The SimHQ Diet and Training Thread - everyone feel free to join

Hi all,

As in the New Year's Resolution topic discussed, here's your chance to share, shame, be shamed, find encouragement or simple check what others are doing in regards to nutrition and exercise. We've seen a lot of threads touching this, why not combine it.


For myself, I've been working out twice a week since two or three years, but started taking things a bit more serious this past May.

As a result in June (after a month vacation + lots of moving about) I needed a new hole made in my belt (no, not on the end ). Weight is down to 80kg but muscles are visibly improved. Sporting visible abs and well defined arm muscles, but not a bulky bodybuilder - I don't plan to either, I'm a Racer and that's what I aim for.

I do all my exercise at home with affordable and sometimes improvised gear. For nutrition, I don't care that much what I'm eating, but more on the amount of. Not counting every single calorie either, but I've gotten good at estimates. Currently aiming for an average of 1600 per day (1400+1400+2000 in three days) which is quite low, but then I have a sitting job and my daily need is about 2200 max. 1600 avg loses me not quite half a kilo per week which is a sustainable deficit.

My current goal is to get away from my 80-82.x weight fluctuations and make it a 78-79.9 fluctuation, i.e. I don't want to see a leading eight anytime I step on the scale. While retaining the muscle I have AND raising my daily input back to 2000 without weight gain.

This weekend is going to be hell because of extra plans - company christmas party tonight, Spa tomorrow.

Since the party today includes a buffet, I'm taking 2000kcal for the day, meaning tomorrow and sunday I'll be at 1400.

Today so far I've got a Muffin for breakfast (400) and a Kepab Pita with Chicken (600). That leaves about 1000 for the buffet tonight, and I'll drink wine, not beer. Going to miss my regular exercise tomorrow, adding a bit extra for sunday instead.

I have a 30 min/10km each-way ride to work which I do five days a week without fail. That's about it for regular exercise these days because arthritis in my right foot means I've had to quit running (boo). Never been anywhere near a gym in my life, and consequently have no muscles above my waist

Eat relatively healthily without really paying much attention to calories, but having done so in the past reckon I'm on about 1800. Probably drink too much. Net result of all that means I'm usually around 72-74kg.

I've been working out with P90X for about 3 years now. Actually, I've done several varieties of those "intense" home workouts, but settled on P90X2. I don't look like those guys on the videos because I eat whatever I want. But I am in very good condition. I take my dirtbike out and ride enduro at least once a week; I'd like more, but riding areas in the U.S. have been dwindling and I live on the east coast which is even harder to find places to ride legally.
I want to start being more careful in what I eat.
I'm 46 years old and I'm currently at about 20% body fat and should be down around 14 or 15%.

So, with the goal of lowering body fat, I have cut down (but not cut out) on the following:
Beer
pastries and other sweets
High fat/sugar/salt meals

@RSC -- What do you race?

I started working out consistently in 2006 at the age of 44, and have been working out regularly 3 to 4 times a week.
3 of those workouts are one and a half hours long and include a 10-12 mile bike ride, followed by 45 minutes of machine-based weight lifting (i.e not free weight but weight "nmachines").

Despite all that, at 5'4', though I had put on alot of muscle, I had ballooned to 170lbs.

It wasn't until I reformed my diet that I started losing weight. I changed not only what i was eating (no more pizza, burgers, fries, etc.) and started putting more veggies and fish on the plate. I also cut by more than half the amount I was eating at night.

As a result, over the last 2 years, I have dropped 25 lbs, and feel great. Diet was key. Doc told me losing weight slowly lasts is a better option, as you get used to your new diet. You're less likely to feel hungry or back slide.

As someone once told me, no matter how much you work out, you can't outrun a bad diet.

Cool thread.

Who else is willing to post fridge pics?

I've had family visit, look in my fridge and pantry and then tell me there's nothing to eat in my house. LOL.

BTW, that's not mold on the red bell pepper, it's a sticker. Also, the freezer pull-out drawer is filled up with sweet potatoes.

++++++++++

I realized just this morning that every time I grab a handful of almonds (about 1/4 cup) I'm eating 170 calories. Holy Smoly! We're going to break it all down this weekend and figure out just how much I've been eating, I'm sure I'll be shocked.

Also, we're going to need some before and after pics, like this...

Two with ex-sister-in-law, then forward progress...

Nice goin', Mark!

Thanks, but that last pic is old (sorry). I'm almost there again, I have to add about 10 lbs. or so to that pic, plus some grey in the goatee.

Recent pic (kind of cheating since I'm not standing)...

My fridge is basically empty. There's two cans of beer inside and some dark chocolate.

I'll reply more in depth as I make time, currently damn busy.

Eating cleaner for me is all about what's available in my house, although healthy food can still be abused as I'm figuring out (nuts, raisins, cheeses, breads, etc.).

There's no convenient gym location (we tried it for a year, too far) so we bought our own. Eventually we'll upgrade the weights/bench.

Note: Wife works out with weights twice a week (also treadmill each morning and yoga on Mondays). Women don't get scary Madonna arms or Kelly Ripa over-ripped bodies by doing normal regular workouts with a home gym. I don't know what these women do to look like that but they must live in the gym and push super hard (not my speed, a little toning is good but don't overdue it, keep your body feminine - just my opinion).

Nice equipment, all you really need.

How much wrights do you do?

I'll post part of my routine tomorrow.

I've been pushing weights for 15 years now. I try to get to the gym 4 times a week, but only do half an hour on each body part. I'm not in bad shape for my age and job I suppose. I had a bad shoulder injury that kept me sidelined for a few months so just trying to get back to where I was.

I was managing to decline press some useful numbers, on a machine, not free.

My diet is poor, not too fussed about what I eat, other then no fried stuff cos it knackers me IBS. Oh the joy of shift work.

Uh, hmm...kind of embarrassed about this one, but I shouldn't be (I'm the only guy I know IRL who lifts *anything*) so here goes...

My main weight set came from Sears...

Weider Pro 290 W Home Gym (80 Lb. Vinyl Weight Set)...
http://www.sears.com/weider-pro-290-w/p-00615891000P

IIRC, it was on sale for just under $100.00 and I bought one for me and one for my father (his iron weights were packed away and just too much for him to deal with anymore). It's all at my house now so I now have a combined 160 lbs. of vinyl weights...

8 x 15 lbs., 4 x 10 lbs. = 160 lbs.

Plus an adjustable 30 lbs. max. dumbbell set.

Problem is that the original bar holds a max. of only 100 lbs., so I bought a new bar (the black one in my pic) that holds 120 lbs. (and to have a separate bar until I purchase a real curl bar). The bar itself is 10 lbs. (not a "real" 45 lbs. bar) and I'm currently bench pressing 120 lbs., 3 sets of 10 reps. For curls, military and the rest I'll make a note of it on my next workout.

<Timothy, USAFMTL and other gym rats are probably laughing their asses off right now!>

My shame isn't that I have weak upper body strength, my shame is that I haven't really progressed in a long time (I quit challenging myself with more weight and/or reps). In other words, I've become lazy with my workouts.

Besides the bars, I don't think my bench can safely hold much more weight than I'm using anyway. I would still recommended it for a starter set, especially if money is tight.

++++++++++

For our next anniversary (Jan. 9) or shortly after (once we clear some room) we're going to upgrade to an iron set (plus my father's weights), including individual dumbbells and a sturdier heavy-duty bench where I can comfortably widen my grip. She'll keep using the old set (she likes it).

I thought this might be relevant to the thread.

I don't know how many of you are willing to post this much information or if you have recent numbers, the blood work on my last physical about 6 weeks ago was...

GLU: 94
ALT: 27
CHOL: 222
TRI: 134
HDL: 42
LDL: 154

I was surprised that my sugar was over 90 (usually mid-80s) and that my cholesterol was a little high. I'm taking a harder look at what I'm eating (starting with all the nuts, obviously).

I am on high blood pressure medication, although it's been reduced from where I started back in 2008. I'd like to get off of it completely and was told that was a future possibility, we'll see.

Hi,

I'm a 180cm and not far from 50's. Lost weight 100kg to 75kg after the 17 months without diets/programs.

I didn't count the calories or use gyms. Just did hikes, light running, in- & outdoor climbing and mostly body weight training at home. A 10kg kettle ball, rubber-bands and nowadays also hangboard(edit).


Drop the sugar, glucose syrup and corn syrup products and start eating the unprocessed foods as much as possible. A lots of green salads without dressings, which often contain sugar and/or syrups. Only a olive oil. Plenty of it. Also berries, nuts, eggs, fishes and oatmeals are good.

Eating is a habit and your stomach is getting use to big portions very fast. Just cut those portions and take at least half of the plate salads and then the rest. Never pile up. Drink lots of water. NO sweet sodas. Feeling hungry time to time wont kill you.

No, the desserts are not mandatory. Really.

Life is light

So, a bit more time to reply.

Goblin asked what I race... a 675 Daytona Supersport on Circuits. Bulk is my enemy

What Axman says about diet is 100% true... realistically you can't burn more than 500 or 600 excess cal per day (unless you really have a go at it for multiple hours) and it's very easy to add these 600kcal just with bad food.
Of course building muscle raises your average burn rate, so that helps indirectly.

Mark, that ain't so bad for benching. I lack a proper bench, so I do pushups (with feet on a chair and pushup grips, which I figure puts about half my weight - 80kg on my arms). I do 3 sets with 25 reps - I do that actually for all my exercises, it's a number I find easy to remember.

No current blood work for me, so couldn't say, but it wasn't bad when we checked this summer.

I ate bad on friday (Christmas Party) and yesterday, so I figure these two days at 2000kcal didn't really lose me any. Want to make it a small meal today - 350g of Chicken Breast, two handfull of vegetables and a few cashew nuts stir-fried in the wok. That will be about 600kcal, with lots of protein. I always eat after workout, which today will be:

3x25 Pushups
3x25 Side Situps (25 each side) with 6kg weight behind my head.
3x25 straight situps (from laying flat, legs locked into bench) with 6kg weight behind my head.
3x25 Back Dips (with your back to the bench, put your weight on your hands, stretch the legs away, and use your arms to lower/raise your body)
3x25 curls with my Tera Band Rubber for each hand (Bizeps).

Five exercises with three repetitions each counts as 15 points in my system. I try to do 30 points a week - so usually two more days of nine points each. I like working out at home because in between sets I can get to my PC, check Facebook, do something - which makes it less of a drag to spend the time training.

RCS,

Pretty nice workout right there.

Thanks. Still at it as I type

It's a bit high repetition at 25, but I don't have better resistance/weight at home, and it's anyway better for definition and endurance. Oh, and to clarify... I do five different sets, then another five, then another five. Not 3x25 of the same exercise after each other, it would kill me.

FDM4BGE, the eating you suggested is about where I'm at now (right down to yesterday's Quaker Oats while adding cinnamon, walnuts, honey, raisins and wheat germ). For example, you'll no longer see salad dressings in my pics (avocado oil instead) nor will you see processed cheeses ("cheese food" and "cheese product"). I eat everything you mentioned on a regular basis. I enjoy a good homemade salad with lots of ingredients, only cheat is a little crunchy toppings (being replaced mostly by pumpkin seeds).

Except that I'm still going to eat the occasional desert (preferably homemade) and I do believe you should at least have an idea of how many calories you're consuming, especially if you eat a lot of higher calorie healthy foods like fruits and nuts.Also, our priorities today are much different, if we had to choose between replacing the large-screen TV or the treadmill (similarly priced when new), we'd choose without hesitation.

EDIT: In Jax, FL we had plenty of sidewalks and a nearby park to run and walk, owning a treadmill wasn't a necessity.

++++++++++

RSColonel_131st, you're using body weight for your exercises, good job man. I'm not there yet.

Also, full honesty disclosure...I don't push/finish the third set unless my wife is home to spot me.

That is a clever thing anyway. You don't want to end crushed under your weight bar. Hard to tell from the pics but I assume you have the ends unscrewed, so you could ditch weight?

Problem with body weight is it only gets you so far. I really wish I had a Butterfly machine, since breast muscles are hard to work with just pushups.

Oh, and well done on the before/after pic. That is already impressive.

https://www.instagram.com/p/8op-bcn3CP/

Me.

RSColonel_131st, I use bar collars so I can't ditch any weight, I assume if I need to I can roll 120 lbs. off of me. I might not chance it with more weight but I'm pretty careful, if I'm not feeling it I'll take a couple of weights off the bar for the third set, especially if I'm not being spotted.

In the pic I have 4 x 15 lbs. + 4 x 10 lbs. + 10 lbs. bar = 110 lbs., I've since bumped it up another 10 lbs. to 120 lbs. (6 x 15 lbs. + 2 x 10 lbs. + 10 lbs. bar = 120 lbs.).

I try to keep good form, breathing and speed (not bouncing the bar off my chest) with each exercise, from what I've read and from watching videos. I'm more responsible for exercise stuff, my wife focuses more on what we eat and learning how to cook healthier when she has time.

For butterflys I just lay on my back on the bench and use dumbbells.

2016 is the last full year I'll be in my 40s so I'm feeling a bit of urgency to once and for all put weight loss behind me and work on keeping a proper size (mainly waist) and fitness, regardless of weight.

++++++++++

Timothy, very nice! Was hoping for something new though. If the opportunity presents itself...

++++++++++

So this evening we were going over the numbers. In each bag and the bowl (snack-size bags, SimHQ coffee mug used for reference)...

Almonds: 1/4 cup 170 cal.
Walnuts: 1/4 cup 190 cal.
Raisins: 1/4 cup 120 cal.
Pumpkin Seeds: 1/8 cup 90 cal.
----------
Total: 570 cal. per bowl or bag

(Optional: mixed nuts [cashews, pistachios, almonds, pecans] + pumpkin seeds, same size and calories).

We figure I've been eating about 2 1/2 bags per day, one small bowl (pictured) after lunch plus continuous snacking throughout the day. That's at least 1400 cal./day of just snacking!

Now I'm going to pace myself with only a bag per day, I think that'll be a good start.

++++++++++

I'm going to try for now on to include alternate measurements in my posts, maybe something like: lbs. (kg). Or is it stone?

EDIT: Oops, I forgot to include Brazil nuts (2/day for prostate health, add 60 cal.).

Forgot to mention, I loves me a little dark chocolate, our typical desert. 70% is as high as we can tolerate.

1400kcal from snacks? I made do yesterday on 1200 total I slept long and it was a slow day, but definitely you don't want 1400 from just snacks.

Have a look into tried or pickled vegetables (tomatos, chilli peppers, cucumbers). I posted in the "Dinner" thread that I like to match five or six dried tomatoes with a spoon of chilli-infused olive oil and another spoon of Balsamico vinegar, which is a great taste combination and has less than 100kcal per portion. Always having a glass of water at hand also helps, you can make your own soda. If the craving for something sweet hits I also can do with a can of Coke Zero (not super healthy but no kcal either).

To give you an idea how my kcal intake looks trough the last four weeks:

Day1: 1400
Day2: 1400
Day3: 2000
Day4: 1400
Day5: 1400
Day6: 2000
Day7: 1600

So, I average 1600/day on every week, I can move the high days around a little of course. This loses me about a pound per week, sustainable. Remember, you need 7000kcal deficit to burn one kilogram of fat.

A typical 1400 day can be: A doughnut in the morning (200kcal and stupid, but I need chocolate), 800kcal for lunch (that's for example a large kepab or a good helping from the buffet at the company eatery), 100kcal protein bar in the afternoon as snack, some fruits or vegetables in the evening and some dark chocolate before bed.

It's not awesome living but it isn't exactly suffering either. For me the trick was to break with the traditional "three meals a day" programming we all grow up with. If your idea of happyness is a waffles, bacon and egg breakfest with a nice burger at lunch and a bowl of Csoup in the evening then you're having 2500+ kcal every day and unless you're a construction worker or training for a thriathlon you simply won't burn this.

I would love to raise my base metabolism rate but without more cardio it won't happen, and I need to make time for that. Desk jobs and sleeping long on the weekends, no outdoor stuff because of temperature doesn't help. Might switch one weight day per week for one more cardio day. I have a Crosstrainer at home, or can go for some HIT circle.


As for chocolate, I use almost the same Lindt chocolate, but mine is labelled "70% Mild". Check if you can find it, it's again more bearable than the 70% full dark.

Problem with the Milky Stuff is that half a pack isn't even enough in one go, whereas the dark one I can live of one or two pieces as in your picture.

Very happy today since even after two "strong" eating days Friday/Saturday I'm well below 80 this morning, so right on target. Gonna keep discipline for a week more to buffer against Christmas cookies... then go for 1800 avg and increase cardio.

RSColonel_131st, I just wanted to clarify that my 1400 cal. of snacking is all coming from healthy unsalted nuts (except pumpkin seeds with Celtic Sea Salt) and raisins. In addition to the small glass bowl (equivalent to a snack bag) I'm probably eating another bag and a half just by constantly grabbing a handful of nuts throughout the day. It doesn't seem so bad each time you walk away from the pantry snacking on only a handful of nuts, but it adds up when you keep doing it.

But that's just a matter of quantity, I'm now limiting myself to only one snack size bag per day (570 cal.) no matter when I eat or snack on it, I just can't go back for more.

As far as quality eating, I think we have that down pretty good. For breakfast this morning I made the usual fried eggs over avocado and spinach (me two eggs, her one). For lunch I'm sending her off with chicken breast from a Costco rotisserie, with sweet potato and black-eye peas, piece of French Baguette bread and her own bag of assorted nuts.

I'm probably going to do my regular can of sardines, small piece of cheese off the block and a handful of unsalted crackers.

I *still* have to work on not giving my wife as much on a plate as I make for myself, which makes sense but I always feel like I'm ripping her off or something. This is the first time we're really looking at calorie count, I don't want to become obsessed with it but you have to at least have an idea what your consumption is.

We never feel like we're suffering unless we're around fried seafood or she gets a whiff of Cinnabon at the mall. When we do enjoy a rare cheat treat, we split it always.

I understood it's 1400 healthy kcal, but it's still 1400

My daily 1600 are often very crappy kcals (white bread, fried stuff), but the total still suits... I do have to make sure to catch enough vegetables.

Unsalted is good too, I recently started caring more about salt content and it's crazy. You basically can't buy any average food of the street or market and expect to stay within recommended amount of salt.

You're right about that, although taking in too many �healthy� calories might explain why over the past couple of years or so, as my weight has yo-yo'd, none of my previous obesity-related symptoms returned. I believe that even when I was tipping the scale again into obesity, I was still eating relatively healthy and exercising at least a little, I never completely returned to old habits since 2009. Or maybe because my high blood pressure was being treated this time with medication, I don't know.

We rarely eat out anymore and this helps a lot, although healthy eating can be expensive (especially when you buy in bulk), I assume it can't cost any more than constantly eating out like we were doing prior to 2009.

Regarding salt, most restaurant food taste a little too salty to me now. I hardly ever add salt, only pepper (like on eggs).

We just got our Christmas care package from my sister and her family. Full of the best homemade cookies, brownies and several other sweet treats. My kids get so excited to see those packages with her address on it. This is one of the highlights of our Christmas season, but SO many calories to burn.

Here are the workouts I'm doing at this time (started a third round of P90X2 last week).

Monday Core
Tuesday Plyometrics
Wednesday Foam rolling/stretching (recovery day required!)
Thursday Total body + 20 minutes abs
Friday Yoga
Saturday Balance and power (another total body workout with balance)
Sunday Foam rolling/stretching (sometimes i choose to just rest this day)


I wear a heart monitor most of the time and burn around 700 calories per workout. Not sure about yoga, because I don't wear the monitor on that day. I know my heart rate doesn't get up like the other routines, but Yoga is NOT easy. This one is an hour and a half, which is a little long -- sometimes I swap it out with a 30 minute session as I've got to get to work on time (workout starts at 5:00am). I find working out in the morning works best for me because I'm just too busy/tired/irritated/distracted/ect after work. The hardest part of all of it is getting out of bed when its cold and dark. I tell myself that all I have to do is show up -- don't even have to do the workout. Just show up. I very rarely miss a day and I've never actually shown up and NOT worked out. But the option is there!


RSC, that is a sweet bike! Really looks like fun -- but so is the dirt! My ridding buddy moved away and I don't really like being 15 miles deep in the woods without a fellow rider. If I go down and get hurt or the bike fails, I'm screwed. So, I'm a little reluctant to go riding, until I can find someone to ride with. Never used to have this problem when I was a kid. Tons of places to ride and a lot of friends wanted to do it. In some places nowadays, you can't ride a dirtbike on your own land! People complain that it's too noisey. Which is understandable, but why not just make a noise law? Oh, that's right, because they wouldn't be able to blow leaves around.

Salt. Here's a story. I was taking a trip back to my home state of Washington a few years back. On the way to the airport, I was clearing my throat a lot. By the time I was on the plane, my throat was feeling pretty scratchy. Mid-flight (5 hour ride) I was feeling really crappy. The attendant came by with drinks and I thought a spicey tomato juice would be good for my throat, which by now felt raw. All they had was bloody mary mix, so I drank that. Then I looked at the ingredients list. 2100mg sodium!!

Heart rate monitors aren't a reliable measure of how many calories you're burning, particularly with the sort of exercises you're doing. More info here, specifically:



In other words running, cycling and swimming would be examples of where HRMs are most accurate, and that's still very dependent on other variables that they can't take into account.

Yeah, I've seen that. I'll keep using it though -- it works for me. I started wearing it when I first started working out because I was afraid of overdoing it. Most of the time now, I use it as a relative gauge against past workouts. Rather a way of seeing that I've done something.

Anyway, I find the collected data to be motivational. Below are my last 7 recorded workouts.

My Crosstrainer display says that for 50 minutes, mostly between 140 and 160 heartrate, I burn 300kcal. Which I think is on the low side, and not accurate either.

Would be curious what HR they have as "Harccore" and "Fat Burn".

What you are doing is definitly a more well-rounded and healthy workout than I do. I'm all upper body... really should fit some gymnastics in there somewhere.

Maybe need to try the PS3 again - I have a game called "UFC Personal Trainer" on it which I used for a while, and it's got quite a nice mix of body-weight exercises which are tracked and rated via the "Move" controllers. Some of the stuff for XBone Kinect is a really neat way for personal "general fitness" training IMHO.

As for the Dirt Bike, I've been meaning to try and rent some kind of 250ccm MX in the fall or spring. Supposedly it's a good complimentary riding exercise to the circuit/tarmac stuff. We have a few dedicated dirt tracks here (staffed, medical services etc...) - nothing like that in your area?

I used to have a treadmill that would tell me I burned 900 calories when I know it couldn't possibly have been that high, so I always divided by 3. It's just an estimate.

I don't pay too much attention to what they're calling "hardcore" and "fat burn", but they are based on my personal HR zones for those. I had to enter some data into my Polar HRM and it goes in and calculates my training zones. The theory is you stay in a particular zone based on what you are trying to achieve. So, if you want better endurance, you target a certain zone for a certain time. Anyway, "fat burn" kind of makes sense, but "hardcore" could mean a lot of things.

I have a CRF250X, which is a slightly modified version of the MX model. Suspension is tailored for woods riding and the cam is modified to change the timing a little. Actually, there are a couple of MX tracks. They're a couple of hours drive, but maybe I'll give that a try. At least somebody would be around. And yeah, I've heard that dirt riding is a good exercise for street riders.

What the ???

All this electronic mumbo jumbo is too Rocky IV to me!

BTW, who else listens to the various Rocky soundtracks when they're working out or running? Come on, just admit it...

That'd be just the kind of bike I'd want as a Secondary... though being Austrian it would likley be a KTM.

MX is much cheaper than road circuit, much easier to get to (many tracks in country but only one racing circuit) and less chance of wrecking expensive parts.

But then, nothing compares to braking 240 down to 140 (km/h), leaning the bike over as quickly as you dare and hitting the apex just right.

What I meant about HR is - what are your supposed numbers? I know at 160 on the Crosstrainer I am going a bit high, but acceptable. Maximum fat burn is lower.

Today's exercises:

3x25 Pushups
3x25 Tera Band Trizeps stretch
3x25 Curls with 22kg (25 each hand)
3x Straight Planking, legs elevated (static position, hold for at least 90s, better two minutes).

So that's 12 points to fire up this week. Had a bit of discipline laps yesterday and had some noodles in the evening, so that were 2000 instead of planned 1400 kcal... but doing okay today currently at 1100, adding 200 from Beef Jerky after training (for the protein).

I'd love to have the KTM 300 XC-W, but can't justify the cost right now. The Honda is my first 4-stroke, well, since an XR-75 that my brother had back in 1978. After that it was all two-strokes.

That supersport circuit looks awesome.

My numbers are something like:
warm/up zone: min - 115
Fat burn: 115 - 120
Aerobic: 120 - 140
Anaerobic:140 - 158
Vo2 max: 158 - 178

I think if my goal was to burn fat I'd just go out walking.

Is yoga part of the P90X2 program or is this a class you attend?

I've been resisting but I know it's effective, I've seen what it does for my wife. She has very mild scoliosis (front-to-back, visible on x-ray) and her back bothers her sometimes if she misses a couple weeks in a row. My back and shoulders always kinda ache now, I'm wondering if I should just suck it up and try a class. Heck, I could probably stand to do a lot more simple stretching as well.

I've actually been doing Yoga for about 10 years. I started by going to classes for about 2 years and learned proper form from an excellent teacher. It can get very challenging. One of the good things about it though is that there is something for everyone.

The yoga I list above is part of the P90X2 routine and is no walk in the park. Last week I swapped out this Yoga for the P90X3 yoga which was only 30 minutes. On other occasions I sit in on my wife's yoga routine or pop in a power yoga DVD.

When I'm doing P90X I only listen to the DVD sound track. I did Insanity a couple of years ago and got to where I'd mute the TV and listen to some Rush or Scorpions or something (but not Rocky soundtrack maybe I'll give that a try) . The moves in insanity didn't require the level of concentration that P90X does. That's not quite right, what I mean is I need to listen to the little reminders about form when doing P90X, but not for insanity.

It depends on how you do your pushups. If you want to build pectoral mass, archer pushups coupled with muscle ups will do nicely. If you have a medicine ball, then the 3-point pushups will also work well. Normal pushups must be slowed down in order to gain maximum benefit.

For martial arts training, we used to do pushups on a 2x4 plank balanced on top of a can of soup. The soup can was placed at quarter positions along the length of the 2x4. After a while, you were basically doing a one-armed pushup on an unstable surface.

edit:

Here's one of the books on the subject that I really liked:

http://www.amazon.com/Bodyweight-Exercises-Extraordinary-Strength-Johnson/dp/0926888781

Thanks Shan, those are all excellent suggestions. The "muscle-up" seems similar to standard dips but I don't have the device for those. Might indeed be easier to find a rack/bar.

Those Archer Pushups are an interesting variation, just tried it now... yikes.

Glad you liked the Archer Pushups.

If you don't have a pull up bar for doing muscle ups, then a good way to substitute is to use gymnastics rings suspended from the rafters. They also work wonderfully well for doing butterflies.

IMO, killer treadmill/track music...

Rush - A Show of Hands (concert):
http://www.amazon.com/Show-Hands-Rush/dp...a+show+of+hands

Representing my least favorite era of Rush (mid-late 1980's) but the steady beat on many of the songs makes it easy for pacing. I sometimes imagine myself as Neil Peart getting tired during a show, you can't just stop and rest in the middle of a performance, and so I keep running until the next song, and then the next... Cheesy, but it works for me.

Wife listens to her own tunes (also into music) and when we exercise together (even if just walking a track) we immediately plug in to our tunes (headphones, sometimes stereo at home). This isn't the time for conversation or small talk, "How was your day?", we'll do this before and after or in the car.

One my favorite Rocky tunes (even better than Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger")...

Rocky - Going the Distance:

http://www.thewalkingsite.com/thr.html

I have not really bother too much about numbers but those above give a good guide as to what you are burning off.

Training at 80+% target heart-rate is probably not for everyone. At the end of the day, work at your pace and do not overdo things. You do get fitter if you consistently apply yourself.

I'm 46. About 175kg. Weight hovers 69 to 71kg. I ride the bike for about 40min to an hour, 4 to 5 times per week.

A year ago, I lost about 6kg in 2 months from a lot of cardio work and a high-protein low carb diet. The more lean muscle you put on, the higher your metabolic rate and the more you burn. I have since gone back to a normal but helathy diet and maintained my target weight. Stress test after one year of activity showed a marked increase in cardiovascular endurance and recovery.

Good luck.

Lost 80 lbs last year and a half. Still 30 to go but no hurry, and that is one of the tricks. You can lose fast, but very very few people can keep it off. After hitting the -80 plateau, it is easy to maintain the weight loss. Even if I cheat over a pizza, as long as I don't perpetuate a feeding frenzy the next day, and go back on the regular maintenance diet, it comes right back down. Other thing is, we take the dogs on a daily brisk walk from 1.5 to 2.5 miles depending on the weather. Bigtime exercise is terrific but the exercise time / amount versus the calorie count doesn't balance out. Exercise in moderation daily and don't miss a day. Eating... More small meals. Never let yourself get too hungry. Guzzle water. I think I'd read if urine is yellow and not clear, it indicates some level of dehydration. Many people supposedly think they're hungry but they're actually dehydrated. Find yourself something that works as a snack. My Achilles heel is chips (as in potato and corn) and pastries. For my substitute, the lady bakes 2-3 pans of whole oats, one or two eggs to hold it together, and mixes in raisins. That does it! Rather than living without goodies, I substituted it when the munchies hit for healthy and good tasting. Think what you really like and think through a stand-by substitute.

Guod Summary and points especially well made on Snacks and Water. Also right...find something you enjoy or at least don't mind doing, a little regular "acceptable" time investment always beats NOT going to the gym for the two hour workout. That's what really helped me, finding sets and time intervals which allow me to stay connected on my internet things meanwhile.

Thanks Harry for the sheet. It fits what I've been doing, mostly between 80-90% of max HR for ~40 mins. Maybe a bit high, but I can sustain it easily, I don't breath heavily....should be safe enough.

Team Dinner yesterday sponsored by company - Burgers - another 2000kcal. But I'm finding that even in a week with four days of 2000 I still average 1700 which is fine.

Trying a bit of reverse dieting here...
http://www.muscleforlife.com/reverse-diet/

What Guod said. Couldn't have summarized it better if I tried. Those are sensible advice that will work across the board whether you are superfit or just some old guy trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

As a rule, I also see my cardiologist at least twice a year given my family's history of heart ailments. At the same time, it's a good way to have a professional to monitor my cardiovascular system and keep track of my progress and to get advice on what I could be doing better. It helps too that my doc is also an athlete (he runs marathons and bikes competitively. A periodic stress test shows a bunch of info that you do not realize subjectively, particular on your performance and recovery rates. I don't really trust fitness and gym gurus to read cardio charts. They know what exercise to do but have next to no idea of the medical shape you are in.

What I did was I got on to Isagenix products for 2 months. Basically, a hi-protein/low carb program but with normal 3 meals a day interspersed with protein shakes. And at the end of each week, you go on their cleanse for one day. I cannot recall I was ever hungry because this is not a diet.

I got it written down somewhere. Don't have the numbers on me but my lean muscle mass shot way up and the body fat went way down from when I started.

Here's the thing. After I was done on the 2 month package I stopped taking protein shakes and followed basically what Guod did. Healthy, balanced meals, eat in moderation, small but frequent meals, maintain my exercise regime. Unless we are body building, I don't think we need to pump up on an excess of protein because in the long run that will only overwork your liver and kidneys.

It's not that difficult to maintain a healthy bodyweight once you get rid of the excess fat. By and large, if you have replaced that with more lean muscle, your increased metabolism should be a self-sustaining furnace to burn calories if you stoked it properly.

I'll say one more thing though. Be wary of getting nutritional advice from a lot of gym types. They may not be on the same objective as you are and so what they eat is not necessary suitable for you. I do lift weights but by and large my regimen is mostly cardio.

So, how's everyone doing after the feast days?

I find to my surprise that I avoided the cookie madness and see a quite low 78.5kg on the scale this morning. Now this is a dry and empty weight, but doesn't appear like I suffered over the holidays.

Had to reduce training the past week due to possible complications with my eye but that appears sorted now. So, good to go for 2016.

Hah ! Still lean. Never cared for all the gorging during festivities. Did a one hour session on the bike yesterday. Did lots of sprints. Bought a new Catsye Rapid 5 rear light for myself. Not the most expensive toy I got for Christmas but certainly the safest and most bang for the buck.

I gave up dairy, eggs and minimize animal based protein. In one month I shot past my target of 176 and hit 172. That's where I've been ever since. I'm 6'4" so that's pretty thin but feels great.

