Top Ideas to Stay Healthy After 50.

it's been one month since I started my 25-pound weight loss journey. My goal is to weigh in the 250s by June. This is the current goal and the only one I am focused on. I am currently down to 272 so that's 12 pounds so far. I only check the scale once a week because I know that daily weight can fluctuate due to water retention. 

This week was a pretty good week. Things are slow at work and stress is low. I hit my workout goal for weight training and running. I was offered a coaching role with my local run club. I will be coaching the beginners. I also signed up for and passed the state officiating exam for football. So, this fall I will be a high school football official. I have coached high school football for many years, but this will be my first-time officiating football. I have been reading the mechanics of officiating the game and it is a lot more complicated than I realized. 

My back issues are flaring up again. I am hoping weight loss will help with that. I also use a massage gun and lacrosse balls to help keep it loose. I have been told that I have degenerative arthritis in my back and there is nothing I can do about it besides stretch and stay loose.

This week is busy at work, but I will be able to keep my workout schedule.  I am hoping for the scale to read in the 260s at weigh in. 

If you are looking for some 2-time Olympian with 8% body fat who runs a 6-minute mile. Sorry wrong blog. I am about as average as a 54-year-old gets. I get up, workout, go to work, come home, eat and go to bed.  I have a wife 2 kids a dog and a simple home. Why am I writing about this? hopefully to help point some of us Gen Xers in the right direction. 

I will start back in 2019. I just turned 50. I have always been pretty active playing sports and working out. My diet has never really been great but that another story. I decide for my 50th birthday that I would train for and run a marathon. I also decided that triathlons seemed like a good challenge to keep me motivated. So, in 2019 I ran the New York City Marathon and competed in 4 triathlons. I was probably in the best shape of my life. 

Then March of 2020 came and with it came COVID. Races got cancelled. I was about to run a half marathon. My run group went on a hiatus. Gyms closed, businesses shut down, and we all came to a halt. Over the next 4 years I gained 40 pounds stopped running and really felt terrible about myself. I like to blame COVID for what happened, but we all know if you want something you remove hurdles you don't lean on them. I could not find the motivation to workout, to eat smart, or really stay active at all. I ran into back issues which I am sure I can attribute to my weight gain. 2023 ended and I have had just about enough. 

This blog will tell the story of my comeback at age 54. I will update frequently to talk about my victories and my struggles. I am happy to say that since the end of February I am down14 pounds of fat. I will take you through my process of not falling victim to fad diets and quick fixes. This is going to take time and I am in it for the long haul. I owe it to my wife, my kids, my dog, and mostly me. Follow along as I see what works and what doesn't. Click on the articles and see my process.