Todd's 50-54 Weight Loss Plan - 25 lbs Down Already

[Phog Allen]

Update; Down another two pounds or so for a total of 42 pounds lost. I am getting stronger in the gym as well. Lifting weights doesn't hurt me as much anymore and I have gotten a better sense of how not to hurt myself and work muscles in groups. I was hitting every machine they had at first and this was duplicating the work for some muscle groups leading to some serious fatigue. Live and learn.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Thank you BigJ. I have noticed my body shape has changed already. While I haven't lost weight in the sense of pounds dropped, I do think I have put on some muscle pounds. My wife says I look thinner even though the scale says the same. Less than a month of weight training and results are already showing. Not much but some. I do have to watch the high density foods since they are typically laden with fat and carbs. It works better when I eat a can of green beans or similar for lunch and keep it to one serving of a main dish at night. I have went through these weight plateaus before and you have to just push through them and wait it out. I will break it, it will just take a bit of time.

"A can of green beans" isn't terribly well-balanced as a meal ..... better than a Big Mac, I guess, but your body isn't going to be happy without any proteins or complex carbs for that long.

And even low sodium canned good have WAY too much salt in them.

 

[oc_in_fw]

Update; Down another two pounds or so for a total of 42 pounds lost. I am getting stronger in the gym as well. Lifting weights doesn't hurt me as much anymore and I have gotten a better sense of how not to hurt myself and work muscles in groups. I was hitting every machine they had at first and this was duplicating the work for some muscle groups leading to some serious fatigue. Live and learn.

I have enjoyed reading this. I have a little over a year before I hit the 50 mark, and know I have to get serious. I have been lucky with physicals so far- excellent BP, cholesterol, and sugar, but I know I won't stay lucky for ever.

 

[rxonmymind]

Well done Todd.
I too am close to hitting 50 and weighed in at 242 couple months ago and decided to reverse course.
I stopped eating sugar and started a walking regimen of 3-5 miles a day with my boxer. In two months I dropped 17lbs. I'm now bouncing between 225-230.
Having "earned" some reward I went and bought me an elliptical machine. Not wanting to pay retail I perused Craigslist and found a Sole e35 that was dang near new for a 1/3 retail.
Hauled that home and have been in it daily.
Then I wanted to incorporate some weights and found a pair of Bowflex 1090 adjustable dumbbells (the last two digits mean 90#'s) for a good deal. $200!
Then just last night not having a bench to work out on and needing one badly as that's essential I researched till I was blue for the past two weeks. Came down to either Rogue fitness bench or Ironmaster bench. Both were very scarce on all the classifieds. Then on a park I looked at eBay and by some miracle an Ironmaster bench came up for sale last night with all the extra attachments I wanted. Seat, sit up, bar dips and pull up station. Retail this was $500. I picked it up today as local sale next town over for $200! I was stoked. Brand new as the owner put it in storage after buying it due to company travel. These last few weeks have been one stroke of luck after another. I'm now set and the count down to 200ish lbs is my goal.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Ironmaster bench to anyone looking for a quality bench. Buy once and be done with it. Especially at $200-$300.
Only drawback was it's height when I'm laying flat. Im 5'10 and my tipy toes barely touch the ground due to it's 21" height completely flat. Otherwise every other adjustment is perfect.
So in summary. No sugars, an hour on the elliptical, half hour light weights and consistency. I should be neat 200 by new year's.

 

[Phog Allen]

Well done rx. It is kind of hard to get started but once you do, it easier to keep going. At least it was for me. I think two things did the most good for me psychologically. First, I stayed off the scales completely for the first two months after an initial weigh in. I mean it lads. Stay off the scales unless you are a complete obsessive/compulsive type. I now weigh about once a week. Second, I did not stress out over 'healthy' food.

As for the weight, nearly half came off before the gym came into play. The fork and plate is the route here. I have not tried to buy or check into a single thing called diet or low fat or healthy or whatever. I eat regular food including high density, high fat foods. It truly is just as simple as eating a lot less of it. About the only thing I have cut back intentionally by serving or dish is sugar. I have never been a sugar fiend like some are. I love pastry and this is my downfall when it comes to sweets. I barely drink soda and typically did not keep candy bars or candies on hand. Good thing too. I would have been even more pitiful. I know people say to eat more balanced meals than a can of veg or similar but honestly, during the day it does not seem to bother me too much. The last couple of weeks have seen me have what I consider a few too many heavier meals and for some reason I have lost weight. I won't take any of that for granted.


Exercise and weights? Good stuff and I can definitely tell the difference in body shape and muscle density. My arms a noticeably thicker in the tricep area. At least compared to before. I think the cardio daily made a huge difference in energy and metabolism level.

 

[ackvil]

Congratulations, gentlemen.

 

[Phog Allen]

Update. Well, the weight loss has stalled at 40-42 pounds. It is five months to the day since I started. I still have five months to make another ten pounds. Hopefully twenty. I have not fallen off the wagon with my eating but like most things, you need to mix it up. Better balance and a bit lest fatty foods. Again, I have not put a pound back on so I am not panicking at all.

Exercise. Still going at it strong. At least as 'strong' as my middle aged bum can do it. I have noticed a bit of bulk in arms and chest that I did not have before. I also notice that my core/torso area is getting much tighter than before. They have this twisting machine at the gym that works your entire mid torso region at one time. About 45 reps on that one with 145lbs on the rack three times per week has made a difference. Still having issues with arm strength. I have never been super strong in the upper body but have managed to increase my weight limit a lot these last few months. The human body is amazing. I did notice this week I have strained or pulled a muscle in my lower arm so have backed off of chess and shoulder presses. And kept away from pure arm curls. I am trying alternate exercises that do not stress it as much. Other than that just carrying on. I will get there. I just have to make the hurdles.

 

[August West]

The Toddanator!

 

[garyg]

Hi Todd, nice work - I just read from the beginning. I agree with getting off the Clown food, and regularity. Walking a mile a day the first month ends up in ten miles.

 

[Phog Allen]

Gents, another update with both positive and negative reports. First up the negative. I managed to 'injure' myself. I say that with a quote because it is more like a strain than anything else. I am left handed so of course my right arm is the weak one. In my attempts to increase resistance I somehow over did it and strained the anterior deltoid(I think that is correct) and a muscle toward the inside of my lower arm. I have simply backed off the weight a bit and and upped reps with some decent rests between working that arm. I am not sure how or when I did it but the first time I attempted a chest press and got a sharp burning pain in the arm I knew the results! Anyroad, it is getting better and I hope to be back in form soon. The curse of middle age is that you simply cannot recoup from this sort of stuff as fast as you did in even your early 40s.

Now for the good. I have gotten the needle on the scales to move again. Downward I might add! I am now sitting at 215lbs from a high of just shy of 260. What a toad I was. 18.5 stone! Ridiculous. The main thing for weight loss is the fork and plate. Don't let anyone kid you. You cannot exercise your way to lower weight. Oh sure, lets not be daft now. Strenuous exercise most certainly burns calories and no mistake. Still, you are going to get a more effective result by doing...nothing. As in not eating so much. It's free, not so easy sometimes, and boring at others. Yet it is the single most effective thing I have done to reduce weight. I would add I buy nothing specifically labeled low fat, diet, etc. It is all gimmickry. Eat regular foods. Just not so much. And of course it goes without saying but here it is anyway; CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN FIRST. No listening to internet fatties postulate about diet and health. Particularly for those with blood illnesses such as diabetes. Many times special dietary needs arise for them and a REAL physician is the answer.

Overall feeling of health and fitness is very, very good. I went to my optometrist yesterday for yearly exam and he immediately commented on my weight loss and overall look. He was also amazed at my macular density. This is a test optometrists give these days to judge the macular density of your retina. Macular degeneration is not a pretty thing. I have two close relatives with it and one is now legally blind. So my doctor watches this closely. The density test is more crucial to those with blue eyes since the density is typically less than those with darker eyes. Mine was somewhere around 2.4 on their test scale last year and they want it around 5. So vitamin supplements are suggested. This density thing is weird. Most times you cannot make up for any loss but you can stave it off with the supplements. I could not afford the supplements at just over 40 dollars per month so he was dubious when the test was administered. It was 2.9 this year! He was amazed and told me this was very rare. He was convinced the better diet and and exercise was direct benefactor if not the main reason. Score!