Wow, that's pretty slim. If you weren't doing aerobatics I'd be worried about your fitness level or muscle mass percentage, but obviously you are doing good in those departments.

Yeah, some of you guys are really slim!

Of course it depends too on your frame. If you're small framed you can be slim but still have a reasonable amount of body fat, even if you're at the lower end of your normal BMI range. You can usually tell by your wrist measurement (ankles as well) because it's one the least fatty parts of your body. So unless you're morbidly obese, you shouldn't have any fat on your wrist regardless if you're overweight or even moderately obese.

Check it: Take your thumb and middle finger and wrap it around the smallest part of your wrist. If your fingers just touch (as do mine), you have a medium frame. If you can't touch your fingers you have a larger frame and if they overlap you have a smaller frame (if they touch past the knuckles you have a *tiny* frame).

So take your frame size and conclude about what your BMI should be (unless you're really muscular, possibly other exceptions). I should be no more than around 160 lbs. (70.5 kg) and I can verify this just by looking at my brother who has a similar frame and height.

++++++++++

If I can make it to the new year inside obesity (203 lbs./92 kg - 5'-9"/243.84 cm) I'll be happy, I haven't done so great this month. In addition to overeating, I really need to keep my alcohol consumption in check, I can get a little carried away this time of year (although I sometimes go weeks and even months without a drink, it's usually for an occasion).

2016 is going to be THE year, I have no doubt!


EDIT: On the wrist check, my fingers do overlap a little (to the nails) so I guess my frame is somewhere between small and medium.

Thought I'd join in if you don't mind fellas? I'm fast approaching 46 and I am 5'08 and weigh in at 14.6 stones (around 202 pounds). I've been into weights for a number of years, and really should be huge but I've never bothered with the diet side of things. Pretty silly of me, but there you go. I'm aiming to get to 15 stones this year.

I don't drink (turns out I'm an angry drunk so stopped a long time ago) and I still wear the same work belt I was issued with 25 years ago (mind, I've moved the notches out somewhat)

I lift about 4-5 times a week, but only one body part at a time. Never spend more than 30 minutes in the gym as my attention span is terrible.

I know that my diet needs looking at, but as both my wife and I work totally separate shift patterns, and work pressures, we almost eat what we can when we can.

What do you like eating? Maybe we have a few good ideas for you.

But so basically... you want to get bigger, not smaller? That's a new one for this thread

Personally I'm really happy... I ate a lot yesterday, drank a lot of water to go with that, and as such quite "filled up" barely exceeded my target 80kg on the scale. It's always easy to make your weight look good if you fast for a day or two, but after some healthy eating the truth is the truth.

I eat a lot of chicken, but find that I can only do small portions now (IBS). When I'm at work (4 days on/4 days off) I avoid sugary stuff, cakes etc and stick to a high protein diet. However, when not at work, anything for quickness. Not into fish(unless deep fried covered in batter!) or vegetables in a big way.

It's true that I have the worse possible body type for sustained g. But I don't fly aerobatics in jets and rarely see more than 4 - 6 seconds of +-g at time. I gave up on muscle a long time ago. I just don't have the frame for it. I'm built like a mountain specialist in cycling. (Well maybe in my dreams I am am built like that). For my age though I couldn't be happier. I run and occasionally bike. But here is something I learned about myself:

Exercise has no measurable effect on my body weight. This may not seem intuitive but for me it is a fact. Because of injury I have gone months without running. My morning pushups, leg lifts and situps are a religion and never get skipped. But otherwise so long as I stick to a diet low in animal protein and high in whole foods and fiber, I maintain a precise 172 day-in, day-out. Honestly I don't think I am all that unique in this regard. Look at photos and film of people prior to WW2. Most were relatively slender. And back then, formal exercise was rare and maybe even a little weird. But small farms were more common as was local produce. Food required either effort or expense and people ate less of it. And people with the means treated food as a form of health care. They took it seriously. This is still very much the case in Japan (where my wife is from) and I think that plays a big role in why obesity is less of a problem there. But the biggest killer is sugar in all its forms. The body reacts strongly to sugar, especially when the sugar comes without the expected fiber. For most people maintaining a safe body shape should be easy unless one has been raised since childhood on processed sugary foods and drinks. Kids who have, have bodies that have been completely rewired is such a way (and through no fault of their own) they will struggle all their lives no matter how well they eat. That's pretty much everything I know after having studied it casually for a year.

Hope everyone is having a good start for the new year.

About sugar, since my father is diabetic (on a lower dosage of Metformin), we're all trying to watch the sugar. The days they're here (5 days a week), his blood sugar drops 10 points.

I've been doing the paleo thing for close to 3 years, been steady at 175. Previous weight was 225lb.

I've been 'cheating' a bit and it's amazing how one weekend of mediocre eating and drinking can do so much damage :p

Not to evangelize but it's a great way to keep in shape.

How strict is the paleo diet with carbs? I've found that it's very tough for me to lay off the carbs since so much stuff I love to eat has it!

Could you give a short primer or link for the Paleo method you are using? It does sound interesting, but like PM I'd be slightly worried about all those forbidden carbs.

I'm doing great this week, last one enjoyed 1800kcal average - that is really not a "diet" anymore - and end up with yesterday and today 79.x on the scale. Might be the first week I can stay sub-80 every single day, and still eat well enough.

Cutting way back on the nuts is making a difference I think, I'm losing again...slowly. Now it's a matter of time, I just have to wait it out patiently again.

If I can just maintain the healthy diet that I enjoy I'll be fine.

I'm no dietary expert but I thought nuts were mostly all protein and very little carbs?

Nope, nuts are fat and carb, with some valuable micronutritients.

Nuts are also high in calories.

PM, see my nut pic on page 3 (from my viewing), a snack bag size or small glass bowl of mixed nuts is 570 cal. I was snacking on approximately 2 1/2 bags (or bowls) throughout each day, I've cut back to only one.

Also only one (vs. two) Brazil nut, which I now understand is all that's needed for prostate health.

What I do now is eat one bag of nuts per day, but I pace myself and eat a smaller bowl (taken from the bag) after lunch. Also, anytime I get a little hungry between meals/snacks, instead of reaching for a handful of nuts I eat a heaping teaspoon of cottage cheese (which I love) and it satisfies me.

A lot of the recipes I like to use are here:
http://paleoleap.com

What I usually tell people is to start with a 30 day clean diet such as this:
http://whole30.com/whole30-program-rules/

(No I am not shilling for these people, just get the dietary info you need, no need to sign up for anything)

And then introduce foods if you like and see how you feel, etc. My advice is if you can't handle 30 days of eating clean, then how serious are you really about your long term health?

This holiday season I had some chocolate (Mmmm ferrero) a bit too much to drink, a few naughty food items. Man am I ever GRUMPY as all hell now! Sugar really is like a drug.

Also, watching your sugar intake? If you're eating bread, and lots of carbs, that's still glucose, it's essentially the same thing. I don't do the gluten free #%&*$#, who knows what's in that anyway.

To answer the question about carbs, we actually do eat carbs (we as in my family) lots of sweet potatoes, even the odd *gasp* white potato here and there. Key thing is, we still make everything from scratch. I know exactly what ingredients I use, there's no mystery there. I make my own mayo, (takes 1 minute and tastes awesome) ketchup, whatever.

The reason I've stuck with it, is that it works. If you're a fatass, the fat will disappear. It's not some weight watchers #%&*$#, where you may lose a pound a week or what not. Took me 3 months to drop 50lb. It was more like 65, but people just don't believe me so I just say 50.

Downsides? I haven't had a beer in years. No chips, no chocolate bars, no soda, no juice, no bread, no cake, no cookies, no nothing. However I eat lots of seafood, bacon & steak and good veggies to make up for it

Thanks for those tips Duchess. As for the sugar aspect I could cut it out for the most part except for the sugar I use for my coffee.

Oh yeah and my wife is addicted to those Ferrero Rocher chocolates. I just recently found out that they're made in Canada.

Yeah those things are ridiculously tasty. I didn't know they were Canadian made :p

I try to stay off of bread, some crappy Cane's chicken sandwich and a half-slice with BBQ takeout (I gave the other half to the birds in the backyard) is all I've eaten recently.

The rest of the "Downside?" list I pretty much stay away from, except for one or two hard drinks on a formal "date night" to unwind/buzz a bit, usually no more than twice a month.



When we lost the bulk of our weight in 2008/09, we did it slowly (averaging ~1 lbs./week) because we wanted to minimize any loose skin. We also eat lots of healthy fats (e.g. avocado) and drink lots of water, and of course work out with weights which minimizes and even eliminates loose skin with weight loss.

She has none so far (~10 lbs. to go), but I (lots more to go) may end up with a little on the sides and the bottom of my ass (I was a lot heavier, even percentage-wise). I won't know until I get there.

Guys, I'm feeling like I'm going on a little too much about this so I'm going to take a breather, become more of a lurker for a while.

It's just that at 48, we (and this is a team effort) being way past our 'expiration date' (see "Logan's Run"...lol) are in a place that we've never been before (treadmills and weights are NOT us, believe me!). We can't go back and fix the past (e.g. feet damage) or even completely make up for it (quality time lost), but we can learn from it, continue to educate ourselves about food and fitness and press forward.

That's the way you have to look at it I think, wherever you are in life and fitness, try to make some small improvements every day and just give it time.

MarkG, don't give up. I don't think running is that great an activity because it can hurt the hell out of your legs if you have an injury or if your form is bad. But there are tons of other cardio exercises you can do. Don't quit because of "I'm too old", that's the worst!

Try doing squats, or stair climbing, much lower impact than running. Cycling or a good quality stationary bike is also good.

At the beginning of 2014 I was 83 or 84kg (Around 185lbs, far too heavy for my height) and a BMI of probably around 27 or so. By autumn 2014 I was 60kg with a good BMI, a body fat of around 15% and was dripping with muscle! Now I am a few KG heavier due to not wanting to freeze my arse off in the frigid winter air, but I am sure to keep working out 2-4 times per week and dropping those KG will be quite easy once the weather gets warm enough.

How I lost 23kg in 6 months: I cut carbs. All carbs. No sugar, no alcohol, nothin. Just lots of protein, fats, oils, vegetables (with no carbs). And........exercise! Every day - weight lifting. At first I did a dumbell workout twice per week, then upped to three times per week. After I got used to working out three times a week, I just decided to start doing it every day since I got a rush from doing the workout. If you're not feeling that rush, your workouts are probably not hard enough, or maybe they're too hard.

I lost around 10kg in the first few weeks just from changing my diet. Around 3kg was water weight but the rest was actual fat loss. The remaining 13kg was a combination of diet and exercise.

I was doing 30-60mins of weights per day every day, plus 100 squats every day, or some other form of cardio like 300 jumping jacks, 1hour of jogging, etc. every 2 - 3days.

I also did 3 sets of 33 knee-touch sit ups - lie down, extend your arms, bring your feet in so they're touching the ground but your knees are up. sit up til you can touch your knees with your hands. kind of like a crunch
as well as 3 sets of 33 leg raises - lie down with your hands at your sides, then slowly lift your legs without bending them til your toes point straight up, then lower them again slowly. this really burns your lower abs/"triangle zone", most people can't even do 10 in the beginning - I sure couldn't!

I am not sure losing weight slowly really prevents loose skin, I have lost it quickly AND slowly and either way, skin I built in my fat days is there unless I go the surgery route..

Hard to tell from the photos but check the face from 2013 or 2014 compared to now, much slimmer methinks, and lots of chest muscle going on.

red hair days, around 2013 or 2014. fat face. yuk.


different angle, roughly same time period, late 2013 or early 2014. fat face, fat body, no muscle in the arms.


current (forgive the machete, had just finished clearing some jungle and was rather pumped up about it)


last august

Awesome, VF9_Longbow! I love how international this board is, in general we Americans must seem a little on the larger size to some of you...lol. Good job man!

Not to worry though, I'm not giving up at all. Yes, my very flat feet are permanently damaged by years of gout attacks and heel spurs (I have an x-ray somewhere, nasty looking...when I find it I'll post it) but it's not debilitating. I can run a cushioned treadmill without a problem, I'm just not sure yet if I'll ever be able to complete a 5k run (although *walking* all day on pavement is no problem). I know this, the lighter I am the better my feet feel at the end of the day.

No, what I meant to say is that I feel like I might be coming off as being full of myself sometimes (including this post).

Poor health can be a powerful catalyst to getting started, especially when you're scared (as we've both been). My weight loss actually began at 265+ lbs. (120.2 kg) and with some serious dental issues (festering over decades), wife was 140 lbs. (63.5 kg) on a tiny frame. We didn't start recording our weights on that chart until my 41st birthday, when it was clear I might actually succeed this time.

I'm pushing hard now for a makeover (makeup and eye stuff, nothing medical), teeth whitening (we're both recently out of braces), tight jeans and boots, all new wardrobe for both of us (no more shopping in 20+ year-old sweat pants and t-shirts). And sometimes I feel like a foolish old man in doing so, trying to relive his-and-hers youth (but in a better way).

At what point does health cross into vanity? At what age should it no longer matter? I'm not suggesting looks shouldn't matter at all with age, but when you're past your prime and neither of you were ever model material to begin with.

Is it foolish to try and reinvent yourself (and yours) just prior to AARP membership?

That's about where I'm at right now and it's uncharted territory, confusing and sometimes gets me into trouble (probably being a little too pushy about it).

Although we were still...growing, this was my wife and I at 35 years old (13 years ago) and then almost 13 years later, the picture we took on Saturday (although I guess I'm kinda cheating standing behind her).

you're never too old for vanity, if you can't have fun and enjoy looking better than the average schmoe what's the point in keeping fit at all? live it up, enjoy looking good and being thinner, and the closer you get to your target weight the better and better you feel about yourself. and people around you will notice your progress too.

just never take a break from your diet and exercise, coz once you get out of the groove, it's hard to get back in (been there)

you're looking good, don't hide behind the wife though :P

MarkG,

Do what makes you happy! I'm not a terribly vain person, but I've been wearing the same wardrobe since 1995, maybe i should make a change too.

If I can get back to my college-era weight (200 lbs) I will be more than happy.

Thanks, all.

My wife had gum treatment recently, where they scrape the roof of your mouth for tissue to fill in a couple of receded areas. There are a couple ways of doing this procedure, one takes longer and is more expensive (using donar tissue, IIRC) but supposedly gives a perfect look.

She chose the normal procedure, who's going to be taking hi-res photos of her mouth? Lol. Looks perfect to me anyway, I wouldn't know the difference.

That procedure was necessary, this one is not...

A professional dentist office teeth whitening would require a couple of her front tooth exterior fillings be drilled out and replaced with new fillings at a lighter shade to match the whitening. The alternative is not nearly as white but doesn't require any dental work.

My comment was, "The hell if I would sit in that chair and have something drilled on that wasn't absolutely necessary!" She's not as apprehensive about dental work but agreed, at our age and for who we are, this would be too much.

Those are extremes, I don't want to become obsessive with it, just want to get spiffy'd up with a little bit of style. I can go to a concert or to the mall and know it when I see it (men and women), I (we) just don't know how to go about getting a little of that for us, it's not how we were brought up or how we've ever lived (you've seen the pics ).

++++++++++

The healthy diet and exercise are going to be with us for the rest of our lives, we'd be too afraid to quit now. For the most part, our lifestyle is about putting up the best blood lab numbers we can plus cardiology tests she has done, besides the annual echo is an occasional nuclear dye test.

I thought I saw a pic of you and you weren't that big at all. Or was that Jedi?

Mark, don't feel foolish. There are a few VERY good looking, well dressed and stylish guys around my usual places closing in on 50. That's not "life is over" territory. Not by coincidence they usually have with them very good looking younger or just slightly younger womenfolk - not that I'm suggesting a swap, mind you

Decent wardrobe is not more expensive than bad looking wardrobe, it's more a matter of caring a little. Why take the lesser option for the same price?

**********************

Very happy pig right now myself - third successive day under 80KG on the scale. If I can do a week, no matter what I ate or drank the day before (always measure in the morning) then I officially consider my "diet" over. Oh, and I met a really nice girl yesterday. That might just fit

It's already gotten thrown back at me, "You want *me* to get all styled up, but what about *you*"?! D'oh! I fear when we make a NYC trip later this year that she's going to want to buy me some absurdly expensive shirt like in one of those awful "Sex and the City" episodes! But then, she can be as cheap as I am (also a coupon queen) so maybe not.

Although there is a cool scene with Tom Hanks in "Joe vs. the Volcano" where he drastically changes his image in a single day - but on someone else's credit card! Now *that* would be nice!

++++++++++

<Removed for brevity>

++++++++++

80 kg = 176 lbs., damn RSColonel_131st, you're doing good! If you don't mind me asking, what's the waist size?

I've noticed that (as someone else has mentioned) a single bad day can seem to do a lot of damage. However, I believe sometimes it's the abundance of salt that bloats you (water retention), so while it may seem the next day that you gained weight, most of the weight will drop off the day or so after.

There are a lot of younger women into 80's style these days, you know...

Size 32 Waist for Jeans. More to the point at 182cm I should be closing in on 15% or less body fat which is really pretty decent for a "home gym and loves burger king" guy. And the wonderful thing is that somehow the 1800kcal daily average isn't even hard to maintain, so I'll drop a bit further still.

Need to come up with additional exercises or bigger weights. I've a free test day at a Gym which seems the logical next step... but I just don't like the environment, driving overhead and time wasted...

Heh, 32 waist. I haven't been that size since junior high school.

What, you slimmed down since?

I wish we had better weather all year round, like you Floridians. I dropped an entire belt hole after one month of Malta. Being able to be outside all year and do stuff would greatly enhance my options... and no, Skiing doesn't count, it's cold, wet and overpriced.

I recently hit 28in waist and it feels pretty cool after years of being over 36, 38. I have some pants from when I was 22 years old that I can now nearly fit my whole body into one leg of the pants!!

MarkG, one day of eating junk doesn't do much damage. The majority of the difference you see is caused by salt and water, if you eat salty food after a period of no salt or low-salt foods, you'll see a big spike in your weight like up to 5-10lbs in a single day. But it's nonsense, if you cut the salt again it'll go back to your true weight after a few days.

In 2014 I did some pretty hardcore experiments to find out exactly how my own body was working, and to test my survival limits. I actually stopped eating and drinking anything but water for a period of 1 month - yes no food for a month, no you won't starve but it is pretty uncomfortable at the start.

Dropped a lot of weight as can be expected, around 10KG (25lbs?) or so, weight loss was fast especially at the start, but by the 2nd week the weight loss trickled off to be almost negligible. After the month long fast, I started re-introducing certain foods into my diet. Initially I ate a lot of oranges, a few leafy greens etc. In small quantities. Gradually worked my way back up to healthy sized portions of healthy foods.

The first day I tried a package of onion soup after the month-long fast, my weight skyrocketed by 3kg. I didn't even eat 3kg worth of soup! I drank 1 small cup of soup. But I was drinking 3L of water every day. It was just the water retained because of the salt in the soup mix.

Some interesting things I learned about my body thanks to hardcore fasting:
How much food do I actually need to eat to stay alive at a stable weight - surprisingly little.
How much food do I need to eat before it becomes wasteful (Kind of gross but enlightening at the same time. What your waste is like is a really good indicator of whether or not you are eating healthily for YOUR body)
How do certain foods affect digestion, energy levels, clarity of thinking, etc. I found that Oranges were like a miracle food, a single orange could keep me going for a day with perfect clarity of mind - this is the sugar content. Drinking sugar water will give the same mind clarity but dissipates quickly and lacks the other nutrients of oranges.
I learned the body really seems to know what it needs. While fasting I frequently had cravings for fish and liver, two foods I normally never eat because I don't like them much. (I eat fish often now, liver is too much for me though)
I quickly discovered that exercise plays a far smaller role in weight loss than diet does, but exercise is important in order to raise your base metabolism level and build muscle. I quickly realized though, that it is far easier to just not eat something than to try and burn it off with exercise. 350kcal is like eating 2 slices of thin white bread, or a single chocolate bar, but will take nearly an hour of fast jogging to burn off.
I learned if you MUST eat something, make it a protein item and then exercise shortly afterwords. The body will convert it into muscle, and you'll burn the calories off during the exercise - double bonus.

Finally, I realized that the "Daily Average Caloric intake" requirement for men that is widely published on the internet, something like 2200-3000kcal per day is UTTER NONSENSE for a huge segment of the population. If you work in an office and are not exercising, and you take a car to work, you probably need less than 1500kcal per day to maintain your current weight. If you're a really tall guy or if you have lots of muscle, you may need more, and of course if you're moving a lot, working in construction or something, then of course you need many more calories. But for the average American office worker, NO - 1500-1700 is a pretty reasonable target (Try it and see how your weight goes, if you lose weight add more food per day). So keep this in mind when eating. You don't need to be a calorie counter, just get a rough idea of how many kcals are in various types of food and roughly add them up each day in your head to see where you're at. If you are over on any given day, try to lower your caloric intake on following days. One day means nothing, but a week of lower caloric intake even if only 100kcal per day adds up to 700kcal, 3 weeks is 2100kcal etc. which results in a very easy to monitor reduction in body weight, and if you're eating lots of protein and exercising, a reduction in body fat and increase of muscle.

Very good post Longbow. I think the 1500kcal are on the low side, but okay I have more muscle than average. I fully agree that the 2200avg for a guy are crazy for most of us who have sitting jobs.

On the subject of kcal counting, it's really as simple as you say. I carry a sheet of paper in my everyday bag and put down the simplified numbers. For example for a kepab I assume 600kcal, write down 6. Everything gets rounded up or down to nearest hundreds. So today I literary have on the sheet a line saying "07.01. 4+13+1+4" which is breakfast, fast food at lunch and a small sweet in the afternoon. Topping it off with some nachos at the theatre today (Star Wars). Not healthy, but "only" 2200kcal, yesterday I ran low at 1400, tomorrow I'll have maybe 1600 tops. I tend to eat more at work (mostly for being bored) and less during weekends.

In the end a bit of simplified counting easily reminds you that you can have decent fatty enjoyable meals every now and then, but to compromise some other days. Problems start when you go for the nice sugar-loaded breakfast AND the burger at noon AND the chips in front of the TV on the same day, every day.

Also agree on the point made (it's an argument I keep having with a workmate) that you can't beat diet with exercise. Unless you're working up to an Ironman Triathlon or spend 10 hours a week in the gym with a busy program you will NOT burn enough excess to have 2200 or 2500 daily.

I don't know why I get so wordy when I don't need to be.

Bottom line is that I'm as crazy in love with this woman (5 weeks my junior ) as I was the first time I expressed these feelings in a high school hallway. Call it the right chemistry, the passion may have waned over the years but it's back full force (I think of it as a mid-life reboot), I'm not going anywhere!

So any hypotheticals would be is if she left me and I had to start over.



We did a local gym for a year (Anytime Fitness - open 24 hrs.), usually early morning before anyone else showed up. It was just too inconvenient, about a 30 min. drive each way. In Jax, FL we had plenty of sidewalks and a really nice park with paved walking paths about 1/2 mile away, so all we needed was a cheap weight set/bench.

Treadmills are expensive (ours was on sale for $1,000, IIRC), for a new home gym (bench and free weights incl. separate dumb bells) I'm looking at $300.00 - $400.00. We may have to wait until we have more space for it though, my $100.00 ($150.00 w/extras) starter set will still do for a while.

++++++++++

What I meant to say earlier is that treadmills and weights are not us, in that we were never athletic types...ever! We never use to exercise and eat healthy like we do today, quite the opposite. Everything we do now we started at 40 (incl. her yoga classes), and we're still learning how and what to do and eat. It's only been in the past year or so that we've *really* become consistent with it (especially with exercise), I think we finally have it down.

I agree, Longbow posted a lot of good information to...digest.

I did some weird stuff with fasting and grapes (IIRC) in my 20s to try to lose weight, but it never lasted. I had given up by my 30s, and at 35 my weight started skyrocketing (as did my wife's).

The problem was that my wife and I were always eating out, if not fast food drive-thru (usually Wendy's or Taco Bell right by the house) it would be something like a fried seafood platter for two at St. John's Seafood (Jax, FL). She never matched my eating in absolute quantity but in percentage to body size, I think she ate more than I did (and still does)! I just didn't have the metabolism to burn it off, and for decades she saw it as *my* problem, and not *our* problem.

It was my problem, but how do change when your partner is not willing to? Yeah, you get the fried shrimp w/ hushpuppies and fries and wash it down with a Coke, I'll just have a shrimp salad and water. Lol.

Fortunately, nuclear-stroked metabolisms don't last forever and now we fight the same battles.

I wanted to add one more story to this thread because it's most motivational to me. The reason is because it's not about a younger person or a middle-age man still dripping with testosterone. It's about a little old lady that seemed like a hopeless case.

My late mother-in-law fell under her carport and broke her hip, the evening of the opening day of Apollo 13 (I believe the only movie I've seen on opening day, we received the call that evening after the movie). A few years later she had breast cancer and then parathyroid surgery.

Now Lois was always a heavy-set woman, I'm guessing about the same height as my wife (5'-4.5" [163.8 cm]) and at times probably weighed around 230 lbs. (104 kg). She had yo-yo'd most of her life (never thin) and was gaining when she moved in with us in 2008 (she was 68 - born 1940), right about the time we were changing our lifestyle.

The complete weight chart is shown below, with her and my brother included (he'd call in every Sunday from Atlanta.

And remember, the weight-loss began at least a few months before we started charting it, so I don't know what my mother-in-law started at (I know she had lost already as we had).

From the chart, in a year's time she lost 28 lbs. (12.7 kg) and all she did was eat like we were eating and going to the park with us everyday to walk (just going with the flow - bless my wife for staying behind with her at a much slower pace, especially in the first few months).

She went from barely being able to walk short distances (her driveway) to taking off on us sometimes after we parked and were stretching. So it wasn't just the weight loss, it was the energy she was gaining, someone who I thought was doomed (also with bad knees) was getting a quality of life again.

All I'm saying is that if *she* could do it...

++++++++++

Include are a couple more pics, another "fat" cruise and then after the effort (last cruise we took my mother-in-law on, 2009)...

Great Story Mark. Yep, you're never too old. I had a friend at 59 who was preparing to single-hand (or with a possible new GF because he was meeting women all the time) sail the world on his 27 foot sailing yacht. That guy was fitter then I back then, much fitter.


Okay, since some people been posting pictures... that's me in late June, after my month of outdoor Malta vacation. I've since dropped another 3 kg or such, but need a more recent pic...




I had the good fortune to never be fat, but I admit that during my last long relationship we both "grew" quite a bit, starting with an US Vacation in 2008 that brought easy 3kg plus. Once I was past the magic Eighty it gets easier to not care because the difference between 80 and 83 just doesn't strike you as badly. There came a point when I really couldn't fit anymore in the leather biker pants I had gotten when I was 15, so that was noticeable. They fit great again today.

RSColonel_131st, you stud you! Yeah, being in a relationship can help (or hurt) for sure, when you're both on the same page. I've never been as driven in life as my better half, so I try to feed off of that motivation (it's always been this way).

Yup, clothes are the biggest indicator of where you are, IMO. We have closet and attic containers full of clothes from years ago, all the way back to high school (either nicer stuff we couldn't part with or knowing they would one day be future milestone clothes).

One of mine from 1987...

Nothing like being able to fit in the tiny clothing you used to wear. Really feels great!

Yeah, I'm glad I saved so many of mine, it was fun going through them (past tense since I haven't caught up yet where I left off in '09). Wife is glad too even if she didn't know it until she cleaned out her mom's house (like me a serious hoarder, although a very neat hoarder).

So far this year I've stagnated, still have remains of a stubborn head cold (coughs and sniffles).

We missed the 5k last weekend, the next one is in April I believe. I still should have lost some weight this year but I did something stupid at Costco, I bought a large bag of dried fruit, thinking I would mix a little in with my daily nuts. Nah, it's waaay too addictive and a 3 lbs. 8 ounce (1.58 kg) bag contains 7,280 calories / 884 carbs / 624 sugars! So no more of that but man is it good!

I'm considering purchasing the Costco dumbbells set, the price isn't bad at all compared with Academy...
Cap 200 lbs. Dumbbell Set With Rack

I can always upgrade to the next size weight or two when (if) I progress further, but for now this is all I need. I'm also shopping for a speed bag for my father, if I get good at it I'll post a short video.

That actually looks darn tasty!

Yeah, TOO tasty! I have willpower for most food, but this is a snack I just can't get enough of! Bought the bag just last Friday and it's almost gone (although wife and mom did some extra dipping too).

Snacks will get you every time.


Wheels

Dried fruits seem like a clever idea until you realize the same stuff is used by Special Forces in cold climates or other places where they need up to 4000kcal a day...

How's everyone doing? Have to skip training this week because of a headcold, but very steady below 80kg (as far down as 77, in fact).

Interesting thing is: Even if I have days with a large kcal allowance I'm not even so addicted to fatty food anymore. It's like my body really reprogrammed itself.

Yay, 16% Bodyfat measured today. For your reference, the average 20-yo has 18%, and my age group normally 20% or more...

Yes, it's fine every now and then, but don't over do it. Really, meat and veggies until you can get to your desired body fat, then you can splurge here and there.

Agree.

Fruit are miracle foods. But they have a major drawback, they are not filling for the amount of calories you get from them. You end up going way over your daily calorie target from a very small portion of food, then end up eating more food later on because you're still hungry.

Only do dried fruit when you're going to exercise the same day, or when you haven't eaten anything all day and it's evening now.

BTW most dried fruits are coated in extra sugar and other stuff, salt, etc. If possible, make your own dried fruits rather than buying them prepackaged. The caloric difference is significant, i.e. processing may add 1000 calories to a single apple through extra sugar.


Green leafy vegetables and meat will keep you really healthy. Ease off on the pasta, bread and starches when you want to lose weight, add them back in once you want to maintain your weight. Beans of all kinds and nuts are fantastic sources of protein and fats, use them as meat replacement in your meals occasionally.

https://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2014/03/13...singlepage=true

I love deadlifts and squats....

So all, fess up, how are you doing in the new year?

I'm comfordably below my 80kg mark, in fact the lowest I saw recently was 77.1. I haven't seen a 76.x on the scale since almost ten years ago, and I definitly didn't have the muscles back then that I have now (so I'm already way better than I ever was).

Diet is a mix of junk food and healthy stuff, about half/half during the week, but all in moderation. Chocolate will still get me, Burgers, Pizzas and such are rather not such a big deal anymore (i.e. the craving is very manageable...). Stir Fry and Steaks for the win.

I really ought to get rid of the white bread but damn would be sooo harsh to endure...

Training plan as of yet unchanged, but I'm doing them faster - trying to hit harder in a shorter time.

Good going, RSColonel_131st.

I've been slacking off completely, I stopped working out a few weeks ago with a head cold and haven't started back yet. Apparently I'm also a nervous eater, not measuring out the nuts, etc., too much cheese and crackers while eating out too often lately.

Thought we'd get back to it today but I don't think the Mrs. is going to wake until tomorrow, so I'm going to enjoy a little more crappy eating through the Super Bowl, then pick it back up on Monday with a vengeance.

Next 5K is on Mar. 5 (at LSU for breast cancer), one we usually walk but I'm shooting to run it this year (missed the one in Jan.), so I at least have a cardio goal to work for.

February is going to be a catch-up month for me.

How' Misses G?

Remember, Superbowl calories don't count if your team wins.

She's doing fine, still catching up on sleep (a Pi�a Colada should help - it will for me).

Same with a Diet Dr. Pepper, the negative calories offset the food calories. But I'm not getting a 2L of Diet and I have no favorite in the game, so tomorrow I'll be packing on some weight. That's ok, come Monday morning it's back to the better lifestyle (with a little less of the sauce, I'm going over my twice-a-month drinking right now, none of it heavy though).

Here's something I never thought I'd be saying on this thread...

As of tonight I'm once again technically obese (5'-9" 204.2 lbs. [92.6 kg]).

Right now I feel like an over-stuffed fried oyster! I bet I ingested over 4,000mg of sodium with dinner tonight (pics on the "What are you eating for Super Bowl 50?" thread). I'm so thirsty that I keep going back for more Dr. Pepper (when I know I should be drinking water).

It's going to take a couple of months to undo the damage I've done in just the last two and a half weeks!

LOL. - I'm not upset about it, it just happened, I'm still a happy dude!

No better time to get back into it than a Monday morning. It's 11:22 PM and I'm off to the kitchen to finish draining the 2L, eat my last fried shrimp and couple of crayfish, and wake up tomorrow morning to a fresh start. Man, that first workout is going to hurt, it's been a while.

