In a couple of my recent posts on the board, I've mentioned working to regain
my health as part of my retirement readiness plan, so figured I'd share my
journey of the past 3 years. I think it represents what's possible in a man's
late 50s, so if there are others out there working on New Years resolutions, or
in similar situation, hope this helps.  This is not an recommendation,
everybody is different, this is just my story.  Sorry for the length, but it
is a story that needs details.

In 2018 I was 57, 5'8", pushing 300 lbs (the 300lb capacity scale read "ERR").
As might be expected, my condition both physically and mentally was horrible.
It hurt to get out of bed, it hurt to lay in bed, it hurt to sit.  At work,
things were horrible - we were in the middle of being acquired by another
company that had a reputation for brutal layoffs in acquired companies, so
lots of uncertainty amid a lot of other general workplace stupidity that left
me angry every day.  I was miserable practically every day. On most days, the
most exercise I got was walking 150ft from garage to elevator.

Went to the Dr. for a physical, with her finding mild hypertension, HBA1C .1%
from pre-diabetic, and of course obesity. During discussions, the television
"low-T" marketing slipped into my head and escaped my mouth, as I asked if I
might have low-T as the cause of my troubles.  Hearing those words leave my
mouth left me somewhat stunned.  Sometimes when I hear myself saying stupid
stuff, clarity and enlightenment (and embarassment) come with it, and this was
one of those AhHa! moments before she even started to reply.

What followed was the best exchange I have ever had with a Dr.  She was very
empathetic, and willingly offered to order the testosterone test.  Then she
explained that she expected it would come back low, that because I was so
obese, my fat would release a substance (aromatase) that would convert my
testosterone into estrogen, thus causing low-T.  She then added that going on
testosterone in my condition could lead to gynecomastia (man tits).  If I
could lose weight, then the low-T would probalbly resolve, or I'd be in a
place where the benefit/harm ratio of testosterone was more in my favor.

I thanked her for the explanation, and indicated I would go the weight loss
route.   

What followed was a month of introspection and re-evaluation of everything,
with the following conclusions:
1. I created my problems, it would be best to solve them without pharmaceutical
interventions.  If I made a sincere and prolonged effort that didn't produce
results, I'd revist this.
 
2. Financial - I concluded if I got laid off, and couldn't find another job, I
could manage a low budget retirement in a low cost of living area.  This freed
me to spend on other areas while I was still employed.

3. Priorities - #1 was going to be my health. Job & money became second place.
I would say "no" at work if impacting my plans. If I was running late to the
gym, I'd do the gym and be a bit late for work. Discussed all of this with my
boss, he was suprisingly Ok with it.  It might have been my promise that since
I was no longer putting in so much extra effort, I'd quit bitching about
anything at work. It turned out to be win-win.

4. Diet - Figure out something that works, and stick with it.

5.Exercise - Join a gym, take a group water aerobics class to get regularly
scheduled gym habit going for 6 months, start slow to build a base to avoid
injury. Then add a personal trainer to start lifting/body weight conditioning.

6. Simplify my life, reduce stress.
 
7. Monitor and track - Track weight, body composition (DEXA scans), blood work
to document/confirm status.  I've seen in the past where people with best
intentions start providing advice that can derail efforts.  I wanted to have
hard data on what was happening to my body, so I could confirm I was on the
right track, or course correct if needed.   

My baseline stats (12hr fasting):
Weight (lbs):                                300 (ERR)
BF (lbs, by DEXA):                     122.5
%BF (by DEXA):                          46.5
FatFreeMass (lbs, by DEXA):    141.1
%FatFreeMass (by DEXA):         53.5
HbA1c (%):                                   5.6   
Insulin (uIU/mL):                         28.6
Triglycerides:                               140
Total Cholesterol (mg/dL):           215
HDL Cholesterol (mg/dL):             35
T. Chol/HDL ratio:                      6.14
Trig/HDL ratio:                                4
C-Reactive Protein (mg/L):      15.28
Cortisol (ug/dL):                         20.7
Testosterone (ng/dL):                 363

Notes:
--Baseline DEXA scan was taken a few months after start, and weight had dropped
to 263 lbs at scan.  I was still too big to get both arms in scan area, so they
used sofware to estimate off-scan arm based on the in-scan arm.  When looking
at the scan results, hard to not be shocked by the red that indicates fat.
Very impersonal, and no mental gymnastics can get around that image.
--FatFreeMass is everything thats not FAT - ie: bone, muscle, fluids
--HbA1c any higher would be pre-diabetic.
--Insulin @ 28.6 out of range high - indication of insulin resistance - no suprise.
--Triglycerides is at high end of range.
--HDL is out of range low.
--T. Chol/HDL ratio @ 6.14 puts me a 2x average heart disease risk.
--Trig/HDL ratio should be below 3.75.
-- C-Reactive Protein above 3 indicates inflamation and high relative risk for
future cardiovascular event.
--Cortisol out of range high, indicating stress..
--Testosterone a low range of normal.

Overall summary of the start - very obese, insulin resistant/high inflamation,
high stress, and clearly at increased risk of bad sh*t happening.

