looking to get healthier and more fit?

I can actually see changes in my body. My "dad bod" belly is noticeably smaller, my man-boobs are noticeably smaller. I'm just under 2 weeks into actual workouts, and 3 weeks into eating smarter and walking.

Another morning and another 30 minute workout.

On the exercise bike this morning, programmed for hilly route with varying resistance. During that 30 minutes I never leaned on the handlebars, but rather pumped 2# and 4# weights the entire 'ride' on bike.

Morning weight is 198.8 for the 2nd day in a row. I have decided that my "wake up" weight is my official weight in my journey to fitness. It is the only weight that eliminates most all the variables of food and drink. Typically I sleep for 6 to 7 hours so during that time there is no intake of food or fluids. At no other point in the day is that possible. So for consistency it is what I am using as "my" weight.

Another point, for people using one of the smart sensor scales like my Withings Cardio scale, since the scale measures hydration, body fat, muscle mass, etc and since food/drink intake change all that, the scale will give erratic readings for each of the various measuring points if you weigh yourself MORE THAN 1 TIME per day that throw off your 'trends' over a short term trend line. I found this out by accident, but it became obvious as soon I stopped stepping on the scale multiple times a day and went a couple days with only morning weights.
 
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You should really only weigh yourself one day a week. Pick a day and time and be consistent. Less frequent sampling will be more rewarding. Body weight fluctuations due to water retention can be huge and demoralizing.

Weekly mirror shots are also good. But please (and I'm looking at you Bob) don't share them here. :poke:
 
You should really only weigh yourself one day a week. Pick a day and time and be consistent. Less frequent sampling will be more rewarding. Body weight fluctuations due to water retention can be huge and demoralizing.

Weekly mirror shots are also good. But please (and I'm looking at you Bob) don't share them here. :poke:
For me, not saying it is right for anyone else, but reading my weight and body metrics is a motivator. I intend to stay on the morning weight measurement.

As for the photo, given my history, a mirror shot would likely be posted UPSIDE DOWN or on its SIDE. But in any case I'm not sure why you don't want to see my man-:5boobs:
 
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I think exercising is the most essential part of healthy life. You don't even have to go to a gym three times a week, I do a simple thing, just riding a bike every day to work and back. I have Royce and it's very comfortable in cycling.
 
Yesterday I was up in Chicago looking at condos with Melen. Went to lunch, ordered pizza. Ate 4 pieces + a mozzarella stick. Felt full and bloated until late evening. Didn't even want dinner. But I did manage to get another 40 minute workout in, all on the treadmill, most of it using 4# dumbbells.

This morning I woke up hungry. But I also weighed in at 198.1. I was surprised by that weight drop given how full I was from over eating yesterday. That said, I also set personal "exercise" and "move" records for working out.

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I think exercising is the most essential part of healthy life. You don't even have to go to a gym three times a week, I do a simple thing, just riding a bike every day to work and back. I have Royce it's very comfortable in cycling.

Biking is great, low impact and often fun. Walking also can be enough to get you fit.

The healthy life has to also come from food. I really like good healthy food BUT good tasting highly processed crappy for you food is EASY. It comes in a can or a box and is always handy, quick to prepare and filling. Seems like when Covid hit, and we got a 2 month old foster baby dropped on our doorstep the same month the world "closed down" is when I became a very sedentary man who ate everything out of cans.

I have a TREK bike. It has been hanging upside down in my garage for 15 years. I live in a rural area, narrow country roads, often deep drainage ditches on both sides, I have never felt it was safe to ride on many of the roadways around our home.

I also have a gym membership at the YMCA. We keep the membership mainly for taking our foster son Kobe to swimming classes, activities, etc. Last time I went was 4 years ago. It takes too much time. 30 minutes drive + 75-90 minutes there, including cool down time. Then 30 minute drive home.

2.5 hours was a normal trip to the gym for about 45-60 minutes of working out.

