Getting in shape
 

I stepped on the scales when we got back from Europe on April 19th and they hit 240. I've never been that heavy in my life. I'm 66 years old; with worsening chronic bronchitis and wear and tear arthritis in every joint I have really slowed down the exercise. I rewarded myself for getting through the day with food and wine.
Wife gave me a Fitbit a couple of months ago that I didn't use much because it doesn't record the exercise I do most, which is rowing. But when the scales screamed 240 at me I decided I had to get serious about my health and make it part of a program.
I started using the Fitbit to record sleep and walking. There is something magic about 10,000 steps a day I guess, because that is the goal everyone goes for. 10k steps burns about 210 calories, in a normal day I take about 4000 to 6000. I have arthritis in my feet, so walking is an issue, so I row 300 calories worth in the morning, keep track of my steps, and in the evening I row whatever I need to get up to the 210 I would get from walking 10k steps. I also use the fitbit to track my sleep and make sure I get to bed early enough to get 8 hrs. I use Myfitnesspal to track food intake, keeping it to 1800 calories per day, but most days I'm closer to 1600. My wife thinks it's funny that I measure all my food, but that's the only way to know know much you're eating.
So far:
Sleep is up from 6 hrs a night to almost 8
Weight is down to 232
I feel a LOT better
I'm 6'2" and I've stayed between 210 and 220 all my adult life. I'm comfortable at that weight so my goal is 215. It's looking attainable.

Anybody else having any success getting in shape? What do you do?

I find that if I don't eat late in the day, after 1700, I tend to stay at a better weight. Walking/ running the dog, pushups and situps are about all for exercise.

Do something for your abs/core or else you will have back problems. Maintain your flexibility or you will have problems as well. Stretch out your legs every day.

Keep up the good work. I've been weight training for 10 years now and very consistently. Usually 4-5 times a week. I try to use the treadmill 3x a week before work. I'm not as consistent as I'd like to be with cardio but feel remarkably better through the day when I am. I also ride a bike in season. I really enjoy it. My greatest issue is diet. Currently I weigh 228 at 19% body fat. I'd love to break 200 by the time I'm 50 which is 6 months from now. I don't know if it's feasible though. I last was at 200 5 years ago and was getting into some 32" waisted pants and easily into anything marked 34. I think I might have put on more muscle since then and think I'll be at about 208 and fit in the same stuff. We'll see. Anyways keep up the good work. Working out can become a lifestyle it certainly has for me. Rarely do I miss working out.

I forgot to add that I'm tracking water intake and I do 15 minutes of stretching-type yoga in the morning. The yoga is better than 10 cups of coffee for waking up.

Went from 290 to 245 by stopping sugared sodas (Coke Zero isn't bad...), sweet tea, and sugar in my coffee. Cut back on desserts quantity wise and about half frequency.

I congratulate you on your weight loss efforts, once that weight is on, it doesn't want to leave.

I'm only 51 and have been concerned about my weight lately. I'm 5'-10", and 190-195. Most of my life, I had been 165-170 and maintained that weight fairly well from the very busy factory job I had. I still have the same job, but was promoted to a half office/half prototyping job within the same company.

My biggest problem, and what maybe should concern you also with the chronic bronchitis, is how much sodium/salt intake you have on a daily basis. My chronic bronchitis turned into congestive heart failure a few years back, and I fight a constant battle with fluid retention around my heart, and lungs. I take a diuretic when I feel I need it (prescribed by my doctor), which can purge 3-4 pounds of fluid in a single morning. I try to eat less processed food, and drink more clean filtered water, but not always convenient.

While I'm (only?) 34, I'm 6', and had hit 210. Not really fat by any means, but it was a wake-up call similar to what you had. I don't have a fitbit, but my phone tracks steps. I was doing 6000+ steps a day just at work, but wasn't doing much else.

My first step to weight loss was I caught the flu, and lost almost 10lb in a week. After I recovered, I told myself, this was a good kick-start. I cut out most breads, pastas, cut back on beer... basically I googled foods that cause bloat and cut those out. I also cut way back on soda. I'll drink iced coffee or iced tea instead. For me, this was all a pretty small change, and easy to do. I basically traded sandwiches for tacos, and pasta for sushi, and I think that's an upgrade all the way around.

At the same time, I upped my water intake a whole bunch, and if I feel hungry, my first go to is now a glass of water. If I still feel hungry, or tired in 20 min, I'll eat.

That's it for the diet part.

For exercise and activity, I downloaded a free app. There's a bunch of them, I like "Sworkit". It has a few built in workouts, and downloadable ones. I downloaded the "Beach Confident: Arms & Abs". It has customizable time settings. I was at 15min/day, and just changed to 20min/day. They are 30 second exercises that don't require equipment or anything fancy. There are .gif's that show you the movement. It moves you through the 30 second exercises with only 5 seconds between. Every couple min there is a 30 second break.

Now, I'm down to 180lb, have a pretty much flat stomach, abs are showing up, chest and shoulders are looking better. But the best part is, I feel better, have more energy through the day, and sleep better at night.

I thought my goal would be 175lb, but I'd be happy keeping at 180 and building definition. If I creep back to 185 and increase athleticism, that would be good too.

I hope you find something that works well for you.

Yep - fork in mouth disease is the real problem. When you get weight off it hurts less to exercise - vicious circle, but you have to put in the work. I row as well - both on a machine and on the water. Best possible impact free exercise. I'll do a minimum of 5k pieces. On the water my route is closer to 10k. That's a workout.
I'm 6'4" and when my weight gets up around 190 I start to feel it in my knees. 180-5 is much more comfortable.
Another thing to look at as we age (I'm 59 in a few days) is your GI health. I had my gall bladder removed several years ago and my digestion is all different now. I take enzyme supplements to help with digestion.
Completely cut out junk foods - soda, oily chips, etc. Snack on fruit or nuts. Hold the vino to a glass a day with 2 or 3 days per week as "school nights" -no alcohol.

From what I understand, the diet drinks make your brain/body crave calories. (read: soda water, or flat water, is better for those wanting to be comfortable with fewer calories.

Unfortunately I find as I approach my mid 70s, I've lost all interest in attempting to "work out." I bring this up to point out if you enter a point where you loose interest in that sort of thing and are overweight & grossly out of shape, you might also arrive at a point of no return. I've always been physically active throughout my life and remain so, but just don't have any interest in doing something purely for exercise. I'm still more active than 90+% of my friends & neighbors, still wear 32x32 pants for the past 40+ years, and have weighed in my low to mid 170's (5'10") as my max weight. Our place is 2 1/2 acres along with the house to care for. So during portions of the year I am required to do certain maintenance things that require hours/days with a weed whacker, brush cutter, weed pulling, digging, painting, repairing, etc., etc. I also take a walk lots of days for two miles which includes uphill of around 400 ft. My wife & I enjoy hiking. For instance we hiked to the top of a small mountain yesterday - a six mile round trip with about 1K ft. of uphill. I've noticed I don't need as much food as I used to and actively try to not eat more than I feel like I need. My wife has cut out sugar, bread, pasta, etc., sweets in general and I've really cut down on a bunch of that as a result. I'd say as you get older, it's a decent health advantage to have "built in" activities to burn calories and keep your parts moving. You might just not feel like "working out" for the sake of it at some point.

I did the opposite. I stopped drinking any diet drinks and drink ones with real sugar when I want a soda and mostly drink unsweetened tea. 3 - 4 times a week on the treadmill and softball once a week same as before and I feel much better. I do drink less soft drinks than before and try not do get any with HFCS. We do eat less processed foods as well which certainly helped.

Arstechnica had an article on how it messed with the fauna in your gut as well which makes it hard for your body to process real sugar.

Patrick, exercise in the AM works well to raise your metabolism for the rest of the day. At your age, you should do some weight training to help maintain lean muscle mass and bone density. This is something that is more important for women than it is to men, because of what happens to a woman's estrogen levels at a certain age.

Muscle is heavier than fat, but it also burns more calories at rest, which also serves to increase your base metabolic rate.

Soda pop is poison, even if it is sugar free. You would be better off drinking beer or wine, IMHO. There are many that advocate for tea, rather than coffee, particularly green tea. If you want to drink something on a hot afternoon, drink iced tea, rather than a Coke.

DIET trumps exercise.

if had to guess..80% diet, 20% exercise.

stay at it!!

i think a great way to control diet is to make all the food. do the cooking. all of it. i'm around the restuarant biz, most of my life. the food needs to be delicious to sell, and they go to great lengths to make it delicious. (think butter)

and you will be suprised how little french fries and pie you eat if you have to make it yourself.

Interesting... I was just consulting a reknown foot surgeon (side benefit of working in the medical field) to discuss a relapse of plantar fasciatis that's seriously curtailing my exercise regimen (if you can call it that)..