Back on track, baby!

I have a digital scale and I hate, I mean I HATE it when that first number is a "2"!

I heard the treadmill running this morning while cooking breakfast, first time in weeks, made my heart very happy. Right now I'm hurting a little, Monday was my first workout in weeks, kinda rough on this old man.

I wish I could do another vodka test right about now. Can't though, parents driving in and their stay always begins with a drive to the Home Depot.

But in general...

So literally 3 weeks after I was okayed to run, I ran 4 miles at a 9:20 pace. It sucked, I'm limping, but I did it. This is 9 months after a total rebuild with 4 bolts that is like NFL player recovery time.

I'll recover and be fine tomorrow, but I won't run. I run T-Th-S, I promised my doctor to not go beyond that.

Lifting:

-I deadlift 305 (about 140kg) and then do 5 RDLs.
-My overhead press is 155 and I can do that 2-3 times depending on how I feel.
-Squat is 255 (115kg) once.

I can do 11 pull ups (which is the SFAS gate requirement).

I've got to drop about 3 minutes on my run time over the next 3 months or so.

That's going faster than expected, congrats. Are you back on active duty?

Sound great.
Good luck with the rest of your rehab Timothy.


Wheels

I never left active duty. I'm still not able to go on jump status. The biggest issue is that they are having to force to me to NOT be as active as I want to be.

I wasn't allowed to do the GAFB. I was really disappointed, I'm sure I could have pushed through the pain and got at least a Silver.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Armed_Forces_Badge_for_Military_Proficiency

So at the end of summer, when they run it again, I'll go get the gold badge.

I'm hoping to get back on jump status at month 12, but may be forced to wait till month 16.

Sorry Tim, didn't see your reply until I dug out this thread right now. Your dedication to doing what you love doing is awesome!

I finally got a new "show off" picture made with the help of a friend of mine. That's how I currently look at 182cm/78kg/15% Body Fat.

Not bad for someone who loves Fast Food and doesn't really skip meals, if I may say so myself.

Nice pic, RSColonel_131st!

Glad I never had nice hair, there was no crying about it when I lost it.

I'll update my pic at some point. My last one that mom took (standing behind my wife in the PC corner of my man cave) is awful, wife was exhausted from year-end closing (also not dolled up at all) and I was hiding (although not on purpose, that was my concert pose).

Maybe when I see my brother again (his wife is an amateur photographer). In fact, there's a couple of old Polaroids I want to retake for a before-and-after (comparing age 18 vs. 50...lol).

Including my only pre-40s shirtless pic.

I forget how old you are RSColonel_131st, I get inspiration from watching early Roger Moore James Bonds, when he was in his late 40's.

Well, it finally happened this year - my Magical Metabolism wore off. Most of my life I've had to try and keep weight on rather than the other way around, but suddenly it's the other way.

Part of it is that in my last job I walked around quite a bit, and now that I'm retired I don't. Within about four months my pants got tight and then some of them didn't fit. Unacceptable. Many of them are only ten or fifteen years old and are still serviceable, and I have a "hot wife" to keep interested.

So it's portion control and the smoking trick. I ask myself if I'm eating something because A) I need the food, B) I want the food, or C) just to eat something. If it's C) I don't eat. If it's B) I limit the amount. The big thing is my favorite food vice, potato chips. Though it's more expensive, I got the single serving bags of chips and limit myself to one per day after an eight week ban.

Two months on and the pant selection is widening as I stopped doing so. Small gains and a touch of vanity can do wonders.

I figure my "new normal" weight is probably between 160 and 170, quite a bit more than the 140 I carried for forty years of my life.

The pernicious thing about my weight gain is that the fat grew under the abs, so I had my typical six pack being pushed forward. Weird.

I think this website should be renamed to "SimGQ".

I would be a stickman if I weighed 170. I'd look a lot like a young Jeff Goldblum.

Remember Dart, you want to stay in Weight and Balance if the plane...

Oh yeah Dart, ya *needs* to have a touch of vanity!

It may start off as just wanting to be healthy, but once you reach the majority of your health goals, you need fresh and exciting reasons to keep it up.

An example of vanity: I have a dermatology appointment this afternoon and I'm not too thrilled that I'm about to be closely examined by women while still being so far from my goal. I really don't care about needles and razors...pfft...if it doesn't look right, cut or shave if off.

No, it's the necessary rivet counting of my body that I'm not comfortable with right now, at least not until I'm at least comfortable enough to go shirtless in public. And that's going to be a while yet.

Now *that's* vanity!

Nice! Fast Food is ok, but choose wisely. In the States McDonald's has the Artisan Grilled Chicken Sandwich. It's about 370 calories with 20g of protein. Just skip the fries and soda.

So, time to bring up this thread again.

Been slacking a little the last weeks (chocolate easter bunnies, family gatherings etc.) and find myself slipping perilously close to the 80kg mark. So, one or two weeks at a strict 1600kcal average are in order...

On the training side of things, if the weather keeps improving, then it's time to move the cardio outside. Gonna take my pedal-scooter along the danube for a few kilometers after work, a nice change from the Crosstrainer at home.

Oh, and as i did my situps yesterday, on the living room couch, the belt holding my ankles finally snapped. Almost toppled back over- yeah, dangerous sports really.

Nice going, RSColonel_131st. Could be an age thing, but I find I don't have it in me anymore to make up slacking and splurges, I just go back to normal and wait out the damage.

++++++++++

Reporting in...

The weather here in the Deep South, USA has also been really nice the past couple of weeks.

Wife ran (mostly) a 5K on the 2nd (for epilepsy, with a high school friend who suffers from it), it was a "girls day out" so I wasn't invited. They're going to start meeting up for yoga once a week.

We ran (*I* mostly walked) the local hospital path on Sat. (very nice with lots of shading from old live oaks), and we've been hitting the walking path just a few minutes from the house almost every evening now that it gets darker later. I'm not comparing our treadmill times right now, I've fallen too far behind.

Digital scale broke (or dead battery) and I haven't bothered replacing it yet, but I figure I'm losing slowly by the way my pants feel (loose 38", about to pull out the 36s from the attic). My best so far as an adult was a comfortable 34" (first pic on "Face with a Name" thread) when I matched my age 20 weight back in 2009, but I never progressed further.

Once I reach that milestone again I'm going to go back to tracking our progress on a weekly spreadsheet, but this time including body fat percentage and body measurements. Note: Not a touchy subject at all with the Mrs. (I asked), it's just statistics.

So now I'm on cruise control but I can tell it's getting better, maybe I'll pick up a new scale the next time I'm at Costco.

Feeling relatively good at the moment. Managing to average almost 300W over a very full-on 20 min turbo trainer session. That's a pretty decent engine on a chassis that only weighs 70kg.

Not a bad state to be in a few months short of 41 years old.

Recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes - which came as a total shock to me: I'm 1.90 at 84 kg, giving me a healthy BMI of 23.3. On the other hand, I hardly ever do any sports / movement (except bedroom fitness), and love to eat well (I did learn long time ago to keep the portions relatively small though).
Fortunately it was still in the very early stages - blood sugar level before breakfast was around 7.5 (according to the Dutch guidelines, it should be below 6.0 at that time, and between 6.1 and 6.9 is considered a pre-stage of Diabetes).

Since then I've started paying more attention to my food - more food fibres (difficult in China where most bread is milk white bread and by default rice is the white, instead of the brown variety), more vegetables and less meat; eating a handful of nuts every day and moving more - as I absolutely hate going to the gym, I opted for a brisk walk after dinner. The step counter I use (a Mi band) now shows that I walk over 8,000 steps on average (around 1.5 hours of walking) - before, this was only somewhere between 4- and 5,000 steps.

So far it's not as difficult as I had expected. Let's hope it's enough to keep the Diabetes in check.

Sorry to hear that Legend, although it's good that you caught it early.

Wife and I have a history of diabetes in our families. Her obese family members have either almost died in their 40's of the disease (including her brother) or didn't make it past their 50's. My father is diabetic (takes low dose of Metformin) in his 70's but like yourself, isn't overweight. Neither was my diabetic grandmother, who made ice tea resembling syrup. Both had a very sugar-laden diet though, today my father is careful with what he eats.

We do our best to lay low on the sugar, switching from dried fruit (Costco) to dried vegetables at farmers' markets.

That's a half bag (other half already eaten) and it's kind of expensive, a good reason to practice moderation.

As has been mentioned before, you can take almost any vegetable and roast it in the oven with olive oil and black pepper for an awesome snack.

I never liked cabbage unless in a fried eggroll, but this way is really good (especially the crunchy parts)!

Quick update, because I'm too freggin' tired for anything else!

August (just prior to my 49th BD, wife's 5 weeks later), staying six days/five nights in Times Square (Casablanca Hotel). Will conquer Manhattan, from top of Central Park to bottom of Financial District (most southern point) and all points in-between (that's relatively safe) completely on foot, no taxis nor subway (only airport shuttle to and from Newark airport to near hotel).

We're training now at ~20,000 steps/day since Sat. (only 12,000 today due to weather, but not counting 3 miles (4.83 km) on treadmill tonight).

++++++++++

Took body measurements this morning using a sewing tape measure...

Me: 39.25" (99.7 cm) waist (disappointed, not sure how I'm going from 38" (96.5 cm) to 36" (91.4 cm) clothes right now ).
Ah well, still shooting for 32" (81.3 cm).

Wife: 31" (78.7 cm) x 27" (68.6 cm) x 37" (94 cm)
Shooting for 30" (76.2 cm) x 25" (63.5 cm) x 36" (91.4 cm) (prediction based on current progress and past history).

Sorry that I'm not converting measurements to cm (maybe tomorrow), I gots to get some sleep now, 'night everyone.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEWl3P7H3IT/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEWmQ1gH3JI/

How many of those? Make me envious

Time to join in here guys.

I'm over-weight and have been for a long long time.At 56 it's not easy to get weight off and keep it off.So many failed attempts.

I was almost 120kg 3 months ago but this week have got down to 113kg and this time I'm not stopping.I had blood tests last week to check for diabetes and cholesterol.Blood sugar levels were spot on but cholesterol was a little high.Nurse says I should be 85kgs but I just don't see that as achievable.I'm 6ft btw.

Changing long-established poor eating habits has been hard. I would kill for fish and chips right now and it's only 10 am.

What Timothy is doing is really hard, I recently tried doing this myself. There's a new park we go to (30�39'00.32" N 91�11'52.10" W) with very nice walking/running paths. In the middle (which currently shows dirt on Google Earth - 8/15) they built a children's activity playground and next to it an outdoor adult fitness area including all kinds of exercise bars. Tried doing pull-ups/chin-ups, could barely do two.

Too much weight with inconsistent workouts.

++++++++++

Chucky, I feel your pain, man. I'm kicking my own ass right now for slipping up and undoing at least half of my efforts when I was 41, at 48 it seems to be even harder and with slower results.

I still dream about the last crap meal we ate, during the Superbowl back in Feb., some of it didn't make the second pic (everything you see is from a single seafood platter, BTW)!

It took forever to quench my thirst from all the sodium! We haven't been bad since but damn those cravings hit me hard!

Is there a a low fat/low calorie version of fish & chips available?

Recently found another "before pic" back from 2007 that I don't believe I ever posted. It was right around this time my wife learned that she had a real cholesterol problem (part genetics, part lifestyle).

EDIT: Two more, where we never want to be again. If only *I* could hide it with a girdle!

Yeah, I need more current *after pics", working harder than ever on that right now, it's not raining and we're off to the track!

Chucky,

Don't give up, there are plenty people who turned around their health at your age.

What certainly will help you is to find a bunch of lower cal "snacks" to substitute for whatever causes your normal cravings.

Personally I managed best when alternating more lenient days with very harsh diet days. I.e half my normal daily intake with three quarters of my normal intake.

Also, increase your movement ever which way you can. For example a friend of mine started walking everything that was within three subway stations.

Do you have an estimate on what is your daily kcal need and what is your actual intake? Do you have a diet plan?

Twelve. No one in the "competition" was above ten (Yea, that is my bag. No, no one else did it with a bag). I could have eked out one more, but I had made my point.

What was funny, was they gave me a USAF t-shirt (which I passed on) and asked if I wanted to go be a JTAC or PJ. I laughed and told them, I'm already a paratrooper and trying to rehab my knee to go to SFAS.

You can do it, just start with one, then two, and so forth. You have to do them throughout the day. You can't do 3 sets at the gym and call it. You have to literally go do a set every 2 waking hours or so. Sometimes you need to use a band to aid you, but be consistent. It's actually a pretty impressive feat when the trash talk starts.

Also, pull with your shoulders and back and not your forearms. The arms are weak, but the shoulders are stronger and can help you get it knocked out without burning out.

I don't really have a diet plan as such.I've cut out the crap that I used to eat on a daily basis and have stopped snacking between meals.I've cut out white bread,crisps and biscuits as far as possible.I include more fruit,salad,veg and fish in my diet now.I'm not a big meat-eater.

I walk just about every day,weather permitting and will get the push-bike out soon.

I don't do gyms but looking on Youtube there are plenty of things I can do at home for exercise.

LOL Tim, maybe time to change services?

Chucky, if you have the space and cash get an indoor trainer (bicycle or crosstrainer). It helps a lot to do cardio while watching TV, I even did it while playing games (with a wireless controller).

I keep tubs of cottage cheese in the fridge, whenever I feel the munchies I scoop a single tablespoon (depending where I'm at with my daily amount of nuts).

If I'm feeling *really* hungry between meals, I'll eat a banana and a spoon of Costco peanut butter (Ingredients: Dry Roasted Organic Peanuts and Sea Salt).

I'm open to trying new things (I even enjoy oven roasted Brussel Sprouts, who�da thunk it?) and I try to choose quality over quantity (sometimes the high price of quality encourages you to ration).

++++++++++

And of course, find your motivation! I really don't enjoy exerting myself for the sake of just being healthy, I really dislike jogging and even walking long distances for the sake of walking. I use music, the kind that almost forces me to move.

Also, I think of the good things going on in my life today, what I may have experienced waking up or before calling it a night, or when we spontaneously combust mid-afternoon (cue Starland Vocal Band).

Or I might go way back and stir jealous emotions I still remember (the dark side is powerful and makes you strong. ). I rarely bring it up in real life, except maybe when we're walking past that dormitory on campus and I might cut a joke (and it turned out to be nothing but a single date short makeout kiss anyway while we were broken up [pre-engagement]), but it's all I have/need to push myself past that occasional difficult hurdle.

Remember the video of that guy hitting the gym after a breakup, playing Metal in his ears and pushing himself? Sometimes you have to get pissed (within reason) and fire yourself up! Find whatever gives you that passionate burning motivation (if you're the type like myself that needs it).

Back in 2011 I had spiraled out of control and peaked near 600lbs.

Today I weigh 240lbs.

I did it the old fashioned way. Less calories. More exercise.

It can be done. You don't have to resort to magic.

I'm spot on for weight. But I have been a bit lax about keeping fit. Only doing a bit of walking and that had dropped down from around 500 km per month to barely 100.
I eat based on appetite, so that didn't make much change there ~ a steady 54-55kg (roughly 120lb)... but I'm not getting any younger and lost fitness gets harder to build back up as you get older (apparently).

So. I've just taken up a class of HEMA - initially Meyer's German Longsword, with Rapier, Messer/Dusack and Staff, plus some sword and buckler from other sources further down the line. It's been great fun, if a little bruising so far, and I have my own longsword to practice with (only a synthetic weapon at the moment, but a steel Feder is on the cards in the future once I have adequate protective gear to spar with steel).

I've had to stop working out a few times due to injuries and that first week back is HARD. So I tend to start slow... like 10 minutes on Monday. 15 on Tuesday. 20 on Wednesday etc. Until I'm up to 90 minutes of whatever. Then stick with that. I learned the hard way to not go from nothing to 100. Not a good idea.

I'm still fit. I walk briskly and hills are an excuse to raise the heart rate, not to slow down. (Over a long walk (say 20-50km) I'd manage to average 6.5-7km/h (including brief halts), over a mix of lanes, footpaths and open access land - and with around 1500m of ascent). I've done a mix of short brisk 'going somewhere' walks, and a few of these 'going somewhere the long way around' ones... just not as many. I'd just lost that defined muscle tone that I was always used to having (from decades of cycling).

The being bruising comes almost exclusively by being struck by fast moving synthetic swords during sparring, including slightly scarily taking part in the "prize fight" for one of the 18 month students who was passing his Scholar grade. I have a small collection of quite vivid bruises, which I managed to avoid adding to at the last session

This is the steel kit I am aiming for...


And a video from the sister club to the one I go to, with the synthetic swords shown.


They are blunt, flexible and light (770g), but still pack a wallop (some protection is essential - mask, elbow guards and gloves a must, knee protection very advisable).

And the winner of The SimHQ Diet and Training Thread is...





Just effing...WOW (and I seldom swear in real life)!



++++++++++

However, it may not be magic but I would think that level of weight loss was *very* hard to accomplish!

Here's how I understand it works (and if I'm mistaken, I invite anyone to correct me)...

There are two times in your life when your body creates fat cells naturally, as an infant and around puberty (est. age 9 - 13). By age 16 you already have all the fat cells you're ever going to have as an adult, after this age if you become overweight you're only enlarging your fat cells, which can enlarge up to 6X normal size.

If you become severely overweight after this time, your fat cells get maxed and start to divide to form new fat cells. You can never get rid of all the extra fat cells, you can only shrink them. Even as each cell dies after ~5 years, it's replaced by a new one, all of them are.

The good news is that you can shrink a fat cell to almost nothing, allowing you to slim down even with all the extra fat cells. The bad news is that a shrunken fat cell keeps signaling the brain to "feed" it (the more the shrinkage, the stronger the signal), causing a stronger than normal appetite. So as I understand it, it's much harder to maintain a huge weight loss then it is for a similarly sized person (with less fat cells) to not gain weight. It's a battle you fight for the rest of your life, and a reason they advise against childhood obesity while the body is still naturally creating new fat cells as they'll have too many as an adult.

++++++++++

I started becoming overweight at around age 16 (taking on my wife's eating habits, except that I'm no ectomorph). I was use to relatively healthy cooking and mom never allowed soda and chips (by US and UK definition) in the house except for a *very* rare treat of fast food. Wife and her family occasionally ate home cooking, but often it was pizza, McDonald's, Krispy Kreme and all things Mrs. Paul's. They also drank several regular Cokes a day and snacked on cans of Pringles. This is how I began eating, not to mention all the government cheese on chips I was eating at her place.

Years later at my highest weight I was just shy of 270 lbs. (122.5 kg), at 5'-9" (175.26 cm) I don't know if my body created any new fat cells or not, I'm hoping I just oversized my existing cells. Even shrinking existing fat cells signals the brain (so I understand), but eventually your body gets use to it.

I'd love to hear from anyone in the know about this. The deal is that I don't want to carry over any weight problems into my 50's, I want to put this entire weight loss thing to rest and only worry about maintenance, which I'm sure I'll have to do for the rest of my life.

++++++++++

Again, congrats Razorback!

And don't I know it. It's been a horrible first four months of 2016 as my body fights my weight loss. Thankfully, I lost it very slowly over half-a-decade so I've conditioned myself to counteract that self-sabotage stuff. But every day is a struggle. Actually, if truth be told, every day over the past five-years has been a struggle. But I put one foot in front of the other and go. I hate taking days off from working out just because routines are everything. Once you break a routine, that becomes your new routine --not doing anything.



Thanks!

My advice to anyone worried about their weight and staying in shape into their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond is simple:

Don't stop working out. Don't stop doing things. Don't think you've "achieved a healthy status" or any such thing. You can maybe do that in your 20s. You can't do it much beyond that. Look, I'm 44 and I feel like a kid now... mostly because when I was in my 20s and 30s, I was as out of shape as anyone you will ever know.

I don't get tired during the day. I don't get winded walking or running. I only feel true struggle when running uphill for extended periods of time. I feel great. There is no reason most people can't feel this way well into their retirement age. You just have to work at it... and consider that there is nothing more important than FEELING GOOD every minute of every day, as opposed to feeling good for 2 minutes while downing McDonalds and then feeling terrible for the rest of the day.

Been fighting that same battle for the last several years. Injuries, even though I have been trying to keep the workouts reasonable, keep setting me back but I am determined not to quit.


Wheels

Any kind of exercise routine is good. Low impact works fine. Diet: what works for me is low carb, low sugar. Its kind of the Drinking man,s diet without the alcohol. ( No Bread). then 1 time a week, Take a break and have some kind of Junk food. If feeling starved between meals, have a some fruit ( not out of cans or bags) or It works for me and most of the time I have energy and dont feel hungry.

My Step son is a bodybuilder and for Diet: He does a low carb ( meal a day spread out all day) with meal replacement drinks or smoothies ( add fruit) Whey protein and Muscle milk comes to mind, although there are others .for quick energy, he drinks Coffee just like the rest of us.

My #1 through 4 rule:

#1 NEVER
#2 DRINK
#3 YOUR
#4 CALORIES

107 kg today.Going well but hitting a snag.

I'm now counting my calories so I know what my intake is.Yesterday for instance it was only 1200Kcal which is too little for a 6ft male but I just wasn't hungry.I had to force 300 in late at night to try to make it up.The down-side is that sometimes I'm getting a little light-headed when I get up quickly.I assume that's because I'm not eating enough?

I have a 24hr BP test on Tues as a follow-up to one I had done 6 months ago.That one was ok,maybe a little high hence the follow-up.My blood sugars are spot on.

I walk twice a day (30-40 mins)briskly. For my age/height/weight it's recommended to intake 2100-2700kcals.I was aiming for 1800 whilst dieting.

Obviously I will take these issues up with the nurse but what can I do differently?

Chucky, what is your age, height and job? 2100-2700 seems way too much to me. I'm fit (15% Body Fat) meaning a higher base metabolism rate, exercise three times a week, 182cm with 34yo, but due to my sitting office job I end up with about 1800kcal a day to hold weight. Maybe 1900 if we assume I make mistakes counting (but I don't really...)

Any higher I'll gain. 2700kcal for me is for a construction worker...

56/183/retired.

I got that info from a NHS web-site.It did seem high,I would have thought the lower figure was about right for the average person to maintain weight.

While you should adapt values from calculators to your own body composition (high fat percentages should reduce the impact of high weight on the BMR, as fat is not metabolically active to the same degree as muscle), and metabolism. ... a BMR calculation for these values shows that your basal rate would currently be around 1939 kCal per day. Mifflin St Joer (By comparison my own is given as 1351 (43, 165cm, 53kg).

Your maintenance intake would then be increased from your BMR by some proportion - sedentary from around 40%, moderately active around 70%, vigorously active 100% and extremely active ~140%

The 2700kCal thus seems plausible if you have a 'normal' body composition, but may be somewhat excessive if you carry most of the excess weight as fatty tissue. It would be my dietary requirement if I were a manual labourer (agriculture) or similarly active, but for sedentary living I'd need less than 1900 kCal.

As a rough idea**, the difference in calorific usage between the WHO definitions of sedentary and moderately active is equivalent to around 7.5km, or a little under 5 miles of walking. Between Sedentary and vigorously active is around 15.3km or just under 10 miles of walking, and between Sedentary and Extremely active is around 25km or 16 miles of walking.
Running uses a little more, but not by as much as you might expect (though this has added value from occupying less time too). (5.5km, 11km, 18km)

**My calculations based on a combination of papers covering walking over a range of statures and for sloped and flat terrain (slopes make minimal difference over a loop, maybe 10% over a very hilly round trip, but can be significant for a single direction trip). Walking minimum ~ 1kCal per km per kg. Running 3.5/2.5 the walking rate independent of speed.

^That's the detailed of it

As Lieste said much more specific the problem with the calculators is they ask for weight, but they don't ask if that weight is muscle (which consumes energy even at rest) or fat (which doesn't consume energy).

I've experienced with various amounts of daily kcal when I wanted to drop from 85 to sub 80kg, and anything above 2000 average didn't really work. I got results with 1600 or less daily average (which sucks to manage) and now at a daily average of 1800 I mostly keep my weight, but maybe with a very subtle tendency to lose (which evens out in the occasional mad weekend family visit or such).

It's possible that I suffer a bit from the effect that the body can adapt to reduced intake, so a more "normal" intake for me might be 2000kcal.

For you, in your situation, the maximum I would work with to actually lose weight is 1800. But if you can manage a week on 1600 daily it won't hurt either. Based on my experience I would alternate weekly between 1800 and 1600 (or even try to lowball 1400) to keep the body from going into energy saving mode. Further what I did was to alternate daily between "High days and low days", i.e. 1600 one day and 1200 the next. That way every second day you can fit some junk in and the craving becomes less of a problem.

Interesting stuff you guys are posting. I need to be more diligent with calorie counting, what I learned about nuts earlier in this thread was a real eye opener to me.

Chucky, I've had dizzy spells after longer runs (usually about 20 min. after jogging a mile or so), would check my BP and it would be too low. The solution was to make an appointment with my GP and get my dosage lowered. I'm waiting for that to happen again in the near future, although you said your pressure was a little high so I guess this wouldn't be it.

I've also been light-headed when getting up too quickly, but also when I lie down flat (it comes and goes). I workout a couple of times a week and when I first lie on the bench, I give it a few seconds before picking up on the bar, just to be sure. There have been times that just laying down gets the room spinning, but it only lasts for a couple of seconds.

I believe most dizzy spells from getting up or lying down are caused by inner ear and not blood pressure problems.

One of the potential side effects of BP medication in older men is ED, so if you're on it, it's best to try to get off of it if you can. I'm not so worried about my junk not working properly (again), it's my ears that concern me now. Too many years of loud music and especially wearing headphones constantly, my tinnitus is getting worse. I've had ear problems my whole life (post-tube eardrum scarring and draining) but all things considered, I normally do well enough on hearing tests. It's been a while since I've been tested so I'm way overdue (and a little concerned that it might get worse).

Music is a large part of my motivation to work hard on being fit, I'm being much more careful with volume and duration now, giving my ears a frequent break. My father now wears hearing aids (well, he's *suppose* to wear them) but not from loud music, from construction noises I assume. I'm hoping that by the time I'm in my 70's they'll be able to zap a laser in there (like they do with eyeballs) and fix any problems.

Be careful when using tables or applications that give an estimated calorie usage based on many of the methods commonly used. These tend to be "gross" effort - that is the BMR, the increment from active metabolism (the sedentary rate - digestion etc), and the actual 'work' portion.

However the first two are already a 'given' for the entire period of exercise and the difference or net work is only the smaller additional amount. This effect is greatest for long duration low intensity efforts, but applies to all activities to some degree. Relying only on your device or an estimate from a website etc is unlikely to be accurate and to overestimate the benefit of many types of common activity. (which is ok if you are eating an exercising sensibly already - defining the wrong values to describe this is not "important"... but if you are using the numbers to guide lifestyle choices you may have disappointing results from 'good' numbers).

If I walk 13km in two hours (my normal pace), then I would expect to use ~690kCal for the exercise plus the regular ~160kCal from my 'sedentary' metabolic requirements.
If I walk with friends or my daughter at a 4hour pace, then I would still expect to use roughly 700kCal for the walking (it is slightly off my most efficient pace), but now I would have used ~320kCal from my normal usage over the 'effort duration' - most calculators and my HRM give the slower walk this noticeable increase in usage over the longer duration - and the effect increases as the pace goes down. (The breakdown of metabolism over the day may not be as simple as this - but be wary of double counting your idle metabolism while monitoring your activity, especially if looking for the small margins advised by health professionals of 500-1000 kCal per day of deficit - overestimating the value of exercise can easily 'eat up' most of this margin).

Hmm, this is interesting... and I'm not posting this as a veiled attempt at bragging, but because it really confuses me...

When I came back from a month in Malta last year (July) I dropped a notch on my belt (in fact I had to have additional holes made). I then did most of my diet and kcal control up to Christmas last year, and from then started being constant but not concerned about losing more.

Today I realize I could drop another notch. But my weight hasn't really gone down significantly, and neither do I see a clearly visible amount of additional muscle.

102.3 kg today.I've not been this weight for many years and I'm feeling good about it.115 was my approx starting weight.

I'm waiting for the results from a 24hr BP test and it will be interesting to see how the results compare to the last one I had.Hopefully an improvement.

The nurse suggested 1400kcal a day,that would see a 0.4-0.9 kg loss per week.

Still walking/cycling twice a day and doing some mild exercises at home.

My goal is 85-90kg.

Hello, I've been overweight my entire life and yoyo dieted through most of it. I just turned 52 and have gained and lost more weight over the years on more "diet" plans than anyone else I know. I'm a typeII diabetic with a all time high glucose of 600!! I have diabetic neuropathy, had a 3rd nerve palsy of the right eye which caused a disabling double vision that doctors thought might be permanent. I was on Levamir (insulin), Glipizide and Metformin for diabetes. I was taking Metoprolol and Enalapril for high blood pressure and they wanted me on statens for high cholesterol which I refused to take. I just wanted to give you guys a little background and to let you know I've been through the diet, lifestyle change ringer many times over. Now on to what I really wanted to say...

The governments food pyramid is a lie and is killing people by the thousands every year. It and the way we eat are the reason there is an obesity and diabetes epidemic in our country and around the world. Fats and oils in our diet are the devil, period! Lipids (fats) at the cellular level are clogging our cells and making us resistant to insulin. This insulin resistance is the start of a horrible cycle of destruction called diabetes. Processed foods, fats and oils are the reason we are the fattest country in the world. I spent months of research discovering what's been kept from me my whole life....the truth!!

The truth is that naturally we are NOT meat eaters. Before the stone age man didn't eat meat because without tools (spears, axes, bows) man had zero chance of catching any game to eat. Humans are pound for pound the weakest beings on the planet. We have crappy vision, terrible sense of smell, we run very slow, no claws, no dagger like canines for killing and ripping flesh. Our digestive tracts digest fruits and carbs fast and efficiently. Meat not so much. Meat is the hardest thing for us to digest, delivers the fat to our bodies that become the lipids that screw up our cells . Meat is responsible for millions of deaths every year around the world and yet for most of us it's our main staple.

I stopped eating animal products and have almost completely stopped using oils of any kind (including olive oil) on March 15. My glucose immediately crashed and I'm now completely off of insulin, my kidney function returned to normal, my blood pressure dropped 30 points and I'm almost completely off of the BP meds. My A1C went from 11 (yes, 11!!) in Feb. to 6.3 on April 28th! The palsy and double vision went away and my vision returned to it's normal 20-15! My doctor is in a state of shock and can't believe the turn around in my labs and health and grilled me for 45 minutes about what I was doing and how I was doing it. I've lost 60 ibs in two months without any working out or calorie restrictions. A calorie restricted diet is a recipe for failure. I eat a LOT of fruits and complex carbs and I'm never hungry.

I was told my whole life that potatoes , rice and other carbs and the natural sugars from fruit would make you fat and give you diabetes. So after reading books from Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Gabriel Cousens and many other books, studies and research papers I realized we've been lied to and misled and I decided to make major lifestyle changes and experimented with food and what it did to my body. I found that I could eat 10 bananas, two oranges, two apples, a huge salad and 3 medium potatoes and a huge sweet potato in one day and wake up the next morning with a fasting glucose of 85! It was hard to eat all of that as I was extremely full. I now eat this way everyday and the weight continues to fall off, the cholesterol continues to go lower and my labs continue their march to normalcy. I know it's hard to hear that our whole lives we've been lied to and misled either out of ignorance or greed. It's hard to hear that our mothers, brothers, sisters, fathers, wives, husbands sons and daughters died when they didn't have to. It's hard to know I've wasted decades of my life being obese when I didn't have to. Open your eyes people, please! If you're like me and desperate for a change and want to change your life without surgery, meds, fad BS diets then search for those names I mentioned and research these things for yourself and shed the yoke of BS that's been laid on us our whole lives. If you made it all of the wy to the end thank you for taking the time to read this novel ;-). If anyone wants more info or just to talk PM or email me and I'll help you anyway I can.

I'd not go as far as to agree that oil and fats are bad for you, but we do tend to consume processed foods laced with excessive fats, sugars and salt to make them more-ish, cheap and really convenient. Even if we eat mostly healthy foods,. these appetisers do encourage increased appetite for these types of foods on top of (or instead of) the better choices.

It isn't just a direct equivalence of calories between two foods either, but the ease with which the body processes them - increased processing reduces the needed digestion reducing the expenditure of energy to capture the food energy - and leaving more which can be converted from glucose into stored lipids.