With my own treadmill and my own exercise bike I find that in the same 2.5 hour time span I can do 2 workouts.




I ended up ordering a BELLO 2 fat monitor. Was planning to do it when I got below 195#, maybe 190#. But they sent me a $50 off coupon that was good for 24 hours so I ordered it.



I also ordered a new blood pressure cuff. Only because my old one was having issues. I got that one many years ago. It died over the past few days. New one will be delivered today.

 
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The new blood pressure cuff arrived. Its much nicer than their old style I had. After it is initially set up and paired with your phone, it then works without need to use a phone app. Has a digital readout on the side that displays your blood pressure and heart rate. And it also sends the data to the phone for tracking. You just don't need to open the app and operate the cuff from your smartphone like the old model required. And the old model didn't have a display, you saw the BP on your phone screen.
 
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I think exercising is the most essential part of healthy life. You don't even have to go to a gym three times a week, I do a simple thing, just riding a bike every day to work and back. I have Royce it's very comfortable in cycling.

Bike riding is easy and helps a lot to tone muscle and lose weight. You don't have to think about it ,,, just do. I have a Kensington with 16 speeds. So light you can pick it up with one hand. Great touring bike. I picked it up at a thrift store for $50.00.

Good to see a post from you ErinKeegan
 
Morning weight 197.6#

First 8 or 9 days I was not showing any steady weight loss, but for the past week my weight loss has been a stead decline, day over day.

My fat mass is finally showing a steady line of decline.

Muscle mass is finally showing a steady line in increase.

My body water content has also been showing a steady line of increase.

I think the first step of this journey was actually a SHOCK to my body systems because I've always been a "grazer" when it comes to food. I'll eat a little bit, but I eat frequently, so my total intake of food has always been fairly large. My activity levels work the opposite way, I tended to sit a lot but when I was active I tended to be very active.

Now that I have settled into a much more regular new routine with 2 a day exercise sessions, each 20 to 30 minutes long, it is also altering how I eat. I'm no longer 'grazing' because my body simply isn't asking for food in the same ways. I tend to get up, drink my espresso, and then about 7am I usually am in my first workout. After workout I have no desire to eat for a couple hours so my breakfast is now later, which eliminates my body's desire to have a mid-late morning snack. Often I end up with a later lunch and some days I have simply skipped a dinner but only if I am actually NOT hungry. I am NOT starving myself, I am NOT craving anything or feeling hungry. When I feel hungry I may go have a handful of grapes even some cheese.

Perhaps more importantly I am eating healthier foods. I just keep them on hand and in front of me. More fish, more chicken, less beef (and I love fish, and don't ever crave beef so that is working out well for me). When going out to run errands I used to stop at a drive thru and grab something. Now I take a container of Sugar Snap Peas and a bottle of water (or can of sparking water) and snack on those to take the edge off of any possible craving that may creep up.
 
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Morning weight is again 197.6 ... but between Saturday and today my weight crept up a bit.

We had both Dasha and Kobe in the house and for the weekend and a lot of activity so I wasn't able to get my 2x workouts in, and there was a lot more unhealthy food in the house, pizza and a celebration Dairy Queen ice cream cake . . . then I moved Dasha into her dorm at Notre Dame, so there was a lot of just sitting in the car, a lot of waiting for elevators waiting to take loads up to rooms, blah blah blah

Long story short, I did my best to eat reasonably well, and did my best to exercise, but life sort of got in the way. Most of the weight gain was probably water weight? It went up but came off just as quickly. So I am happy that, despite the weekend there really was only a hiccup in my weight loss and not a set back.

I am almost exclusively using 4# dumbbells 100% of the time I am on a treadmill or exercycle over the past 4 days. I've moved up from 3#. My right arm can easily pump the 4# weights for 30 full minutes. My left arm is struggling with the 4# weight for the full 30 minutes I am on the equipment.

