By eliminating these bad choices, and replacing them with better choices, you will take a giant step toward permanent and healthy weight management. Here are the 6 Red Zone Foods that you should eliminate to improve your diet:

1. Sugar

2. White Flour

3. White Rice

4. White Potatoes

5. Corn

6. High Fructose Corn Syrup

You can read more about Eating Smarter here and here.

Step 2 - Moderate Cardio

The second element of the Gym Optional Approach is effective exercise. Exercise is important because you need a calorie deficit to lose weight. A calorie deficit simply means that your body burns more calories than it consumes. Eating Smarter helps you manage your calorie intake. And, pairing Eating Smarter with effective exercise creates the calorie deficit you need for weight loss.

The most effective exercise for quick weight and fat loss is Zone 2 cardio. Zone 2 means that you are exercising at an exertion level where your heart rate is in the range of 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. Most Over-50 Guys can reach Zone 2 by merely walking briskly. It’s usually a moderate, comfortable pace. The longer you can maintain your heart rate in this zone, the better for you.

Zone 2 cardio delivers 3 important health benefits:

1. When exercising in Zone 2, your body draws the majority of its energy from your fat stores. It is the most effective way to burn body fat.

2. It helps improve overall cardiovascular (heart and lungs) health and thus combats cardiovascular disease (Cardiovascular disease is the #1 cause of death among American men).

3. It’s easy to do and accessible for almost all men. It requires no training or special equipment. All you need are some comfortable shoes.

Because of these benefits, I call Zone 2 cardio Moving Smarter. And, Zone 2 cardio works even better when you do it in a fasted state, meaning before you’ve eaten. This focuses all of your body’s energy demand on stored fat. You can read more about Moving Smarter here and here.

In Closing

The Gym Optional approach to weight loss is the better option for most Over-50 Guys. It combines two powerful strategies to help you lose weight faster, and keep it off for the long term. It’s the foundation for a sustainable, healthy lifestyle that I call the ThriveLife.

See you next week!

Notes

1. Strength and muscle mass are key factors in overall health and fitness and are important components of healthy aging.

I write this newsletter hoping to make a positive impact on the lives of Over-50 Guys and and their families. If you found this information useful, please consider subscribing to receive new editions each week.

Follow me on the socials for daily tips and strategies for living your ThriveLife:

Here’s a recent post from my X (Twitter) account: