Weight loss and perseverance

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Hey @Ddaddy, this thread crossed my mind today and I just wanted to reach out and see what your progress has been.
Sorry for the delayed reply, I have been away on vacation for the past month.

I am still going strong, I have kept the weight off and have been focused on building muscle. This Winter I plan to spend a lot more time in the basement gym building up even more muscle.

I just turned 60 years old and feel like I am 30…by the end of this Winter, I hope to feel like I am 20!

Still going!
 
Sorry for the delayed reply, I have been away on vacation for the past month.

I am still going strong, I have kept the weight off and have been focused on building muscle. This Winter I plan to spend a lot more time in the basement gym building up even more muscle.

I just turned 60 years old and feel like I am 30…by the end of this Winter, I hope to feel like I am 20!

Still going!
It takes a lot of determination, that's for sure. Why did God have to make food so delicious?

:lol:
 
Well, it has been just over 5 years since I started this thread and I am happy to say that I am still keeping the weight off after dropping over 100 lbs.

The changes I made in my life have stuck and become a new lifestyle from which I will never turn back. At 60 years old I am now fitter and more capable than I was in my 30’s.

My only advice I have to anyone starting on this journey for themself is that perseverance is the key. Start small, keep going, and never stop. Setbacks are just bumps in the road that you need to keep traveling down.

Life is what you make of it and YOU are all you have to make it what you want it to be.

Be your own best friend…and not your own worst enemy.

The only thing standing between you and what you want to be…is you.
 
Here is an example of what I mean about being more capable.

These are 100 retaining wall blocks weighing 22 lbs each. I made 4 trips to the home center last week to get them, loading 550 lbs on a cart, pushing it 100 yards and then loading them into my vehicle. Once home, I unloaded them and stacked them on the pile.

Rinse and repeat 4 times. That is 2200 lbs moved 3 times and pushed on a cart over 100 yards along the way.

Sure, I felt the effort…but it only invigorated me in anticipation of hauling them up and down across the yard several more times in a few weeks to building the retaining wall that they will become.

I never thought I would be so excited to work this hard and look forward to doing even more…but I like it!

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Here is an example of what I mean about being more capable.

These are 100 retaining wall blocks weighing 22 lbs each. I made 4 trips to the home center last week to get them, loading 550 lbs on a cart, pushing it 100 yards and then loading them into my vehicle. Once home, I unloaded them and stacked them on the pile.

Rinse and repeat 4 times. That is 2200 lbs moved 3 times and pushed on a cart over 100 yards along the way.

Sure, I felt the effort…but it only invigorated me in anticipation of hauling them up and down across the yard several more times in a few weeks to building the retaining wall that they will become.

I never thought I would be so excited to work this hard and look forward to doing even more…but I like it!

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Nice job David and happy to see your doing good. Been missing your art work and still proudly display it on my old truck.

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Here is an example of what I mean about being more capable.

These are 100 retaining wall blocks weighing 22 lbs each. I made 4 trips to the home center last week to get them, loading 550 lbs on a cart, pushing it 100 yards and then loading them into my vehicle. Once home, I unloaded them and stacked them on the pile.

Rinse and repeat 4 times. That is 2200 lbs moved 3 times and pushed on a cart over 100 yards along the way.

Sure, I felt the effort…but it only invigorated me in anticipation of hauling them up and down across the yard several more times in a few weeks to building the retaining wall that they will become.

I never thought I would be so excited to work this hard and look forward to doing even more…but I like it!

View attachment 1716208981
Miss ya buddy, sure hope the biz is going as you want it to. Nice job on the bricks! Being comfortable in your own skin is a very good feeling. Your art is proudly hung in our new shop. As always it generates a lot of comments. Of course I had to add a touch of Sublime to @Frodee truck! Man you should see the truck now! Be safe @Ddaddy

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I’ve been trying to manage my weight too, and hearing about your progress makes me feel more motivated.
If you’re looking for more ways to keep track of your journey, you might find 7 Best Gym Management Software (#1 Pick by Gym Owners) in 2024 | Exercise.com helpful. It has tools to log workouts, track calories, and monitor progress over time, which can be great for keeping you on track. Anyway, it sounds like you’ve already found a routine that works for you, and adding something like this could make it even easier to stay consistent.
 
