looking to get healthier and more fit?

[FrancSevin]

I'm turning 62 next month, retired a couple weeks after my 47th birthday. I've been busy ever since. Even during Covid I was fairly busy, but that is when I stopped being as personally healthy. The key to a happy retirement is to find things to keep you busy, active and engaged in life. I spend my post work life working with kids, officially as a coach, but often a mentor, counselor and college recruitment advisor, all on a volunteer basis. I also run a non-profit all volunteer fencing club.

Weight seems to have stabilized at 190# for the past 4 days.

According to my Bello2 body fat analysis scanner, my Body Fat % is, finally, in the "healthy" range. My Withings Cardio scale, which measures body fat in a different way, had my Body Fat % in the healthy range for the past week. The Bello2 is supposed to be a much more accurate way to measure body fat.

My Visceral Fat is finally showing a real drop. Visceral fat is potentially dangerous fat that builds up around the organs (heart, lungs, liver, kidneys) and while some is necessary, excess can be fatal.

Set a personal record on the exercise bike this morning. My butt hurts. Not sure if the seat or my rear needs more padding but more padding would be beneficial!

Busy and purpose keeps you alive. More than an execise routine.

We are born to work, accomplish and succeed. That doesn't really change at age 65. It is both mental and physical health that extends life. Which is why many who retire die soon after.

Your weight loss is impressive. Wait till you hit 185#'s or less. Energy and vitality abound.

Go ten more lbs and you start adding years to your now more interesting life.

I bounce from 185 to 189 now. Enjoy eating what and when I want and without a gym routine.

My doctor tells me I will more likely die via a jealous lover than old age or infirmities. I have to wonder of what, besides my health, he knows.

 

[Melensdad]

Pretty much everything hurts, has been that way for a couple days. Been painting the garage doors + doing my workouts. Today I'm slowing down. Only got 2 of the overhead garage doors painted, plus 1 walk-thru door. Did pretty minimal workout. I'll barely meet each of my goals but I will not do extra. My body is telling me something. At some point I need to listen to my body and stop ignoring it.

Saturday we are going camping to a state park for 4 nights, 5 days. My only goals are to barely meet my goals and get some much needed rest. Planning to eat healthy, at least reasonably healthy. Planning to walk.

Looking to come home on Wednesday afternoon and continue where I left off, which is exceeding all my goals. But I think I need a short break from workouts to allow my muscles to recover and this trip comes at a good time for me to take that short break.

185# by mid-October is a very reasonable goal.

 

[m1west]

Pretty much everything hurts, has been that way for a couple days. Been painting the garage doors + doing my workouts. Today I'm slowing down. Only got 2 of the overhead garage doors painted, plus 1 walk-thru door. Did pretty minimal workout. I'll barely meet each of my goals but I will not do extra. My body is telling me something. At some point I need to listen to my body and stop ignoring it.

Saturday we are going camping to a state park for 4 nights, 5 days. My only goals are to barely meet my goals and get some much needed rest. Planning to eat healthy, at least reasonably healthy. Planning to walk.

Looking to come home on Wednesday afternoon and continue where I left off, which is exceeding all my goals. But I think I need a short break from workouts to allow my muscles to recover and this trip comes at a good time for me to take that short break.

185# by mid-October is a very reasonable goal.

You have been at it for a month, nothing should be hurting anymore. Hmm

 

[Melensdad]

You have been at it for a month, nothing should be hurting anymore. Hmm

I also have rheumatoid arthritis.

 

[m1west]

I also have rheumatoid arthritis.

Aaaa

 

[Melensdad]

Aaaa

Yup that sucks. I can work for a while, but then I need to sit. I tend to alternate work, rest, work and rest. Long stretches make me hurt. 3 hours of physical work = 1 hour of sitting on my butt. Reaching up is especially problematic for my, my shoulders tend to stay in pain for hours. The doors on my workshop are 8' high, I did my best to reach the frame over those doors too. I'm paying the price now.

