BeerBorg

ScrewyBrewer wrote:I love food and beer and my doctor's been telling me for a while now I need to lose some weight. I walk 2 miles at least three days a week and really try stay a little hungry in between meals most of the time. It took me 10 years to put on this extra weight and I feel like it'll take me 10 more to lose half of it especially now that I'm getting older. I won't give up the struggle or drinking beer but I will be doubling my efforts and stay committed to dropping 20 pounds or so this year.

You can do it. I think we're in the same age range and I've managed to lose about 50 lbs over the last year and a half or so. Until I was in my 30s or so, I struggled to gain weight. That hasn't been a problem in a long time.

At some point, I realized I had let it go too far. I was way overweight and was wearing pants with 34" "relaxed fit" waists (and wearing them around my hips). My actual waist was probably closer to 40".

I made a couple of changes. For one, I completely changed the way I ate. I used to base meals around a big piece or meat, then add pasta, rice, potatoes and maybe a small helping of vegetables. And lots of cheese on everything (and I never bought the low fat cheese).

Now, I base my meals on vegetables and try to make sure I get the 5-7 servings per day they say we should get (or is it 5-9?). I was eating a lot of canned vegetables because they were convenient, until I looked at the labels and saw how much salt they had in them. A neighbor told me about a food coop that sells fruits and vegetables (pay $17.50 and get two laundry baskets full of fruits and vegetables; no idea what you're getting until you pick them up). There are so many that I ended up splitting baskets with neighbors.

I'll often make omelets, usually with at least one egg white (but whole eggs aren't bad in moderation). I've also upped my fruit intake and I drink a lot of skim milk (usually after it's fermented into either yogurt or kefir, because I hate skim milk). I don't eat much meat any more (although I try to eat "oily" fish like salmon and sardines a few times a week). It's not that I won't eat meat. It's just that with all the fruits and vegetables, there's not a lot of room for meat. I'll still eat rice (brown) and occasionally potatoes, but rarely eat pasta. And when I take my daughter out to dinner, I'll sometimes opt for an unhealthy menu option because they make them look SO GOOD.

I also started exercising more. I started with pushups and I think I started at a really small number, like 3 per day. I knew that 3 wasn't going to do me much good, but I also knew that if I started with 10 and got sore, I'd quit, so I started with 3, went to 5 in a week, then 7, then 10, etc. After a while, I increased faster. I finally got to 120 a day (in 3 sets of 40). I traveled for a few weeks and got out of shape, so had to scale back, but I did 105 this morning and plan to be back to 120 tomorrow.

I also started walking more (but have gotten away from that since it has been hot lately). I was a competitive swimmer from a young age through high school (never very good), so I bought a membership to a rec center with a pool and started swimming. I decided to take the same approach to swimming that I took to the pushups. I was going to swim 100 yards, rest a bit, swim another 100 yards, rest a bit, then maybe swim another 100 yards.

Somewhere after the 50 yard mark, I realized it was going to be a struggle to finish 75, but I did. Then I rested (probably longer than I swam), did another 75 yards and was done. For a long time, I was spending more time resting than swimming, but at one point, I was swimming for 3500 yards nonstop. I've scaled back a bit and when I travel, I can't always find a place to swim (which makes it tough when I get back home).

In case you're wondering, beer, with all its calories, is still on my menu.

I read something once where somebody wrote that losing weight is simple. You just have to consume fewer calories than you burn. They then added that just because it is simple, that didn't mean that it's easy. It isn't easy, but it is simple.

When I had lost some of my weight (enough that I was feeling good about making changes, but was still overweight), somebody marveled that at my age, I started exercising and changing my diet. They asked me if it was hard at my age to do that. I thought about it and said that it wasn't easy, but that it would get harder and more necessary the longer I waited.

If I can do it, you can do it. Good luck!

I'm 48, stand about 5' 8" at 155 lbs. I am also a letter carrier that walked 8-12 miles a day for my first 20 yrs at the USPS.

Last year, I had a major heart attack out of nowhere (like Frosty first mentioned... another lengthy thread at MBF). Two operations, three stents, and a lot lighter in the pockets after paying the bills... I realized diet and exercise might be a little more important than I was giving it credit for. I got back into running after almost 10 yrs of not and am closing in on 500 miles for the summer. Feeling better, eating better (not perfect), and highly promoting the idea that we homebrewers need to take care of ourselves better so we can keep brewing

A thread like this, and maybe even a couple more, is a very good idea.

Hey I wonder if we bundled this with eating we could finally get our foodie section started? The Mods could call it FOOD and FITNESS.

Then when someone should stumble upon the they would see that we aren't a bunch of fat, lazy, beer guzzling fast food junkies and are in fact a real class act.


For example here is my latest creation. A hydroponic lettuce leaf taco with a pulse and brown rice stuffing and fresh vegies from the farmers' market.


I've been wanting to get a used rowing machine thinking I could exercise everything at once but since I don't know what they look like I've probably passed by half a dozen at the flea markets.

Well, yesterday was my first day back in the gym in a good while. I've stopped in a few times in the summer but never got my true momentum back. I used to work out 4 days a week with a mix of cardio and free weights. When at my best, several years ago, I was 5-11 and about 195. I could bench press 310# and run a 5K in about 22 mins.

Once I hit 50 it all went to hell. I tore a calf muscle 2 years ago, then I took a nastly fall on an ice patch skiing in March 2014. Torn rotator, torn labrum, separated AC joint. Total disaster. Rehabbed for months to avoid surgery. I was so upset about the shoulder that I let myself go and turned to pizza, wings and homebrew.

