[kach22i]

Thanks for sharing guys.

I worked out and exercised for +1-hour six days a week for about 12 years. More or less reached my goals, of course always wanted more.

Working for myself meant I could work part-time often, and work extreme hours for short periods of time to meet deadlines. This flexibility lent itself well to daily exercise with a few breaks.

About 4-1/2 years ago took a full time job working for someone else and just tinkered with exercise but it was a slow slide down, and I could not maintain altitude.

For the past year I've been swimming several times a week, but I'm convinced that unless it's an everyday routine my genetics determines my shape. I see my dad in the mirror, and it's not very pretty. I am feeling stronger and have more energy, but it takes more time than any actual dedication.

I am focusing more these days on building and maintaining muscle mass, and less on weight loss (swimming is good for strength and burns calories).

I've noticed that if a male has a certain amount of muscle he gets "a pass" from society.

Example-1, take a typical male frame; add muscle or subtract muscle and the probable reaction will be "he's in shape" or "he's not in shape".

Example-2, take a typical male frame; add fat or subtract fat and the probable reaction will be "he's fat" or "he's skinny", both of which are code for WEAK.

If you are taller or shorter than average the perception of weakness is magnified 2-fold.

My point, I've rarely heard a heavy set guy with muscles called fat to his face, called out of shape maybe, but not fat.

If you suffer from occasional bloating after eating and or fluctuations in weight gain/loss, muscle mass seems to level out the swings in both how you look and feel.

Just my observations of life and my own body - results may vary.

At some point I'll give up on the chase for muscle and focus on just the health, but at 65 years old they are tightly related.