Oh, he also checks blood pressure and pulse rate since much of the cardiac issues people develop will surface in eye exams. Broken vessels behind the pupil and cornea, etc. My appointment was at 11:40AM and I had spent about one and a half hours at the gym earlier. Finishing about 10:40 and coming home and showering and shaving. I am on holiday leave all week and can go to the gym when I jolly well please so I have been going mid morning. I did 30 minutes of pretty intense elliptical workout and about an hour of upper body resistance work. BP was 116/66 and resting pulse was 66! I am happy.

Gents, if nothing else I urge you to do something with your body other than stuff pizza in it. I am not being rude. Honestly. But the difference in my energy levels and overall well feeling is tremendous. Even more than the straight up weight loss is the redefinition of my body. Particularly in the upper body core. I am starting to get wedge shape to my torso! Not much but some. And the muscle feel under the skin is night and day. My lower trunk is getting solid. One of the best and easiest to do manoeuvers is the torso twist machine at Planet Fitness. I am now setting the weight at the maximum rating of 160lbs and do three sets of 15 reps for each side. Alternating sides each set. I went from around 120 lbs to the maximum in around 45 days. The results are amazing for such a simple machine. And get this. It is really hard to injure yourself on this. Just keep an even pace. In fact, I jabbed myself in the lower rib at work two weeks ago. Anyone who has had a bruised rib knows how difficult it is to get over. Tender and bruised ribs hurt no matter how you touch them. Slow pulls on the torso machine stretched that bruise out in no time. And the fact my core is stronger lead to a much faster recovery. I barely feel it now and it is not painful at all. So for now, five pounds away from original goal. Later, another ten. I have four months to go. As Rob Scheider would say; You can do it!

 

[martym]

Excellent Job sir!!

 

[Haggises]

Nice progress Todd!

I weighed myself today at 241. About 11 pounds over where I was a year ago.
If I start now, it's not a New Year resolution.
Went to gym. About to make basement exercise ready.
Tracking calories.

20 pounds by April 1

And thanks for the tip on the torso twist. I always avoided that one, looked scary.

 

[Phog Allen]

Well, you never know. Some people deal with certain movements better than others. I would say if you have lower back issues or a tendency toward hernias, it may be wise to start very slowly with that machine. I am very lucky in life with no back injury to muck things up. I started upping the weight quickly but that may not work for everyone.

Another machine they have which I like a lot(well, the results anyway) is what I call the Chair of Death. It is a two piece affair with over the head handle bars and a lower section you hook your ankles under. You can add weight in increments like the other machines but I am unsure if it is biased evenly or just the part on the bottom. Anyway, the movement is like a sitting crunch. And believe me, three sets of ten repetitions with 60 or so pounds lets you know your abdomen is getting a workout. Again, weight on this progresses quickly. I started at 40 pounds or so for ten reps. And was pretty sore for a day or so. I now do the above routine and while it definitely lets you know it, it doesn't hurt anymore. You just feel well exercised. When i up the ante on this it will be with more reps before more weight.

Each of the described machines works multiple groups of your abdomen so that is a bonus. It is what Chris was talking about earlier in the thread. Use machines that work groups of muscles at a time. I was hitting too many machines that duplicated muscle work. I have now figured out which ones work a larger group of muscles at a time. One is the rowing machine. It works darn near every muscle in your back, shoulders, and part of your arms. Same for the leg press machine. Gets hamstrings and quadraceps at the same time. I should also mention the torso machine is not one of the sitting types. I have seen it recommended to not use them. This one has you placed on your knees on a swivel platform that allows your entire lower body to move along with your lower torso. More natural like. I guess the sitting ones are a bad idea because they do not allow that natural movement.

 

[Phog Allen]

Okay, another fortnight or since my last posting. So here's an update. Weight holding semi-steady but trending downward. About 216-217lbs depending upon day. That is not much weight loss since 15, November of last year. Maybe 3-4lbs but it is now staying solidly at that lower amount rather than bouncing back to 218-220 mark at times. I need to mix something up on the diet front to get it moving again.

As for weights and resistance, I am still trying to find my way with that as well. One thing becomes very clear. When you are in your 50s nothing comes as easy as it did even ten years ago, you will not bulk up with normal diet and routine, you realise that 'bulking up' is not what it is cracked up to be, you understand that you need to make your core and extremities stronger and more flexible and not necessarily bigger, injuries you shrugged off ten years ago linger...and linger.