Clearly I have body asymmetry that favors my right arm, also my right side. Possibly a natural outcome of being a right handed fencer and needing the strength and coordination on my right side for that sport. I have a set of 6# dumbbells on order. Already have a 5# set and hope to start transitioning to the 5# set with my second workout today.

According to my "Health Mate" app, my BODY MASS INDEX is dropping, my WEIGHT is dropping, my FAT is dropping and my HYDRATION is increasing. All good things. But all only have just over a couple weeks of good data so it is way to early to prove the trends lines are going to continue to be positive, but it is a promising sign that things are moving the right direction.
 
losing weight is a tricky business when it comes to the human body.
suddenly shifting to a low calorie diet makes weight go away - but then the body 'adapts' and one hits a 'plateau'
the operative word there is "suddenly"

the traditional/medical definition for BMI is body mass (kg) divided by (body height in meters)^2 {aka squared}
it is a flawed measure - you've heard of 'big boned' people, or 'large frame' people....? it's true....

measuring %fat body mass is most accurately done by the 'float weight' method - your 'dry mass' vs your 'submerged in water' mass.
as movie actors are prone to say: "A method has to know it's limitations."

attempting to go from X to Y in some magic minimums of weeks is not a particularly good approach -
also, do not put much stock in gadget measures of fat, and hydration is a total non-relevant.....

good diet
good exercise
steady weight loss without diminished stamina/strength - that's golden.
 
. . . definition for BMI is body mass (kg) divided by (body height in meters)^2 {aka squared}
it is a flawed measure . . .

good diet
good exercise
steady weight loss without diminished stamina/strength - that's golden.
BMI is a totally flawed measure, there are ranges that accommodate small/mid/big boned people. It is a hated standard that is almost universally used by both the sports and medical industries. But it is also one of the reasons I have a Bello 2 fat measurement tool on order. There are lots of expensive tests for measuring different types of fat on your body, the Bello 2 is supposed to be able to give a reasonable duplication of some of those tests and gives some guidance on diet and exercise.

My diet has changed by reducing animal fat from my diet. Switching from beef to fish. I've also reduced a lot of the garbage foods for snacking and substituted foods I like such as raw carrots, grapes, pea pods, celery and watermelon. So obviously not eliminating carbs. Just making a lot of sensible substitutions.

My exercise has gone from a couple times a month up to 2 times a day. Typically I exceed 1 hour per day, sometimes I get closer to 2 hours a day. I'm looking for 1.5 pounds of loss per week as a healthy and realistic long term loss. Hoping it leads to a reduction or elimination of blood pressure medicine and perhaps helps avoid future open heart surgery too.
 
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Morning weight today is a new low . . . 196.3 pounds.

My exercise goals have been crushed every day, and even after I increased the goals I still crushed those goals, sometimes by 200%.

But today I'm just not feeling like I want to push myself too hard. My arms are sore, probably from the weights I used yesterday, heaviest and longest duration that I've tried. I did 20 minutes on the exercise bike. My plan at this point is to "meet" my goals but not push myself to exceed them, as I usually do. Seems like I need to back off, just a little bit, and give my sore limbs a little bit of a break.

Not giving up, still motivated, just listening to my body. I'm down over 5# in weight in August, so I am obviously meeting my goals. Seems like a slack day makes sense.
 
They say the clitoris is the hardest thing for a man to find. I disagree.

Finding the inspiration to stick to you discipline can be harder. Very much so. Especially with the onset of fatigue and pain.

Keep it up.


Good luck.
 
Morning weight today is a new low . . . 196.3 pounds.

My exercise goals have been crushed every day, and even after I increased the goals I still crushed those goals, sometimes by 200%.

But today I'm just not feeling like I want to push myself too hard. My arms are sore, probably from the weights I used yesterday, heaviest and longest duration that I've tried. I did 20 minutes on the exercise bike. My plan at this point is to "meet" my goals but not push myself to exceed them, as I usually do. Seems like I need to back off, just a little bit, and give my sore limbs a little bit of a break.