We were chatting weight/plantar fascia catch 22 (hard to exercise when your feet hurt, hard to lose weight without exercise), when he dropped that same nugget (same as article above).

He said exercise is nice to do in general, but *as far as losing weight*, his opinion was that it was all about intake. He personally dropped 40 lbs in 2 years and reduced his chlesterol to silly low levels by going vegan (while laughing that he doesn't give a **** about killing animals, just focused on the medical risk), he's the only Vegan I know who's not an ass about it - said he still loves meat but has grown convinced frm the research that the stuff will kill ya - he makes all sort of "bad for you" food still, but not using milk or animal source.. just plant based... He wasn't even pushing me that way, he just emphasized that I should focus on reduced/better food intake over extra exercise. Thought it was interesting considering he's got access to a lot of research... he also had interesting comments on cholesterol and strokes (huge reduction in risk when you go <150, not the 200 that doctors use as a threshold), said he wants his stroke to kill him, not leave him drooling ;-)

Anyway, yeah, eating less and better. *MUCH* tougher than exercising for me !!

Nobody said getting old was easy, it surely isn't for wimps, it takes a lot of work to say is reasonable shape.

Most of my life staying in shape was easy, couple days riding bike, bingo, few days skiing, bingo. Not anymore.

I am 67, my best fighting weight was 165-170, I am 6'0", now 5'11" and in the winter can hit 190, feel fat at that weight. I get down to 178-182 and feel ok. The thing that scares me is the loss of muscle strength. I lift weights every day, not much but weights it is and to fine keeping the tone but if I miss a week, darn, it takes about two weeks to make up for the loss.

I have not put a soda on to my lips in ages but wine is consumed 5 out of 7 days. On days I am working outside or doing carpentry work, I drink beer, it is a hamburger in a bottle, can work all day on a few beers and if its Kokanee, its a few more. kok is like Coors, Colorado kool aid.

Our meals in the evening are usually salad with tomatoes, avocados, nuts of some kind, garbonzo beans or ham or chicken pieces.

So getting old takes way more work than being young if you want to be in reasonable shape and health. One more thing, you should have at least two bowel movements daily, you have to keep that septic system working and clean, can't imagine a day without.

Two words......portion control

Takes a while to adjust to it, but it really works

I am heading quickly towards 51 and am doing bootcamp training 3-5x per week. I still need to meet my target weight goal, but strength and conditioning-wise, probably close to the best shape of my life except when in my teens/20s when I surfed all the time and did construction. I completed my first Spartan race last December and am starting to train for a Spartan Super.

Diet is key. I try to eat "clean", but this is also why I have not hit my target weight goal. I enjoy wine and thick IPA's too much :--) I don't recall the last time I had a candy bar or soda.

For me, a group training is the way to go. You'll be so sore the first week you'll want to die, but work through it and you'll see quick results.

Last July I decided that I needed to make a serious change. I was 6'1" and almost 230 lbs, and hated looking at myself in the mirror. Today I am at 185 lbs thanks solely to making some serious changes in my diet. I started off with using the Weight Watchers app, which is a fantastic way of helping you realize just how bad most of the stuff you eat really is. I cancelled the app a few months ago and simply track my weight weekly on my iPhone health app, because I felt that I had finally made it a lifestyle change vs temporary habits. The wife and I did it together which helped a lot, and she has had equally dramatic results. The primary changes in my diet were to almost totally cut out processed foods, dramatically reduce fatty dairy products like cheese and sour cream, eliminate some guilty pleasures like pizza, drink more mixed drinks and less heavy beer, quit eating all fried foods, eat more fruits and vegetables, and primarily eat lean meats and seafood when I want meat. I feel like I eat well and still drink too much, but I've never felt better. In hindsight I'm amazed at how easy it was, as I didn't increase my already busy activity schedule and don't do any exercise for the sake of exercise. I'd really like to lose another 10 lbs, but in reality I can't remember the last time that I looked and felt this good.

Last year after a vacation in Orlando I looked at a pic of me poolside and realized the 180ish my scale had been telling me I weighed was true.

My diet was always pretty good. Did not tend to eat junk.

Started having a protein shake for breakfast, kept my calorie count down throughout the rest of the day and knocked off the nightly goblet of vino.

Down +20lbs with no real change in my daily routine other than being sensible.

Working on dumping another 3-5 lbs which would put me in the sweet spot for my height and age.

Target is 5-7 to give me some cushion.

I'm operating on the theory that it's just an arithmetic problem. Calories out minus calories in = weight loss. I track all my intake and expenditures and make adjustments as needed. It is true that it's usually easier not to eat something than it is to work it off, but I like giving myself the freedom to make the choice. Knowing it's going to take an hour on the rowing machine to work off that piece of pie makes the pie less appetizing, but I'll sometimes compromise and eat a bite or two of pie and add 10 minutes to my rowing regimen.
I am able to eat the foods I like, but in smaller amounts, and I've found I don't like a lot of bad stuff so much that I'll row an hour to enjoy it.
I hate weight training. I do it a little but find it boring because I can never get an endorphin rush out of it.

I a a very active DIY kind of guy, but I don't excersise other than walking alot during the day, and occasional 5 mile bike ride.

I can't imagine worrying about every bite that goes in my mouth, and counting calories. I know that I need to (and actually do) drink alot of water, eat some yogurt now and then, take reletively small portions, eat slowly, enjoy each bite, and stay away from pop, and processed food. This doesn't always happen, and I weigh 10 more pounds than I really want to, but i'm not going to artificially work out to get my calorie count down.

I often tell my wife, I would rather die younger enjoying every bite, than to practice flinty self denial with the foods I love....Oh well, it's my choice.

@marv evans- I read this yesterday, and found it very inspiring. 70 years old and competing in full triathalon. I think there would be few of us here who could complete a tri no matter what our age. Australia's oldest female ironman competitor Karla McKinlay heading back to world championships - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

ckelly- I agree counting calories is a PITA, I don't do it. But I did do it, and what it did was educate me. I learnt a lot. Its all about making educated choices and 'opportunity cost'. If you want to eat that boardroom muffin, you cant have a beer. Would you rather get your calories from a Snickers bar, or a portion of Roquerfort cheese? You choose.

We live in a society where high calorie food is constantly available. If you did honestly, religiously, monitor your calorie intake for say, a month, you would soon see what that left over boardroom muffin, or a second serve of pasta, actually means. IMO- Its not about being a Nazi, just about being informed in order to make better choices.

Re-reading this, don't meant to sound "preachy", but the basic 'calories in, calories out' rule holds and counting is just a tool to help understand this. YMMV and all that.

Seems a good thread to post this.

A few weeks back, a long time friend of my wife had stomach sleeve surgery which reduced her stomach size to, apparently, a ¼ of cup. She weighed 142kg (312pds). We have watched over the last 10 years as her weight ballooned. Interestingly, she is a vegetarian. Her vices seem to be carbs. Fried food, pasta, bread soft drinks and sweets.

This woman, obviously, has a dysfunctional relationship with food, and now needs to develop another dysfunctional relationship with food which will allow her only 500 calories per day. She was explaining this to me over breakfast a few weeks back, that 500m cals is how she will lose weight, and I wanted to say...."why dont you not have the invasive, dangerous (everything is dangerous when you're obese) expensive surgery, and just do the 500 cals per day, you dosey mare?" but my wife had put me on notice.....

We are stopping people from killing themselves from over eating by surgically removing most of their stomachs. Its radical surgery and creates digestive and 'system' issues for the rest of the persons life. All because someone cant stop eating donuts. This is a quintessential first world problem.

I'm not in full agreement for two reasons. I also think the BMI charts are not true telltales.

Its not how much one eats, its what you eat. Metabolism varies among small people and just as with large folks. Some big people can really eat and yet burn it off pretty fast. They're healthy. I've seen them run and cycle. Workhorses. At the end of an event, they seem more relaxed and then replenishing. A good friend of mine is this way. Amazes me. He's not a muscle appearing, six pack ab revealer either. He's been this way for long as I can remember. So what if one has some flab? His kicker is not stressing the heart. Pretty religious about that and eats lots but healthy foods.

The other reason one needs regular exercise is to keep flexible and those joints free and mostly cardio conditioning. Many small people who don't exercise are gasping in swift walk. I see them swim at the pool and can hardly make a lap. So just because they 'look' fit and maybe eat healthy, they really are in bad shape.

Lastly, I consider myself fairly avid swimmer and cyclist. Gave up running a bit while ago. Getting tougher on the joints. Cycling alleviated some of those issues caused by running.

But I do know and cycle with other guys. Some are big dudes. All have lost significant weight since cycling and you can even see their personality and change with positive attitude. 80 - 150 lbs, etc.. Really a cool observation that I'm in awe. Each one of them has a different story but ALL decided on their own to lose weight and with strong will. Getting the mind 'in-gear' and act upon is number one.