This pulled muscle or whatever it is in my right arm is driving me nuts. It is much better than it was but even a non-homicidal workout can inflame it. I have backed off on the upper body weight amount and increased reps and it really helped me to get the thing under control. Two weeks ago I could not chest press 55lbs on one of the machines. Ridiculous. Last night I cranked off 60 reps in four 15 rep sets in good time and only have slight burning in the lower arm when I move it a certain way. So it is getting better. I know I need to modify or mix up routines to get things moving in the right direction again. Chris' advise about using machines that work several groups of muscles at a time is spot on. Much less chance of injury, you don't overwork one group whilst ignoring another and all that.

I am very happy to have not gained a pound during the holiday season but you also have to give yourself a break once in a while and admit that determination and self discipline made a big difference too. I still don't eat anything labeled as low fat, diet, low carb, etc. That's all stuff and bollocks. Eat real food, just don't eat a LOT of real food. Last night we had a spicy Spanish Paella. It called for shrimp and mussels but we didn't have those so wifey substituted chicken and smoked sausage. A cup(not figuratively but about the actual amount) was more than enough. I had the same for lunch today and was well filled. This followed a breakfast of toasted English muffin and banana. Again, my tummy agreed on the amount. A major benefit of cutting rations as you diet is once you get used to eating less, it becomes more than habit. You feel physically bad when you over do it. At least I do. So that has been a bonus. Easy to pass up pastry that way. And that sirs, was my major kryptonite before I started all this. So yeah, I am pretty sure I will make 50 lbs dropped by May 1 and feel better all round for doing it.

 

[martym]

Good job!
Way to keep on keeping on.

 

[Doc4]

Okay, another fortnight or since my last posting. So here's an update. Weight holding semi-steady but trending downward. About 216-217lbs depending upon day. That is not much weight loss since 15, November of last year. Maybe 3-4lbs but it is now staying solidly at that lower amount rather than bouncing back to 218-220 mark at times. I need to mix something up on the diet front to get it moving again.

I find that the depths of winter (ie now) are not a good time for losing weight. It just seems that the body wants to pudge up a bit to get you through the long cold semi-hibernation of winter. Staying steady since November is an accomplishment in and of itself.

 

[Phog Allen]

Thank you gents.

And yes, I too have noticed the hibernation mode your body wants to go in to. Several times in late November and early December I remember really overdoing a couple of meals in a weeks time. Didn't gain a pound(luck) but I remember at the moment I was doing it that my body felt ravenous. I was sure I was going to pay dearly for it but managed to get things under control quickly. Lately the appetite has been good. As in a small amount always seems enough.

 

[Phog Allen]

Small update. Down 45 pounds! These last two months have only seen a 5 pound reduction but I also claim a few pounds gained in muscle. My upper arms have a noticeable thickness to them when you grab hold of them. Same with shoulders. Not huge but noticeable.

I am reshaping my body. Even though I have not lost lots more pounds I am leaner if that makes sense. I have three months to get an honest 5-8 more pounds off to make the goal. I am seeing the goal posts.

 

[Phog Allen]

Another little update. It is now since 15 July, 2016 since I started this quest. I weighed yesterday and was around 212/213 lbs. Down three and a half stone! I am about a solid five pounds away from my goal of 50 pounds lost since I started. I won't call it a made goal til I am consistently weighing in at just under 210lbs. Even though this is still a lot heavier than I was when young my clothing says it is going pretty well. I have also come to realise I have added few pounds of muscle too which is heavier than fat. Hence the looser clothing but slightly heavier weight. No illusions here. I still have a good 15 pounds of fat weight I could lose. Now to motor on to 60 lost.

 

[Phog Allen]

Update. 212 lbs tonight on the scales. After eating and drinking today. I normally weigh in the mornings. This is good since water intake and whatever tend to up your weight a bit during the day. Just a few pounds away from the goal and I still have two months to go!

I really want to mix up the diet going forward and stick to mostly veg and protein. I don't eat candies nor drink sugar beverages but do admit to a love of pastry and bread. Still need to cut it back more on that front.

Weight gain. No, not pounds but muscle. While I would never call myself bulked up, I can detect a noticeable thickening of the muscles in my body. Particularly triceps and shoulders. So I think I can honestly say about five to ten pounds of my current body mass is about added muscle. It is why my weight is not lower but my clothing is even looser. Not a bad tradeoff but I most certainly have another ten or fifteen pounds of excess fat I could easily do without. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.