Alcohol is also a bad choice if concerned with energy intake - there can be a lot of sugars and alcohol itself is high energy density and low in nutritional value.

Without a doubt there are different sources of fats, and fat from nuts and legumes are certainly much better for you than fats from meat and dairy and oils. No oil, including olive oil are naturally occurring in nature, they are a processed fat. Read Dr. Esselstyn's (heart surgeon and Chief of Staff at the Cleveland Clinic) book or watch his videos online and it may open your eyes to the effect of fats and oil on our hearts and vascular systems. He has done huge studies for many years and proven what he's preaching. Also read Dr. Neal Barnard's book on the effects of fats on our cells or watch his TedX talk on youtube, it too was for me a eye opener as well. These doctors may have saved my life as I was dying and without my lifestyle and diet change I might not be here. I know it sounds overly dramatic, but it really is true.

Lots of good advice on this thread. I don't think I could cut out animal fats completely though, I eat very little red meat anyway because I much prefer eating seafood (does this count as meat?) and chicken. I do eat plenty of non-processed cheese and half-&-half in my coffee, so I'm taking in some bad saturated fats.

But you gotta live! I can't see my wife and I ever being on a super restrictive or no-tolerance type diet plan, we just try to keep the best daily diet we can, some days being better than others.

I've cut way back on alcohol the past couple of years. I'm going to be enjoying a little alcohol tomorrow evening for the first time since <checks Molly Ringwalds thread> Mar. 4. I even turned down a fridge full of beer at a recent family reunion! Moderation is key.

I can't stress enough how good working out makes you feel (Mrs. agrees)! Even if you don't like gyms, a cheap bench and set of weights is all you need. This weekend I'll be looking for a more comfortable dedicated curl bar.

++++++++++

One of the biggest problems IMO is portion sizes, they're absurd! Yeah, I know you can take it with you (and I do) except that I'd rather enjoy a smaller indulgence and leave it [the indulgent eating] at the restaurant. Sometimes splitting a plate is perfect, but this can take away from variety which has become more important to me that quantity. At places we frequent ("frequent" being relative), we have it down pat what to order.

After a concert Saturday night we had a rare splurge of dessert at a Waffle House. We normally get different things for variety and we share, these are "Small Size" slices!

Check out the numbers:

==========
Regular Slice..........520-880 Calories
Small Slice..........260-440 Calories

http://www.wafflehouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/FY16_OP5_no-price_menu_Lunch-Dinner-2048.png
==========

Going by calories, a "Regular Slice" would have been *twice* the size you see in my pic! That would be about a quarter of a pie?! IMO, there should be an even smaller option like the slice of cheese cake you use to get at Chick-fil-A (which was more of what I was expecting).

I believe the *amount* we eat is at least an equal factor of the current weight problem as to *what* we eat.

That pecan pie slice looks like a standard slice not me and not "small". I don't know, maybe Louisiana is just like Texas where "bigger is better"?

Just back from the doctor.He tells me my BP is now 'perfect' and has come down since my last 24hr test.Whatever I'm doing he says keep doing it.Now to work on the Cholesterol level.I'm really quite pleased with myself.

Great to hear Chucky!

BTW, some more numbers: 1g Fat has 9kcal. So, in order to burn 1kg fat, you need 9000kcal - but luckily, our body doesn't burn perfectly lossless, so you need ~7000kcal deficit to lose one kg.

If you stick with 1400kcal a day that's easily 500 a day defizit, so about half a kilo, or maybe two thirds. I wouldn't try losing more than two or three per months anyway, as any greater loss is hardly sustainable.

So yeah, 1400 sounds good, you should be seeing results by August if you stick with it. Caveat as I said before: If you go into "eat little mode" your body will eventually adapt and reduce your daily needs. That's why I think some more "normal days" in between are a good idea, there's even the topic of "reverse dieting" that handles this kind of issue.

Hey Mark, the pie looks great! Trust me when I say that this Marc knows no one that was a bigger eater of meat and dairy then I was in the past. I had a particular lust for Colby cheese and would eat a lot of it every week and I had eaten meat and dairy every meal of every day for my entire life. No one in my family or friends can believe that I'm eating a vegan diet. None of them thought that would ever be possible, including myself but when I was done doing my research, the facts couldn't be denied. I'm not having any trouble eating this way at all, in fact it's easy as most of my meals are raw so there's no cooking required. I'm far from a strict vegan, I had scallops and pasta on Mothers Day and will indulge myself in sweets when and if I feel the need. Here's how I've been rolling lately...

While over a short term 1lb ~3500 kCal. ... your body is conservative and will adapt. To sustain loss is harder than to start it, and while there is a metabolic cost from the liberated energy, it is actually better to assume a higher required deficit for a multi-pound long term loss (if for no other reason that there are going to be over estimates of exercise value and underestimates of eating in many cases).

I've seen suggestions that it could be as high as 7000 per lb, which is supposed to fit well with a loss at "3500 per lb" being around half what is expected in most cases over a 12 month period.

My wife and I got activity tracking bracelets, the Garmin Vivofit. If you're looking for an inexpensive one, you can't beat it. Got ours on Amazon for $50 apiece, and most importantly, it is waterproof. I can swim and kayak in it.

In April, my wife and I began an effort to lose some weight. I was getting frustrated with how I looked and felt, and so was she. I am 5'8" and weighed 183 pounds. My wife weighed a couple of pounds more and is about 2 inches shorter than me.

We started with how activity we do in the day. The Garmin Vivofit gives you a walking goal every day, usually a little over four miles, but it will increase or decrease the goal depending on whether or not you meet it. It also comes with a very good app for the iPhone (no idea if there is one for the Android, but I am almost certain there is one). I also linked UnderArmour's apps with my Garmin. MyFitnessPal comes with a truly awesome food journal. More on that in a minute.

I also have UnderArmour's MapMyRide and MapMyHike apps. I have done more biking in the last month than I have in the last 12 years. First thing, I replaced my saddle with one that was more comfortable for 'the boys' and got new pedals. I use the MapMyHike app to track my kayaking. Both will use distance and speed to determine how much calorie burning is happening and it's all on the phone I use everyday.

Activity is one thing, your food intake is critical. More calories have to leave than arrive in order to lose weight. It's that simple. I was shocked and horrified at how much was going in and how little I was using. MyFitnessPal cut me down 1820 calories per day. My wife and I always drink a lot of water, but the sodas were the first to go. We have a rule; don't drink your calories, eat them. No juice, no sweet drinks except for Gatorade for rehydration after a workout. Water only. We eat whatever we want, but with the understanding we have a limit. If we want something special, we have to earn calories to get it. My digestion has greatly improved.

In the last four weeks, my wife has lost 11 pounds and I have lost about ten. If I keep up with my current level of activity, in five weeks I will weigh 167 pounds. My wife and I have the goal of 160. We're about to start adding some strength training. I don't want to be Mr. Muscle, I just want to be toned up. I feel lighter, I don't jiggle when I walk and my pants are looser on me. My wife is starting to get her pre-kids body back and that has me REALLY stoked because to me, she's hot already.

Praying for the other guys in this thread or those reading and thinking, "Maybe I should try to get in a little better shape." I feel so much better and have more energy, more zip. Doesn't hurt in the bedroom, either, fellas.

Good luck, guys!

I'm also looking to tone up,especially my upper body.Would some simple weights be sufficient to do this? I don't want to buy expensive equipment.Gym is a no-no.I feel very uncomfortable in there.

What about diet sodas? They have zero carbs and zero calories.

Chemicals. Go water if you can, squeezing and then dumping a lemon wedge is all I need to make it interesting.

On Sunday at a family reunion I treated myself to 3 or 4 large plastic cups of Diet Dr. Pepper from a 2L, something I rarely do these days. Pre-2008 I could take out a 12-pack over the weekend (Diet or regular Dr. Pepper, I like them both equally even though they taste very differently).

A side effect is that my face stays clear and no longer breaks out. Also, while doctors have questioned my observations, I believe an overdose of diet sodas (also Diet Coke) was a primary reason I was getting so many acute gout attacks.

I could live without any kind of soda but I have to have my coffee. I would get violent if my access to coffee was cut off for whatever reason.

It's also harder to cut out those snacks if you were used to having them with your full sugar sodas. The same appetite is encouraged by using the 'zero cal' alternatives.

I'm not sure if they also prime the metabolism to release and/or store glucose from the body's stores but it doesn't seem impossible that you may mess with blood sugar by using non absorbable alternatives.


Coffee is fine in moderation but be careful of some store bought sweet coffees (which can have a metric sh!tton of sugar in them).

YES! The recipe for success right there (if you're married). Living a healthy lifestyle is a HUGE thing to have in common, IMO. You make wise decisions together and you occasionally agree to splurge together (and without feeling guilty about it), but mostly you help keep each other in check.

Sunday...I'm sampling the many desserts at a family reunion, I sit my paper plate down across from her at the table. Instead of a scornful look or look of disinterest, I get a warm smile and a look that reminds me not to #%&*$# this thing up we have going. I had no intention of sharing my desserts but that's what I did, she hadn't eaten any yet so we split a good portion of it. Afterward, I realized I was better off not eating the entire plate by myself anyway.

A small example of support, but it adds up.



Even if I wanted to, I could never be dedicated enough to be a Mr. Muscle and besides, I want to be as light as possible on my knees, ankles and especially my feet. I like the idea of having a thin but solidly built physique (like Geddy Lee ). Even *that* may be out of reach at this point, but I'll keep trying without killing myself. I'm not going to push so hard as to risk injury or even the enjoyment of a good workout.

Especially with being thin framed and approaching 50, my wife recognizes the importance strength training plays with avoiding or delaying osteoporosis. We workout together twice a week, she'll go first. I decide on the exercises for each workout and change out the weights on the bars and dumb bells (I keep a sheet with our current weights). She'll spot my presses and then either hang out on the sofa or run the treadmill as I go through my routine.





A woman in progress of looking and feeling better about herself is a happier woman, and one who wants to make her man happy (and vise versa). She'll even start wearing nice things to bed ("I like the way this material feels"). Even if it makes no difference that night it may the next morning when your t-levels are peaking and you can afford a couple of snooze taps on the alarm clock.

I actually enjoy clothes shopping with my wife, and I'm not at all embarrassed to be seen inside a Victoria's Secret or similar store/area. I can entertain myself at the dressing rooms with a paperback in-between modeling, any aggravation I keep to myself behind a smile (until I can vent here...lol. ).

Depending on individual circumstances (like how long you've been together)...

Lots of things can trigger sweet nostalgia (music, smells, activities) but when the very feel of your bodies become the trigger (like when you're holding or hugging)...
...look out!


Amen.

Chucky regarding training at home: Yes.

A few simple exercises with dumbbell or rubber bands ("theraband") does a nice trick, pushups, pullups, situps, the whole stuff can be done at home.

Thanks RSColonel.I had to look up theraband,wasn't sure what it was.I'll start with some weights I think.

Relatively small weights with moderate numbers of reps are probably best to start. Bottles of water are good and cheap starting points - you can use milk cartons or similar to increase the size a bit.

Between this and your previous post I can't see where you're getting any regular protein from, you seem to have gone from one extreme to the other. I don't see much point in a vegan diet other than for ethical reasons.

Healthy living isn't any sort of mystery. You need a balanced diet and some sort of equilibrium between calories in and calories expended.

Hey, I'm back into 80% of my trousers, which is a relief. The ACU's I wore just before retirement are just a tad snug, so there's work left to be done.

I bought one of those bags that have 12 lunch sized little bags of potato chips and limit myself to one a day as a treat. Or two, if I'm feeling I really want it. Yes, it's more expensive and a dumb way to do portion control, but it works pretty well.

I have one "tent pole" meal of the day and limit myself to something very light at the end of the day. I normally have a Parisian Breakfast* so no loss there.

I need to do more flutter kicks, though. My abs look a little large in the lower two muscles.

* Coffee and a cigarette.

Preach, brother. And yeah, if I had Geddy Lee's build, I'd be a boss. Like tonight's snack was a little bit of Zatarain's Dirty Rice (I'm addicted to it), nine Triscuit crackers, red pepper hummus and artisan cheddar cheese cubes from HEB, and few slices of salami.

Sounds like a lot, right? Except when you compare the contents to all the prepackaged crap, it comes out to about 600 calories in an entire meal. My exercise workout today earned 300 of it. I have rediscovered how much I love hummus and thank God it's low cal. Eat slow, chew slow. Taste your food, you won't want or need as much.

On the soda thing, avoid them. It's just junk. Eat your calories, don't drink them. It tastes better, it is more filling, you get less hungry in between meals. Something that fixed me was San Pellegrino mineral water. A little lime and there's enough taste for me.

Guys, I'm gonna echo what Mark said, this isn't about being all ripped. This is about your pants fitting or even dropping an inch in waistline. I don't want huge muscles, I just to be wiry again. Eat what you want, just don't eat as much of it. Get outside. I don't even lift weights, I use resistance bands. Bike day is 'leg day', kayak day is 'arm day'. I'm fortunate in that I live on a lake so I can use a kayak just by walking down the hill, but anybody can buy a bicycle at Wal-Mart.

I don't recommend running. It's absolute hell on your knees and ankles, and if you're in your forties like me, you don't want that. Swim if you can, but if you can't, bike.

Mark, keep up the good work, man. Hope the wife's doing okay, heard you guys had a health scare on her recently. I'll say a prayer.

Coke Zero is a frequent "cheat" if I need something sweet after a meal.

Not so much concerned about the chemicals, rather about blood pressure from coffein.

But it's helpful.

I'm hesitant to share my workout because it's highly non-professional and likely onesided. But you can't go wrong with a simple weight set and getting some advice (maybe hire a personal trainer for an hour to give you some basics, or youtube...) If you have the space get a bench that doubles for situps (leg fixture...)

Do not underestimate body weight exercises... get a set of pushup grips, read up on "planking", Dips are also very helpful.

I prefer larger number of reps with lower strength, it doesn't bulk me up but is more about definition. Not that I'm anything special but you can find my picture a few pages back, and I definitly get complimented by women on my arms. Takes all of 90 minutes a week (+1h cardio) at home.

Thanks, PFunk.

All that remains of that health scare is a fading scar, which is a constant reminder to take a moment and give them a little once over.

Zatarain's? Sounds like my kind of dinner! Really, I sometimes enjoy a variety snacking type of meal, especially with hummus (I have pics on the food thread of this sort of meal).

We make an effort now not to take in any calories past 7PM if we can help it (6PM was impossible), as if we're fasting for early morning blood work. Not always possible, but we try.

++++++++++

I tried to word my previous post carefully and wanted to clarify and maybe elaborate on it a little...

"A woman in progress of looking and feeling better about herself is a happier woman..."

The same could apply to men as well, of course. I want to stress that it doesn't matter where you're starting from, IMO it's all relative.

I'm usually blunt with my comments and opinions, this will be no different...

I believe what makes my wife and I so attracted to each other in our late-40's goes beyond the physical, there's the long history as well as working together as a team better than we ever have before. I feel a total connection now, like we truly are that "one flesh" you hear spoken at weddings. I can't get enough of her and I think she feels the same way.

But if all the fun and passion came to a screeching halt due to something beyond our control, we'd survive it. It would require a major shift in mindset but we'd get through it and deal with our new circumstances together, I know we would.

Still, you can't marginalize physical attraction, even if it's becoming more politically correct to do so. If you're getting fit solely for health reasons and not for appearances (a popular feminist sentiment), great. Who cares about the reason why, just do it! But IMO, the more reasons you have, the easier it is to stay motivated for the duration. And what I find, it's allot harder to argue and fight with someone you just want to hold and love on.

Physical attraction to me is relative in that it's more about putting forth the effort and continually improving yourself, versus absolute as in comparing yourself to others or even your younger self. This is something I have to be mindful of as I love the nostalgia of our early years of dating and marriage, when life seemed much more exciting and we had our whole lives in front of us. Our teenage years and early 20's were a long time ago and no matter how healthy our lifestyle is today, there's no denying our aging and that we're only getting older.

So now it takes more effort for lessor results, but it's the effort I find so appealing and attractive. From making better decisions and encouraging me to do the same, to our sweaty workouts and walks/runs together. Effort will bring results, how can it not? But regardless of results, the effort and progress is such a turn on.

It's all about making the best of your current situation, to be the best you can be, and that's something everyone can work on.

<Trips off soapbox and cracks tooth>.

Currently at 68kg and getting back into exercising - winter was mostly off due to my house being way too cold to work out comfortably (Sub zero temps in some rooms, old Japanese houses suck big time!)

I started weight training again last week after about 3-4 months off. Started at 22% body fat, I'm already down to 19%, but weight has not changed signifying a decent increase in muscle and moderate decrease in fat.

I will be cutting out carbohydrates completely later this month and my target is 60kg by July 1st. A little bit of a tight deadline but my workouts are good and I walk about 3.5 km every day going to work so that also helps.

Will post up a progress shot once I feel it's worth it!

LOL...I'm laughing because the old clich� really is true. The first question anyone asks a vegan is where do they get their protein? My answer is always "I get it from the same place that gorillas, rhinos, elephants, giraffes and all of the other herbivores get it, plants! Hemp seeds, Chia seeds, Chic peas, Flax seeds, lentils, beans and legumes, broccoli, seaweed and algae and on and on are all good sources of protein. There is protein everywhere in the plant world, everywhere. You just have to eat enough of the things that contain them.

I really don't think eating fruits and vegetables is in anyway "extreme" compared to eating meat and dairy? I agree with some of what you said, there must be a balance of the right things in our diets to stay healthy. The point of the vegan diet is to do exactly that, eat the correct balance of healthy foods to provide the best health possible. I don't believe that eating meat and dairy is the healthy way, but that's my personal opinion and I respect the choices you make for you own diet. Both of my brother in-laws, my mother and father, my grandmother(who died blind and infirm) and myself all have diabetes and all eat a meat and dairy diet. My one bil's father lost both legs and died of diabetes. Those are just the people that are in my immediate family circle, not the hundreds of other friends and their relatives who have suffered the same fate. The empirical evidence suggests (that for me anyways) veganism works and is reversing conditions that I've suffered with for many years. If you consider that "extreme", then so be it.

In closing, you mention calories in and calories out as the simple answer to all of anyone's health problems. The thing that you fail to mention is where those calories came from, and what our body does with them once they enter our digestive tract. My one brother in-law weighs 155lbs, is 5'8" and doesn't have an once of visible fat anywhere on his body. He's been a runner and a bicyclist his whole life. He was struck with type II adult onset diabetes at around age 35. He has high blood pressure and very high cholesterol and still exercises daily, was eating a "balanced" diet and still has all of these problems. Why? His diet, high in fat and cholesterol is why. Those things come from a meat and dairy based diet, no matter what the "balance" is. He saw the immediate change it made in me and watched me stop taking insulin and lose weight, all while eating a lot of good food and never being hungry. He and my sister decided to try their own version of what I was doing, as they didn't think they could completely commit to a hundred percent veganism. So they adopted a hybrid kind of vegetarianism with some limited consumption of meat and dairy, but scaled WAY back from their normal meat based diet. He immediately (within two weeks) reduced his insulin dependency by 2/3rd's. His cholesterol dropped 40 points and in a few short weeks he'd gotten done what he's been trying to do for almost 20 years! He told me yesterday that he's now going to drop the rest of his meat and dairy intake as it's been proven to him that those things do bad stuff to his body. While all of this was happening for him, my sister, obese most of her adult life after having children also lost 20 lbs so far and says she feels better than she's felt in decades. The only regret any of us have is that we weren't raised this way and didn't adopt this lifestyle 30 years ago.

Your mileage may vary

If you're eating substantial amounts of hemp and flax seeds
(and nuts like hazel and pecan are good too) then you are
getting a decent amount of the oils which you absolutely
need - *essential* fatty acids. Otherwise, I'd be concerned.
Too little EFA results in degradation of skin and neurons,
which are the major tissues relying on these.

Going well. 106kg.

Hmm, didn't you say about 103kg recently?

If you want post up an example or two of your daily meals/nutrition.

You are quite correct! That must have been a miscalculation.I work in stone/lbs and convert to kg for the purposes of this thread.Got that very wrong.

106kg is correct as of today (16.7 st).

You have a scale that displays your weight in
decimal stone?

I think it does everything if I just knew how to operate it.The display says 16st 7lbs.I convert it to kg to make it easier to understand.You guys work in metric over there?

It's a VERY English scale and it is approved for use by the Queen.

I think you are doing it wrong.

16St 7lb is 16.5St or 231lb. 104.8kg

Yup,you are right.The converter I was using was expecting it in decimal.Doh!

Boy,do I feel dumb.

On the plus side- 104.8kg yay!

I really need to join in but am a lazy sob so won't.

So haven't been able to work out since April 19th. I got cleared to work out and then needed a root canal and it took a week to get it done.

So I was able to work out yesterday and this morning. So they had an org day with sports. I showed up to get in the swim competition for the battalion, but the team was already formed, so I went to my company and asked if I could swim with them. They had the team and even though I knew they had 3 slow guys on the 4 man team, they refused to give up a slot.

So I just watched. Our battalion's relay team included an Olympic Swimmer (I think he was an alternate if I recall correctly) and a guy who swam competitively in college and is dive certified. So they were fast.

So they ended up in first place with an 18:41 1600 yard relay.

Then my company's team got second place with 22:51.

As the second to last heat started the chaplain from 2nd Battalion was on the phone when he hung up and stated that the dive guys from 2nd Battalion had decided not to show up.

So he started recruiting from the spectators. The guy to my left says, "I can swim, but my breast stroke is faster than my free style." He looked at him and said, "Nope, you're not swimming."

So he asked if anyone could swim good. So I volunteers and 2 other guys from 3rd Battalion offered to swim.

The chaplain went first, I was anchor. Ends up he is a Tri-Athlete with his son on the Air Force Academy Swim Team. He was wicked fast, the other guys were strong swimmers, then I did mine and we ended up with 19:25 for a time. Second Place!!!!! We bumped my company to 3rd.

The sad thing is that I was so winded compared to what I was feeling like after swimming back in early April.

Well, I'm back on the workout/diet again. I'm quite proud of myself considering how little I have worked out since April 19th.

You couldn't work out because of a root canal? Army Regulations?

Still going well.102 kg today and running out of clothes to wear.

Keep going, soon you'll be down into double digits (and then stay there... )

I've been perilously close to my self-set limits the last weeks, so this week and next I'm sticking very strict with the 1600/day. Summer is finally here so I moved my Cardio outside.

According to my BMI I'm still obese,just a point or 2 away from just being overweight.

And of course,I'm NEVER going back.Even though the girls that serve at the chip shop do their best to entice me in when I walk past

BMI isn't a great way to test. It calls heavily muscled, strong and lean people as overweight or obese (when they clearly are not), and flabby people with minimal lean tissue as 'the correct' weight, even though they are carrying unhelpful levels of body fat.

It is better IMO to not worry quite so much about weight per-se (especially as it can stabalise and/or increase while you are still being effective at reducing fat) - instead (or as well) track your hip-waist ratio (looking for waist <90% of hips) and waist-height ratio (looking for waist < 50% of height - the cutoff of morbid obesity being suggested at 63%)

It isn't ideal, but it should give insight into how you are progressing, (similar to the 'my clothes don't fit any more' test).

Yeah I gathered it wasn't a very clear indication,just a rough guide. My clothes are telling me the true story.Luckily my younger brother had a load of clothes he gave me when he lost weight.Some are already a little loose but there are plenty left to go.

I didn't get on very well with the weights,I just don't think it's for me.I'll stick to cycling and walking for now.

First MRSA, was an issue. I was placed under orders not to work out/go to a gym due the communicable nature of MRSA and how sweating makes it easier to spread. Then last week I was in severe pain with needing a root canal. I got it Thursday and was miserable through Friday. I then had family come to Colorado, so it's just been busy this weekend.

Well, any week you don't workout gives us mere mortals a small chance to catch up a little

Chucky, a very good guide to progress are body fat measurements. I use the caliper method (google for it) and it's neither tricky nor expensive. Since my weight can change a kilogram or two any day of the week for no reason I actually prefer this more to see where I#m going.

Skin fold testing only estimates the least troublesome type of fat. Subcataneous fats are not generally the *main* issue for health, rather it is the internal fats around and in organs that causes the main direct risks to health.

It was 5 weeks.

April 19th-May 30th. Back at it, I really need to get my run time down, I hate running...

Sounds realistic from a medical perspective, but since you are building and losing equally everywhere (I assume, since you can't direct where your body stores fat) I would say that monitoring "external" fat will also somehow monitor "internal" fat?

I still favour direct use of waist measurement in combination with hip and height as being simple, reliable and something that correlates well with early mortality in middle ages and on.

While for the same person *at the same time*, the use of subcutaneous fat as a simulcrum of total body fat is reasonable. I'm not sure that over longer periods this would hold up well or be a basis for making a highly informed decision about the desired end state. In particular many elderly people seem to lose much of their subcutaneous fat (and muscle) while still having a large midriff. I'm fairly sure that they would have had different body composition in their middle age and youth in most cases, whether they were healthy or overweight.

WTG Chucky!! Keep up the good work, it inspires us all.

I'm experiencing the same trouble with clothes. I'm down 71 lbs since March 15 and I'm running out of ways to keep wearing my "normal" clothes. I'm having a unusual problem in that I think I'm losing weight too fast, but I haven't been successful at slowing it down. I'm eating as much food as I possibly can, but without the calorie rich fats I used to eat it's very hard to slow down the weight loss.

Thanks! That's something I will have to address at some point in the future. I have no wish to return to my previous diet/meal sizes,so halting the weight loss will be another challenge I guess.

I have felt 'full up' on days where I've only consumed 1400kCals.Going back to 1800/2000 will require some thought but I'm sure someone on here has the answer.

Your requirement falls with your weight (one of the reasons that diets 'taper' is that the same intake which gives weight loss initially will taper to a lower static weight even in the absence of metabolic adaptation (starvation reflex)).

You can estimate what your final requirement might be by redoing your BMR x 1.4 at your target weight, and comparing to that for your original BMR x 1.4... which is likely to have been close to your actual habits of the past.

Bear this in mind too when evaluating progress and planning your nutrition and exercise regimes.

I think Lieste said it more scientific (not sure I got all of it ) but yeah, after a while on 1400 your body gets used to it.

At the end of a diet, what you might need to do is reverse dieting:
http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/reverse-dieting-what-it-is-and-why-you-should-try-it

Basically raising your intake slowly. It can also help in the middle of a long drawn out diet.

You said you didn't like the weights, but creating and maintaining muscle even trough a diet will help reduce the effects of adaption.

Bonus advice: If you can swing it, get some nice new clothes, maybe a bit on the tight side. Yes, you will "outdiet" them again as you keep going, but in my experience to get the full benefit of a slimmer body is also a mental change. I have a friend who did about the same downsizing of what you are going for, but he still doesn't have the full self-esteem which he now could easily afford... basically he thinks of himself still as the overweight dude. Enjoy the process and the feeling of getting somewhere by enjoying the ability to dress much better and look much better now, it's a reward in itself that will make the diet more fun.

99.8 KG! (15st 10lbs)

I have realised something though,my upper body strength is pretty poor.Maybe I do need to try those weights again.All this cycling has done wonders for my legs,pity the upper body doesn't match them.

*note to self* Playing computer games isn't exercise.

Get a Vive and play full room, it might be

What is the exact reason you dislike weights, can you specify? Maybe someone here can suggest alternatives.

I'm doing HEMA, with a focus on German Longsword (after Meyer), but with staff, grappling, dagger, sidesword and sword and buckler. I've also got my eye on a local archery club once I have finished kitting out.

Not a big fan of traditional sports, but hitting and being hit with swords is fun, and educational.

As for weights.. go shopping with bags on foot, carry the stuff home. If you are too far for that to be practical you can still park up on the opposite side of the car park or down the street rather than right by your door... and carry from there. Rowing can be fun too - we have a local boat hire on our river and it can be fun to take a snack and a friend.

Rowing? That's a thought.I used to love hiring a boat and disappearing up the river.

I don't have a real reason to not like the weights,it just looked like hard work.

Weights are better as light to moderate with lots of reps, rather than very heavy weights lifted only a few times - unless you want to train for "maximum" strength rather than a functional one. IMO. YMMV.

But then you can do it as just part of your normal routine if you walk and carry. You can use milk cartons with water (or sand if you want heavier) as makeshift free weights.

I have 2 dumbbells,8kg on each. I've seen some routines I can do so it's just about getting into it. I know I can do it,I just need a kick up the backside.

Congrats, Chucky!

Give us a pic one day, it can be headless for anonymity.

++++++++++

Below is a candid blurry pic I took tonight to show workout laziness:

+ Less weight than usual and no extra reps (only 3 sets of 10 for all exercises).
+ Inadequate workout clothes
+ Poor foot form (not flat on ground)
+ Wearing Crocs? Crocs?!

LOL.

Yet *I* will probably get screamed at on my last set to give just one more.

But hey, a half-ass workout is better than none at all, right? She has yoga tomorrow night so I'll give her a pass.

EDIT: I probably wouldn't have taken that pic if not for the animals, they were cracking me up going round-and-round playing tag around the bench.

'NUTHER EDIT: I was just kidding, of course. Last night neither of us felt like working out, it was wife's turn to get us up and motivated. The second best reason to have a home gym (best reason is not having to leave your house) is that you can wear whatever you want, doesn't have to be workout clothes and tennis shoes (unless you're also running the treadmill).

Wife discovered something last weekend that blew both our minds!

We were invited to another little family gathering on Saturday, this time the family of her brother's second wife. We never see her brother anymore but we're still close to his second wife and we wanted to see our nephew and meet her new husband (very nice gentleman).

Her parents have a pool and swimsuits were welcomed. Nah, I'm just not there yet, in some ways I haven't even caught up with 2009 yet (first pic).

That *after* pic is going to become a *before* pic by the end of the year, especially chest muscle definition.

Wife wanted to swim (first time in years) but knew that her *current* swimsuits would be too big (one piece, she's never had a bikini body). So she went digging into the containers from her mom's house, stuff we haven't gone through yet. She actually found a swimsuit that fit, but she also found something else, the bridesmaids dress for a good friend's wedding (black wedding/church - not that it matters, just FYI). It was in a bag we never opened, she had no idea she still had it.

Couldn't put it on feet first, I had to slip it over her head and it *almost* fit. Fine in the waist/hips, but could only zip it up 3/4 of the way in the back. I told her let's dry clean this sucker and if we have to, we'll add a strap in the back (about 3" across), but she HAS to wear it when we redo those pics! Clothes from our very first pic together, unfreggin' believable!

I don't have that 3-piece suit anymore (lol) but even if I did, I still had two more inches to grow.

I should note that as cool as it was finding that dress, she has no desire to be that size again. I'm the only one wanting to get as slim as high school, she was happy to get into triple-digit lbs. and out of size 0 (which was much smaller in the 80's than it is today). So that dress is not any kind of goal whatsoever.

I still want to retake the fireplace pic and if adding a strap at the top of the zipper is cheating, then so be it. Mom could probably do it, doesn't have to be perfect, it's not like she wants to start wearing a frilly 80's dress again.

The whole weekend just fired me up to improve my efforts before I get left too far behind.

You look like a cast member from the film "Wall Street".

I spent the weekend going through all my clothes.All the stuff I had at the beginning of the year is now too big to wear.Just about all of it has gone to the old clothes collection bin in the local Tesco car-park. I did this because I'm NOT going back!

I've been wearing my brother's hand-me-downs for a while but even they are getting a little loose.I do have a few things that have been hanging in the wardrobe for I guess 10 years that I can wear.Never thought I'd ever be wearing some of those again.Not sure if they are still in style though...

I HATE buying new clothes.I don't have a clue about style or colours.I was too tight to buy a new belt so I made a few extra holes in the one I have and trimmed it down a bit.

I really need a responsible adult to take me clothes shopping.I never thought I'd be saying that at 56.

Other than a few concert T's, these are among the last *new* clothes I've purchased (first pic).

Mine is the larger white one, wife picked out the black "V" collar.

I clothes shop at Goodwills and thrift stores, all except for the very rare suit which I'll buy at Men's Wearhouse when they're running a sale (buy one get another half price).

I told my wife she should go crazy with her wardrobe/shoes/whatever, just leave me out of it. She couldn't resist and bought me a $60.00 shirt to sweat in (next two pics).

Eh, just...no. All of her yoga/workout clothes have that little horseshoe symbol (I can't find a brand name) and I figure it's all expensive. And that's fine, I want her to spend money on herself, but I don't need this.