+1
I don't want to count and log for the rest of my life, but for now it is helping me develop better habits. And it makes me more aware of what I eat. I was at a Mexican restaurant yesterday and looked at a #2 lunch special - enchilada with beans and rice. I thought, "How much do I really like beans and rice?" I ordered a single enchilada ala carte instead - half the calories and half the cost. I took ten corn chips out of the bowl and sent the rest back. It's about being aware of what you eat and making choices.

Most people don't realize muscle fitness and cardio fitness are two separate things.

July 2014 235lbs
january 2015 175lbs
May 2015 160lbs

Now May 2016 172 lbs (+12 being muscle, which is a hard thing to go over 7-8lbs muscle a year at this age)

80% diet 20% exercise.

Cardio maybe once a month if I feel guilty of what i eat.

All weight training and in the beginning hiit.

I was a drinker, smoker. Took a lot to change everything, but would not change it for anything.

Current age: 38

Can you elaborate on why the stomach band is so dangerous for people?

One comment about working out. You need to break out of the last few decades of "Mr. Olympia" and jogging brainwashing that implies hours of fitness each day.
On the contrary, you can do a very challenging workout in under 5 minutes. Hell, I can have you laid out on your back in under 4 minutes. That's it.

So true. HIIT!!!!!

Do that a few times a day. Maybe rip some good form squats with a plate a whole bunch of times. It really doesn't take as much as people think

I don't have any expertise, my only knowledge of this comes from the experience of my wifes friend. So I may well be speaking tripe.

This was 'stomach sleeving', removing a large portion of the stomach permanently, rather than gastric band surgery, which as I understand it, restricts the size of the stomach and is at some point later removed.

One of the ongoing complications as I understand it is called "dumping" where undigested sugars are passed too quickly through the stomach and into the intestinal tract, with unpleasant and dangerous results. Post operation, after discharge, she was re-admitted to hospital for five days with serious dehydration. Couldn't get water down.

But my comment about "dangerous" was really inasmuch as all major surgery is dangerous, and according to an Anaesthetist friend of mine, the risks are magnified when the individual is obese. This individual has already has gall bladder surgery (removed if IIRC correctly) after issues caused by her diet and her weight.

My problem with this is that what we have here is a psychological issue. There were no fat guys on the Burma Railway. Cutting out your stomach as elective surgery, to stop you eating, seems insane to me. Wife says I don't understand, and as usual shes right.

Yep, is the shiz.

I'm 45 and pretty lucky to have a high metabolism rate but my exercise regimen recently went to pretty much all body weight exercises (pull ups, sit up/crunch,push up, forward lunge, wall squats) I toss in curls and tricep extensions to help with pull ups, I ride a stationary bike and run on my elliptical and I toss in a bit of Pilates.

Check out all the Pilates and Yoga routines. There are a lot of low impact exercises you can do that are highly effective.

Yup, I don't count anything and I feel like I eat well. My wife and I still go out to nice dinners with friends, have some drinks, etc. If it doesn't come up in conversation, you'd never know that we were making a concerted effort to be smarter with food choices. You don't have to suffer to eat healthy.

I'm an endomorph https://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/body-types-ectomorph-mesomorph-endomorph.html.
Obese according to the Body Mass Index (BMI) Chart chart.

Goals:
1). Keep feeling good throughout the day: If stiff in the morning, then stretch until muscles are usable. If kinked up in the afternoon, then take a break and snap everything back into place. Pace myself and keep moving.
2). Don't over-eat, especially on the fats. Eat only when hungry and not out of anxiety or habit. Save leftovers for a snack later.
3). Get decent sleep. If I'm too tired to function at 100% then I'm not being productive. No use staring at a project for hours because it doesn't fix itself.
4). Drink grapefruit juice instead of orange juice. Same Vitamin C but with a metabolism booster. Try it. Drink more water and try to piss regularly.
5). Cut out the empty alcohol calories. Three weeks without a drink now and have more time to get things done. Brain feels a bit clearer on a daily basis.
6). I'm using an excercize ball instead of a chair to stay limber while on the internet. Stretch out the aching back/legs and muti-task.

good work OP.

Every time I complain about some pain or issue to my doc it's the same thing; you're fat.

Excellent list...

Reexamine your assumption about overeating fats.
Grapefruit juice is loaded with sugar. Go 100% water.
Keep up the mindfulness of staying limber.

Boring... I love grapefruit juice and have 3 oz mixed with 3 oz of water almost every morning - 30 calories and it tastes a lot better than water. Like the whipped puppy said, you don't have to suffer to eat healthy.