Bourbon helps.

And yes, I do include the bourbon in my calorie counting smartphone app

 

[m1west]

Yup that sucks. I can work for a while, but then I need to sit. I tend to alternate work, rest, work and rest. Long stretches make me hurt. 3 hours of physical work = 1 hour of sitting on my butt. Reaching up is especially problematic for my, my shoulders tend to stay in pain for hours. The doors on my workshop are 8' high, I did my best to reach the frame over those doors too. I'm paying the price now.

Bourbon helps.

And yes, I do include the bourbon in my calorie counting smartphone app

Believe it or not one of the best remades for arthritis pain is exercise.

 

[Melensdad]

Believe it or not one of the best remades for arthritis pain is exercise.

Oh I know. I'm pushing 62, but I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis when I was 24. So I've live with it for nearly 40 years. Doing nothing hurts. Doing too much hurts. For my the best balance is work, rest, work, rest, work, rest, work and then bourbon.

If I try to work an entire day I tend to pay for it, badly, the next day. The day after a 14 hour fencing tournament is usually spent in pain, mostly at rest.

If I work for a couple/few hours, then rest, then go back and work some more, then rest . . . the next day is typically not an issue. I can repeat it day after day.

 

[Melensdad]

Spent the last several days in a cabin at Potato Creek State Park with a 2.5 year old and a good bit of that time it was raining. No gym equipment. Lots of baby sitting, playing "cars" and watching videos. It was difficult to meet my AppleWatch goals for movement and exercise each day. I did it. Mostly by walking. Sometimes just barely 'closed my rings' but I always did it. Went out to eat one night. Steaks on the grill another night. Burgers, hot dogs, even got some Chinese food.

Got home today, unpacked the truck and weighed in at 191.7#. I'm happy with that. Proof that I can eat like a normal person again without gaining weight, especially if I continue to exercise.

According to one of my health Apps, my heart health has increased from the low range of "Below Average" to the low side of "Average" so I guess that is proof enough that the past 37 days of daily workouts has done something for me.

I'd like to get into the "Above Average" range for heart health. The cardiologist may have advice on how I can do that, given the partial arterial blockage I have. My 1st consult is in 2 weeks.

 

[Melensdad]

Been struggling for the past week.

Just really not very motivated to exercise, or even do much more than reach for the remote. I have continued to keep up with my AppleWatch movement, exercise and stand goals. So I've met them every day, even if just barely the past several days. I have maintained a pretty healthy, low calorie, low fat diet, even on days when I went to a restaurant or tossed a steak or burger on the grill. On those days I've just eaten smaller portions.

And then yesterday happened. I really didn't want to exercise. And the Lovely Mrs_Bob and I went out to breakfast. Probably ate 1200 calories in that one meal. I sat on the couch until mid-afternoon before I got up to exercise. I did meet all my exercise goals. Barely. And I ate properly the rest of the day.

Today I woke up, had my coffee and hit the exercise bike. Then the treadmill. Then the rowing machine. And then a good walk outside. I think I needed a pity party day and I'm pretty sure my body feels better after yesterday's breakfast of Eggs Benedict with a giant pour of Hollandaise Sauce and a big side of fried potatoes.

Got over 90 minutes of exercise in today. My goal has been 50 minutes a day. I've been averaging about 70 minutes. Raised my goal to 60 minutes per day. I wonder if my average will remain about 70 or if it will go up.

For whatever it is worth, my weight has been holding pretty steady around 191 for 5 or 6 days. So the fairly rapid drop from 206 to 191 got me to a plateau and I'm holding. I still am looking to get down to 185 by mid-October. 177 by Christmas.

 

[m1west]

Dont beat yourself up, us old guys aren't training for the olympics. I have been seriously busy with work and projects here and haven't worked out in a month. Its cooled off here now and I'm starting to get caught up, so the workouts need to start soon or I will have to go through the muscle aches again. I layoff a month or so without much penalty.