Ok, the one shirt I can live with (and I do appreciate the thought). Also, I promised to buy a tux when I get there, I might even buy some new Levi's. She still shops the thrift stores with me so it's cool.

Wow, your wife owns and wears a SimHQ t-shirt?? She truly IS a keeper.

As long as she never sees *some* of the stuff I've posted here.

Great going Chucky! Can't be that hard to find something stylish for you. Dressing well and looking good in the stuff is such a benefit of working out.

Absolutely! Even at the weight I'm at now I am happy in a t-shirt out walking.I know I still look over-weight but compared to what I was I couldn't be happier.

The problem is I spent my working life in mechanic's overalls.I didn't own a proper suit until the late 90's.I've always dressed casual,or comfortable as I like to put it.

Luckily my sister-in-law is a great clothes shopper and I'm house-sitting for them at the end of the month.When they return from holiday I will ask her to take me shopping.She doesn't know I've lost weight,that will surprise her I think.

Why do some white people wear a light blue shirt and khakis on occasion?

==========
Race aside, people (often business people) who wear blue shirts and khakis generally don't have much taste and aren't interested in dressing stylishly and/or adopting a personal style. So in other words:

� Fashion is simply not important to them.

� They have no confidence or capability in judging what looks good.
==========

LOL. <Raises hand> Guilty!

To summarize that link, the average white dude simply has no sense of style.

Making matters worse, I noticed on my most recent pic (where I'm standing behind my wife) that my pants are way too long and bunched up at my feet. Man, my boring clothes don't even fit right.

Good luck, Chucky. Sister-in-law, eh? I might recruit my older sister to help me/wife out (seven years older but stays in shape and dresses fashionably).

She has to cope with my brother who has equal fashion sense as me.She nicknamed us the 'beige brothers' because that was what we would buy if we went shopping on our own.That or grey.

She introduced us to something called 'colour'.

That's a good idea Chucky, get someone in your family to help you.

Fashion is hard for me to describe, but I'll be out shopping or whatever and I know it when I see it. "Four o'clock!" (sometimes I have to remind her that means to look discreetly to the right and slightly behind). The top, jeans, boots, now that right there is what I'm talking about!

Same with men, I can tell when some straight dude (assuming) just knows how to dress well. Which reminds me, I keep putting this off but I need to go back to the cologne thread and take note again of the recommendations.

I was pushing hard on the fashion and makeup/eye stuff and was told to back off, that it'll all be squared away by 50. Ok then.

What I'm not so sure of is where do men normally shop for clothes? I wonder, once you acquire a sense of style (with help from a sister/sister-in-law), can you find a decent look at Goodwills and thrift stores (usually used clothing)? Or do you wait for a sale at Macy's/Richie's, stick to Sears/JC Penney, hit an outlet shopping center, Walmart? Where to go?

I have absolutely no idea.I hate going in to town,I hate clothes shopping even more.I do know that Marks and Spencers is expensive.Do you have them over there?

Help,I just want to go back to a pair of overalls. *cowers in the corner sucking thumb*

Try Omega shirts

I asked. It's called Lululemon...
http://shop.lululemon.com/

Symbol looks similar to Omega though.

Ah... the logo is based on Diana Rigg's 'Avengers' hair...

No Marks and Spencers around here that I know of, I've never heard of them.

What I do know is I could take the $65.00 (I was off by 5 bucks) she spent on that shirt and buy workout clothes for every day of the week at my favorite thrift store (a big one in Baton Rouge, LA)!

Hey, don't forget the Calvin Klein underwear!

I believe Marks and Spencers is a UK-only department store.

I did some research this morning (while the coffee dripped) on men's fashion. I'm convinced that men aren't really suppose to have fashion.

Here's all you need for nights out on the town...

+ A couple pair or so of new dark Levi's (they still make 501s?)
+ A couple pair or so of light Levi's (or Wrangler, I guess) to wear with your black concert T's (contrast).
+ A couple or so new dark patterned (not solid colored) dress shirts.
+ A leather belt and plain white socks (ones that you don't mow grass with).
+ A pair of Hushpuppies or Penny Loafers (they still make these?) and a pair of white tennis shoes.

+ At least one nice tailor fitted suit and a couple of silk ties, along with a pair of classic wingtips.

Pecks, biceps and a slim waistline are your fashion, all that other crap just allows you to depart your home with a little style and without getting arrested.

Also, you don't need Calvin Klein drawers, just buy a pack of gray or black Hanes (like it matters). My comfortable faded white partly detached waistband "Homer Simpson drawers" have mysteriously disappeared one-by-one so I conceded this one "fashion statement".

My new wardrobe is mostly coming out of a very long retirement (apparently there was a time when I did give a damn how I dressed), short sleeve 2-3 button collard shirts with little alligators and tigers sewn in the front.

Or you could get a little creative (first pic).

For women, geez...I'm so still stuck in the 80's (second pic).

I've always wondered about those odd "high brow" fashion shows and the clothes they show.


Who the hell actually dresses like that in real life?


Cute Asian girl by the way in that other link.

Dart does. Helps him generate lift when flying his home-built plane.

That guy looks like a failed cosplay attempt at Samurai Jack.

One more, for the love of the 80's (not Asian though, and there's a similar one with a lace-trimmed top, darker jeans and higher boots. I've looked but have never found it.

Things seem to have slowed down a bit and this is what I feared.I'm still going for it,especially riding/walking but I stopped counting calories.That and a couple of birthday parties and buffet food didn't help.

Back to the calorie counting this week then!

Still a loss though...now 98kg (15st 6lbs).By my reckoning that will be 22kg (3.5st) lost.

For US, you weigh 216 lbs. and have lost 46 lbs. That's really good, Chucky.

I could never do calorie counting or anything other than just trying to eat better and exercise more. I know that apps and PX90 and all that stuff actually work, I just don't have it in me to follow a formal plan so my fitness/weight loss probably isn't as efficient.

I never worry about falling off the wagon anymore, I can have a +3 lbs. splurge day and I get over it by the next morning (every morning is a new start).

Sometimes I look back at my old weight chart from 2008/09 (see pic below, weighed in every Sunday morning) to remind myself that sometimes I gain even as I'm trying to lose.

Or I'll hit a serious plateau...

==========
01/04/09 216 lbs.
--
--
--
03/22/09 216 lbs.
==========

It happens. I don't let it bother me because I know I'm doing the right thing and eventually I'll get there. I just can't seem to get out of the 190s right now (wife is now well below the chart) but it is harder at 48 than it was at 41 (I started recording on my 41st BD after we both had lost a good bit of weight [from 265+ lbs. / 143 lbs.]).

I'm posting this chart again to show that you really can't pay TOO much attention to the scale on a regular basis, just too much fluctuation.

Tomorrow I start knocking out workouts again. Been so crazy busy, worked the last 2 weekends in a row and still no comp days. I did get a coin today at work, so that is a plus.

Your birthday (or the day after) is a good time to get back to it!



What are you again, 22?

I wish, I'm almost double that. Most would say I'm in good shape, but for my standards, I'm really out of shape.

Coin?

Listen up, girls! Today ends the first half of 2016 (going by months) and it's time to get freggin' serious!

My Mrs. is going to bring home a giant fried seafood platter for the four of us to split tonight, while I suck down my last Dr. Peppers of the year (drinking sodas for three days now). Tomorrow morning we're beginning the month of July (second half of the year) with a six month "boot camp" mentality!

I mention my dearest wife allot on these threads because we are a team, together we fail or succeed. I have neither the willpower nor the stamina to do it alone (unless I really *was* alone, maybe). This is our last full year in our 40's so there's a sense of urgency about it for us now.

Hell, even my 76-year old mother (after serious back surgeries) is using my weight bench to do leg lifts (can you believe that?)! I've noticed my father is also using my weights more (mainly dumb bell curls) and we're all eating allot better overall. Lifestyle (good or bad) is contagious.

Both pics taken a couple of days ago or so in a Houston hotel room and gym (that was my idea as we were leaving the hotel).

Anyway, these will be part of the "before pics" by the end of the year, that belly you see on me will be gone forever!

Soo... Let's do it!

Your wife looks much younger than her age Mark! You did well.

Thanks. Since 2008, she's been allot more consistent with healthier eating and exercise than I have. I'm inspired sometimes by her drive and determination to not slip up too badly as I've done many times since. At my age now I just can't afford to do that anymore.

Okay, gents. I started this endeavor on April 23rd.

As of today, I am officially 20 pounds lighter.

Mark, you and the missus look awesome. Keep it up.

That's a great effort PFunk,well done.

The next 2 weeks will be hard for me,I'm on holiday and intend to enjoy myself somewhat.

Still,the scales said 95kg this morning so I'm still heading the right way.

Still in the early stages of learning German Longsword.
We do solo drills, paired drills and light sparring to cover aspects of the Meyer style of fencing.

Recent photos from drilling and free sparring. Ochs drills and a Zornhau...

That is just so friggin cool.

Yay! Just passed grading for the Longsword 101b and 101a class (which completes the basic core course). Not quite a perfect grading, but 95% plus ok, and slightly wide ending positions on the cuts and some uncertainty about technical terms in German being the biggest faults.

My friend who started with 101b turned up and she passed grading on that segment too, but everyone else failed to turn up... not sure why.

She'll go on to do 101a now while I'll continue with refining the techniques and extending them with more devices to use from the Zufechs and in Kreig.

Just splashed out on a new Regeniye Federschwert, and have some custom gloves from Poland on order. Need a Gambeson before I can free spar with the steel, but I can do drills with it solo or (very controlled) with a partner already.

Cool way to exercise, for sure!

Just back off 2 week holiday,not surprised to see I put on 3 lbs.

I was doing an energetic coastal walk twice a day at first but then injuries hit and I was no longer able to easily get up the steep paths.

Ah well,back to it this week.Not going to give up.

3lbs is nothing. You'll put it off in no time.

Considering weights again?

Yeah,it shouldn't take long,I'm really annoyed with myself about it.At least now I'm home I can get back into my routine again.

The weights my friend lent me didn't get used much.He's getting them back this week.I think I got more exercise carrying them to and from the car and up the steps to my flat tbh.

That fencing stuff is crazy cool and exotic!

Small update, about half an inch off the waist since Houston, both of us.

Monday afternoon we had dental cleanings (same hygienist, back-to-back appointments, a little competition we have going). They check blood pressure as part of the appointment, mine hit an all-time low for sitting in a dentist chair...117/77. I have a physical coming up the end of August (BD) and I'm trying to get off the meds completely, we'll see. But for sitting in "the chair" (even if just for x-rays and cleaning), that's really good for me!

Another accomplishment, wife can no longer lap me on the 1/4m track (up to 12 laps - 3 miles). Oh, she tries (we walk more than run right now, too hot and humid) and she comes close (about 20 yards behind me) but she can't quite catch me, and that's without me cheating (running across before reaching the curve). That's one bit of trash talking I don't have to listen to on the drive home.

My abdominal/rib aches and pains have all but disappeared, but not the tennis elbow in my right arm, which is setting me back a little on the weights while I rest it. Hope it goes away on its own.

LOL, my blood pressure inside ANY doctor office certainly exceeds that. By a mile.

I keep being reminded how much of the daily weight check is water. Did a hot bathtub recently to clear a head cold, and spent the next days at least 1kg lighter in the morning.

I'm wondering how to increase my situp resistance but I don't have suitable weights over 6kg to hold behind the neck. Don't really want to spend money.

For those who want to do some outdoor cardio but find running too boring, consider Kick Scooters. I always enjoyed them, but found out recently that it's a good almost full-body workout.

That's really good.

I ache all over after my first hard drilling with the Feder. An hour one on one with the instructor doing master strikes in the onset - specifically a diagonal cut that ends with the hands low and far in front of your original position, with an offline step away from the threat leaving the defender safe from all 4 cuts from his left (the most common initial attacks), and the point buried into the side of the opponent's mask in a single tempo...

The combination of heat (just under 30C and 94% humidity) and the much heavier weapon was really hard going...

The Feder is 1.45kg, compared to 0.81kg for the synthetic, though the balance is a bit more to the rear, so the point is slightly easier to move around (and it doesn't hit that much harder with the foible). Still, it does have more momentum, both to perform your actions and to take out of his.

Hopefully the really hot/humid evenings won't last all summer (as a rule we don't have any air-conditioning), and I should rapidly get used to the extra weight and needs of structure in the parry.

By the time the weather cools down I'll have a complete set of protection and can optionally free spar with steel as well as the synthetics we can use already.

Videos, we want videos

When I have some I'll share it.

After a number of setbacks, I just was able to start running this month. I was required to do a surprise PT test, 15:29 was my time. Not bad for 2 rebuilt knees, 4 bolts and 2 grafts. I also did 75 push-ups and 67 sit-ups (I never do sit-ups, I do planks and flutter kicks).

Not perfect, but damn good if I say so myself.

Wow, nice stats. 15:29 for which distance?

Curious, the Africa accident was the other knee? I always kinda assumed it was your original trouble leg.

On a personal note: Hurrah I stopped counting calories. Seems my body is now decently adjusted to the amount of food it needs (same weight for months), so the new method is called "Eating when Hungry".

My left elbow had 2 surgeries, my right leg had a rebuilt knee which wouldn't have been bad, but I ended up with MRSA in the knee and it took a year to get the left over low grade infection gone. My right leg also had an avulsion fracture in the 5th metatarsal and a 300 pound pallet dropped on my foot that destroyed my ligaments.

The Africa accident was my left knee.

Twenty two surgeries and I'm still a beast. Anyone can me, you just got to want it.

You sound like a MotoGP rider's medical biography And hey, delete some PMs. Was going to ask you something

You guys are inspiring!

I was wondering about distance as well. On the cushy treadmill with A/C and multiple fans blowing on me (2 floor and 1 ceiling), I can usually cover 5k (3.1 miles) in just under 45 min. (mostly a slow paced jog). At my absolute best (with some real running mixed in, setting 5.2 or better), around 42 min., IIRC. I'll post treadmill display pics once my ISP problems are resolved.

On pavement however (and usually on a hot and humid day), anything under 45 min. is a great "run", usually it's more like around 50 min. (running only in the shade). These times won't impress the runners here, especially those who run for more than 3 miles.

EDIT: Treadmill is at a 1.0 incline, helps with balance for some reason.

I'd guess at 3.22km/2mile.

I am not a very good runner but can do our local parkrun (5km) with a steep incline part way through in 24 minutes. My walking pace is 41 minutes for the same distance, or 52km in sub 8hours.

Done! I would love to hear from you, been so crazy busy. I am trying to drop to a 7 minute mile pace for a 35 minute 5 mile (8 clicks).

Wow, Lieste. You run 5k in 24 min. and walk it in 41 min.? You must be pretty tall with a long stride!

Years of obesity induced gout did a number on my feet (mainly big toe joints) so I have to take it easy, and I'm still putting too much weight on my feet. I'd like to have at least one official sub-30 min. time (wearing numbers/chip and recorded on website). If I work hard enough and continue loosing weight, maybe one day I can even rank high in the 50+ age bracket (13 months to go).

I much prefer walking though. Wife wears a pedometer always (a work thing, she gets Amazon Cash for steps) and on a recent Houston getaway, we exceeded 10,000 steps per day (mostly outdoor/mall window shopping). It was fun, but on the track and treadmill I have to be fueled by my tunes, the right music and you *have* to move.

++++++++++

Timothy is a machine!

I'm 5'5"

I walk with a moderate stride but a high stride rate. Same with running. Higher stride rate, not too long a flight between steps.

I never do any treadmill or stationary bike stuff... seems too dull (and also for the same reason not anything on track). I tend to walk just to and from town, or loop around town via the countryside and footpaths/green lanes/minor roads to go to and from places I need to be. Nothing to stop a 4km walk there and back turning into a 20-40km loop, except for not always wanting to... With the longer distances you can vary the same journey, covering nearly all of the alternatives over the course of time. I map up all the more interesting ones, and then deliberately head off on the ones I've so far not managed to cover...

With the 10,000 steps thing... is that steps or double steps? I don't own a pedometer (though I do use a mapping GPS unit (actually a bicycle headunit) to record routes I don't think it's pedometer function is useful (it doesn't record the track, only the number of 'steps' taken, and I disagree with all of it's calculations as being flat out wrong for me... as well as physically non sensical). Still the track records are useful for mapping and for looking at "maximal" efforts (such as ascent of steep slopes at a max-heartrate effort - there are plenty of slopes that I can reach that while walking up around here (some 40% footpaths, and several streets at 25% plus)

So, you're a seasoned walker/runner then. Those times are excellent, IMO.

About treadmill, track and stationary bikes being boring...

==========
"Give me the beat boys and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock n' roll
And drift away"
==========

They would be unbearable to me without the tunes, I have to lose myself in music (past/present/future). At least that's how it works for me, without headphone music I'm a slug.

Lately I find my mind wondering more into the present and future than the past, and that's an awesome feeling. I just have to stay aware enough not to fall off the treadmill (helps to keep your eyes opened). I do wear the magnetic safety stop cord clipped to my shorts.

I prefer the track because it's outdoors (we try to do 12 laps [3 miles] on the track every evening) but it's not always possible (rain, working late) so the treadmill is good backup for an evening walk/run.

++++++++++

I'm not sure how accurate her pedometer is or even how it works, except that steps in this case equals virtual money. I don't know how much she gets for x number of steps, though.

We've never been very scientific about any of it, we try sometimes (e.g. calorie counting) but it never lasts. If I'm not where I want to be by 50 then I'm going to have to figure out the numbers, instead of just winging it (eating healthy and exercising daily in general). I do believe I've fried my metabolism or whatever, if I had put the effort in at 25 that I'm doing now approaching 49, I'd be seeing *much* better results. Wife seems to have gotten her metabolism and energy levels back where they were a long time ago, I never had those genes.

EDIT: Basing comments on times we walk long distance without our iPod Shuffles, she easily outpaces me.

Timothy, 7 Minute Mile for 5 Miles is very impressive for someone with your muscle mass...

I absolutly suck at running and respect all of you who go out and do it - it's just not any motivation or inspiration to me. Seeing that I only do ~5min to the Kilometer for the push scooter I really need to speed that up I guess

RS, you're right. Timothy doesn't have a typical runner's body (power vs. speed). Maybe he's part bionic.

Weigh in today was 157 pounds, down from 183 in April.

It's working. Goal is 150, but I'm okay with 155.

Nice job! Getting new clothes already?

It's worth it isn't it PFunk

I have yet to re-equip my wardrobe,I'm still managing with younger brothers stuff and some of my own stuff I never threw out from years ago but slowly even that is getting a little on the loose side.

I'm dreading clothes shopping when I hit my goal,I just ain't got no style!

I bet PFunk being under 160 lbs. feels like he has a spring connected to his ass that pops him out of bed in the morning! Feels soooo good on the feet too, eh?

++++++++++

Guys, make sure to take pics of yourself along your weight loss journey, even if you never intend to post them. You can always go back to remember where you came from and where you're going if you backslide.

Again, my all-time favorite WORST pic, a candid shot taken by my mom inside of my sister's house at her daughter's wedding (first pic, 9/06).

That was also my last pic where I'm wearing a wedding ring. I lost it later in a Jax. FL Target, it slipped off and rolled under the aisle shelves and we couldn't find it, even with the help of an employee using a broom. The lesson here is that your entire body shrinks, even your fingers, so if you wear a ring you need to be careful and get it resized if necessary. I never replaced mine but I'm going to as soon as I reach my final goal.

Also reposting one of my BEST pics, from 2009 (second pic).

As you can see, the face also shrinks (third pic)

++++++++++

2009 vs. last month (fourth and fifth pics).

EDIT: Same tie and shirt. Geez I need some new clothes.

Definitely looks more healthy now Mark.

Yes, and I have to tell you a Texas-themed story. Here in Texas, the preferred denim jeans that most country boys like me wear are Wrangler 13MWZ boot cut pants. They're solid, and you can drag em' behind a pickup and they won't wear out.

So, I bought a couple of pairs a few months ago to replace ones I'd had for 5 years (that's about how long a pair will last). Now that I've lost weight, the ones I bought in April fit like a saggy diaper right out of the washing machine. So, I had to buy two more pairs last week!

Anyone need two pairs of very gently used 34-inch waist, 32-inch inseam Wranglers?

Taken two hours ago. Jeanie's lost 27 pounds.

@ MarkG, you have no idea how good it feels. I had no idea how sick I was until I lost the weight. I picked up a 25 pound bag of dog food the other day and realized, "I was carrying this around on my body a few months ago."

Nice job, both of you. Now for the extra benefits get some weights

My early warning radar is ringing, quite gently but still saying that I'm starting to put on again. Gonna cut most of the sweet stuff down until my birthday in one month, been lazy with my diet during the relaxed summer days... and maybe try to ban the sweet habit for good or replace it with something else.

I don't know what the hell I'm gonna do when watermelon is out of season. We've eaten about a dozen or more this summer. I've gotten into fresh fruit for breakfast.

We stopped buying the mass-produced bread like Mrs. Bairds and so forth, we only buy bakery-made bread in small loaves. I still love good bread and we can still eat it, but I have to be very careful with only 1,500 calories to work with in a day. If I want that extra ham sammich, I gotta earn it.

Since we live on a lake, I've really starting swimming a lot in addition to walking about six miles a day. That's what Jeanie and I were doing yesterday. Much, much better for you than running.

Hell yes, I'd be swimming a mile a day if I had a lake for myself. 1500kcal is a hard goal, congrats. 1600 is my current allowance.

Bought dried tomatoes, pickled cucumbers and similar stuff to get me trough the day.

It's actually fascinating, if you listen to your body closely, how often you want to eat something either for being bored, or because of clocktime ("everyone has luch at noon"). I've stopped feeling obligated to eat with my workmates for that very reason. Abd so it pays to have low-cal snacks ready for when you want to munch something.

Dayum, that's totally awesome, PFunk!

Yup. I have a couple pics already on this thread of my Mickey Mouse vinyl weights and bench, plus dumb bells and a few accessories. It's all we've needed so far, although we're still shopping for an upgrade (also a squat bench). We'll never be gym rat types (~45 min. workouts, twice a week) but I'll tell you this...

If my wife knew at 30 what she now knows at 48 about weight training (see pic below), she would have hit the weights 20 years ago! *That's* how you "put some meat on them bones" (meat meaning muscle, not fat...like a good steak)! Not freggin' cheeseburgers which will only give an older skinny gal a pot belly and cholesterol problem. No, hit the weights instead, even causally!

She eventually put on weight (too much for her frame) in her mid-30's when her metabolism tanked overnight (long time diet of fast/fried food, pizza, airport Cinnabons and regular Cokes), but now weightlifting is helping her measurements continue to shrink without really dropping anymore weight. I guess that's because muscle weighs more than fat for the same volume? She's happy because she doesn't ever want to be underweight again (min. 109.5 lbs. [49.66 kg] = BMI: 18.5) but she also wants no stomach fat (heart/cardiology concerns). Besides, she's always hated her boney arms (compare with pic a few pages back). Weightlifting is where it's at!

It's interesting to watch, I still have so much body fat to get rid of that I can't really tell a difference except that I'm losing flab under my arms. My arms are getting stronger although they're not getting any bigger yet when I flex and take a measurement, just better defined. But then I'm still losing weight so wife and I are not at the same place yet.

The big tests coming up, MAJOR cardiology tests for her (she did the blood work part this morning) and then full physicals for both of us. Not really sexy to think about, but those numbers are what define our health.

Time for an update,and to check how others are doing.

92.5 kg (14st 8lbs) *started at 121kg (19+ st)

I've decided to give the dumbbells a go because I really need to work on my upper body a little.I bought a set of 4kg ones that are much more compact than the ones my mate gave me.They are easier to work with and should give me a moderate work-out.

Hey Chucky, thanks for resurrecting the thread and congrats on that achievement!

If you're looking for upper body definition (chest) then also consider bench dips and pushup variations, Google is full of suggestions.

My own chest is slightly under-trained because I keep doing "dirty" pushups. Smaller breast muscle is amazing defined from the dips, but the larger one isn't biting when I hurry the exercises. So that's my next goal.

I'm still very, very happy right now with my shape. I dropped to 1600kcal/day a month before my birthday, found it easy to maintain and now I'm 4kg off my set limit and at somewhere of 13.5% body fat. Might keep a lower kcal diet for now, it's not really hurting my enjoyment.


Last weekend I broke my total personal best at the racetrack and set the laptime I had been aiming at, training hard for five years. I had a near highsider the next lap but rode the bike trough gravel and grass and saved it. Consequently I was super emotional and happy when I came back for lunch break - and I also like that pic because even bent over you can see some abs definition, which is certainly not the average for a guy of 35. I look around here at work and I'm beating most other dudes in shape, easily.

Someone had bumped this thread (posts lost in the interruption), got me thinking about it...

Again, good job Chucky and lookin' good, RSColonel_131st!

++++++++++

I turned 49 last month, wife turns 49 next week, our goal now is to finish what we started in our early 40's (she's close, I have a ways to go). At our age, we're paying closer attention to family history and the numbers on our blood work vs. the scale and tape measure. Our annual physicals this year were postponed due to the flooding, we still need to reschedule.

My last numbers were...

GLU: 94
ALT: 27
CHOL: 222
TRI: 134
HDL: 42
LDL: 154

I have to watch my glucose which is up a couple points from the year before, and diabetes runs rampant in my family. Oddly enough there's not much obesity on my side, my mom's parents were thin with diabetes, my father isn't overweight with mild diabetes (averages 120 every morning, low dosage Metformin).

I just want to get off blood pressure meds, then I'll be med-free for the time being.

++++++++++

Wife just got back some of her numbers, those related to heart (insurance won't test twice within a year, so glucose gets tested at physical [always low]).

Her recent numbers (compared w/last year)...

GLU: ?
ALT: 9 (23)
CHOL: 230 (223)
TRI: 113 (135)
HDL: 70 (62)
LDL: 137 (134)

Her cardiologist is pleased overall. While total and LDL (bad) are up, HDL (good) [is up] and triglycerides are down, and that to him is a good tradeoff. Big tests (treadmill stress and nuclear) in a couple of weeks. She's been off Lipitor for a few years now, will remain med-free for at least another year.

Her family history is a deceased father at age 32 (heart attack in his sleep, although *very* thin), siblings/late-mother with diabetes and/or high cholesterol (all obese, at least Class II [BMI over 35]).

++++++++++

For our 50th BD's next year, we're going to treat ourselves to...

...colonoscopies!

Oh boy, can't wait! Some places have virtual ones now, you still have to do the at-home cleanout but it works like an x-ray vs. a probe. Unfortunately, you take a chance of a having a repeat if they find something they want to snip.

++++++++++

EDIT: Since my Downtown Baton Rouge pics are lost (9/20/16), I'm going to post my favorite ones here. Spent the day walking my ass off, over 15,000 steps including lots of stairs...

I've had a few colonoscopies. The last one I decided to take without a sedative as I wanted to leave asap.Boy,it was ok until he had to turn a corner.I was nearly off the table. Not trying to put you off or anything

Luckily I was worrying about nothing,all clear.

Just hit 92kg so tonight I'm having a treat.I've invited Ben and Jerry over (screw it,I'll cycle that off in the morning).

Enjoy that ice cream, Chucky! I'm going to splurge on a couple of vodka shots tonight, something I rarely do anymore (last time was to enhance the illusion that I was at my first Led Zeppelin concert ).

I hit Submit too fast...



I've driven my father a couple of times the past few years (they're always snipping, turns out to be nothing bad) and he's a big baby, so if he can deal I *know* I can! But yeah, I want to be put under (or twilight, I think they call it).

To me that would be like getting drilled on by the dentist without the gas (and pleasure, I actually kinda like it).

I also took an upper endoscopy without sedative too,that was very unnerving at first.

Back in 2008, after my first dental cleaning (which took two appointments because my gums were so unhealthy and teeth so sensitive that the novocaine wasn't very effective), I had my first root canal. Bottom molar, biggest tooth in my mouth. Halfway through the procedure the oral surgeon stopped, said the tooth was too far gone and needed extraction.

Before he started the root canal, he let me know they were out of nitrous and did I want to reschedule? I told my wife I better do this now because there was a chance I was never coming back! HUGE mistake, I have to be sedated to get through any kind of evasive/painful procedure! My current dentist knows I'll do just fine, as long as he keeps the gas flowing while the music in my ears is drowning out his torture devices!

++++++++++

I had a great time last night (concert) as I knew I would, but I can't keep this pace while skirting obesity. My energy levels and my feet can no longer take it, I have to finish what I started. Dec. 31 on this thread, pics will be coming (a little extra motivation to put up or shut up ).

We picked out our next new toy, might go pick it up this evening...



Main difference between this one and the one we have now (besides capacity and gripping width) is that it has a squat station. I can handle/spot her squat weight without a station but she can't reciprocate. This still isn't a professional gym quality bench but it's probably all we'll ever need.

++++++++++

Nice talk last night, mainly about why I'm not progressing with weight/inches. New iron weights/bench should take care of strength, but I'm not doing so well with eating...apparently. Once again the biggest culprit is nuts, I can't keep my hand out of the cashew/trail mix jar. It doesn't seem that bad to me, but she's noticed we're going through the containers way too fast.

Costco sized (first pic). So we're going to take more drastic measures, she's keeping the nuts (also Craisins, raisins, prunes, plums, etc.) in her office and making me little daily snack bags like I was doing before (second pic).

Also, for the first time we're going to start calorie counting. I've turned my eating completely over to my slimmer half and she's going to help me track my intake (and no, I'm not going to cheat). But she's also agreed to not bring home anymore 'crap' (leftovers from office dinners, functions), including Mellow Mushroom pizza. Her cholesterol is also still on the high side and with her family history, we both should be eating better.

That said, the cooler weather is making evening walks/runs so much more enjoyable.

How drastic/exact do you want to count? I usually round out to the nearest 100kcal.

I'm not really sure. I've already screwed up my first day by forgetting to write everything down. It's probably going to take me a couple of days or so to get into the habit.

Two more things she's noticed: I'm hitting the cheese and hummus more than I think (again, Costco large bulk size, roll up a slice of Swiss and dip it into roasted red pepper hummus...yumm). Also, my nightly spoon of peanut butter (Peter Pan, to pill the dog, I eat the rest) keeps getting bigger. I concede that one, a bad habit I've started. Not to mention that I'm spending more time on my studies and game, now drinking way too much coffee probably (Sugar In The Raw and lots of half-&-half). It's probably a combination of those things, plus the nuts.

I'll start again tomorrow, measuring and writing down everything I eat and drink (a real PITA, IMO). How accurate I want to be, I just don't know yet.

Okay, if you are snacking a lot it's tricky and you need to be detailed.

Might have mentioned it before, my system is easy.

I just write down the date, and the hundreds of kcal rounded to nearest. So for example

04.10. 4+6+2+3+1

In this example the 4 is the 400 from a Muffin in the morning, the 600 is from chicken with vegetables and cashews at noon, the 2 is a doughnut in the afternoon, 3 are the protein bars after training, and 1 are two pieces of chocolate in the evening. That would be 1600kcal total which is on the low side for my needs.

I can either guess or already know from memory most "standard meals".

Now if you are snacking a lot in between, then you'll have lots of small 100kcal or even 50kcal bites. I sometimes just make a note in my head, for example on pieces of chocolate, and write them down next time I walk by my paper sheet.

Thanks for the info, RSColonel_131st. I like your system and how you round off.

I need to measure better (use measuring spoons/scoops vs. big measuring cups for smaller stuff), also with getting the right info when I have no label. We have a couple of calorie counting books we dug up which cover fruits/veggies/liquids to restaurant dishes. I also need to estimate how many calories I burn in a day.

Wife is home on a 9-day vacation and we're going to work on it together starting tomorrow. She's going to make me a spreadsheet with my typical eats (won't be difficult, I pretty much stick to the same stuff) and put a clipboard in the kitchen where I can simply put a check or number next to whatever I'm stuffing into my pie hole. We'll figure something out that works for me.

Tomorrow morning, Alzheimer's 5K at LSU, then she goes to yoga while I walk the campus again (no football, was suppose to be in Gainesville, I believe), a good start.

Mystery being solved, I'm one snacking SOB! And that's with cutting back so that I don't have to log so much snacking and knowing someone is constantly watching over my shoulders this week (which I asked for). You can do allot of small innocent snacking throughout an entire day.

I'll spit out the details later...

I've been very detailed with calorie counting of breakfasts this week (I cook breakfast), then I round the total to the nearest 100 (as suggested) which is a one-time deal since I'm consistent with what I cook. Otherwise, I'm using RSColonel_131st's round-off method.

