Hi, It’s Rob Richley, Personal Trainer and today I want to discuss breakfast, it’s important for us men over 40, but what about men over 50? We need to do everything in our power to not only fuel our bodies, but we need every trick in the book to fight back and boost testosterone levels as we age…
“As a general rule, for breakfast men over 50 should stick to whole food sources such as oats and eggs that provide good cholesterol (HDL) helping to boost testosterone and increase healthy sources of protein.“
Eggs
Eggs are high in HDL cholesterol which has been shown to increase testosterone levels in men.
Over the years eggs have got a bad reputation for increasing bad cholesterol, but now it’s been shown that they don’t have a direct effect on bad cholesterol levels i.e., LDL levels that are likely to cause health problems.
That’s why I recommend that us men over 50 never go too low in healthy fats, because it will kill our testosterone levels.
Also, and very importantly eggs contain an array of vitamins and are one of the best sources of lean proteins available.
All of which will contribute to building more lean muscle and reducing belly fat.
Coffee
Coffee wakes you up and helps you train harder. The harder muscle contractions you can make whilst working out, the more productive the workout is going to be and ultimately you will tear down more muscle fibres.
Those muscle fibres will repair with the protein coming from eggs that I recommended.
Also, as you can train harder you will ramp up more testosterone production.
Lastly and very importantly, coffee acts as an aromatase inhibitor which in turns helps burn more body fat.
The more fat you have the more aromatase you produce which converts testosterone into the female hormone estrogen.
Coffee has been shown to help block this conversion, ultimately helping you burn more fat and get a better workout.
Look at this surprising study regarding testosterone and aromatase.
Bacon
As a man over 50, who doesn’t like a bit of Bacon for breakfast?
One of the things I keep stressing as men over 50 is not going too low with fats as we age. Fats have a profound effect on our testosterone production and as mentioned testosterone plays a part in muscle building, fat loss, libido, not to mention feeling good.
I would rather you went lower carb, but do not go very low fat!
Bacon not only tastes great but raises our T levels because of the good fat it has in there. We need these sources of fats as well as other fats coming from avocados, nuts, seeds, eggs, fatty fish etc.
Fats are also dense in calories, meaning they will keep you feeling full for longer. In fact, fats contain 9 calories per gram, more than double that of protein and carbohydrates that contain 4 calories per gram.
What Foods Should a 50 Year Old Man Eat?
“As a general rule men over 50 should stick to lean healthy protein sources such as eggs, chicken breast, fish, beans and lean beef. Fibrous carbohydrates such as oats, potatoes and vegetables and healthy sources of fat such as fatty fish, avocados, nuts, and extra virgin olive oil.“
To be at your optimum health you should be getting in the range of 0.7g – 1 g of protein per pound of body weight every day.
Protein is essential for men over 50 as it helps to build and preserve lean muscle tissue. So, if you weigh 170 pounds aim to get between 130-170 grams of protein per day.
Some great protein sources are everything that runs, swims, or grows, such as fatty fish, tuna, chicken & turkey breast, ground beef, whole eggs etc.
Around 20-30 % of your total calories should be coming from fat. A diet too low will kill testosterone levels so get plenty of healthy fats from bacon, avocados, steak, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil etc.
The remainder, 35-40% of total calories should be coming from fibrous carbohydrates such as oats, sweet potatoes, whole grain rice & pasta, fruits, and vegetables.
Split your calories up into 3-5 easily digested meals per day. Some of you will love intermittent fasting as it’s very powerful for fat loss for men over 50.
Others will prefer eating more frequently. The bottom line is you need to align your goals of either maintaining your goal weight or losing weight with the number of calories you need each day.
Are Eggs Good For Men Over 50?
“For men over 50 eggs are a great source of protein and healthy HDL fat, helping to build and repair muscle and provide essential fats that contribute to testosterone production. A diet too low in fat will impair gains in lean muscle, eggs provide a healthy source of protein and help to increase testosterone production.“
They are an excellent choice to start the day and very versatile. Personally, I prefer to boil 2-3 eggs every morning and eat them with a slice of whole grain toast, a bowl of oats and glass of orange juice.
Add in some coffee and I think this could be a breakfast of champions!
Eggs are not only rich in protein, but they contain vitamin B2, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Selenium, and Iodine.
It was once thought that eggs are bad because the yolks raised LDL (bad cholesterol) levels. However, this has been proven wrong time and time again.
In fact, they don’t raise LDL levels whatsoever, but contribute to the healthy HDL production.
You don’t need to eat eggs in the morning, they can be eaten with a salad, perhaps with lunch, just try and get them into your diet for a great source of protein and healthy T production.
Laws of Lean
I hope you found this article really useful, remember the most important thing for us men over 50 is to resistance train, get essential proteins, fibrous carbs and healthy fats through nutrition and pay attention to activity levels through moderate cardio training.
If you would like to take your learning further then check out my FREE guide, 40 Laws of lean for Men Over 40 by clicking here.