2019 update to follow .....  

 

You don’t have to hit enter at the edge your screen like it’s a typewriter. 

Edited January 18, 20215 yr by Arnie85

Looking forward to this.  
 

Please use whatever

punctuation you would

like to.  

As a side note, one might reasonably ask how someone can let themselves go so
far downhill?

I've thought long and hard about that, and the best I can come up with is I
prioritized my job over all else, and stress. Mostly this was because the 2000
market crash wiped out most of my retirement savings, and I was at risk of
losing my house if I lost my job.  Nose to the grindstone it was, working and
saving to exclusion of most everything else. This plan worked at keeping the
house and recovering financially, but at a fairly steep cost physically and
mentally.

Of course if I hadn't prioritized work, I might have lost my job, house, and
dream of retiring, none of which would have helped my mental state or provided
motivation to change.

Life is full of pesky tradeoffs, and only time will tell if I chose wisely.  

Here is end of 2019 update:

I pretty much stuck to my plan:
1. Got eating under control.  Went over a year without cheating!  As expected,
weight dropped quickly (2-3 lbs/wk) at first, and then slowed to around 1lb/wk.
I was happy with that progress, I didn't view my eating plan as a diet, but a
way of life.  I could finally go into a 7-11 without the Snickers bars and
Hostess doughnuts calling out my name - they quit talking to me.

2. Joined the gym and did the water aerobics.  This was a somewhat surreal
experience. My initial reaction was "holy f*ck - this class if full of 60 year
old grossly obese ladies. Followed by the realization of "f*ck me, I fit right
in".  I was warmly welcomed to the class, and everyone was most helpful.
In retrospect, attending this class was a great decision.

3. After 6 months, I signed up for the personal trainer for 2 sessions a week,
adding to the water aerobics. Told him the prime directive was "break nothing".
He wouldn't get fired for my lack of progress, but an injury would end my
experiment in personal trainers. He did his part and kept me from doing
stupid stuff, while still

4. Simplify life.  Every week that I attended all workouts, I allowed myself
a massage at the local Thai Massage joint.  100% legit place, still not sure
if that is good or bad!  Followed JL Collins advice in "The position of fuck
you" - "let the landlord worry about the fucking toilets", and sold my house.  
I find this clip very aspirational and motivational:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eikbQPldhPY

And here are the updated stats:
                                                 Mid-2018      End-2019
Weight (lbs):                                     300              189
BF (lbs, by DEXA):                        122.5             49.8
%BF (by DEXA):                             46.5             26.3           
FatFreeMass (lbs, by DEXA):       141.1           139.5
%FatFreeMass (by DEXA):            53.5             73.7
HbA1c (%):                                      5.6               5.1
Insulin (uIU/mL):                             28.6              9.2
Triglycerides:                                   140               73
Total Cholesterol (mg/dL):               215             221
HDL Cholesterol (mg/dL):                 35               60
T. Chol/HDL ratio:                          6.14              3.7
Trig/HDL ratio:                                    4              1.2
C-Reactive Protein (mg/L):          15.28               .9
Cortisol (ug/dL):                             20.7              11
Testosterone (ng/dL):                     363            598

So after 18 months, every parameter improved. My risk of a cardiovascular
event was now down to 50% of average. I was out of the "obese" category.
Insulin resistance was gone and HbA1c dropped nicely. Normally when losing
weight, some loss of lean mass is expected (up to 15% per some studies).
I lost 111 lbs of fat, and less than 2 lbs of FatFreeMass.   Everything
points to being on the right track.  Keep on trucking.

2020 update next - and there is a new factor that improves things even
more.

 

51 minutes ago, Arnie85 said:

You don’t have to hit enter at the edge your screen like it’s a typewriter. 

I've been typing on another text editor and pasting into this.  I'll give typing the next update directly in the browser on the next update.   Just out of curiosity - what does it look like when you view it?  When I viewed it in preview mode everything looked Ok? Are you looking at it on a phone or PC?  Just trying to understand.  Thanks.

iPhone. 

Edited January 18, 20215 yr by Arnie85

Went into 2020 with a lot of momentum and motivation, and I made a decision to up my game by switching from the water aerobics to a boot camp style class.  The boot camp class was mostly body weight and kettle bell exercises, but it was non-stop, from one exercise to another without breaks - it certainly felt like "high intensity" training to me.  Been a long time since I was huffing and puffing that hard for that long.  The majority of folks in the boot camp class were in their 20-40s, with most in pretty decent shape. I was able to hold my own for the most part, and being with younger folks was invigorating.

Of course COVID came along to f*ck up everything, and gyms got closed in my area.  No more water aerobics, no more personal trainer at the big box gym.  The boot camp class gym upped their game and went online via Zoom without missing a beat.  I was a bit skeptical, but soon found it was nearly as good as in person.  Wound up doing about 5 sessions per week, and the results were very visible in my stats.