 

[Melensdad]

Dont beat yourself up, us old guys aren't training for the olympics. . .

Mostly just glad to have gotten my motivation back.
By the way, I work out BEFORE breakfast. Apparently it helps regulate blood sugar and burns more fat. I didn't know that. It is just my habit.

Interesting article:

https://www.theepochtimes.com/exerc...ubstantial-health-benefits-study_4737072.html

And interesting outcome:

The results of the study showed that while eating breakfast before or after working out did not make significant differences in terms of weight loss, those who ate breakfast after working out increased their body’s ability to respond to insulin. Additionally, those who ate breakfast after workout burned more fat and saw general improvements in their overall health.​

​

We found that the men in the study who exercised before breakfast burned double the amount of fat than the group who exercised after. Importantly, whilst this didn’t have any effect on weight loss, it did dramatically improve their overall health.​

 

[Melensdad]

On the scale this morning, first time below 190#

Weighed in at 189.4#

Might celebrate with a big dinner

Or maybe not.

After a week of being stuck at 190/191# and also a week of less activity and low motivation to exercise I have renewed my efforts and am enjoying the workouts again. I think I got to a point where I was just sore and tired every day and needed a break from beating up on myself. So the slowdown probably did me some good.

 

[Melensdad]

I've been totally AVOIDING eating nuts. High fat content. Fairly high calorie count too.

Going to have to re-think that.

Actually looks like I have to change my diet to add some almonds, cashews and walnuts.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/four-tree-nuts-to-help-eliminate-metabolic-syndrome_4740391.html

 

[chowderman]

I've been totally AVOIDING eating nuts. High fat content. Fairly high calorie count too.

Going to have to re-think that.

Actually looks like I have to change my diet to add some almonds, cashews and walnuts.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/four-tree-nuts-to-help-eliminate-metabolic-syndrome_4740391.html

yeah. nuts and stuff like peanut butter (which....is a nut. . . .) are those things in no-man's / no-diet's land.
hi-fat, hi-cal - but good for you....
some more gooder than others.
walnuts are frequently touted.

there are many sites that "identify" the "best" and the "worst" - rather most of them have a political/eco slant; caution is needed when considering if their position is based on "health" or "new world order"

 

[Melensdad]

yeah. nuts and stuff like peanut butter (which....is a nut. . . .) are those things in no-man's / no-diet's land.
hi-fat, hi-cal - but good for you....
some more gooder than others.
walnuts are frequently touted.

there are many sites that "identify" the "best" and the "worst" - rather most of them have a political/eco slant; caution is needed when considering if their position is based on "health" or "new world order"

Well according to the article about the study, TREE NUTS, which are unlike peanuts, can actually be helpful for weight reduction.

 

[chowderman]

ask 20 doctors about that and you'll get 45 opinions . . .

 

[Melensdad]

ask 20 doctors about that and you'll get 45 opinions . . .

Which is why I prefer not to ask doctors, they are often not current on studies or topics.

The peer reviewed studies are usually very good, not always, but usually.

 

[Melensdad]

On the scale 3 days in a row below 190#. Today was 187.9#.

So clearly on my way to reaching 185 by mid October.

Went to the cardiologist on Thursday and didn’t get any bad news. I’ve been losing weight, eating healthy and exercising for the past 45 days and he was happy with everything I’ve been doing so he wants me to keep it up.

Today was perhaps my hardest day to get my exercises done. I was sealing the driveway, beat myself up doing that but it didn’t count as exercise. So I had almost have of my exercise time remaining after doing the drive and by that point I felt pretty sore and beaten. Walked on the treadmill to finish out my time.

Not quitting now.

I can reach my goals. I’m planning to do so.

 

[m1west]

On the scale 3 days in a row below 190#. Today was 187.9#.

So clearly on my way to reaching 185 by mid October.