My breakfasts range between 400 - 500 cal. plus a banana (120 cal.) and a 1/4 cup of almonds (160 cal.). 780 cal. total. What I'm doing now is saving the banana/almonds for a mid-morning snack until lunch.

We hardly ever eat out or consume alcohol (low amount) except on Friday date night, which is every other week or so. Other things I've done, for example, is to reduce my nightly size of pomegranate juice from 8 to 4 oz., saving 75 cal. (POM's claim that it helps to ward off old man...issues...is now being questioned by the FDA anyway). It's quantity, even with snacks, that I'm needing to reduce and having pre-made snack bags and containers are key for me (I really knew this already, I just wasn't doing it).

++++++++++

This week UPS delivered womens leather boots (I measured 16" from heel to top), what looks to be tighter/skinnier jeans, and a couple of non-baggy lacy looking tops that don't look like they were made by Disney. Only what I've been begging for, for 30 years! I'll take all the motivation I can get right now, and I'm looking forward to replacing my own wardrobe as well.

The new wardrobe so you can hide your new sexy outfits from the missus?

No, but I am going see "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" at the end of the month (first time seeing it in a theater and not being 17/18th BD) so I might come back with those...tendencies.

Lieste, you had a very nice post about fencing that was lost in the interruption, that sucks.

The thing with carbohydrates is that ,complex or simple, once they are in the blood, sooner for the simple et later for the complex, they have a very simple fat(e): if one's very active, physical, they are burnt as fuel for the muscles. If one does nothing physical afterward, they are stocked as fat.If one hasjust done some difficult exercice, they are stocked as glycogen in the muscle in the first place because the glycogen stocks are depleted. So for dinner,when bedtimei s coming the one who wants to lose weight should avoid them and eat plenty of green veggies instead unless he just has done aerobic sport.

I was just saying that I've been able to buy a nice Gambeson from Black Armoury, and some mitten style gauntlets - I've been doing steel for the last 6 weeks or so - with synthetic still for free-sparring but steel for drills and controlled sparring.

Steel has a lot more presence in the bind, and is a wonderful sound.

On one of the two weekly sessions I've also been doing some Italian Rapier, which is a lot harder work than longsword. This is because the weapon is similar in weight (in fact our training weapons are almost a pound heavier than the Federschwert) are held with only one hand rather than both, and are held in extended guards most of the time. Sorely tempted to place an order for a better quality rapier, but there is a 10 month+ waiting list.
A very different style of fencing, much more thrust oriented, although still with the option to cut, but longsword is easier to learn the basic techniques, and much less tiring.

I got a bit lost for a while (I put on a few kg) but I'm making a final push to get to my 'ideal' weight.

91kg (14st 3lbs) today.That's the lightest I've been for 20 years I reckon. That's close to shedding 5 stone! I'm amazed to be honest.

I want to find something that weighs 5 stone and carry it around for a bit.

My BMI is now 27,down from 36.

Wow Chucky, you are doing really well. Hitting the weights too?

Lieste, I keep wondering if I want to try either Kendo or HEMA for exercise... you make it sound appetizing.

Right now I have Salsa classes until end of November and I might keep the habit of going somewhere once a week to learn/practice/train.

Yup,I try and use them 3-4 times a week.Other than the walking and cycling I also do some basic exercise,push-ups etc.

That sounds like plenty of exercise. What is your target weight?

Around 13st 7lbs (85-86kg),so not too far to go.

If you have any interest in swords or mediaeval/renaissance history then you should at least try out some type of HEMA.

Kendo is very, very formal - strict rules about the postures used before/during/after cuts and specific targets. As I understand it even more so than in olympic (foil, epee, (sport) sabre) fencing in some respects. It isn't the same as Kenjitsu - which is more closely comparable to HEMA though still likely to be more 'mystical' about how the art is approached. For me that isn't too appealing.

I'd suggest looking around your area for available schools. Then do a few taster classes in the one(s) that appeal most to you (many schools have a limited amount of 'beginners' kit for people to try out, because the initial costs of entry are somewhat high (even a basic synthetic/wooden waster, gloves, mask, elbows is going to run to around 200 Euro - and basic 'fast drilling' steel longsword kit around 600 Euro - with more to permit free sparring or competition*).
You might find that you have a preference for one type of weapon over another - single handed swords are very different in handling and how they can be used than a longsword, and have the possibility to use with a parrying dagger or buckler in some traditions. I like both, and especially the differences between using a longsword (very fast movements over wide arcs, by minimal opposition of the hands on each other, lots of interesting angles the attacks and parries can come from) and a rapier (smaller movements, much slower point, but 'quicker' in some ways because of the minimal movements needed - I find it much harder work than the longsword as the whole weight of the sword is in one more or less extended hand, and the body is involved much more in lunging and other large movements of the centre of your mass - with the addition of the left hand dagger you get a different feel again, with much more rapid resolution of exchanges).

Being from Austria you might find the original source material for the German traditions more accessible - I have to rely on translation, with all the issues that that causes - I know it is an archaic form rather than modern but I still find Elizabethan English more manageable than C15th/C16th German

*The training weapons of reasonable quality are around 50/250 Euro respectively. I'd note that a nice steel feder, or rapier training sword etc, is much more fun to have, to hold and to swing around than a plastic or wooden 'sword' or a shinai. It isn't quite as nice as a 'real' sword (whether blunt or sharp), because it is made 'safe' for your training partner which is contrary to the original purpose of a sword, but many people also go on to buy sharp versions for cutting practice or (sharp/semi-sharp) for their walls.

Hmm, both the nearest HEMA and Kendo club seem to have started their beginner classes in late September or early October... might be I need to wait until spring to get involved as I can't start additional stuff until December.

True that as German speaker the European approach would give me some interesting reading material - I have however spent some time with Japanese Philosophy and so their formal way to go about things is also interesting.

I guess from a Fitness POV the HEMA works you harder?

You really ought to celebrate that properly when you get there. Looking forward to when you let us know

I'd assume that athletically they'd be similar. You are still using a sword like object to offend your partner, while moving as necessary to do so. Kendo has narrowly proscribed techniques, but that means that they need to be performed more accurately and rapidly to be successful (probably?), while Longsword uses a much wider palette of potential attacks so deception and geometry often take the place of raw speed or power.

At 1.65m and 50kg I am competitive in most respects with people who are universally taller and between 75 and 90kg... as long as I use geometry and mechanical advantage to do what reach and strength cannot.

The gear weight adds up - my (not quite complete) longsword set (mask, mask hood, Gambeson, leg-guards and gauntlets, plus the feder) comes to around 7kg additional to my clothing worn underneath** (in small/very small sizes) and most of the other kit used in the school seems to be noticeably heavier. It is quite hot to work in, especially at higher pace. Rapier I use the same gear for except I omit the leg-guards, and use thin gloves instead of the gauntlets. This is heavier than is strictly needed, but I don't have a lighter fencing jacket or mask so just use what I have for longsword.

** As a point of context - white harness, arming doublet and sword would be around 24kg for me. Some (formerly) rich people even practice harnessfechten, but that is outside what I can at this point afford...

Which suited you best would I think depend on which interested you more... but steel sword, compared to bamboo stick ~ just saying.
Definitely more squinting needed to see a shinai as a sword than a feder as one.

LOL. Don't we all?

Nope, I never was fat

I was pretty thin all the way through high school. The weight gain started in college.

I started gaining weight as a teen, hanging out with my wife's family. It was my introduction to Cokes, fast food, frozen seafood (Mrs. Paul's) and constant carport BBQ's. Oh, and cable (HBO/MTV), sitting on the couch watching TV.

"Annette's boyfriend's momma must not feed him." "Have another piece of pie" (always several to choose from).

Addisoncave,is that you?

To those who may have trouble losing weight despite considerable efforts: maybe go see an Endocrinologist and have TSH/T3/T4 levels checked?

Even a latent/ sub-clinical Hypothyroidism (T3/T4 normal, but TSH elevated) could be the culprit. Especially if you notice any other symptoms usually related to Hypothyroidism (but often falsely diagnosed as something else) . A simple blood sample test will clear that up.

An acquaintance of mine did just that, and lo and behold: his TSH was elevated. Turned out his lethargy was not at all due to depression or "lazyness".

My culprit is too much Popeye's fried chicken and biscuits.

Ironically enough I've put back KFC on the list of things to eat... yes there's plenty of fat and the nutritional value of those fats is bad, but 12 hot wings have decent protein for only 1000kcal...

If the hot wings are not breaded it's not too bad.

I have my TSH checked every 12 months since I suffered hyperthyroidism in the 90's. Now I take daily supplements since treatment sent me the other way.

Oh boy this is getting hard now.The last stone is proving hard to shift.I keep having little 'breakdowns'.I need more will-power.

PM, they are breaded, but even so they work out to a decent meal without going overboard.

Chucky, you get two special babe posts when you manage that final stone

I'm under control now, stalling mainly from excessive daily calories. I've cut back.

I even received a nice complement recently...
"Your face is starting to thin out again."

Hell yeah!

When I get back in a posting mood (and have time) I'll write a long boring post about it, including weight and measurements.

Just committed far too much money on a nice main gauche and rapier for my Giganti/Capo Ferro rapier class to replace the class loaners... much nicer weapons and it will make the 90 minute session much easier to remain focussed on (the extra 650g of the basic weapon over the proper weighted one is around 50% heavier than it needs to be, and held at arms' length for much of the time it becomes difficult to retain fine point control).

Long wait for forging and delivery to be complete, but should have nice stabby-stabby-funtimes toys by March or April... meanwhile I still also need to buy hip protection once I can find some small enough. (Fencing pants and skirts that I've seen so far are either not suitable for longsword (not padded/with stiff plates over the hip) or are sized at 30+ inch waist which is dangerously close to being able to just fall off.

Still waiting for videos Lieste

Mark, good to hear. Keep going!

Not sure if I wrote it already, but I got back into indoor climbing (bouldering) for the cardio and muscle training. Want to get back into swimming but I know that at the convenient times the place is full of old people loving to get in the way and kids trying to jump on my head. Need to muster the discipline to get up earlier.

So basically some more rounded exercise with these two activities, plus a small push downwards for 75KG at about 12% bodyfat. That should look really nice then.

Nothing new to report here, except we're closing in on that last month of the year and I'm feeling a time crunch.

Wife was at the cardiologist all Monday morning, lots of tests, all just came back good (normal). Said she was running the treadmill hard, got her heart rate up to 180 pbm for several minutes (more than they needed), that she was feeling good doing it. She's done, her weight and size exactly where she wanted it, just maintaining now and waiting for me to catch up (details and pics when *I'm* done as well).

I'm busting my ass on it right now though, harder than 2008/09. I don't like getting left behind but overall I'm feeling really good.

The Chucky diet train has come off the tracks a little

I managed 92kg a while back but today that is 95.6kg. I blame the cold weather setting in.No push-bike rides at the moment but I'm still walking every day.

I'm having a 2 week strict diet session starting today to get back on track.I wanted to be 85kg for christmas but I'll settle for 90 now. I'm so annoyed with myself

Don't get too annoyed at yourself, angry frustration will just make eating for pleasure more attractive.

The cold weather for me always has the effect that my body wants to build up some fa t and I get more craving for fast food than normal. Try to step over that... hard but possible.

Fingers crossed! You came a far distance already, now don't lose your temper, stay "good" with yourself and accept the ups and downs while being focused.

I seldom have a bad day anymore, not much opportunity with what's in my house. Of course, you can still overeat with healthier food, it's just not as tempting. But when I do, I don't worry about it. Every day is a new day and sometimes I have to look at it as a fresh start.

I've said this before, we shouldn't have to put *this* much effort into it, but that's the world we're in and for me, I'm working on a body that's had decades of abuse so it's going to be difficult. But, what can you do?

++++++++++

I figure this is as good a thread as any to post this (not going to start a new one for it). Two weeks I wanted to give my lawn a final mowing for the season, got about a third mowed and it started raining so I quit. Last week I went to finish, mower wouldn't move (Gravely zero-turn, belt or transmission problem). I knew we were going to get allot of rain today and I really wanted it done.

So this morning, and half of the afternoon, I mowed about 2/3 of 1.5 acres (minus house and 12' of pond) with a cheap (as in Lowe's smallest cheapest mower) non-propelled push mower. My arms and legs are freggin' Jell-O. No way I could have done it with summer grass, was hard enough as it was. I had to have burned some serious calories today, I doubt I workout or hit the treadmill at all tonight.

It's pouring now so I'm glad I finished it. I meant to mow only the dog pin and got carried away with the tunes in my headphones.

Yeah, the push mower with the friction driven blades is brilliant for a work-out.

I hate the noise of strimmers/petrol or electric mowers... so always preferred to use a push mower.

If the grass is very long, you can also consider a scythe or sickle if you want to do it the quiet and fullfilling way...

Oops, sorry Lieste. A little miss-understanding.

My push mower has a gasoline engine to turn the blade, it's just not self-propelled, so I still have to push it manually. What you're referring to (I think) is a reel mower (for REAL men...lol), no motor at all and the wheels turn the blades. I have one of these, a small Scott I bought for the little golf putting area in my backyard (that is now in disarray). But it's not heavy-duty enough to cut allot of yard, like those old-timey reel mowers.

Now that I've freed myself of the shackles of marriage, I noticed something very weird........despite all the talk of "getting healthy", wife was actually doing nothing, but keeping weight on both of us. Got pissed at me because I have been able to focus myself.

I've been on a whey powder drink now for eight weeks, and I've been taking in carbs only twice per week. I feel great!

In that time, I've lost 8 kilos, I see I got about another 8 to lose. I'm 6'4 on the old scale. From next week I'll be into the company gym, and back with my bro Ray doing some short sessions of cage fighting again. Must be having my second childhood, because I'm really looking forward to this, and I turn 50 in January......LMAO.

I'm off to get my teeth scraped, we did x-rays last time (I think) so it ought to be quick and easy.

We're going to talk with our dentist after and make a final decision whether or not to get whitenings, and if so, which procedure. I personally don't think it's worth it, maybe if we were 30 but not at 50. We suffered enough already with full braces in our 40's (her second time around and mine took two years to sort out that mess), gum treatments and then my two implants. I'm tired of it and don't want anymore work done in my mouth unless it's absolutely necessary, plus I want to enjoy my coffee/tea and red wine without caring if my teeth are getting stained.

Wife would have it much worse because she has exterior top front fillings that would need replacing to match, but she really would like whiter teeth (her yellowish fillings really show in photos). I guess I'll do it if she does, but I'm going to suggest we've done enough already, stained teeth (as long as they're healthy) don't bother me.

I was out voted. After our next dental cleaning April of next year, we'll be starting a dentist office whitening called "Zoom", using a blue light or something. Thing is, my wife's front fillings are 25 years old so she doesn't mind replacing them while having all of her teeth consistently whitened. Should be easy for me, my implants are both lower back molars (the big ones second from back, no wisdom teeth) so it doesn't matter if the shade doesn't match since you can't see them anyway.

Wow, I've had my teeth finished for a few years now, but they were never really white. All I'll need now is some fruity stylish clothes and I might pass for an older metrosexual! Unless I have to shave off the goat...that ain't happening.

I was 42 and I didn't have a single cavity until I whitened my teeth. I had two cavities within two years of the whitening. May have been a coincidence but I will never believe it.


Wheels

Interesting, Wheels. I have four months to really look into it, I'm still not sold on it. Thanks for your input.

How's everyone doing with the weight, pre-christmas? Chucky?

I was down to three days 76.x kg and four days 77.y kg for a week (y being on the low side) but now I'm back in the high 77s for a full seven days. Damnit, wrong direction if I'm to get into 75s.

I did raise my situp weight from 6 to 10kg, and it shows. Enjoying indoor climbing quite a lot, once a week for an hour...

Please don't ask.I'm absolutely furious with myself.All attempts to get back on track have failed.

92kg to 97kg

However I'm on day 2 of the fight back.It's never been this hard before.Come February it will be 12 months since I started,I will be terribly disappointed if I'm not at 85kg (my target weight) by then.

Not cycling has hit me hard.The cold and wet has seen to that.I did think about some sort of bike exercising machine but that doesn't appeal at all.I'll just walk whenever possible.

Finally decided to jump aboard.

I was laying in bed four weeks ago and two days tonight and decided i needed to change my whole life. I turned 46 this year, still smoking (32 years smoker) eating fairly sh/t food, drinking way to many iced coffees, no exercise despite a two year stint of riding to work three years ago..and then sitting at a desk all damn day. Heaviest i have ever been in my life, 97 kilos, 6.13.

I was at the point where running up a flight of stairs and i was puffed. Didn't want to take my shirt off at the beach because i was 'skinny fat'. Lost all of any tone i used to have, face getting fat, staying up late constantly..1am-2am bedtime, 6.30 rise, 8.5-9 hour work day. Just cruising through life doing jack sh/t. So about an hour in my head laying in bed and going over it all and made Friday (which was two days away) my quit all the bad crap day and start sorting my sh/t.

Had my last ciggie and iced coffee at 10 pm that Friday night while looking at the stars on my balcony and toddled off to bed. Up at 7 and cleaned the house from bottom to top. Ashtrays gone, threw everything in the fridge out, cleaned out the cupboards, swept, mopped..threw away all the crap you keep hanging on to for that 'this might come in handy moment'. Went and hit the shops and spent my ciggie and iced coffee money on new sneakers, new shorts, couple of new shirts, new socks, small backpack, fruit, cereal, yogurt and other weird things i never ate Found a nice clean 24/7 gym nearby and signed up.

4 weeks exactly today and i have hit the gym 6 days out of 7 for all 4 weeks. Get there at 5.45, finish at 7.10 and then go to work and try and contain my eating lol. In bed between 9.30 and 10.30, up at 5.20am. I have lost 5 kg and plateaued at 91.6 kg for the last week and a half. I am wanting about 78-82 kg and targeting a Brad Pitt Fight club body Seriously. Looking at toned, not weight lifter swole body type. At the moment i am not pushing myself full bore, but fairly hard. Most of my gym workout has been 3 sets/10 reps with chest day, leg day, back day, bicep/tricep day, shoulders day, cardio day with minor cardio in every day as well as stretching and a warm up on the treadmill. Mainly getting my form right first as i am a lot more uncoordinated than i thought i would be..those teen years are so far away now lol. I feel a bit like an old guy trying to be graceful doing ballet..it really is shocking how out of form you get.

I do need to get on a real eating plan as at the moment i am just eating good food as opposed to calorie counting..but that will come. Just trying to get my head right first. Third day at the gym and i nearly passed out on leg day pushing it too hard, sat on the floor in the 'omfg i am going to vomit position' for about two minutes before i could get up and not die. Lesson learned, i am 46 and have been smoking forever and not exercising or eating right, not 26 with plenty of go. Definitely feel a lot better and have a lot more pep in my step, my gut is going and i lost a notch on my belt..and i actually have some slight muscle happening. When i am watching a movie or chilling i have some hand grippers i use that i fatigue my forearms with to keep my mind of smoking when it pops up. Also working on being aware of my posture.

I have a 'skinny fat' series of pics i took the day before my first gym day but i am not posting them until i have three or so months of pics to see at least some change..too embarrassing atm lads.

So fairly massive changes for me but i am feeling much better, sleeping better and slowly stopping thinking about smoking when situations pop up. Christmas is a bit of killer as it keeps entering my head as a pressure time, if i drink..i smoke. Drinking isn't a big thing for me..but Chrissie is the time so i need to work that out when it comes. I bailed on our work party a week ago owing to drinks and party atmosphere and pressure to just let my hair down. One day at a time is real for me regards smoking lol.

Sorry for the book Hopefully about Feb/March i will be able to post some pics and keep on the roll i am on, pretty serious about what i am doing as the alternative is just crap. In for the long haul to get my goal body and be fit and not die early. Worst thing? I want to eat everything..all the damn time, never been so hungry in my life!

edit- Any gurus in this thread want to jump in with some suggestions with gym/diet, go at it, i am all ears.

As far as the diet goes,keep a food diary/count calories.That helped me a lot. Also,plan your meals if you can.

Yeah i know, i really need to get on it. Today i had my cereal with a banana at 7.30, yogurt (small one) at 8.30, nut bar at 10 then had to force myself to hang until 12.00 for a chicken and salad roll..i was starving! Had another yogurt and nutbar at about 2.00 and then had to fight myself to not attack the fridge again until knock off at 5.00! You would think i had never seen food before. It's more that i am not smoking or drinking a milk drink so am substituting food for when i normally escape for my five minute lung torpedo.

I need to find a plan and then stick to it. The first week i found i simply went to bed earlier so i would stay away from stuffing my gob.

First time posting fromeiphone this sucks nice read ajaajay back to lurking

Since I'm not arriving
Driving not arriving
I'll clean this up later wife says I'm using up all the juice

That read like some rock lyrics.

Since my retirement... I joined a gym, and hired a personal trainer. I've been using him for just over a month now and plan on continuing till April, when I'm having a military reunion I'm hosting. Hope to be big, and still don't want lean.

On day 1 he gave me a diet, posted below... I told him didn't like most of that food, and I love to eat, and still want to enjoy life... so we compermised, but this guy is smart, I want to stay big, but turn my fat to muscle... so if you work out with weights, (that's what he says is important for older people like me, 50, if you youmg then more cardio is important, but for a old guy, our muscles have matured and now fading, his words. at my age he says work out with weights and eat healthy, (90% of weight lost is eating, now working out.)

work out 3 or 4 times a day, a do 3 times a week... my schedule...

Monday... Chest (major muscle), Bicep (minor muscle), and abs.

Wednesday... Shoulders (major), Legs (not really minor muscle group, bust worked as one), abs

Friday... Back (major), Triceps (minor), abs.

4 exercises for the major, 2 for the minor 1 for the abs.

3 sets of 12, start light, work on form and concentrate on the muscle your working. last set you should be struggling to reach 12, I usually make ti to 8 to 10 before he says enough.

abs, 3 sets of 20. different ab exercises every time, not just sit ups.



When I first was weighed in and measures on day 1, I was 240 pounds, 33% body fat.

after 3 weeks we measured again... at first I was disappointed by gaining 1 pound... but then we discovered that I lost 5 pounds of fat and gained 9 pounds of muscle... so don't worry about the scale, muscle is heavier then fat. I lost 2 inches on waist, but added 3 on my back/chest/shoulder measurement.

My diet:

Morning bran flakes, (still need my regularity, lol), banana on the walk to the gym.

after work out, a protein shake.

lunch chicken salad or turkey sandwich, no white bread.

3 PM snake nuts ans fruits.

Dinner, protein, (chicken/steak) and vegtibles.

evening snake... fruit/vegitbles/nuts or natural peanut butter.

I eat small evey 3 hours, no breads, whites or sweets...

SUNDAY is a cheat day, and thou I do cheat, not nearly as much as I could... I find myself still wanting to honor the diet to a point. might have a brownie, X-mas cookie or 2 or ice cream with the wife at night. It's a cheat day.


so there you go, what I learned in the last month...life is good, feeling great... I like being a big boy, but now it's more muscle then fat.

heres his diet thou he suggested.

That was my first attempt at posting on a small screen (iPhone 4s) and man did it suck, although admittedly I didn't try to figure out how to text properly from a virtual keyboard. Texting on a phone would drive me nuts.

I enjoyed reading the posts though, when it wasn't my turn to drive. We couldn't get to the car charger so I had to conserve battery.

++++++++++

Nice going, Magnum. Appreciate all the information.

I remember from your diving for your gun video, you're already built like a tank!

Funny thing is that I do want to be lean, in fact I wouldn't mind being considered skinny even, with a little bit of muscle (best example I can think of is Geddy Lee). It just feels better to me to be as light as possible, especially on my feet. I'm not sure I'm really capable of being lean/thin now, at least not like I want to be.

Wife OTOH doesn't share my enthusiasm for me wanting to be a lightweight, she doesn't mind a little extra weight on me (not a problem at the moment...lol).

++++++++++

Wife walked into kitchen this morning while I was packing the small stuff on the table, including my camera which was convenient. Baggy travel jeans, unbrushed morning hair... "Smile!" (see pic below)...

She actually made it, she finished what she started back in 2008, now 110 lbs. (50 kilos), BMI: 18.6 and she aced her last physical/cardio tests. Total weight loss of 33 lbs. (15 kilos) with some yo-yoing but a slow steady decline, finally back to her natural healthy size and weight (as an ectomorph).

Sad to say that I'm back to 200 lbs. (90.7 kilos) and skirting obesity again (BMI: 29.5), however my waist size hasn't really increased over the last 10 lbs. gain so maybe some of it is muscle? But then my waist is under my belly!

If I can't be slim like I want, then maybe I might as well also try to become a tank!

The next three weeks are going to be serious temptation with food and drink (plus not wanting to exercise), and I've asked the Mrs. to keep an eye on me and let me know if she thinks I'm falling off the wagon again. She knows what to do.

Good luck to everyone, this time of year is freggin' tough!

City Thrift in Lilburn, GA, we hit the mother lode!

I'm bringing back (just for me) a lawn sized garbage bag full of Levis, Lee, Polo (dress and pullovers), Arrow, JoS. A. Bank, some with the original tags still on them. All for $60.00! Wife has a smaller bag of stuff for $35.00.

Niece tells us, wait until tonight after Japanese dinner in a nice area of Lawrenceville, there's a great Goodwill right next door, open until 9PM! Don't see how anything could beat where we just left, but we'll see.

I spent even a little *more* money at the super Goodwill last night! Atlanta has so much nicer and well organized Goodwills/thrifts than any in the Baton Rouge area. Atlanta is the king of Goodwill/thrift stores!

Also went to a very nice consignment shop, mostly women's clothing, wife bought her first black cocktail dress. My brother's wife is helping her shop, a more modern dresser (plenty of boots and lower riding skinny jeans).

I now have a humongous wardrobe, ranging from my current tight 36" waist (actually a looser 38", trying to contain the damage right now) to 32". Most of the nicer stuff I've bought is sized to what I *want* to be, for incentive.

Apologies for doing this, everyone is in the kitchen stuffing their faces and I had to walk away before I did more damage. It's too cold and dark to go for a walk so I secluded myself in my brother's office bedroom, told them to pick up the food (it's all 'crap') when they're done as I play on his super high-speed internet (oh man this is nice).

We were looking through their picture albums and I came upon a pic (I'm sure his wife took it) of my first new car, an '87 Dodge Colt E. I know it's very new because I hadn't added the side pin stripes yet, which I did within the first 3 months or so (see pic below).

That would put me just turning 19 and approximately 170 lbs. (77 kg)...

This is about what I'm shooting for today but at that weight in 1986/87, I felt I had already gained too much weight the previous couple of years. In 2009 I came within 10 lbs. of it! I was that freaking close to being my weight in that picture!

Apologies again, I just needed something to do besides eating and drinking. Maybe I'll go back to watching hi-def YouTube videos.

I wanted to wrap up my latest blogging-like posts on this thread, now that I'm home...

Sunday night I was looking over the clothes I purchased on Saturday, and still couldn't believe I bought new looking Ralph Lauren shirts for $2.00, new looking 501's, Lee's and Calvin Klein's for $5.00, all kinds of designer names with quality material and nice stitching for just so cheap. Yeah, I know most of it is used clothing (although some still had original tags/cardboard/collar plastic attached) but man, I just can't believe what you can find at a thrift store or Goodwill in a predominantly upscale area. I don't think Baton Rouge even has any "high class" thrifts and Goodwills!

I told my wife I wanted to go back to those stores on Monday, just the two of us and not feel pressured, spending as much time as we needed to look them over thoroughly. My brother and his wife had appointments in the area (about 20 min. from their house) so they dropped us off and came back a couple of hours later to do their own shopping. Their daughter (a spiffy dresser who also helped my wife shop on Saturday) lives nearby, she and her husband shop almost exclusively at that last Goodwill.

Anyway, another $250.00 spent on Monday (two full grocery baskets full of some of the nicest clothes we've ever owned) and we're all set! I now have complete wardrobes for 36", 34" and 32" waist sizes and large and medium sized shirts (dress shirts, pullover collar, workout, all types). Wife is keeping most of her baggy comfortable size 6's for around the house and traveling (like above pic) while she racked up on 4's and 2's as well as medium and small sizes. We noticed that the smallest size (impossible for me right now, a little tight on her) is the nicest clothing, but it's all really nice stuff.

I couldn't help singing ZZ Top's "Sharped Dressed Man" while I shopped.

Ok, enough about thrift/Goodwill shopping, I'm just relieved to now have a complete wardrobe, especially all the stuff I have yet to get into as I slim down.

++++++++++

I also brought home an old-school Onkyo receiver for my man cave (already had a pair of Bose 201's waiting), my brother upgraded his stereo equipment again, often giving me the oldest hand-me-downs (some things never change). Glad to be home, Atlanta is awesome but just too congested and high paced for us.

We did ok on eats, Cracker Barrel "healthy breakfast/dinner" with "healthy fixins'" along the way, water w/lemon and coffee, etc. I did the best I could at my brother's and with all the eating out, both him and his wife are in their 50's and somehow keep trim (although I think it's just beginning to catch with up with them ). Our niece (their daughter) and Cuban husband, oh man! Since the last time we saw them she's lost 35 lbs. and he's lost 50 lbs. I thought they were doomed (he's a chef and likes "a little meat on them bones") but man, they're doing great! We were out eating Japanese hibachi and he substitutes the fried rice for extra veggies! Why didn't I think of that?!

Visiting my sister and family next weekend, again going to try to eat the best I can but they don't make it easy.

++++++++++

Another reminder pic from my brother's photo albums that I can get back there, I WILL get back there...

EDIT: Driving through Birmingham, AL (it was sunny on way to Atlanta), I kept looking up for Dart's biplane.

Alright, gotta do an update...

We waited an extra day before weighing in (giving all the sodium a chance to settle ). The Atlanta trip put 1.5 lbs. (.69 kg) on my wife and 5.5 lbs. (2.5 kg) on me. I guess it could have been worse, other than Sunday lunch. Sooo...I'm technically obese again...damn, damn, damn! Saturday is also going to be tough at my sister's.

Anyway, Sunday, my brother took us to a giant Chinese buffet in Norcross (I think). I hate buffets, especially Chinese as I lose all control (although I didn't do *that* bad for me, at least the old me). First off, there's no way I can eat a buffet and not drink a Dr. Pepper (or three). Water with lemon works 95% of the time, this is not one of those times. I "limited" myself to two giant mountain sized plates of food (after eating only a banana for breakfast, I wanted to get my money's worth). Although I did eat plenty of boiled shrimp (and they weren't bland) and they had the tastiest whole octopus. Otherwise, I had the usual fried egg rolls, fried shrimp, scallops, crab rolls, different chicken dishes, everything bad. We stuffed ourselves silly.

Wife did something different (our Chinese buffets don't have this option, I don't think). They had a hibachi where you put raw foods in a plate, hand it over and they cook it for you. All they ask is how spicy you want it (wife likes spicy). We sampled some of hers and all agreed, what she ate was a better choice than most of the other stuff and just tasted better than most of what we were eating. I also agree with my brother, I can't be standing in a hibachi line and then waiting for my food to be cooked, getting back to the table at least 10 min. later than everyone else. I already had most of my first plate knocked out when she finally made it to the table. That's patience and willpower the rest of us didn't have, even for our second plates, except for my father who did the hibachi thing.

My only solution is to just avoid these kinda places like the plague, I don't do buffets if I can help it. I got my brother back though, I bought an apple pie from the Publix bakery, along with a tub of vanilla ice cream (his favorite), our last night there. He's probably still eating on it.

I can relate to the Chinese buffet problem. I'd sometimes pay 10EUR for a box of Sushi instead going to the 12EUR buffet place which had unliminited Sushi (and everything else) just to limit my intake...

Gah, had a really mentally tiring two weeks (working and solving a very important private situation) and I find myself with an urge to eat all day. Taking the week off between X-Mas and New Year, trying to come down and eat healthy for seven days.

The other day I re-read this entire year-old thread and I'm pretty disappointed in myself. Lots of words, pics, let's just do it attitude, but no real progress.

Bah. I know it could be worse, lots of people lose weight and then gain it all back and then some. I gained about half of mine back [less actually] and then contained it. Not really what I was shooting for though.

Here comes another year, 2017 will be the one!

I just have to keep reminding myself that I really don't want to go back to my 30's, I felt like such an old man (didn't think I would even make it to 50)...

Ok, I'm going for broke (figuratively and literally).

The past couple of days have been doctor appointments (yesterday I had a couple of moles removed, including a really irritating one around my eye...ouch) since I've met my deductible. Today I went to Costco and purchased their 200 lbs. dumbbell set...