Not giving up, still motivated, just listening to my body. I'm down over 5# in weight in August, so I am obviously meeting my goals. Seems like a slack day makes sense.
There is about 2-3 weeks of sore. You should be doing weights every other day or you wont gain. You have to let your muscles heal to gain. Also I have found that whatever weight you are lifting do it to failure, you will see the fastest and most impressive gain ( 3 sets to failure on each set. ). after you are hitting about 50 reps on your weight move up in weight. Vary you exercises on your different muscle groups or you will plateau. work all your muscle groups to avoid becoming un symmetrical, that is a recipe for hurting yourself.
 
regrets to say, the medical experts agree that crash diets and crash exercise routines all result in dramatic weight loss, which is rapidly regained as soon as the extreme routines are retired.
so, rapid makes for lots of pain, lots of gain, then lots of regain.
 
regrets to say, the medical experts agree that crash diets and crash exercise routines all result in dramatic weight loss, which is rapidly regained as soon as the extreme routines are retired.
so, rapid makes for lots of pain, lots of gain, then lots of regain.
Balanced diet and 3 days of weight training, with a little cardio is all thats required. Just be consistent
 
I’m not doing any sort of crash diet, no desire to not eat. I’m eating plenty, just skipping the canned SPAM, corned beef hash and really high carb foods. Substituting fish for most beef. Substituting raw veggies and fruits for high calorie energy bars, candy, etc. basically I’m switching to a balanced diet and getting rid of the crap from my food choices.

I am doing a good bit of exercising, but in perspective I’m doing only about 20% of what a college varsity athlete does. So while a lot ‘for me’ it is still less than many do.
 
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Did lots of working out yesterday, crushed my 50-minute per day goal. But ate a lot too. Veggies, fruits and more veggies. Did have a little Italian sausage with some of those veggies at dinner time. Got on the fancy cardio-scale for my morning weight & metric measurements. Weight UP by about a half pound to 197.3. While I'm eating all this healthy stuff, I'm eating a lot of it. Portion control is something I need to work on if I am going to drop down another 13-15#.

10 minutes later I took a massive :toilet:

Pretty sure it is a net loss of weight but I won't weigh myself until tomorrow morning.

One thing is clear with this new 'healthy eating' lifestyle of mine, I have more stomach and intestinal gas, and the general output tends to be somewhat less rewarding but a greater relief. Not sure I like this part of the new me.
 
Sat in a car for about 5 hours yesterday so that was a pretty sedentary day. Dasha helped me carry up a futon to her room. But really nothing strenuous. Walked about the Notre Dame campus. Also had a great hamburger, with bacon, on a brioche bun at the Morris Inn, which probably blew my dieting for about a week. The real exercise I got was after I returned home and got on my exercise equipment.

Weight was recorded at 196.9 this morning.

One thing I do NOT like about a SCALE is that it gives limited metrics.
  • Simple scales give weight.
  • Cardio/smart scales give info like water %, fat, muscle, bone weights and heart rates.
The problem with both types of scale is that total weight and water weight fluctuate wildly during the day, and can fluctuate quite a bit day to day. Depending upon your fluid intake, the cardio/smart scale can also throw off your other metric measurements. This can be partially solved by consistent weigh in patters like a first thing in the morning weight before breakfast.

I use a WITHINGS brand cardio/smart scale and like the metric tracking that I get on my smart phone. I like to watch the trend lines. But it can only be used if you consistently measure weight the general time, same general routine.

I recently bought a BELLO 2 fat analyzer. The selling pitch is that it gives you a better health measurement than weight. It takes 5 fat measurements, 1 from each arm, 1 from each leg, 1 at the belly. The concept is brilliant, if you change your focus from actual weight measurement to body composition and health focus. Easy to say, hard to do when we grow up thinking about weight.

The BELLO 2 predicted specific health issue areas for me. They are all confirmed by my doctor. The smart/cardio scale didn't do that. But a group of health apps on my phone have hinted at those health issues.

