This thread started the day before my multi-state holiday road trip, so this is the first chance I’ve had to sit down and outline what has worked for me.
Thru my early 40’s I managed to keep my weight below 200 lbs. (6’00" frame), but a combination of living in new digs less amenable to exercise (apt. vs. our old house, with pool), working in a white collar office, slowing metabolism (maybe), and just getting complacent resulted in my weight ballooning up to 243 by age 45. I did manage to take 20 off just by dieting, but abhorred exercise just for the sake of exercise. I simply assumed I would be torturing myself daily and feeling like total crap afterwards…
When a combo of a caffeinated soft drink and chocolate ice cream triggered irregular heartbeats at age 48, I finally got my wake-up call. Lost 40 lbs. in 6 months after adjusting my diet (no more Little Debbie) and finally getting onto a cardio machine at the local gym. Totally contrary to my prior expectations, I found that exercise massively energized me–in a Dope poll I was the only person, out of 60+, to vote “Yes, oh yes, the endorphins are so amazing! Love the endorphins! Such a high. Mmmmm, exercise!.” Note I am 63 now, and that most definitely remains the case; my endurance level is such now that spending 12 hours in constant stop-and-go traffic the other day didn’t tire me out one bit (mentally yes). Also note that my birth mother, a huge running nut, also has deeply inspired me.
My weekly regimen is usually 150 minutes of a pretty intense pace on the elliptical machine at the apt. office (I seem to be the only person in the entire place which uses it, but the population is heavily skewed towards retirees note). I’ll alternate rest periods with high-speed intervals and slow-speed rowings using the handles. I have now gotten to where I can sustain 160 BPM for at least 30 minutes. My body actually seems to crave the bloody thing. During COVID I tried to jog one day, but using a bunch of muscles that the elliptical doesn’t work got me sore as fook for a week, and weirdly my heart rate would quickly zoom close to 190 after just several hundred yards, so I went back to the machine.
Diet-wise I am now 173, 70 below my peak. I never let myself go for more than +5 pounds, at which point I’ve always managed to drop them back over the following 2-4 weeks. I almost always have a yogurt or small bowl of cereal for breakfast, with fruit and multigrain cereal. Lunch is typically either a sandwich (I have avoided mammal meat for several decades now note) or a salad. Dinner is usually a prefab one from the freezer, 200-500 calories; I very rarely eat out while at home. I’ll snack moderately for the rest of the day, and once-twice a month I’ll allow myself a “binge” day and some Ben and Jerrys, cheesecake, or other crap. I don’t pay any attention to the “carbs vs. proteins” war, note. Usually take a 1-2 hour nap in the midafternoon–not from fatigue per se, just a chance to recharge.
Vacations are my biggest nemesis; yes, most hotel rooms now have fridges w/ freezers, and a microwave, and I do try to buy my usual home staples, but often I have to eat out a fair amount of the time, and will likely gain 5 pounds over this current trip. It will all be gonzo by the end of January in any event.