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAY_xop_NHM

I couldn't find this item for the past several months, as this person brought out at the end of the video, I just needed to wait until New Years.

I'm changing my diet as well, going to minimize (but not totally eliminate) dairy and wheat. But mainly I'm going to workout and walk/jog like a crazy mofo, get off my lazy ass on a more regular basis and exercise as much as I can stand!

This isn't so much a New Year's Resolution, it's more of an age resolution. I turn 50 next year, in about 8 months from now and I am not going into my 50's being overweight! I absolutely freaking refuse to!

5'-9" (175.26 cm), I need to get to 168 lbs. (12 stone) for a highest "Normal" BMI of 24.8. I know the BMI table is meant for population averages and not always applicable to an individual, but I think it works for me (I'm not a special case), when combined with waist measurement and bf percentage.

<Cues up AC/DC's "Back In Black" album and puts on workout gloves.>

++++++++++

After watching that video, I'm going to make the rack base sturdier and then add wheels to it.

Assembled the rack this morning, this set is really nice (possibly a slightly newer model upgrade to the one in the video). The rack is very sturdy.

We came really close to getting a new weight bench with squat station, but weren't as impressed with it on close inspection so we're still shopping (no rush to replace the one we have). Right now we really don't have room for a bigger bench anyway.

On Oct. 1, I posted...



Well, that ain't happening. I'm going to own up to it though, and shut up about it, after this post...

My sister is visiting until Sat., she's taken over my cave/gym so I haven't been working out this week, going to relax the rest of the week and start back up again Jan. 1.

Wife did something really cool. In addition to making nice clipboard spreadsheets for diet (mainly me, for calorie accountability) and our workouts (how much weight/reps for each exercise), [she bought a 2017 calendar for the our gym] and added every 5k walk/run for the year that we're interested in (6 so far) and other fitness-related milestone dates. She's as determined as I am that I'm not going to be overweight on my 50th birthday this Aug. 31st (and a 32" waist would be nice).

No doubt she'll have scheduled my first colonoscopy (and whatever else) for my 50th BD, and then I'll breathe a sigh of relief. I've had a very dull but consistent pain in my side/back for a couple of years now, that my GP has no concern over yet (I've noticed the irritation fluctuates with my weight). It'll be nice knowing I have nothing serious going on in there.

Meanwhile, she wants to hit it as hard as ever (she likes her weight, just wants another inch or so off her waist) and I'll continue to feed off her drive and determination (no excuses for me as *I'm* not the one going through menopause ).

We're still washing/dry cleaning the clothes we bought in Atlanta (I can't believe I bought a new looking heavy lined trench coat for $10.00) and now suddenly, for the first time in my life, I have a closet and dresser stuffed with very nice clothes (most of which don't fit me yet)!

Our postponed NYC Manhattan foot tour is now scheduled for June 15th, giving me a little over 5 1/2 months to get into tip-top shape, which is plenty of time. We were discussing the other day when we're getting back to the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, how we never seemed to have enough time to see it all (never toured the aircraft displays outside). She reminded me that there was time, I just couldn't handle the walk. Just the inside trek wore me out and I had to sit and rest allot. Unbelievable.

So without a formal New Year's Resolution, I'm getting back to it on the 1st. and harder than ever! Until then I'm going to back off posting so much about it, enjoy other people's success stories (some of which are really inspiring) and in general, try to spend more time lurking/offline. I guess that's my NY Resolution, having a little more balance with being online (mainly SimHQ).

Good luck to everyone here striving for a healthy lifestyle in 2017!

EDIT: I missed part of a sentence, we have fitness-related dates (5k's) on a 2017 gym calendar as constant reminders.

Well, it's come down to the drastic and dramatic.

Wife and I had a real heart-to-heart last night. She's concerned that with my half-ass attitude, gung-ho one week and then slacking off the next two or three, that I'm not going to keep up with her in NYC this June. Considering our recent treks of Houston last June, downtown Baton Rouge last Sept., going back to WDW Orlando a couple or so years ago, she's probably right. She's been planing this vacation for years now, every detail of a 5 8-day foot-only tour of Manhattan, from the top of Central Park to the lower tip of the Financial District. I really don't want to fall behind and let her down. BTW, I get my one full day on the Intrepid.

It all started back in 2008 (age 40) with her bags packed (and she doesn't play). I told her I'd see a doctor immediately if she stayed (and none too soon). I also made a promise that evening (after being scared sh**less) that from now on, I'll go on all medical appointments she schedules, and I've kept my promise (if with a little grumbling and occasional attempts to postpone).

Now I'm making another promise for the first of the year, Sat. night at the strike of midnight...

She's quitting Facebook before it becomes a problem, while I'm also going completely offline and turning myself over for 6 months. I think it'll be like a sexy boot camp version of "Full Metal Jacket", except instead of training as a tough Marine, I'll be in yoga classes and yelled at by a ~105 lbs. woman!

That's ~6 months (~26 weeks or 181 days), she said I can come back July 1st and post all the pics and detailed posts I want, but give her 6 months and she'll finish knocking the weight/waist off of me. I'm kinda scared.

++++++++++

I'm not going to stress over it tonight, though. Shrimp fajitas, vodka shots, live 80's music and whatever comes after, everything an old man needs!

Damn. Would have enjoyed seeing your progress, but I guess we'll be surprised by July. You ought to be thankful for a partner that kicks your butt in shape like that

My new years resolution is simple, yet not so easy: To drop all the white bread and most of my sugar for a month. Then see how it is, and maybe keep it up or adapt.

That means no burger buns, no pizza, no kepab in a sandwich. I'll not yield my monday morning muffin because that is too psychological valuable, but going to try to replace the afternoon doughtnuts and snacks with healthier options. I'll not be able to entirely kick all fried and battered stuff, but going to try and go for more vegetables, more pure meat. Basically a low carb variant cutting out most of the "fast" carbohydrates.

I need three kilos for the last row of abs to come out properly. Then I'll be happy

Yeah, she's just tired of me whining about it. Also for blaming her family with getting me started and for her own lifestyle and eating habits over those bad years when I struggled to get healthier on my own. Of course, it's everyone else's fault but my own!

I see her point though about the whining, also that I *never* seem to finish what I start and she wants to see me to finish...something. I'm not too worried about relapsing once I get there, I've at least maintained most of the loss over a few years and with allot more fitness, I just never finished the job.

++++++++++

Tonight as I'm getting ready, I looked over my old "Molly Ringwalds" thread on the Music board to see what they played last time (it's been a while) and noticed that despite all of my nice new clothes, the only thing that comfortably fits me right now (if a bit baggy) is the same old tired 38"W faded Levi's and plain light blue dress shirt I wore at the first show, Dec. 26, 2015. A whole year went by with no real progress!

About going offline Jan. 1st (and I do have a problem, especially with time-killing browsing [not related to SimHQ]), trying to balance it would be like giving an alcoholic a beer. Ok, not really that bad, but I have to go cold turkey for a long spell for things like this to work (like I did with fast food in 2008, I seriously limit it now but don't completely abstain).

I'll take pics along the way and for sure I'll have a giant success post on this thread come July 1st! And I know I'll succeed this time because my personal trainer won't accept failure.

++++++++++

Already limiting wheat, sugar (also Splenda) and dairy, feeling better already!

Wife and I are both signed up for cooking classes over the next three months (I think), one is a knife class and the other is all about healthy cooking. Mainly I want to do more stir-fry wok cooking, also thinking about a kitchen remodel to add a ventilated Japanese-style hibachi grill island. That would be freggin' awesome (much later down the road).

See you in July, dudes!

Time to start again for the new year. Quite a setback for sure but I can do it.

Quick update:

As of today, continuing on my whey based drink, and two protein based meals per week (Grilled steak) I've gone from 126 kilos down to 109 as of today. Pretty happy overall.

Still got my ass handed to me by my friend Ray :-(

Doing an hours gym at the company gym each day after work. Been at the for a month, but don't seem to be adding
much in the way of muscle mass, a little disappointed.

However, there is one thing that I AM very happy about; my blood pressure. Wife has been keeping away from me,
and also my doc put me on a short course of drugs to help. When I went to him for help, my BP was ~ 214/90.

Today, using some breathing and relaxation techniques, I'm happy to say that is now down to: 103/70.
Who knows, I may even post some pics of myself in Bali next week...lol

Cheers,

Andrew.

Chucky, what's the score now? Any way to motivate yourself?

Taco, that's an impressive loss. Over what time - four weeks?

I'm back into discipline, and totally in love with a new product. Swiss Company introduced a chocolate milk late last year which has low carbs, added organic protein, no lactose. Very low kcal way of getting my sweet tooth filled with the added benefit of upping my protein intake. I've tried many "protein drinks, chocolate flavor" in the past but they never tasted proper. This one does.

Also started taking some hardboilded eggs to the office for breakfast, every other day or so. Of course much better than a muffin in the morning.

I find for me these little replacements are what makes all the difference.

I have nothing to say. Hard times indeed I'm still hopeful I can turn this around but it's not too good atm.

Hang in there, don't let the setback get too deep into your mind. That only creates frustration, and I for one tend to eat out of frustration...

Stabilize the weight you have, and at worst it will take two more months or so until you can consider riding the pushbike again.

I have stabilized the weight at least. Just under 100kg now.I think I was 92 back in November. I knew xmas would be a problem even though I didn't receive any chocolate this time!

I appreciate the encouragement from this thread,it does help

You came from 121kg, so it's not really unexpected that the trip down into sub-90 would have some plateau or even setback.

That's at least 21kg you still don't have anymore, be proud of that! There's also always the factor how our bodies adapt to extended diets (by cutting our daily base burn). That might be one part of your problem.

Hang in there, be positive, if you need suggestions for diet or exercise, we're here.

Just had a session of our sparring group - people from 4-5 local HEMA groups, fencing with different weapons and following different styles of combat.

Take homes.

2 hours of in earnest sparring is hard work, even when only fighting for around half the time...
Sword and buckler is slightly tricky to deal with when using a longsword - but there are several things that I found to be effective and I could repeat more or less at will (or at least fluff at and disengage unhit).
I don't move enough, nor string together attacks enough when facing a longsword held by a good fighter... but I do better when I feel more confident of my chances - need to work on that.


There might be some video (there was someone filming, but don't know whether I was recorded).



Getting a stop hit in during a retreat.



The fighters.

Good to read the progress (and occasional reverses) here. Lieste,that looks like hard work.

I started working on the last few years of decline after Christmas too. I'd got into the habit of too much alcohol (wrecking sleep) and snacking on crap. Food generally not unhealthy but too much of it.

We just finished a building project that gives us a basement big enough for some gym equipment - we already had a running machine and picked up a cross trainer on ebay. I like them 'cos there's no impact. We're off skiing in March (Ellmau in Austria) and I really didn't want to be limited by lack of fitness.

So a couple of months in my routine is a 10 minute warm up on the treadmill followed by mixed circuits using a phone ap (perigee 7 minute workout) then thirty minutes cross training. I've been able to increase the reps and resistance significantly since I started and I'm getting better form in the circuits. I try to do 4 or 5 days a week. There's an evening playing Badminton too.

Weight wise I've lost around 6 pounds, down to 168 and generally feel much better. Sleep is much improved. Can't say I've noticed any difference in the mirror but since the workouts are getting easier that's good enough for me. Just means I need to do more.

Looking forward to reading some more updates!

Cool pics Lieste. Honestly - I would be scared doing that.

Vitesse, enjoy Austria! Nice area you picked there.

I just noticed that I can drop one hole down on my belt. Scary, because I might have to buy some new clothes. Staying off the fast carbs during January seems to have had a positive effect. Not getting enough exercise in though because life's been busy.

RSColonel, thanks, I can't wait. Picked up my first pair of ski boots recently so I'm all set. I've done the belt hole thing too - back to where I used to be!

About the time problem, I know what you mean. My exercise app is based on 7 minute circuits but I think I need to warm up and down after a workout and it takes a lot longer than that.

A 10 minute segment of various bouts of the recent sparring group. I'm up a few times during the footage, including against my rapier tutor (currently 102nd ranking in world, in the green gambeson).

Nothing very spectacular from me, of course, but I still like being on fill'm.

Very cool Lieste. Sometimes hard to spot the hits, pretty quick. It's interesting how real life differs from the Hollywood version of medieval fights where blows would be traded for hours without any hits...

So happy to report, on Wednesday I hit for the first time in almost ten years a 74KG mark on my scale. Last I had that was at 26 or so, but with a few Kg muscles less.

Well done Colonel!

Yesterday was my first bike ride (unpowered) of the year so hopefully I can get back on track. I have been very naughty.

Time to chain the fridge closed?

Or my mouth.

Fight choreography in film is typically lazy and uniformed. There is a style of simple moves invented in the early days of film (adapted from stage fighting) that is endlessly repeated, but we know a great deal more since the revival of HEMA, and should be able to produce much better choreographed fight scenes.

A simple example of an 'art' film by a group that does HEMA based street theatre and film projects, which is a world away from Hollywood - obviously there are still some distortions to make the fighters safe and to drag it out with a bit of variety, but there are mostly realistic techniques and 'intents' - especially nice is the meisterhau thwart cut thrown soon after they resume from the ringen phase:




Congrats on your accomplishment too.

Damn it! Silly old fool just spent 4 hours in A&E after a spill on the push-bike. Face-first into the kerb.Managed to ride home about 2 miles with blood everywhere.Multiple minor lacerations to hands,elbows,face but I thought I'd knocked my teeth out. Luckily not but I was bleeding quite a bit from my mouth.Got home,looked in the mirror and went straight to A&E.

Multiple stitches to inside of upper lip,a couple in my gums and another in a puncture in upper lip. I never thought it would stop bleeding.

I'm home now but a little shaken tbh. Who said exercise was good for you?

Ouch. Happy to hear you are somewhat okay, could have been worse.

Did you not ask them to sew your mouth shut while they were already at it?

Speedy recovery and hopefully not too much pain. Chicks dig scars, come up with a good story to go with them?

I'm feeling it today.Everything hurts.I look terrible too.

On the plus side,eating is a problem at the moment so the weight loss should continue.

...never posted here before, and maybe I'm missing the point of the thread entirely, but here goes my recipe. A few words about boundary conditions: I like to eat, I like fine wine, I'm not too fond of "doing sports" for the sake of it. And I have an office job that keeps me glued to the computer for about 10...12 hours a day. Still I have managed to maintain my weight at just under 100kg for the last eight years, and see a slight recline lately. So, I basically eat what I like and more or less as much of it as I like (of course, managing one's desires still plays a bit of a role). What I regulate is the timing between meals. I start with lunch (12am) and end with dinner. Between dinner (7-8pm) and lunch, no food. Unsweetened tea and water are OK, but nothing to start up the digestive system. What I started more or less as a weak attempt to reduce my calory intage has recently received a bit more scientific attention, regular phases of famishment (14 hours minimum, 16 ideal) in the daily feeding cycle. Apparently that helps the body at the cellular level to also "recycle" inactive parts of the cellular molecules, e.g. of mitochondria that are no longer active, etc. At least for mice this strategy seems to work excellently, it might also work for humans (and apparently it works for me). Since I have extended my fasting period from 12...14 hour to now 14...16 I see a slight but steady decline in body mass.

Things that I don't do:

• I have no car. Shopping groceries I do with a push bike, or walking to the store.
• Once a week, I go swimming (1500m).
  Important detail: I do it with a friend, so that there is some social pressure to keep it up. And it works - we recently confessed to each other that we both didn't really want to go that day, but we both came to the meeting to not let the other down. And we decided, since it apparently worked, to actually do what we came for.
• No munching of potato chips and similar stuff while watching TV, except maybe once or twice a quarter. Chocolate: Only dark, only in small doses (like one or two pieces, and lately not even that).
• Alcohol: One tee-totaling quarter every year (from New Year to mid April).

The great thing about my system is that it isn't very intrusive, nor hard to follow, once that the body gets accustomed to the cycle of daily fasting. I develop hunger at pretty much exactly noon, which fits nicely with the 16/8 hour pattern that I set up for myself. I wouldn't recommend this to people with regular amounts of physical work, and not everybody can do without a car, so these are, I think, important factors that must be considered.

I know it's not July yet, so I have some 'splainin' to do...

I'm not sure what's going on with my Verio web hosting, they were bought out and it seems like a confused mess right now (also with billing). I can't log on to my server nor am I seeing my pics here, not sure if I'm losing them (pics and service) or not.

In any case, I have every pic I've posted here on SimHQ saved offline and well organized. If need be I'll replace the link to every pic on this thread, maybe some on the Music board as well (the other board I've frequented). This thread is very important to me so if my pics go down, I'll eventually fix it.

++++++++++

No real updates from me right now, just gaining arm and chest muscles (becoming visibly noticeable now ) and wife lost another inch off her waist. I hope to lose more waist too, but screw it if I don't, as long as I keep getting bigger and stronger in the areas I want to.

Bought more stuff for the home gym: Dumbbell bench, curl bar, ladies dumbbell set and an Everlast speed bag which I'm assembling right now. I'm hoping the motion helps with a nagging sore rotator cuff. My dad can't wait for me to get it mounted in the 'barn', he use to beat on these years ago.

++++++++++

Speaking of my father...

I walk by my office gym and hear him grunting (not loudly), peak inside and he's doing curls with my 30 lbs. dumbbells, one in each hand, alternating arms. Dude is 78 and still maintaining some arm strength, I'm inspired. Unlike him, I never worked labor intensive jobs like river barges and oil platforms and my idea of fun isn't using a jackhammer. I thought it was over-the-top growing up, he always had a weight bench (iron weights) and punching bags and stuff, even knows how to jump rope. I dunno, maybe a bit much but he still shames me as an old man, by comparison.

++++++++++

Wife is in Oklahoma, eating in some restaurant right now owned by the "Pioneer Woman" on Food Network (I think they show it on TV). This is a girl's trip to this ladies' ranch (with an old HS friend plus daughter and granddaughter). She comes home Tuesday night so I workout alone tonight, I'm not going to push it without my spotter. I'm going to post a little now, check out the new layout, but seriously moderate my time for now on.

I went almost two months without posting (my first post of 2017)!

Just read about attaching pics. Hmm... I wouldn't want to abuse the privilege but I'll try a couple (1024x768) right now to see what happens...

EDIT: Cool, it works!

Showing add-ons to home gym:

Dumbbell/crunch bench (gray bench, end of weight bench)
Curl bar, other side of treadmill (much more comfortable than barbell for curls)
Ladies dumbbells (colored ones)
Speedbag

We have to lift up the treadmill when we want to pull out the smaller dumbbell bench, it's getting crowded.

Nice setup Mark.


Wheels

Thanks, Wheels. I keep putting off major upgrades, my little weight set/bench is about at max capacity (barbells, lat tower, leg lever all have weight limits) but so am I. I'd rather increase reps and sets as needed vs. adding more weight, although I'm a ways from even worrying about it.


Couple more things...

Ouch, Chucky! Hope you're doing better!

++++++++++

Stretching...

I still haven't tried a beginner's yoga class and I don't think I can get past my hang-ups about it. I'm being stupid, I know, but I don't need to be that flexible.

Wife now takes the lead with pre-workout stretching, something I've never done before (feels like a girly waste of time). I think it's making a big difference with how I feel during and especially after a workout. I can also tell when I'm going to bed that I sleep more comfortably, less tossing and turning from aches and pains.

Stretching good before a workout matters, it really does. I forgot to stretch last night and went straight to the bench (I'm missing my little workout buddy something awful). I didn't think about it until halfway through my routine so I just skipped it. Later, I couldn't lay on my right side for very long, couldn't get comfortable, although it didn't help that both dogs wanted to sleep next to me, sandwiching me in. Freggin' miserable, I think I'm going to sleep on the couch recliner tonight.

Once again, stretching beforehand matters, kinda hurts when you do it but you feel better the rest of the evening.

++++++++++

Pushing myself hard...

Can't do it anymore. Wife knows, for example, that when she's spotting me on the bench and I can't get the bar more than halfway up, she needs to pull up on it with just enough force to help me finish the rep, and maybe one or two more. I don't do this anymore, as soon as I need any assistance at all, I stop (vs. trying to finish a 3rd set of 10). My body can't take the abuse, it no longer feels good tearing myself down to the point of needing help to get the bar up, it just hurts now. Age is not just a number, you feel it.

I find that I'm having to work through more discomfort lately, nagging stuff that zaps some of the enjoyment out of it.

Can't reply in detail because on mobile, but just very, very happy - 12% Body Fat and almost my perfect weight for an entire week (aiming for 5 points average a day and got 34 total)

This is going to be a great summer at the beach/pool. Poor girls

That's awesome, RSColonel_131st !

The beach, eh?! I lived in Jax, FL for 12 years (1996 - 2009) and I doubt I've been to the beach more than a dozen times (although Jax Beach isn't nearly as nice as Daytona Beach).

This summer (August, when I turn 50) I can see myself fit and trim, standing at my grill (both charcoal and gas), flipping chicken and catfish (also hamburgers and hotdogs for the traditionalists). Shirtless, lite beer in my hand, Jimmy Buffett and 80's on the boombox, Mrs. enjoying the hammock in cute shorts/sleeveless.

Gotta visualize what you want and make it happen!

++++++++++

Practical results of physical fitness and slimming down...

Me: Riding mower needed work, loose transmission belt, started fine but wouldn't move. I fixed it once myself (spring tension broke) but it's time for seasonal servicing so I'm letting them fix it this time. I pushed it about 50 yards through my backyard to the driveway, then up my trailer ramp. I don't think I could have done this a year ago, feeling stronger than ever and I like it!

Wife: Walks in kitchen the evening before her trip, big smile, I know something's up. Didn't take long for me to notice the small dull rock on her finger. She hadn't worn her engagement ring in years (band slightly smaller than wedding ring), it didn't fit on her pudgier fingers. I cleaned it with the ultrasonic toothbrush and baking soda toothpaste, gave it a sparkle, made her even happier.

++++++++++

They're working on my site problem, still can't see pics.

EDIT: Pics temporarily fixed.

Been training for the Cambridge Half Marathon (took place the Sunday just gone), had originally given myself 8 weeks to train as my objective was to PB but really didn't give myself any leeway for injuries (old age catching up) or vicious man flu (which effectively ended my training after 5 weeks)!

Still though, got myself a new PB of 2:02:31 which is over 4 minutes faster than my previous best BUT the thing I loved the most was the improvement over my last two half marathons. September I did the Disneyland Paris run in 2hrs 20 minutes last year but that was pretty much the first run over 10km I had managed to do in well over 8 months due to injury. Then in October I died on the Peterborough half and crawled in at 2hrs 34 minutes!

So this year I was determined to put injuries behind me, suck it up and just make it happen! For the first time I actually followed a training plan with increasing long runs, easy runs during the week and an effort session once a week. Really started to see some improvements in my times being made so was really pleased with training "properly" and how that all went.

All went well in January until I ran in to issues with dead feet which was related to doing too much too soon FFS! But ok, pulled back training a little so I had more recovery time and that helped fix the issues with dead feet. Then the 2nd week of February I got man flu (and we all know how serious that is!) so that was pretty much the end of training until March 5 when the Cambridge run was on.

The next objective is to go under 2 hours for a half this year!


Im on the right.

Regards

Mailman

Half marathon (Wikipedia): 21.0975 kilometres (13.1094 mi)

Oh, hell no! And you run these without tunes? Triple hell no!

Good for you, Mailman. Looks like you're still in good shape.

5k is enough for me and even then I brisk walk most of it (my fastest brisk walk matches my wife's slowest pace jog). The body is often willing but the feet are quick to protest. Weight makes a huge difference on my feet, no matter my fitness level. Of course we start in the back with the walkers (our 5k's are run/walk) and at the moment aren't wearing numbers/chips.

Love my shoes (were $100.00, that's allot for me to spend on shoes)...
Asics Gel-Cumulus 16 Blue/White/Black ( T439N-4201 )

Last year in Houston (no running but lots of walking)...

Well, here is a before and after before I started running and looking after myself a couple years ago

Regards

Mailman

WOW!

When you notice your Mrs. constantly placing her hands on your chest and feeling your arms, you know you're doing something right!

Looking good, Mailman.

Its when other women start doing that mate!

But yeah, left picture is from 2015 where I was slowly, actually...quickly eating my way in to the grave. Right hand picture is from last year...still a work in progress but the thing that really changed for me was my mind set! You can do all the hard work etc BUT if you don't change how your mind works and thinks about things like food you are wasting your time.

Regards

Mailman

I'd agree with you on that totally Mailman. It took me quite a while to get my mind set on it last year when I dropped almost 5 stone. Now I'm working on reversing the weight I put on over the new year. It's damn hard,living alone,too easy to pig out on crap all the time,no-one to keep fit for (I'm single and staying that way). Not easy.

I can relate Chucky, I ate a lot of junk the past three days, but today back to order...

Seems there's a direct relation between stuff bothering me mentally and my appetite vor McDonalds.

Still, had the discussion with a colleague my age today... married for two years now, baby girl, relationship for ten years... he's putting on weight. Of course it's easier if - like me - you're actively dating around and thus the motivation is automatically there. But heaven help him if he becomes Single at 40 or 45.

I hear ya. The only thing that makes living with the nagging ol' ball and chain tolerable is knowing that come Friday evening, I'm taking my girlfriend out (this chick I dated in high school). She kinda looks like my wife, even has the same Cajun accent, but is a much snazzier dresser and allot more fun to be around. If our schedules allow, we sometimes spend the entire weekend together. But then by Monday morning it's always back to the same ol' same ol'. This arrangement is working well for the three of us and they both seem to like my body transformation.

It's easy to settle too much, to become too comfortable (I've got pics on this thread that show that). It's figuring out how to work together to fix it or even keep it from happening in the first place (and at some point health problems are going to force the issue).

I deleted my previous post, wasn't well thought out. Point was, with diet and fitness, a long-term couple has to figure out where they're compatible and where they're not.

When I cook and make plates, I have to make a consciences effort to cut it 55/45 to 60/40 as my wife is only a little more than half my body weight. But when it comes to desserts (more her thing than mine) she can eat more because she burns it off easier. The pics I saw of what they splurged on in Oklahoma would have set me back a couple of weeks, while she's maintaining ~106 to ~108 lbs. (~49 kg). We're coming around full circle now, it's what got me in so much trouble in the first place, matching her eating habits when she was trying to gain weight for our wedding (pre-internet, knows now that junk food wasn't the proper way). If I were an ectomorphic Barney Fife it would be no problem, I could relax a little. Now she's in maintenance mode (weight/size-wise) while I'm struggling to lose (stomach) and keep my weight under obesity, even as she pushes me physically.

I was already obese at 21 (bigger pic) and 23 (smaller pic), second pic late-20's (w/mother-in-law)...

Loving the time change, treadmill collecting dust now (unless it's raining). I'd much rather be outdoors in the evenings on a track enjoying my tunes.

Tried getting into my 'new' old-school 36"W 501's I bought back in Dec. for going out tonight. Nope, no give/stretch at all, not very forgiving and *I'm* not wearing tight jeans. Oh well, maybe next Friday for the Molly Ringwalds (next week will be the first major yard work of the season which always slims me down a little).

Are we going to have a good April?

I have a *huge* month coming up, starting tomorrow morning (April 1) with a 5k at LSU (for epilepsy) [just found out, date moved to 4/22, bah!]. I'm now covering 5k (3.1 miles) on my treadmill at a hair under 40 min. which would be a terrible time for a seasoned runner, especially on a treadmill, but good for me. I hope I can do the same on actual pavement tomorrow, my feet are feeling fine (after limping all day on Sat.) I told my wife not to ease off when I start falling behind, I like the competition (even a little friendly trash talking would be motivational).

The week of April 16, oh my! Wife is taking the week off and the first part of the week she's scheduled many appointments for us: physicals, dentist, dermatologist, eyes (says I'm also due for a hearing test), everything but a colonoscopy (not until Sept.). I forgive her because the rest of the week she's made plans for four events of very pleasant walking...

1. Pensacola Naval Aviation Museum (4/20): The place is *huge*, I never could cover it in a day (including outside displays) because I didn't have the stamina, my feet hurt and my legs rubbed together and chafed.

2. Pensacola Beach (4/21): Just a nice and very long walk on the beach, see how much ground (sand) we can cover.

3. Air show (including Blue Angels) in New Orleans (4/22 or 4/23): Everyone who goes to airshows knows they usually include lots of walking, just from your car to the spectator areas, and lots more as you walk along the runway and check out all the exhibits. This will be the first time I see an F-35 in person (static display).

4. The National WWII Museum (formally known as the "D-Day Museum"): It's been so long that I don't remember how much walking is involved in the museum itself, they've added on since I've been so I imagine quite a bit. We'll probably park at the river (regular French Quarter parking) and walk to the museum, also walk the Quarter so it'll be at least 3 or 4 miles in total, likely more.

My 50th BD is now exactly 5 months away (8/31), plenty of time to finish what I started but feeling the pressure as I get closer to receiving my AARP package (assuming they send these to everyone turning 50).

EDIT: Also, part 2 of our walking tour of downtown Baton Rouge on the 14th, the Friday which starts her April vacation.

2nd EDIT: We were also going to include the USS Alabama (driving through Mobile) but chose the WWII Museum instead. It's possible we might do both if there's time (that would be freggin; awesome!).

Hope everyone else has a productive April.

Nothing got snipped at the dermatologist this morning, yea! Off to the dentist in a moment (routine), physicals tomorrow.

A little project my father and I will be working on soon (see pic)...

They're almost done moving their stuff, recently brought over most of his very old iron weight set, except for a few bigger plates. They've been neglected but he could never part with them, some of these (the plain solid ones) were hand made by his brother (the one I've posted about the plane incident in Vietnam).

We're going to pick up a sand blaster from Harbor Freight to clean them up and then paint them with his compressor sprayer, probably a pretty red like they use to be. It's very cool to me, to have such a classic weight set.

I'm now maxing my bench and barbell (i.e. 130 lbs. bench press, 2 sets of 10) and also using my biggest 30 lbs. dumbbells for dumbbell flys (butterfly curls). I'll add a third set before increasing weights, by then I should have my upgraded iron weights ready to use.

What actually happened to your "internet ban" ?

Cool story about that old iron. Let us see how it turns out. Might be tricky to get the paint permanent and not chip off?

I need to get back into my routine. Too much other stuff going on that drained my willpower... thankfully weight still holds.

Yeah, that was suppose to last for 6 months, but only lasted 2.

I was *suppose* to just come back to explain why all my pics had disappeared (that I hadn't croaked), but I ended up staying (while replacing many pics with the new Attachment feature). Then I had to keep going online for event schedules and to get tickets, while wife realizes now how much she used Facebook to schedule stuff with family and a couple of good friends.

Sooo...we try to really limit our time online now. I'm doing much better spending less time here than I use to, wife is doing even better than I am. She does Facebook (or Instagram or whatever) for no more than an hour a day (usually after our evening walk/run and/or workout). I know I can do better still, like with counting calories, it's finding that illusive balance. It helps that I'm spending allot more time outside now.



I asked about that, dad said it stays on pretty well if you keep the weights indoors. He has a single red homemade one-piece 15 lbs. (6.8 kg) dumbbell in his bedroom that still looks great, and he's had it for as long as I can remember (when I was a little kid). Clanking around on a barbell might be a different story, though.



I'm doing fantastic with my regular routine (about to head to the track after posting) but my weight and waist are barely improving. VERY frustrating considering my daily diet and routine, but that's life at 49.5 years, I guess. At least for the moment I'm feeling really good, aches and pains are minimal during and after working out.

Years ago I feared that my teeth would fall out or that my heart would explode in my chest. Now, as a 50 year-old man, it's the potential side effects of the blood pressure medication I'm taking. I gotta get off this crap before age catches up with me (never the "little blue pill" for me if I can help it - the beginning of the end). I'm hoping at tomorrow's physical that my dosage is at least reduced, but I *have* to finish losing the weight, I think, if I'm to get off of them completely. Pressure was good at the dentist today (routine cleaning).

++++++++++

Pensacola (Naval Aviation Museum) in a couple of days, not happening now. Instead of being there on the 20th, I'll be taking my wife back to the dentist to have some filling work done (discovered today during our cleanings). No use risking it (advised that we didn't wait on this) so we'll try Pensacola again in June.

Still have the Blue Angels this weekend in New Orleans, though! Our dentist, Dr. Fallin (we talk aircraft more than teeth) and some of his staff will also be there. Looks like rain on Saturday (90% thunderstorms) so we're planning on Sunday (unless the forecast changes). Again, I plan on doing lots of walking on that day (and no bad eating), but going to have to put the WWII Museum off as well, now. Damn.