Went to the cardiologist on Thursday and didn’t get any bad news. I’ve been losing weight, eating healthy and exercising for the past 45 days and he was happy with everything I’ve been doing so he wants me to keep it up.

Today was perhaps my hardest day to get my exercises done. I was sealing the driveway, beat myself up doing that but it didn’t count as exercise. So I had almost have of my exercise time remaining after doing the drive and by that point I felt pretty sore and beaten. Walked on the treadmill to finish out my time.

Not quitting now.

I can reach my goals. I’m planning to do so.

Just finished the cabin roof ridge cap, after holding on for dear life for a couple hours doing it, I sat down and almost couldn't get back up. Now imagine how we would have done on that driveway if you would had been watching TV instead of exercising for the last couple months.

 

[Melensdad]

187.7 on the scale this morning so my weight is holding below 190# for another day.

Not too sore today from the driveway sealing project, so that is a good thing! But even wearing gloves I have a few blisters.

I'm on baby sitting duty most of the day but I should be able to turn on cartoons and get my exercise in while Kobe is occupied with Cocomelon or Thomas the Tank Engine. I can use the equipment and still keep an eye on him while he is playing because the exercise area is in the same room as many of his toys, but separated by a big couch. So it should let me do my thing while he does his. I'm pretty motivated today, possibly because I'm not in pain!

 

[Melensdad]

Turned on CoComelon on the TV to amuse Kobe and hopped on the exercise bike. Figured he would be occupied for an hour by the TV set. While my mind was highly motivated today, my legs were NOT motivated. Got in 30 tough minutes on the exercise bike. But had to stop. I'll finish with a second workout later, but even after a couple hours, my legs are still complaining.

I was pretty beat up yesterday after I did the seal coating of the driveway so I am blaming that for my sore legs? I dunno. But I know my legs are hurting now and it has been a couple hours since I got off the bike.

Moved around some of my exercise equipment to make room for the new rowing machine that is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. New one is a mid-priced unit, uses a magnetic resistance flywheel. The main reason I bought it is because it has various programs that change the resistance during the workout. Most don't do that, even most of the expensive units, and certainly none of the budget priced units. My current rowing machine requires you to actually get off the machine, turn it upside down and rotate a sleeve to change the resistance. Clearly not convenient. Many have a dial that allow you to change the resistance, but you still have to stop, adjust and then restart. I specifically was looking for one that has auto-adjusting programming.

 

[Melensdad]

Sitting at just under 188 pounds for a few days now. Honestly I would not be surprised, based on todays eating, if I don't tip back over the high side of 188. But I'm feeling pretty good. My body has been pretty sore for several weeks, I've not taken any rest days. Today I skipped the exercise bike and the rowing machine. Did a tough session on the treadmill, tried a new program that alternates between slow and fast speeds and it had me sweating pretty hard. I need to lose 3 pounds by October 18 to meet my 185# goal date. I should be able to do that, it is 1# per week, but I've lost most of my "easy pounds" so now losing even 1# a week is starting to get harder.

On the bright side, I do feel better, stronger and I have more endurance.

 

[Melensdad]

I hit my goal weight this morning.
185.1 pounds on the scale for my official (pre-coffee) weigh in. I'm going to White Castle to celebrate.

My goal was 185# by my birthday (mid-October). Today was my first day at 185. I consider my weight official when I am there for 3 days in a row, so this is a pre-mature celebration. If I hit that weight by my birthday I was going to celebrate at my annual co-birthday meal with my foreign exchange 'daughter' who also has the exact same birthday (but is 41 years younger). Each year we travel to wherever she is (currently at Notre Dame) and we have a big fancy dinner.

This year, given my weight and heart issues, that celebration might have been curtailed to a low calorie salad with low fat dressing, unless I could drop some serious weight. 206# with a partial (fairly serious) blockage in one of the arteries in my heart on July 16. Today is September 28, so roughly 2.5 months later and I'm 185#.