Not sold on the BELLO 2 yet. I don't much like the App, but then I am still very new to it, only been using it a couple days and navigation is less intuitive than I hoped. It as another tool to help my process of getting healthy.

And maybe I am to focused on weight and should be more focused on health.

I was talking to a professional athlete at my fencing club the other night, he and I co-coach a team. He is 4 inches shorter than I am and when he is in top competition condition his weight is 185. My goal is below that weight. Muscle is heavier than fat, so maybe I'm thinking wrong and should work more on dropping fat than dropping weight. Bello 2 focuses on the different types of fat and helps you, if you can figure out the app, focus on reducing the unhealthy fat.

Not giving up the scale, but slowly adapting more to Bello 2 fat measurement as a better indicator of health progress.

*** There may be other brands of fat measurement devices, I just happened to buy the Bello 2
 
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Did you ever have one of those days when you just were not feeling it and didn't want to workout.

Feeling that way right now.

Just got off the scale. 195.6#, fat mass is trending down, muscle mass is trending up. So good trend lines. Exercise minutes per day are trending higher and have been for 20 days. Bello says my body fat is down, my visceral fat is level.

But this morning I'm feeling sore and worn out. Ibuprofen first thing after waking up. Now a little coffee, need to get on the exercise bike.

I'll be driving down to Purdue University in a few hours, I've been invited back as a recurring guest Saber Coach for the team, I need to get this workout in to get the blood flowing before I sit in a car for 90 minutes and then face a bunch of college kids for a 3 hour practice. Coaches don't actually get in much actual exercise in practices so I'm not counting on getting a workout today on campus.
 
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Woke up at 4:55 this morning. Not sure why.

Electronic scale says my 195.3 pounds. BMI is continuing its downward trend line. Fat is slowly dropping. Muscle is slowly growing. I weighed 206.3 in mid-July. Today is the 23rd day in a row that I'm working out. Typically I get in over 60 minutes of workout, broken into 2 sessions. Sometimes I get over 90 minutes in, but that is in 3 sessions.

Had some coffee with the dogs, one of which is still upset that I picked her up and made her go outside! Then to the rowing machine and got in a 20 minute session. It is one of those cheap rowing machines that my wife found at a garage sale? or thrift shop? It but it works. Made by "Sunny" fitness???

It has a single piston and 1 way resistance. It was set to resistance level "9" on a scale of "12" but after the 20 minute session I figured out the secret of adjusting it (more force) and reset it to "12" to see what that would do. Not sure if the cylinder is worn or if it is just not very strong, but I'm looking for a little more resistance. Maybe 12 is too high? I'll find out next session. In any case it is nice to mix up my sessions.

I have an old foot injury from long distance hiking. So I've shifted from the treadmill, which I actually enjoy using, to the exercise bike because it is lower impact on my foot to give it a rest. Fine, but too much exercise on the bike feels like drudgery to me. So I found the rowing machine folded up in the closet, it had been stuffed there several years ago. Not sure I've ever actually used it prior to yesterday when I pulled it out to try it. For an obviously cheap piece of equipment I'm happy with it. BUT I have no clue what the little digital readout does, it sort of flashes some non-sensical numbers and there is only 1 button so I can't figure it out. Doesn't matter, I track my time/exercise on my AppleWatch & iPhone, so whatever the LCD screen on the machine is showing is unimportant.

I have now started recording my calorie intake, been doing that for the last 2 or 3 days. Over time I will see how that goes and if that helps. I changed my diet when I started this journey and the calorie counting is not really changing my diet, but now I'm just tracking my intake. So I dunno about this. I know my calorie intake is lower, higher in fiber, lower in fat.
 
What is your end goal, just get in better shape to make] things easier or get comments from strangers on how good you look for your age.
 