Bad news is that I'm not coming off the meds and I may be on them for life, no matter how healthy/slim I get (genetics).

Good news is that my Losartan Potassium has gone from 100 to 50 mg (Amlodipine Besylate staying at 5 mg) so at least I'm getting a reduction.

Even better news is that neither is known to cause ED, those are diuretics and something else (I forget).

Still, I want to get off meds completely if possible (these are my only ones) as every med usually has *some* side effect. Our GP is in his late 40's, very fit and trim, loves our attitude and progress. Wife continues to be med free. Follow-up appointment at the end of May.

Two evenings in a row now, on real pavement (vs. the treadmill), we've run a half mile (.8 km) twice (1 mile separated by a break), the rest of 3+ miles just brisk walking. I know it's not much for the runners here, but we're getting back some cardio we've been neglecting. Yoga (not me, yet) is great for core and flexibility, weight training for strength, but cardio has been best for burning fat and bringing down my blood pressure (taken every other day).

I don't particularly enjoy running (jogging), it's tolerable to me only if the music is right, and I know it's hard on the body. I just want one decent official 5k time in my lifetime (not like I'm running that far) and then I'll become more leisurely with it, sticking with the much softer treadmill for any running. Brisk walks I'll always enjoy.

Our sites are now set on the annual Baton Rouge Zoo 5k in August, we plan to run it complete and I'll post our times (we'll be numbered and chipped). Hope it's not as hot as last time.

What is it with all the ~90 day programs? P90X, Body for Life (12 weeks), ~90 days seem to be a regular occurrence...

http://www.livestrong.com/article/365392-90-day-workout-plans/

Well, in 90 days I turn 50, and today I've started following my own plan, now going balls out on healthy eating and especially workouts. I may not reach my BMI goal but that's ok, I know that body fat percentage and waist measurement are more important. Wife is ready to ditch the scale anyway, she goes by her clothes now, weight is irrelevant (and we get weighed at least annually anyway for our physicals...shoes and clothes on). I just can't seem to get out of the 190s and I know too much of it is still in the belly.

90 days full throttle, I hope I don't hurt myself.

I'm no fan of short intensive programs. They may be too much for you to sustain, and in any case, even if they work if you consider them 'done' and revert to bad habits once you are done they haven't really accomplished much.

Better to find a balance where you can bear to sustain it 'forever' with modest allowances for misbehaviour, and to keep at useful and sustainable things (e.g build a garden wall, use a mechanical pusher mower, replace shopping by car with bikes or a rucksack - or replace commuting to work by walking or cycling (if you *must* drive or use public transport because of distance/terrain, then parking some reasonable distance away and walking a significant part of it is still better than door to door). If you get in your 'minimum' recommended activity in your daily movement to and fro, then failure to be consistent with additional 'fitness' training is far less damaging than if you structure things so you *have* to do the 45 minutes on the exercise bike or lifting weights. You can still try to do both, but have the flexibility to modify activity and diet to suit what you actually find yourself doing.

might seem a basic question but where does a 698 year old man start,,Been sitting on my ass since my mate passed and in horrible shape..what are the basic excesses I could use to stretch out things.. not looking to be Arnold but need some guidance as to where to start ..i'm not over weight at 6'3" 180 but having troubles moving around and decided it's not to late to feel good,,Thanks for any basic advice

Lieste...

Oh, I agree with having a consistent maintainable healthy lifestyle. But from what I can tell, systems like P90X and Body for Life aren't really for beginners, but for people who are already in half decent shape (assuming they're already living a reasonably healthy lifestyle) but just want guidance to help them kick it up a notch. I use Body for Life as an example because I have the book (purchased from a Goodwill for either $1 or $2) and it has given me some ideas.

I thought the timing was good for me to give it that final push, not just because I'm in my final days of my 40's, but because right now I'm really feeling pretty good. Whatever roaming aches and pains (maybe inflammations) I had have all but disappeared, I can comfortably sleep on my sides now and push myself harder on my workouts. Only my feet remain sore the next day when I'm hard of them, causing me to limp a little, a problem I believe is still weight related.

One of the changes I made this morning, for example, is drinking my two cups of coffee black (vs. a couple of packets of artificial sweetener and plenty of half-n-half). I can deal for 90 days, maybe I'll even acquire a taste for it, or at least cut back what I've been adding. I've acquired a taste for several foods that I didn't eat until my 40's, some I thought I didn't like and others I'd never tried before. So it can happen.

rwatson, I'm very sorry to hear of your loss.

I think most of my just-do-it attitude and motivation is knowing my wife's family history. Her father died of a heart attack in his sleep at age 32 (she was 2). He was a very thin man (5'-11" [180.3 cm] and 130 lbs.[59 kg]) but wasn't at all frail from what I've been told, a hard worker with a hearty appetite, but also had a heart defect and was a heavy smoker (and was warned). His brother (also an extreme ectomorph [really skinny]) is still alive, even after having open heart surgery a few years back. Even with our current healthy lifestyle (since 2008) and routine cardiology checkups, I worry a little. Every morning is a sense of relief when she moseys over to me (I usually sleep too deep to hear her phone alarm).

Pic showing how lean my wife's father was...




Man, you're sure not fat (BMI: 22.5)! I'd have to weigh 153 lbs. (69.4 kg) to match that! My brother (age 55) is now in the 150's (same 5'-9" [175.3 cm] height) and still has a beer belly (or so he claims) so we're figuring out that we really don't have the same body type as I once thought. His wrists and ankles are smaller than mine, apparently he's more of an ectomorph which would explain why he never got fat with his often poor diet, and how it's difficult for him to put on muscle as he's been working out as well.

I don't know where I'd start, I've always been more about weight loss and that's not a problem you have. I think I would start with long walks [and stretches] and if you have the room, look into getting a small set of dumbbells. My father is about to turn 79 and has no interest anymore in laying on a bench doing presses or barbell overheads and curls, but almost every evening he does a small workout in his bedroom with dumbbells. He says it helps his arthritis in his shoulders, as well as keeping his strength up. He's always kept his physique in check though, also still kayaks and canoes.

Dad in 1977 (brother, dad, sister and me, mom taking pic)...

Mark I have started some stretching excersies Got myself some rubber bands from Amazon,,good enough to get started..And take mt 80# Lab for a brisk walk twice a day,,I know I'll never get back to Marine Corps standards but I feel I'm wasting away and it's time to get off mt arse and get down..I've managed to skip the butts for a month now and breathing well and wish to bring it to the next level

rwatson, fantastic with the smoking. I was encouraged to stop when I started dating as a teen, before it became a problem. I'm thankful for that now, sometimes it's not so bad to let a woman change you.

Still, while I've never intentionally went looking to breathe in second hand smoke, I've always enjoyed a kinda seedy smoky bar-like atmosphere (unless I'm eating), I actually miss it.

++++++++++

Continuing to work on moderation, showing (first pic) my mid-morning trailmix snack bowls getting even smaller (now ~1/4 cup [28g] or one serving size)...

++++++++++

The bench I want was in the Sunday sale paper at Academy (second pic)...

I don't like the looseness of the squat station holders, but that can be fixed with holes and pins. Just not enough room yet, but I'm pretty sure this is the one I want. If I were just getting started, I might have considered this entire set (gyms are expensive, too far away and I really don't like them).

The price on dumbbells is pretty good. My Coscto set (also CAP brand, like most) was $0.99/lbs. but included the stand. Still, my heaviest weight is 30 lbs. and this price goes up to 50 lbs. so I'm thinking of adding to my set.

My father found the rest of his iron weights and we'll be refurbishing them as soon as they're settled in. Two of the plates have much larger holes than normal (just a screw-up) but it's so much weight already, I may never need them.

Broke down and joined a gym up the road not huge place but got the necessary stuff..Lot of college kids go there but I'm up at 4 AM I take the dog and tie her to a post outside where I can see her,,Hell the cnight cop knows her name but not mine.., and we take a walk after...Wish I knew my family history but never met any of them..feel good enough to go mow the lawn but not stupid enough to do it in this heat..Still not smoking and was crazy to start back up after 5+ years quit...Not a fan on some of the nature foods I just eat sensible and no junk crap usually a pizza once a month..

I wouldn't mind a small gym late at night or early morning when it's quiet. Weights aren't that expensive but a decent treadmill will cost you. I like ours but it's not really heavy-duty gym quality, nor is my weight bench, of course. If there was a smaller gym nearby, I would have probably gone that route, maybe keep a cheap weight set in case I couldn't make the gym.

The thing about family history, as in my wife's case, is that back then they didn't have the technology they have today. Who knows how long her father (who died in 1970, my pic above was his last driver's license) would have lived with today's medicine? She's had a heart murmur (as do her siblings) since her late 30's, so she takes everything heart-related extremely seriously. I have my own potential problems to look forward to, we're just trying to be proactive and preventative as possible.

She was also told then that she'd likely need a valve repair, possibly replacement, when she turned 60 (about to turn 50). That has since been rescinded, don't know if modern medicine has changed or if our lifestyle since 2008 has made that big a difference (she was also taken off Lipitor, no longer needed). I'm thinking the later, diet and exercise has made the difference, because some of my problems have also disappeared (macular degeneration). Heck, my eyesight even improves sometimes on my checkups (been in glasses since 2nd grade, wearing contacts in the early 90's lasted only a year)!

About junk food, I can live without it now (and we bought our first house partly because of convenience to fast food alley, listed on our house-shopping checklist as a big plus). But when we do splurge, it's darn good. Sometimes it upsets my stomach, sometimes not, but it always makes me want more and I know I have to wait weeks, if not months until the next splurge (nothing convenient to our house really helps allot). We don't waste a rare splurge on McDonald's or Burger King though, we have our favorite more upscale burger and pizza joints, and we savor every bite.

This evening we decided to walk/run the track behind the hospital in Zachary (closest real town to us) as we needed to hit the Home Depot nearby. We didn't see it going but coming back, wife screams, "Captain D's!"

Yup, they must have built it quick, was a complete surprise (normally we know when something's coming). Of all the fast food in town (the usual suspects) the one thing we never had was a Captain D's, the most tempting to us. Oh man, the fried clams, hushpuppies and fries, soft buttery breadstick (plus another instead of slaw), dipping into cocktail and honey mustard sauce. The fish is...ok (still better than Long John Silver's, IMO, which I never cared for) and the shrimp is too expensive IMO for fast food quality. The fried clam dinner, however, when D's is on top of their game, is a pretty good value.

Going to have to do it once, maybe this weekend, to see if this one is any good, then try to forget about it (like we did our new Zaxby's). It won't derail us or anything (nothing could at this point) but it's just another example of temptation that we have to constantly deal with, you can't help but smell these places when you drive by them. There were times at the airshow when I was ready to give in, just the smell of all the deep frying made it tough to avoid.

EDIT: Just checked, this is the only Captain D's in the Baton Rouge area and the only one within 80 miles of us. We haven't had D's in over 10 years (Jax, FL).

MarkG, I want to encourage you to keep up any and every diet and exercise related endeavor you engage in. I just got out of the hospital for a stroke (not massive) and you definitely want to avoid that (duh, right?).

Anyway, back on-topic. My diet now consists of low sodium, low fat, and low sugar. I just started so I'm keeping it simple. Whole wheat bread, smart balance spread, sugar free Smuckers jelly, and so forth. My new best friend is lean ground turkey - in moderation it goes excellent with some whole wheat pasta and heart smart Prego sauce.

As for the rest, I simply stick to the dietary suggestions and restrictions on the print-out my dietitian gave me. I was pleasantly surprised to see a daily allowance/limit of two beers on there, but that will have to wait as I stay away from alcohol until I have gotten my weight, blood pressure, and blood work results to satisfactory levels.

As for exercise, bicycling is my favorite.

So there it is, heart-healthy diet in moderation and moderate exercise.

Oh. I almost forgot - monthly trips to my new favorite candy store - CVS pharmacy. I'm currently taking 7 medications all of which center around controlling my blood pressure and cholesterol.

By the way MarkG, I just read your Captain D's temptation post and it reminded me of a similar but relatively odd experience I have had, except it is not a restaurant-related. Instead it is the Game of Thrones books. If you haven't read them, let me tell you something. While the HBO series is known to show a lot of skin, the books are not as graphic. I mean, you know the sex is going on but not really in detail. Now the meals - that's a whole other story. George R. R. Martin, unlike any other author I have read so far, puts an obscene amount of detail into what the characters are eating. That's the real porn - except you can't just rub your belly to make this hunger go away - if you get my drift (nudge nudge, wink wink). Once or twice I even tried to emulate a couple of dishes he described in the books. Oh well, back to my regularly scheduled stomach growling.

Woah, letterboy1! Sorry to hear that. Here's to a full recovery!

My brother-in-law (wife's older brother by a couple of years) had a major stroke in his mid-40's (undiagnosed diabetes) that almost killed him, went to a Houston rehab center for a while, eventually made a full recovery. Been about four years since we've seen him (unfortunate situation) but to my knowledge, sadly, he's still not doing anything about his weight and lifestyle. I hope he starts turning it around, I really do, as well as others in our family. I know how hard it is, been almost a decade for me now and it's still a struggle, always will be.

Food porn?! LOL. I know that I'm going to have to go the rest of life always being a little hungry, especially when turning in for the night. I think it's the extra fat cells my body created, you can shrink them but you can't lose them (without liposuction), and they're also sending messages to the brain that they want to be fed.

I limit myself to three alcoholic drinks a week (1 drink = 1.5 oz. shot, beer or glass of wine). My wife's limit is two, which has her feeling pretty good, although her cardiologist allows for more. Usually on date nights and all at one time, getting a nice relaxing buzz which last for no more than a couple of hours, one of the simple pleasures in life. My days of heavy drinking (and eating), even on a cruise ship, have long since been over.

I normally ignore these internet poster thingies, but this one made me chuckle (find whatever motivation you can to keep that heart strong)...

I was thinking about this thread the other day.
I had to do some physical therapy for a torn bicep a couple of months ago, and I sneaked in trying out some extra exercise machines while there and found I liked it. Added in some walking. My diet isn't bad, but I stepped it up. Watching the calories, fat etc a lot more closely and keeping around 1600-1800 calories a day. Nothing that comes frozen or in a wrapper. I've already cut out salt as I'm on some blood pressure and water pill meds. Lost about 13 lbs. so far.
Continuing my PT at home, but also joined the Y a couple of weeks ago. Used to enjoy cycling, but not so much now. Really like the recumbent stationary bike at the gym and the programs it can do, so that works out. They have a ton of machines that I like a lot more than free weights and resistance bands, so that's good for holding my interest. Going three times a week for about an hour and a half a session.
I don't drink much these days, but I made my weekly reward allowing myself a soft drink on Fri, Sat and Sun. I'm not out for crazy fast weight loss but something steady and sustainable I enjoy. So far so good. I doubt its coming off fast, but I'm feeling pretty good over all regardless.

There isn't anything fundamentally wrong with frozen. More with processed fast foods. It is arguable that frozen vegetables last longer and have better nutritional value than anything except freshly harvested - most which have been displayed at a store and then kept for a few days at home are less fresh than frozen veg.

I only tend to buy fresh veggies as a 'walking snack' and use (nearly) exclusively frozen for regular at home use.
Fresh fruit is something I buy in small amounts as it is much easier to use by browsing and rarely go to waste.

Confession...

The month of June (mainly the last 3 weeks) has probably been our worst month with diet and fitness since we started working on it back in 2008! We quit working out, lost our small amount of jogging stamina (half-heartedly tried yesterday evening, we could only walk, although it's been very hot and humid) and we've been eating terribly (both quantity and quality). This morning I had to go digging through my larger size clothes containers to find something to wear, both shorts and t-shirt (glad I didn't give them away, I'll always keep one or two larger sizes just in case).

Wife...I usually only mention the positives when talking about the Mrs. (I'm not totally stupid ). But she's been hitting the drive-thrus and restaurants with me (oh man, our new Capt. D's is consistently good!). She's having the same problem with her clothes as I am, back to the clothes containers.

Oh man, the damage just a couple of weeks or so can do! Seriously. What blows is that we've been really busy moving and cleaning stuff so it's not like we're just sitting on our asses! But apparently it's not enough to offset constant take-outs and (when we're not too scuzzy) sit-down restaurants, some days eating 2 out of 3 meals out, and not even trying to be healthy with it. The joy of turning 50, you can rack up some weight *quickly* (in absolute gains or percentages). Even my father is getting a gut and that's not like him at all.

Not panicked though! We know why it happened and now that my parent's move is over, we can get back to our healthy routine...but not until July 5th.

You fall off the wagon, have some fun with it, then get back on it before it gets totally out of control.

Approximate damage assessment as of this morning: Me 14 lbs. (6.3 kg) and wife 5 lbs. (2.2 kg). Not the end of the world (includes lots of sodium induced bloated water weight, I'm sure) and we wanted to enjoy that one last splurge in our 40's, possibly for the last time ever as I don't see the situation of the past 3 weeks being repeated (house moving, cleaning and closing). No one's had the time or energy to cook so we've been eating most meals out. There's a restaurant only 1/4m from my parent's house called "DC Grill" and oh man do they have good poboys (fried shrimp, oysters and catfish) and onion rings.

What I learned the past 3 weeks is...

1. You *have* to eat at home. I can eat out once in a while and relatively healthy, but I can't sustain it over weeks. For example, my homemade salads rock, most fast food and restaurant salads do not. They can be as (or even more) expensive as the less healthier stuff that you have to smell while waiting for your salad. Usually it's just not worth it, and often not even healthier.

2. Once you get use to healthier eating at home, outside foods might seem too salty or sugary rich, but you quickly get use to it, and then you crave it. I'm having withdrawals right now just thinking about fried seafood and hushpuppy leftovers, sitting overnight in a styrofoam container in my refrigerator, soaking up etouffée juices. Damn. All that was missing was good homemade, slightly burnt on top, mac and cheese (even a box of Kraft would do). And a couple of Dr. Peppers.

3. When you stop working out and walking/running you start feeling lethargic, especially in the evening, even after just 3 weeks. Wife's back is becoming sore again, partially from the physical work with my parent's house, but mainly because she's not in yoga (at least once a week). She's going to have to start slowly to get back into it, been over a month now, I think. I wonder if we'll have to reduce our weights tonight when we workout for the first time in weeks. I dunno, but I plan to do more stretching than usual because my back and body aches as well. In fact, I had to take an Ibuprofen when I went to bed last night.

4. If the love life is good, even if for a long time, it can start heading down the crapper in a heartbeat. Then you become more easily irritated and start arguing over little things that you would have normally compromised on or let slide. Some extra stress maybe (for reasons why your routine was disrupted in the first place) but you start losing those feelings, just enough to notice a change. I don't like change, especially this one. So I'm happy to be getting back on the wagon, the occasional hunger pains bad cravings are worth it. But I cannot deny that having that slightly overstuffed feeling while rubbing my belly does feel awfully satisfying...at least at that moment.

I'm pretty frustrated. Had a goo drop in weight 2 weeks ago, but as cramped up as I was, I was probably dehydrated, explaining most of it. Went up the next week, then down the next. I think I'm going to change my weigh in to every 4 weeks instead of weekly to get a better idea. Going to step up to 4 days a week at the Y instead of 3, even if its just an hour on the bike. Breakfast is now grapefruit, banana and strawberries w/ some whipped cream. Surprisingly, it holds me off better than a bowl of healthy cereal. And raw local honey, a tbspn twice a day, kind of an experiment for allergies.
Hoping to fend off getting discouraged, I figured with my diet so much better and working out for the firt time ever that things wold go faster. It's all a learning experience!

RK, we're ~50 and living in the Deep Fried South, but dammit, we'll put up the good fight!

I also buy local honey from a beekeeper who lives not far from us, and I use it to sweeten my Quaker Oats and coffee. I tried going straight black but I couldn't get past the aftertaste.

This thread has enough age on it to see patterns of success and failure, and something I've noticed is that whenever I try going gung-ho, it doesn't last (for whatever reasons) and I fail. Sooo...just going to try keep it reasonable and constant.

I said earlier that, "...the occasional hunger pains are worth it." It's really more like "cravings" because I refuse to go hungry, but I sometimes crave something different and/or that really full feeling. Fortunately I have an excellent support system with my wife and parents as we're all on the same page, despite our recent splurging (which was my fault for extending it as closing was delayed).

I'm the only one of my siblings (older bother and sister) who has a problem with food/weight. My bother (same 5'-9" [175 cm]) recently stopped eating so much ice cream w/cashews at night and is now under 150 lbs. (68 kg). Holy crap! Our friendly race to a 32" waist is over, he's below that now. As the loser, I owe him and his a Sammy's (local restaurant) fried seafood platter on their next visit to BR!

Last night's workout felt really good, will probably be a little sore today but I lost no strength. In the future I'll try to limit any splurges/binges to a single day.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3vlj8mUiPA

My treat is a soft drink Fri, Sat and Sun, but I rarely finish them. I figure 3 a week is good. I won't quit my sweet tea, but I do limit to one glass. Otherwise I'm water and vitamin water, or a small POM. I'm upping my magnesium, potassium and water a lot after a week of cramps so bad I could barely move my arms and legs. It's worked, I recover well now. Still don't like bananas much, but I eat 'em.
I wish I knewmore about the workout side. I don't know if its better to stretch out a workout a lot or go up in weight with fewer reps when weight loss is the main goal. On the recumbent bike, I target a certain bpm, depending on if I'm working out next vs just doing a longer harder ride.

January 2017; weighed in at a whopping 298 lbs. Fast forward to June 5th 2017, 282 lbs. As of yesterday, 254 lbs. Goal by end of the year: 180 lbs.

Don't give up the fight if you have a setback is the best advice I can give you.
Plus great job!


Wheels

Thanks Wheels. My diet since 5 June has been:

Dannon Lite And Fit Yogurt 2 per day.
64+ oz water per day
Premier Protein drinks, 2 per day.
Chicken or Fish, roughly 2oz for supper (before 6 PM).

I'll be mixing in some soft veggies, less fibrous this week.

Exercise: walking between an hour, to an hour and a half per day.

That is a tough diet to sustain over the long haul so just be careful when you start adding more variety to your diet or the pounds could come back in a hurry.


Wheels

I've been struggling. I'm still around two stone heavier than my best from last year. Maybe 5 stone was too much to lose in 10 months?

Plus I've been in a lot of back and neck pain. The Physio says I'm not too bad for my age apart from a few joints that need working on.I'm working through various stretches he's told me to perform. Still hitting the pain-killers more than I'd like though.

Also the dreaded IBS has reared its ugly head again. Endoscopy and blood tests have ruled out anything nasty though. I guess I'm just feeling a little low and you know how food helps with a low mood.

I'm still walking and cycling when possible,just not as much as last year.

Wow, that's one heckuva June!

I've been slacking. Summer time really somehow takes my discipline away, it's like I'm on vacation and can't be arsed. Maybe also because it's really damn hot here.

Can't complain, keeping the weight and shape, but come fall I want to drop another 2-3% bodyfat to finally get into the 12% range.

If I was still trying to do this riding my bike, it just wouldn't work. Way too hot (not to mention it's just plain painful). Going to the gym, I do it on autopilot without thinking about it. If it meant going out to ride PLUS deal with the heat, that makes it much harder because you start thinking and dreading. It's not even August yet. LOL

Ride in your a/c house with a rear axle stand.

I have a trainer for my bike, but it's monotonous and dull since there's no variation. At the gym, I use a recumbent that has programs with hills, power levels, monitors heart rate/cals, timer....also it works more muscles and far more comfortable than an upright bike, so I can do a lot more. They have a/c too of course. Then I can hit the equipment. There's a lot to be said for getting out of the house and away from distractions. I don't even answer my phone.

531 Ghost is kicking losing ass!

++++++++++

RK, are you talking about POM Wonderful (pomegranate juice)? I buy the large containers at Costco and down a shot every evening as a nightcap...

1.5 oz (full shot glass) = 30 cal., 112.5 potassium, 7 carbs and 6 sugars, if I'm doing the math correctly.

I don't know if it truly helps men stay...healthy <cough>...but the sweetness (carbs and sugar) helps me feel satisfied (in the stomach area) before turning in. I also do a single square of Lindt 80% dark chocolate (also claiming to benefit men, even better being 90% though) and swapped the nightcap Cup of Joe for POM.

I believe that anything claiming to be beneficial for men is really just suppose to be heart healthy and good for the circulatory system, so you can't go wrong there. Although not even Quaker Oats is more heart healthy than a good 80's power ballad, IMO.

++++++++++

Chucky, I know in the past I binged a lot when I was feeling down, but I figured better food than booze. I'm also a big-time stress eater, as with the past 3 weeks and especially when we were worried about a breast tumor some time back. I have to stop doing that, to recognize when I'm stress eating and to just not do it. They'll be more stressful times and I have to figure out something else to do instead of turning to food.

I was told recently that my attitude was changing, and not for the better. Normally when grocery shopping, even if I'm not enthusiastic about it (and who is?), I at least participate (we split the picking out of produce and meats/seafood, finding new stuff to try, etc.). The last shopping (after eating a delicious hotdog in the food court ) was more like, "I need a refill, you keep shopping and I'll uh...come find you when I'm done," then leisurely hitting all the samples (mostly junk) at the end of the aisles on my way to the soda machine, returning ~20 min. later when the shopping was all but done.

That doesn't fly anymore. This lifestyle thing, in my case, has to be a joint effort, and I'm amazed how quickly I reverted back to old habits in such a short period of time.

++++++++++

Ah man, it's hot as hell here too, and more humid. The problem with late evening walking is the bugs (need to keep some Off in the car).

Yep, the POM is a good thing when on sale. The small one was on sale for $1, so I loaded up. Lots of potassium etc. That and the Vitamin Water I found (fruit punch?) had more potassium than a banana or Muscle Milk. I usually have one of those after I get home. Seems to help with recovering.

Grocery...it's so expensive these days, and with a teenage soccer player/workout nut that could eat his body weight each day...we plan meals for the week, good snacks, minimize the junk the kids want. We can get in and out, save money and eat a lot healthier. Plus, I like to cook.

Adding to my previous list of what I learned the past 3 weeks...

5. Moderate exercise doesn't balance out a poor diet. If I were younger then maybe it would, but then my diet recently wasn't just poor, it was debauchery.

6. It's easy to crawl back onto the wagon if you don't wait too long, two days now and we're right back on track. And like I suspected, a good bit of our recent weight gain was just being bloated from all the eating out, it's coming off quickly.

BTW, we're not going to weigh ourselves too often, but my parents have a real scale, a genuine old-fashion doctor's scale with the sliding weights. It's very accurate, very consistent and brutally unforgiving. We'll use it every so often.

++++++++++

We have a show tonight at LSU and plan to do lots of walking before and after. It won't really bother me until tomorrow but I'll probably have to stay off my feet for most of Saturday, and even on Sunday I'll walk with a serious limp. It's usually much better by Monday (I can go walking on Monday evenings) and gone by Tuesday. Caused by years of acute gout attacks, Plantar Fasciitis and heal spurs, but the severity and recovery period is directly related to my weight, even more so than my fitness. I can't imagine how my feet would feel if I were my brother's weight, being so light on his feet. I can't imagine my wife ever having foot issues either, although she doesn't wear any of her new boots when we're doing a lot of walking (she made that mistake once). Of all the reasons to want to become as light as possible, including getting that spring reattached to my ass to pop me out of bed in the morning, I want my ultra flat feet to feel better.

Of all the pics of myself on SimHQ, my lightest is on the "Placing a face with a name" thread (first post). That pic (2009) updated a fat pic that I started the thread with, and I plan to update it again when I finally surpass that weight. That was on my last cruise, I actually saw the 170's on the ship's digital scale (179.8 lbs. [81.6 kg]). We were running every morning on the ship's track and man did I feel so light on my feet then! I can't wait to get that back.

Losing ass? That ain't all I'm losing! My motorcycle jacket is starting to fit me like an oversized tent! Had to get new riding gloves, twice! Not to mention clothes! I've been shopping at the Goodwill store 'til I reach my goal of 175 +- 10.

How have you lost the weight Ghost? Mostly exercise or have you cut out things like carbohydrates?

Sorry for the late reply. Fence installers decided to cut my cable (even though it was clearly marked). No sugars, no breads very little carbs, no carbonated drinks, no alcohol. Proteins and water. I'm averaging 100 +-10 grams protein per day and no less than 64 oz water per day. I walk/move no less than an hour a day (that's 60 consecutive minutes).

Oh, in January, I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Meds seem to be doing their job. Not to mention, on June 5th, I went in for gastric bypass surgery.

Congrats Ghost!!! I'm happy to see that it is working out for you.


I can honestly do a protein + water diet except for coffee. I just can't live without that.

I can't either I just can't drink caffeinated coffee, tea...

Oh no, I need my caffeine. I get massively bad headaches if my body doesn't get caffeine.

I'm starting again from today. Calorie-counting and daily exercise from now on. I really need this to stick this time.

Does that mean no fish and chips?

Not necessarily Panzer. I only tend to have what is called a 'baby fish and chips' nowadays. It's a small piece of fish and a small amount of chips in a tray with mushy peas. I can include that in my diet once in a while if I'm careful the rest of the day.Or go for a 2 hour bike ride.

The days when I could eat a 'man's size fish and chips' have been long gone.

No matter how many times I fall off the wagon (and I don't post them all), I get right back on it and always look at it as a fresh start and one that will stick. You have to look at it this way, "Dammit! I'm going to stick with it this time!" Also, look at the positives, that even though you may gain some weight back and/or lose some fitness, you haven't gained it *all* back (or even half) nor have you lost *all* of your fitness. And whatever success you've had at your best, you know what it takes to get there and that you *can* do it again. Aging makes it harder, but not impossible.

Friday night's 5-hour concert, followed by Saturday morning's lightning storms (I couldn't have scripted it any better ) reminded me that I gotta keep my sh!t together and stop flirtin' with disaster. Giving in to cravings and late-night munchies or being lazy with workouts just ain't worth it. I *have* to stay on the healthy path, I *have* to continue bringing down my blood pressure and I *have* to finish getting this weight off my feet.

I've been doing yard work this morning in the heat, the refrigerated coolness of lunch was very refreshing...

Just got back from Costco (what a madhouse, never again on a weekend) and we avoided the hotdog/soda and all the end-of-aisle samples. Going to try to run our two half-miles this evening when it's cooler (unless it's raining, then we'll use the treadmill). Workouts and wife's yoga back on track. I've already lost 7 of the 14 lbs. I gained in June, wife lost 3 of the 5. Our clothes are more telling than the scale, feeling good and we're going to pull out the clothes containers in a few days to downsize again. So, once again I've dipped back out of obesity (202 lbs. per BMI) and sticking with it.

Thinking back to those 3 weeks of carefree eating out, more observations:

Quality and quantity (quality being what I really enjoy eating, not health-wise). No matter how much I enjoy a large piece of honey glazed salmon with oven roasted veggies (usually asparagus with almond slivers), or grilled shrimp, scallops or whatever (any number of healthier ways to cook seafood), *nothing* [food wise] is as satisfying to me as a big ol' fried seafood platter! Oh man, nothing taste as good to me as dipping fried seafood (shrimp, oysters, crayfish, crab [soft shell and/or stuffed crab], fish, clams) in tarter and cocktail sauce, served with hot soft buttery hushpuppies and something saucy (etouffée or gumbo), and then washing it down with a Dr Pepper (or several). Nothing. If any food is my downfall, there it is. And no food gives me as much of that relaxed and satisfying overstuffed feeling when I'm done.

However, what I've noticed is that [peak enjoyment] only applies to the first several bites. After that, the taste/enjoyment curve plummets, which doesn't happen with healthier baked and grilled dishes (and I mean really healthier, not trashing up a healthier dish). So I might not enjoy the healthier options as much when I first start eating a meal, nor do I get that really full feeling that makes me want to rest or take a nap, but the healthier options typically taste consistently good throughout the meal, down to the last bite. So maybe not as good at first, but better at the end. I don't know if it's psychological (knowing I'm eating better, with no regrets) or that any food that's too breaded, rich, salty or sugary just isn't as enjoyable taste-wise after several bites, although when I'm done I have a more satisfied feeling of being full (stuffed, really).

Today wasn't easy going back to Costco, wife kept reminding me that there's a pot roast that's been cooking in the crock pot since this morning (parents prepped it last night, stuffed it with onion and garlic, then wife added carrots and potatoes and put it on to slow cook). Meh, not really my thing (although I enjoyed it), what I *really* wanted was that $1.50 dog and soda (w/refills).

Reference pics of an *excellent* single large seafood platter (Superbowl 2016) and today's pot roast lunch...