Some days the weight came off easy. Some days the weight went back on and it was depressing. But EVERY SINGLE DAY, I exercise, and average 70 minutes each day. EVERY SINGLE DAY I try to stay below 1700 calories. My wife and I have a tradition of going out to breakfast on Monday morning, I eat a 1000 calorie meal that day so I skimp the rest of the day. Lots of menu-substitutions when I cook. Cauliflower instead of noodles. Palm "noodles" instead of noodles. Konji "noodles" instead of noodles. I think I forgot what bread tastes like. My wife cooks with butter, I cook my own food, after using a paper towel to wipe the butter off the skillet. I've watched my wife eat perfectly grilled Ribeye, but yes I did taste it! I've eaten about 1 and 1/2 strips of bacon in the past 60 days.

My 'car snacks' now include carrot sticks, celery sticks, grapes and sugar snap peas. I take a bowl in the car whenever I drive so that I do NOT stop at a drive thru restaurant. Water, lots of water while deriving too. I now know where the clean bathrooms are along my routes!

Sadly I took a photo of my torso this morning in the mirror and I'm still flabby.

I figured 185# would have me looking good. I was wrong. The American impression of 'healthy weight' is actually slightly fat

My next goal is to get down to a steady 177#. Based on the BODY MASS INDEX my height/weight has me as healthy. Looking in the mirror I can see that is a lie. There are other medically based body weight ranges, all are lower than the B.M.I. I found 2 of them, can't recall the names, but both correlated closely and 177# as the MAXIMUM healthy weight for a 6' tall male. So I set my goal at 177#.

The journey continues. First to maintain this 185 for 3 days so I can claim it is my official weight. Second to push down to 177#.

My wife is amazed at how hard I am working at this. She thinks I'm possessed.

The ONE THING that I did not give up is my nightcap of bourbon before bedtime. 2, OK, maybe sometimes 3, ounces of a good bourbon. But I include that in my calorie intake. Bourbon is roughly 65 calories per ounce, so 4 ounces of bourbon = 260 calories, which is about the equivalent of an entire diet meal. 2 oz of bourbon is roughly 2 White Castle Hamburgers. So if I want my bedtime treat I have to watch my daytime consumption.

The REAL TEST is one that comes after I'm at 177# . . . and that will be to STAY AT THAT WEIGHT and that only comes with the lifestyle changes that I'm already making. Less fatty meats, more lean fish, smaller meals, continued exercise. Logically I will be able to increase my calories from under 1700 to roughly 2000, maybe closer to 2200? But if I want to get lean, improve my heart health, and keep it, then I can't sit on the couch with a can of SPAM and share it with the dogs as my evening snack.

 

[Melensdad]

Ate about 1200 calories yesterday.
Set a new AppleWatch workout record yesterday.
Set a new AppleWatch move record yesterday.
Set a new AppleWatch stand record yesterday.
Literally beat my old workout record by 30+ minutes, crushed my old move record by 30%

This morning I weight in 1 pound more than yesterday

All I can say is that I better flush a 3 pound later today or I may investigate a new scale because I don't think mine will survive hitting the ground after being thrown out a second story window.

 

[m1west]

Its not all about losing the weight, its re distributing it.

 

[Melensdad]

Very low motivation day yesterday. I've been "closing my rings" on my AppleWatch/Apple Fitness app every day for the past 56 days. Gave up yesterday. I got in an outdoor walk in the morning, ran some errands with the lovely Mrs_Bob, but then when I got home I tried to do a 30 minute workout on the exercise bike. Managed to do 6 minutes on the bike. 6 minutes??? Gave up.

Went to a 2.5 hour fencing practice and beat surely teenagers with metal sticks, you'd think that alone would be motivating. Nope. Came home, ate some leftover Panda Express (which is NOT on my diet) and watched a movie.