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Well, it has been a little over a year since I last posted here.

I’m still going strong and holding the weight loss down to over 115 lbs since I started. My doc says I have beaten the odds on weight loss by not gaining it back after 5 years. I told him that my perspective is that I don’t start it unless I intend to finish it.

It’s not a diet, it’s a total change in lifestyle….LOL!

Last year I moved over 30,000 lbs of concrete blocks/pavers and another 2,000 lbs of sand and fill materials to go with it while building the hard scape in our yard.

At 61 years old, it feels really good to be this capable again like I was in my 30s…and I intend to keep it that way!

It’s like everything else in life, do it like you mean it…and don’t pretend that you do. You can’t get there until you really want to go there.

Ignore the fools, naysayers, odds and any other resistance…and just do it!
 
I have found by talking with people that have dieted to lose a bunch of weigh is that they miss the part about calorie burn changes after losing the weight.

It inevitably causes them to gain most (or all) of it back.

When I was 320 lbs, my calorie burn rate was 3300 calories per day just to stay even. At 200 lbs, my daily calorie burn rate is 2100 calories to stay even.

If you diet to lose the weight and then go back to your old eating habits, that old high calorie diet will just put the weight back on.

You need to adjust your caloric intake to your new weight if you want it to stay that way.

The equation is simple, calories in vs calories out. Eat more than you burn and you gain weight. Burn more than you eat and you lose weight.

There aren’t any strange rules or myths like not eating carbs, keto, counting macros, or other any of the things fad diets proclaim. There are no good foods or bad foods. A well balanced diet for good nutrition and maintaining health is all that is required.

It’s nothing more than a fundamental energy balance. What goes in and what goes out. If either one is greater than the other, the balance tips that way.

It isn’t magic or some kind of mystery nutritional science…it is as simple as it gets.
 
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Back in April 2023, i was toweling dry, after taking a shower, and looking at myself sideways in the wall mirror.
Looking at my fat belly and said to my self, you gotta go on a diet.
On the scale i was at at 230 pounds for a 5' 11" inch, 70 year old guy.
Between April, and November, i lost 50 pounds, and got down to 180.
By eating a whole lot less, eating better, eating smarter.
No ice cream, bread and butter, donuts, hot dogs, pizza, snack foods, and for exercise, i started walking around my neighborhood.
I walk 3 times a day, and each walk is one mile.
At my pace the walk takes me 18 minutes, and around 2,200 steps on the step meter.
Naturally times vary, if i talk to other "walkers" on my walk, or pet the dogs.
And continuing to walk, and eating things in lots smaller portions, i have been keeping the weight off.
Been staying right around the 173-175 pound weight now a days, which was my weight back in the 1970's, when i was in my 20's, when i was in the Air Force. (1973-1980)
Was good to read, that you went thru weight loss also, and didn't put the pounds back on.
Jim V.

Me (Mobile).jpg
 
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Back in April 2023, i was toweling dry, after taking a shower, and looking at myself sideways in the wall mirror.
Looking at my fat belly and said to my self, you gotta go on a diet.
On the scale i was at at 230 pounds for a 5' 11" inch, 70 year old guy.
Between April, and November, i lost 50 pounds, and got down to 180.
By eating a whole lot less, eating better, eating smarter.
No ice cream, bread and butter, donuts, hot dogs, pizza, snack foods, and for exercise, i started walking around my neighborhood.
I walk 3 times a day, and each walk is one mile.
At my pace the walk takes me 18 minutes, and around 2,200 steps on the step meter.
Naturally times vary, if i talk to other "walkers" on my walk, or pet the dogs.
And continuing to walk, and eating things in lots smaller portions, i have been keeping the weight off.
Been staying right around the 173-175 pound weight now a days, which was my weight back in the 1970's, when i was in my 20's, when i was in the Air Force.
Was good to read, that you went thru weight loss also, and didn't put the pounds back on.
Jim V.

View attachment 1716379150
Well done and congratulations for taking control of your life!

All you get it is all you do…and you are doing well!
 
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