Fitness advice for 40 y.o.

If your just interested in health and losing a bit of weight you might want to do 3-4 days of aerobic exercise. You probably don't need protein shakes, especially if your not bulking. You might want to take a multivitamin and possibly fish oil for the health benefits. Your probably going to want to make some changes in your eating and drinking habits in addition to the activity changes.

As someone of your age, I would advise you to be kind to your tendons and joints.

Stretch.

Also, check out lower impact aerobic exercise -- biking, swimming, etc. These are things you can do your whole life long.

You may not need protein shakes, but they can be handy meal replacements. For me, I just don't like to eat breakfast early in the morning even though I know I need to. I find that a protein shake made with yogurt (and some occasional fruit) to be the perfect breakfast for me.

Given your level of activity, you don't want to supplement with protein shakes. Drinking one instead of eating a high-fat meal; well that's another story.

I also agree with Gradstudent78 in that you should consider a multivitamin.

my advice to you is that you're too old. i suggest you lose about 15 years. i once saw a 100 year old man on television and they asked him what his secret was to a long life. he said, "a beer a day." slightly off-topic, but i'm curious why you never participated in any sports. i hate to exercise, but i enjoy several sports and they've been a godsend to me because i'm able to stay in decent shape without doing what i consider to be exercise. if you do something for the fun of it rather than for the health benefits, you'll likely stick with it.

I'm sure you're fine in the health department, but IMHO, very first thing is to get a medical evaluation just as a precautionary measure to know where you stand.

Other than that your plan seems fine to me. As a rule of thumb, I think it's a good idea to begin the exercises and a change in diet, gradually. This prevents people from burning out, and allows you to make changes in lifestyle that you can probably stick to in the long term. Another important thing is to keep a log of your exercises as a way to control and measure your performance/ gains.

Eat more but smaller meals to avoid a full feeling. Drink lots of water, all day long. Consider a stretching class or a session with a trainer.

^^^ What they said. I might add that you're more likely to be injured cold-stretching and you should always warm up a little before stretching..and don't "over-stretch". Nothing will keep you feeling young like regular exercise. Stay away from processed foods. Make sure you get enough vitamins, minerals (especially calcium) and anti-oxidants.

If you want to go all out, I would suggest a regular (at least bi-weekly) regiment of therapeutic massage and/or chiropracty. Rolfing will take 5-10 years off of your age.

And most of all, be happy and reduce stress. A little Blue Sapphire with some Northern Lights or Blueberries thrown into the mix can help with that. There's nothing wrong with beer, wine or whiskey though.

40 is the new 25!

It is always a pleasure to give a young guy some advise (I have eleven years on you). Some general thoughts:

1. Absolutely no need for protein shakes or other supplements if you have a healthy diet. I myself try to do a diet high on lean proteins, fiber, green veggies, fruit, and healthy fats (e.g. olive oil, fish oil, etc). If you become far more active, then maybe;

2. As we age, resistance training is very valuable. You could start weight lifting 2-3 days per week with a full body circuit. I suggest getting to a gym and a very good trainer who has been trained to work with the older, more sedentary folk. After starting with machines and assisted weights, you will find you move to free weights and begin isolating body parts. If a gym is not available, you can use home weights, but have a spotter;

3. Stretching is crucial (always stretch warm). But so is recovery, as we age, we need more time between work-outs. So, avoid intense cardio on back to back days. Avoid weights on back to back days. Back to stretching, consider signing up for yoga;

4. Irrespective of your choice of cardio (running, biking, swimming), plug in interval training for one of those days. In interval training, one alternates several short burst of highest intensity cardio with recovery pace work. (E.G. run for one minute at 85% of aerobic capacity and then 3 minutes at a moderate jog and repeat 4-8 times. As your proficiency increases, you will be able to increase the length of the intervals, shorten the rest periods, or add repetitions.

5. Have a FULL physical exam - - one does not want to be surprised by middle-age coronary problems. A stress test is a bare minimum screen.

6. If your joints can take it, consider joining a running club or bking club. They provide structure and companionship. Both are very, very helpful for a successful program.

7. Keep a journal -- your own progress will amaze and, hopefully, provide inspiration for staying with it. Also, consider before and after photos.

even a light amount of resistence training with light weights will be vastly more effective than cardio alone for the simple fact that challenging your muscles will burn more fat than cardio alone (or so everything i've read and learned all these years tells me) and also help build some muscle

you don't need to get into heavy lifting but any weight to challenge your muscles will benefit you in the long run coupled with cardio and an overhaul of your diet

I'm fifty-one. Never had a weight problem, but by 40 or so, my shape had begun to spread into wrong directions. Have done cardio kickboxing and moderate weight lifting, for about ten years. The best thing I ever did.

Agree about the physical examination. If you're in good health, exercise could help to maintain it. Not just that, you'll have more energy, sleep better, and your skin will glow. You'll look better in and out of your clothes, too. About the water: I like Propel fitness beverages, during and after exercise.

you don't need protien shakes. with a nice balanced diet, you'll have more than enough protien on a daily basis. the excess is waste so save your money.

if you want better results, I would cut back the alcohol consumption. first order, alcohol will dehydrate your body which definitely will affect your performance.

as for your general food consumption, i wouldn't do anything drastic. just make minor changes here and there. for example if you eat 3 slices of bread for dinner, try just having 2. instead of ordering the coke and fries, get fries with water.

if you want to lose weight it's all about creating a sustainable caloric deficit, so you'll either have to do more work or eat less. you can help this process by increasing your muscle mass since in doing so, you'll make your body more inefficient.

I agree with most of what has been said. But I just wanted to point out that at 6 feet and 179 pounds, losing a signficant amount weight shouldn't be a major concern. You're hardly obese. Doing cardiovascular exercise is great, and eating healthier is obviously a good thing. But I'm not sure most of the well-intentioned "eat smaller portions"-type advice is all that relevant. If you're gradually increasing your exercise level you're probably just fine maintaining roughly your present caloric intake. Obviously, if you can cut out refined foods, etc. and choose healthier substitutes, but more the better. I think as you work in muscular training -- try even just adding some push-ups and sit-ups after your runs -- you'll see some real changes in tone and body shape. Trading some fat for muscle and generally toning up will, I suspect, give you much of what you're really looking for when you talk about "losing weight".