About 9:30pm I was resigned to go to bed, break my workout streak. Motivational pep talk from the family and I went down, finished out my workouts kept my streak going. I've never taken a "rest day" for my muscles, but I've had some easier days and some more rigorous days.

Got up this morning, 2 espresso shots and then 30 minutes on the rowing machine, pushing myself. The problem is I'm actually out-powering the rowing machine. It is already set on full resistance. I have a new machine on order, been waiting over a week for delivery. Hoping maybe later this week for the new machine?

 

[Melensdad]

183.8 pounds

I believe that I have earned the right to go to White Castle and get some burgers.

Apparently regular hitting of smart mouth and surly teens with 3' metal sticks is good for my fitness. Its good to be coach! Still looking to get down to 177# by Christmas. But interim goal of 185# by mid-October seems to be pretty much an official achievement.

I still have high visceral fat levels around my organs, that is the health issue that I still have, it is apparently why I have a partial arterial blockage, the visceral fat is slowly decreasing. The blockage won't decrease, but the visceral fat will decrease. Beef has been dramatically reduced from my diet. Ditto pork. Replaced mostly by fish. Noodles are gone. Replaced by cauliflower or palm 'noodles' or Konjak noodles. Rice is pretty much eliminated. Drive thru windows replaced with a bowl of carrots, celery and sugar snap peas that accompany me in the car when I am out running errands.

I don't do "cheat days" on food but I will do a partial cheat meal if I had a low calorie day. Last night I got home from high school fencing practice, the lovely Mrs_Bob had some BBQ polish sausage, cheesy bread sticks, etc. Clearly not on my diet. I was hungry. Had a modest size piece of sausage and 1 piece of cheesy bread. Calculating it out, probably still ended up under 1600 calories for the entire day.

 

[Melensdad]

Hovering between 184-186 pounds.

Got my new rowing machine on Thursday but didn't get it assembled until yesterday. And also am dealing with a rheumatoid arthritis flare up, so I fave the machine, it is built, but my body is too sore to give it a real workout. I tested it, ran one of the programs, but not for very long, mostly to see if everything is functioning. The machine is, but my body not so much.

It is much smoother than the old one, the resistance is much more consistent thru the entire stroke, unlike the piston on my old machine.

A few days ago I started the "MY FIRST 5K" training program. Mostly to mix up and increase the intensity of my treadmill workouts. It is a 30 day program that starts alternating 50% walking & 50% jogging, gradually transitioning to 100% jogging. But I'm skipping today due to the arthritis. I was sore yesterday but managed 85 minutes of workout.

 

[Melensdad]

I really need to re-think "rest days" because my muscles are sore every day. Shoulders and thighs. I have closed my AppleWatch "rings" every day for 64 days in a row. Sometimes just barely. Sometimes I crush them.

Started with the default settings. Been slowly bumping them up. For a nearly 62 year old with Rheumatoid Arthritis and an arterial blockage I think the settings are pretty good. 700 "move" calories, 60 "exercise" minutes and 14 "stand" hours are the current settings. I occasionally do some limited standing Cardio exercises but not often.

90% of my time is split pretty equally between:

• exercise bike
• treadmill
• rowing machine

Toss in some outdoor 'hikes/walks' around the property & down the road (rural, hilly). So all 3 equipment workouts, plus the walks, work my legs. Rowing machine adds core and arms. I keep barbells with the bike so I often ride while pumping iron, to work arms & legs.

Should I stop "closing my rings" and add a rest day 1 day a week?

Should I skip the machines 1 or 2 days a week and toss in a day of "cardio" or "circuit" exercises?

I'm happy with my results, 184# on the scale today. So not complaining about weight. Waist is much smaller. Clothes are now very loose, instead of being uncomfortably tight.

BUT MY ARMS AND LEGS ARE SORE every morning when I rise.

ADVICE from anyone? Am I just overdoing arms/legs and need to add something to the rotation?