What is your end goal, just get in better shape to make] things easier or get comments from strangers on how good you look for your age.
Totally doing it for me. Avoid Type 2 diabetes, get off blood pressure meds, avoid open heart surgery, look and feel better.
 
I weighed 83 kg four years ago. Now, I'm 19kg lighter. I shed a lot of weight through medicine ball training, shadow boxing, walking, meat eating and drinking cartons rich in Vitamin ABC. I also started eating more greens, like spinach and salad. I feel so much better now and am in no danger of popping any buttons of my shirts or suits. 😅
 
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Wow, that's impressive gunrus. 183 lbs to 119 lbs.
 
Wow, that's impressive gunrus. 183 lbs to 119 lbs.
Thank you, Doc. I've had to stop training due to the weather, but I'm still eating healthily. I plan in the near future to get a 10kg medical ball to rise to a new level in my training.
 
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Totally doing it for me. Avoid Type 2 diabetes, get off blood pressure meds, avoid open heart surgery, look and feel better.
Then I would suggest a cardio heavy work out, work with lite weights ( 15#-25# depending on your condition) with lots of reps ( 20 reps or more ) to failure, 3 sets. That will take weight off, give you endurance and tone you up. Arm curls both bicep and tricep, military press, push ups and sit ups, also no weight squats, do them all to failure. If you can handle working a heavy bag start with 1 minute rounds and work your way up. Heavy bag is great cardio and builds agility and balance. 6 months of that you will be a completely different person. 3 days a week or every other day. I am 64.5 years old, 5'9" and weigh 205# in the morning undressed. Doesn't sound good does it. I also have a 17" right bicep and a 33" waist, sounds a little better now doesn't it. I have been working out since high school with a few layoffs but fairly consistent. I can still put in a full day of construction work and most of the young guys don't like working with me.
 
194.0# on the scale today. 6 weeks ago I was 206.3#

Goal of 185# on October 18, 2022 (that will be my 62nd birthday)

Goal of 177# by Christmas of 2022.

Had a rough day today. Only 1 30 minute workout on the rowing machine. Ended up taking our foster son into the hospital emergency room about 2pm with breathing issues. Got home at 9pm. HE IS FINE. It is a recurring problem, we got him there early enough that they treated and released him. But no additional workout for me. And some drive-thru window food (tasted good, but bad for my diet). Probably just barely stayed within my calorie per day goals, so not horrible, but it was just fatty food.

I got in more 'steps' than I would have expected, but well below my daily average. I guess pacing in an exam room counts as steps.

Curious what the scale weight will read in the morning. I can't imagine it will go down, just hope it doesn't go up too much.

Honestly I think the obstacles thrown in our path during our daily lives get in the way of our best intentions and often derail our desires/efforts to improve our health. It is easy to be unhealthy, and actually takes effort to live a healthy lifestyle.
 
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20 minutes on the rowing machine followed by 20 minutes on the exercise bike and my legs were sore for hours. Probably still are sore but I've been taking ibuprofen to mask the pain today :thumbup:

Leg day for Kobe too.

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Kobe is doing pretty well today considering his hospital visit yesterday, currently napping next to me.

But since he is sick I'm sharing the duties of babysitting/playing with him and also stuff around the house. Consequently I'm somewhat less active than normal. The AppleWatch has a fitness tracking app built into it. I've posted images of the 3 color rings in prior posts, today it will be tough to complete all 3 rings but I believe that i will get them all done. The 'exercise' ring was the first completed. The 'stand' ring is pretty much automatic for me. But the 'move' ring that theoretically counts "active" calorie burning will be close. I had increased my goal about a week ago and on days when I am not super active I have a tough time finishing that one. Given that a recovering kid is not very active today will be one of those days when it will be hard to finish that one. I'm on track to finish it, but barely.

By the way, morning weight was 193.4 pounds. Not sure how I managed to get it to drop after the meal of deep fried Long John Silver's fish, cole slaw, hush puppies and some shrimp that I had after leaving the hospital with Kobe yesterday.
 
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