Follow up exam with the doc a few weeks ago - he's pissed and shamed me vigorously. BP is up and if I do not drop weight he's putting me on BP meds. I'm sitting close to 230 right now with a beer gut and spindly little arms. I felt like a loser but it got my attention and I'm taking responsibility for my health.

I'm cutting back drinking to one day per week, going on a reduced carb diet with lots of fresh greens and low fat meats. Pizza, bread, and snacks have been banned for a few weeks.

I'm heading to Planet Fitness at lunch today for a 30 minute weight workout.

Wish me luck!

Hey brewnewb, every bit helps. It is truly a lifestyle to stay healthy and even then, lots of what we get are in our genes and all we can do is work with it. I'm on statins for cholesterol and it runs in my family. Everybody gets some type of gift from their parents and that's one I got. Maybe BP medicine as I get older, who knows. For now, I do what I can, behave for the most part and still have a day or two a week having some fun.
Plus, I want to live long enough to get Social Security since I've worked all my life paying into it. That's still 50/50 I guess.

Brewbirds wrote:Hey I wonder if we bundled this with eating we could finally get our foodie section started? The Mods could call it FOOD and FITNESS.

Then when someone should stumble upon the they would see that we aren't a bunch of fat, lazy, beer guzzling fast food junkies and are in fact a real class act.


For example here is my latest creation. A hydroponic lettuce leaf taco with a pulse and brown rice stuffing and fresh vegies from the farmers' market.

Farmers Market Taco with Stone Cold Stone .JPG

I've been wanting to get a used rowing machine thinking I could exercise everything at once but since I don't know what they look like I've probably passed by half a dozen at the flea markets.

What is a pulse and brown rice stuffing? I know what brown rice is, but I can't figure out pulse in this context.

In this case it was blackeyed peas and lima beans but lentils might work as well if you have them. I also added some toasted corn. All the food groups once I poured the beer.

Oh! I thought the old bird was saying that SHE had a pulse, and figured that was a good thing to have.

@BrewBirds:

There is a local place that makes lentil tacos, with the lentils replacing meat, and marinated in some delicious sauce. And those things are awesome. Even non-veg folks like them a lot. They have great texture and flavor. Lentils and corn (any kind of beans really) combined is a complete protein, so they work as a full meal on their own.

With all that fiber and beans, and several beers a day, I think I'll bike in FRONT Of you, not behind you.

RickBeer wrote:With all that fiber and beans, and several beers a day, I think I'll bike in FRONT Of you, not behind you.

FWIW: I've gotten peed on while riding in a long distance road race. Someone in front of me just let'r rip because they didn't want to waste time in a "pit stop". At first I thought they were drinking water, then I noticed that their water bottle was still in it's holder. One of the dangers of drafting/pace line riding they didn't tell you about.

I'm really into fitness.
Fitness whole pizza in my mouth!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Frosty wrote:I know I'm not the only one here who enjoys a good workout. So what do you guys and gals do to stay in shape?

I'm all over the map in terms of physical activity but the most common are:
- Elliptical 30-60 minutes daily depending on how I feel and how much time I have
- Weights/strength 3-4 times a week
- Hiking, water skiing, backpacking, beach volleyball (competitively, but a long story there)
- Taekwondo 3 times/week
- I'm sure I'm forgetting others

I'm just getting back into core workouts and do the P90X Ab Ripper X workout 1-2 times a week now after a long (lazy) break. If anybody wants sore abs, but a great workout, check it out. You can't find the ACTUAL video on YouTube for obvious copyright issues, but you can find plenty of people that filmed themselves doing it with the audio on so you can follow along. When I start this workout after a long break I start at 12 reps of each instead of 25 and slowly work back up to the full 25 mark. Except for the Pfieffer Scissors. I hate them and don't have the flexibility to do them the way I'd like to.

Brewbirds wrote:Hey I wonder if we bundled this with eating we could finally get our foodie section started? The Mods could call it FOOD and FITNESS.

I'd definitely vote for a fitness section. I think for those either wanting to get back into it, or struggling with working out it could be a great support system. For example, I use a FitBit to ensure that I'm walking at least 5 miles daily. Some days at work I sit all day and use it to remind myself to get up and move a bit. Then when I get home, it helps determine how much time I spend on the elliptical, in part anyway.

Borg members could post their weekly numbers as part of a support group or even friendly competition for those into that. Anyway, I think it's a great idea to help offset the calories we take in through our love of beer. Count me as second-ing this Fitness section request FWIW.

I've found it to be a way of life both attitude and time wise. I don't look like I exercise but I'm sure hopeful my innerds are appreciative of it. I just hope to live long enough to continue to aggravate all here as well as collect some SS and spend it all on beer.

12oz curls is the extent of my exercise routine. I always used work for a work out, had physical jobs anyway wasn't hard to figure out a way to get a good work out. Even when the weights weren't much, the shear number of reps made for a good workout.

mashani wrote:

RickBeer wrote:With all that fiber and beans, and several beers a day, I think I'll bike in FRONT Of you, not behind you.

FWIW: I've gotten peed on while riding in a long distance road race. Someone in front of me just let'r rip because they didn't want to waste time in a "pit stop". At first I thought they were drinking water, then I noticed that their water bottle was still in it's holder. One of the dangers of drafting/pace line riding they didn't tell you about.

I have seen riders do that. Fortunately I was never in the position you were in.