And here are the updated stats for end of 2020:
                                                Mid-2018      End-2019     End-2020
Weight (lbs):                                   300               189               186               
BF (lbs, by DEXA):                      122.5              49.8                 40
%BF (by DEXA):                           46.5              26.3              21.4
FatFreeMass (lbs, by DEXA):     141.1            139.5               146
%FatFreeMass (by DEXA):          53.5              73.7              78.6
HbA1c (%):                                    5.6                 5.1                4.8
Insulin (uIU/mL):                          28.6                 9.2                7.6
Triglycerides:                                 140                 73                 54
Total Cholesterol (mg/dL):             215               221               164
HDL Cholesterol (mg/dL):               35                 60                 69
T. Chol/HDL ratio:                        6.14                3.7                2.4
Trig/HDL ratio:                                  4                1.2                .78
C-Reactive Protein (mg/L):        15.28                  .9                .35
Cortisol (ug/dL):                           20.7                11                 8.6
Testosterone (ng/dL):                    363              598                895

So in a year where just about every plan got shot in the ass, and everything changed, I managed to lose almost 10 pounds of fat, and add 6 pounds of FatFreeMass.  So while the scale didn't change as much as I would have liked, my body composition did change significantly in the direction I wanted - a 60 year old guy adding lean mass when most are losing it - I'll declare victory!

Other minor victories - Testosterone went from low normal, to high normal, glucose and insulin are doing great, and cardiovascular and inflamation risk factors continued to improve. 

For 2021, going to stay the current course, and hope to hit my goal of 165lbs or 15% BF, so when Thailand re-opens, I can hear the calls of "hansome man" and fool myself into believing them

38 minutes ago, Arnie85 said:

iPhone. 

Yeah, that is ugly, hopefully my latest post works out better - everything but the stats table was typed in browser.  Thanks for pointing that out.  I've only looked at the board on my PC, so never noticed that.  Not much point in posting if folks can't easily read it! 

Well done mate - congratulations on your achievements.

Inspirational. Well done mate

Look at that change in testosterone....must feel like a dog with 2 dicks at the moment

Good job buddy; shows to the world it can be done regardless of age!

10 minutes ago, gentleenforcer said:

Well done mate - congratulations on your achievements.

Wow good Job. Impressive improvement in testo, im sure you even feel much stronger now

I found its easier to keep going if there is some body I need to show that im doing my excercise. Lifting weights at home can be little bit boring and i tend to find excuses why I should skip some muscle group Just Today. Maybe zoom would keep me going because I cannot then lose my face

Good stuff mate

 

@keepitfun - Yes - Mr Happy is a lot happier - sadly with the COVID lockdown, it's kinda like being "all dressed up, and nowhere to go".  But since I'm an optimist these days, I'm just glad that Pornhub is free, otherwise my retirement finances would take a hit

@Johncat - Scheduled classes were a key for me.  There is something about shared misery that makes it more tolerable.  And there is no question I got more bang for the buck out of the group class vice the personal trainer.  

As I get closer to the Thailand move, one of the things I will be researching is where I can find group classes, although going the personal trainer route may be more affordable in Thailand.

 

Edited January 18, 20215 yr by Dave1986
typo

Just stumbled upon this post. @Dave1986 thanks so much for sharing.

Alas, retirement to LOS is still a ways' off for me... good luck with the planning and your ongoing efforts.

Edited January 25, 20215 yr by bobbie-b
Premature post :)

Great work -- I need to follow in your footsteps!

I was doing great for a while and got my weight down to lowest it had been in years, but stumbled over the holidays and that has carried over into 2021. I'm only up a little over 2 lbs since before Christmas, but the lack of progress the past few weeks has been frustrating.

Love your attitude that you were not "on a diet," but instead were changing your way of life. I need to get back to that!

 

Keep going mate, we’ll done.
 

53 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

Great work -- I need to follow in your footsteps!

I was doing great for a while and got my weight down to lowest it had been in years, but stumbled over the holidays and that has carried over into 2021. I'm only up a little over 2 lbs since before Christmas, but the lack of progress the past few weeks has been frustrating.

 

Thanks.

Good luck on getting back in the groove!  Holidays are always tough - 2 lbs over the holidays actually seems like a minor victory in my book

Hi Dave... Just found this thread.  Thanks for sharing your progress!   I'm at a similar stage, having had good success with intermittent fasting and moderate activity.   Are you still on track now in early 2022?  

As we all know if we thought losing the weight was hard keeping it off is even harder,I have seen my weight yo-yo since I was a kid .

keep on with the god lifestyle change you made 

Congratulations for working to help yourself.

I have a buddy that is in a similar situation, recently divorced from a Thai woman, overweight, diabetes, etc.  Progress for him is cutting 3" off of his belt.  It is something visible and it helps him keep at it.

@Dave1986 how are you getting on ? Any updates

I'm currently doing something similar, from a much better baseline. However, your story is inspirational. I cut down on meat and found it very easy to drop weight.

Very inspirational stuff, thanks! Really need the mask requirement to go so I can restart my exercise regime (jogging outside.) Covid really fucked things up and (thus) also increased my beer consumption. Not a good combination