Retirement weight gain/loss

My weight maxed out in my final month of working almost eight years ago. I have lost about 65 lbs since then in spite of exercising less, mainly due to eating better. I still have a ways to go.
 
Retired around 5 months ago. Dropped around 20 pounds in the first month as I changed my diet, replaced one meal a day with a green smoothie and cut out work related eating, no change in exercise routine. Have maintained the weight since. People have been noticing, saying retirement must agree with me.
 
I actually made a concerted effort to lose weight a few years before I retired, and I have maintained that weight loss this first few years of retirement.

It is much easier for me to stay at a good weight now because I'm not faced with loads of easy food at work and on business trips.
 
After ER I continued eating my half pound of chocolate a day and my weight continued it's slow climb of 1 pound a year that had gone on since my twenties. Then two and a half years ago I switched DW and my eating regimen to low carb at her request (I am the cook). I dropped 33 pounds in a few months (17% of body weight) and have stayed steady at 162 since then. The initial rapid fall probably needed the fairly strict LC approach I took but maintaining the loss once achieved was easier. I just avoid sugar and highly processed grains. I have added back a rational amount of rice and potatoes and a little bread with no impact on weight or blood numbers. Sugar is the real villain in my case. YMMV.
 
I've been FIRE'd for three and a half months now, have been lifting weights regularly every weekday morning but have gained 6 pounds.

When I was working, I only ate once a day (late dinner gorge). The rest of the time I was pretty much too stressed to eat. Now, I have a couple of hard boiled eggs, some yogurt and nuts after working out for the protein fix and then a normal dinner in the evening.

I think the gain is due to increased muscle mass. Yeah, that's what it is... I'm sure of it. At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it :)
 
I lost about 30 lbs after retiring. Not from dieting, but from healthier eating, and being more active. The company cafeteria and the Chinese buffet that my coworkers liked were certainly not the healthiest choices.
 
Congratulations from all who have lost weight! In my and my DW family most are gaining weight. And, the Country is getting fatter but I don't think we're hearing from them in this blog.........it's not something most people with weight problems want to talk about.

Weight can sometimes equal health. In my family diabetics is a killer.....killed my Dad, is killing my brother and killed one of my business competitors. So, about 8 years, ago I became a pre diabetic and it scared the hell out of me. .....my weight was close to 250 lb w/o clothes. I didn't look too bad BUT I knew the misery of diabetics since I watched my Dad lose a leg to grangrene and die of a stroke.

I started a life long change of eating habits. None....I mean none.....of pie, cake, doughnuts etc for the rest of my life. I added salads with fat free dressing, veggies, fruit, lots of chicken, some beef......yams instead of potatoes, dropped ice cream and hit the treadmill twice a day at the times I normally watched TV.....with a TV in front of the treadmill. Today, after losing 3 to 5 lbs a year I'm at 186 lb, haven't changed weight in 2 years, never am hungry because I eat tons of salad and veggies.....love Mexican food but watch what I eat and am really feeling good and seldom even get a cold.....used to have a couple a year. DW did about the same but kept ice cream and does yoga...I don't......overall I call my diet closest to volumetrics....there are library books on the subject......I don't mean to brag.....I just want to say I"m alive and healthy.....and I've enjoyed the change in lifestyle. I have a DSIL who is heavy, doesn't want to hear it and will someday probably get the same message from his Doc.......So, if anybody out there doesn't know how to lose weight but wants to.....try what I did but plan to do it for the rest of your life......and, hopefully, like me......you'll enjoy your new eating habits more than you ever did the old ones that, if you become a diabetic could kill you.
 
Alan said:
It is much easier for me to stay at a good weight now because I'm not faced with loads of easy food at work and on business trips.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that stuff people bring into the break room will kill you! We always had something in there- Girl Scout cookies, someone's left over baked goods, chips and dip from farewell parties... I was pretty good at avoiding them. We did have a box of Tastykakes from a Philadelphia-based client who sent us a gift box of treats from PA-based companies at Christmas. I finally threw them away in March because no one would eat them. Despite the preservatives, they were getting mold on them.
 
I've gained maybe 5 lbs since retiring 2 and 1/2 years ago. Not too surprising since my only exercise at work was walking to and from the coffee pot. The walk is shorter at home.
 
jerome len said:
Congratulations from all who have lost weight! In my and my DW family most are gaining weight. And, the Country is getting fatter but I don't think we're hearing from them in this blog.........it's not something most people with weight problems want to talk about.

Weight can sometimes equal health. In my family diabetics is a killer.....killed my Dad, is killing my brother and killed one of my business competitors. So, about 8 years, ago I became a pre diabetic and it scared the hell out of me. .....my weight was close to 250 lb w/o clothes. I didn't look too bad BUT I knew the misery of diabetics since I watched my Dad lose a leg to grangrene and die of a stroke.

I started a life long change of eating habits. None....I mean none.....of pie, cake, doughnuts etc for the rest of my life. I added salads with fat free dressing, veggies, fruit, lots of chicken, some beef......yams instead of potatoes, dropped ice cream and hit the treadmill twice a day at the times I normally watched TV.....with a TV in front of the treadmill. Today, after losing 3 to 5 lbs a year I'm at 186 lb, haven't changed weight in 2 years, never am hungry because I eat tons of salad and veggies.....love Mexican food but watch what I eat and am really feeling good and seldom even get a cold.....used to have a couple a year. DW did about the same but kept ice cream and does yoga...I don't......overall I call my diet closest to volumetrics....there are library books on the subject......I don't mean to brag.....I just want to say I"m alive and healthy.....and I've enjoyed the change in lifestyle. I have a DSIL who is heavy, doesn't want to hear it and will someday probably get the same message from his Doc.......So, if anybody out there doesn't know how to lose weight but wants to.....try what I did but plan to do it for the rest of your life......and, hopefully, like me......you'll enjoy your new eating habits more than you ever did the old ones that, if you become a diabetic could kill you.
Click to expand...

I was diagnosed with diabetes in October and I weighted 218 lbs. I was the first in my family to have the disease but I was the only one to carry excess weight also. Dr. put me on medication and I went on a low carb diet that helped me lose 26 lbs in 6 months and I'm now off the medication and at a non diabetic blood glucose level.

I've been retired since June and still at the same weight and at the lowest level of glucose in years.
 
I was diagnosed with diabetes last June. Changed my eating habits somewhat but didn't lose the weight until I retired in April. Have reduced my glucose level to normal since then. I was the controller for a resort and we had generous amounts of food to eat at work, so making a healthier diet change after I retired was very easy.
 
Jaded salami--Gotta ask how you decided on that nom de plume!
 
I find this discussion to be a wonderful mix of good news/bad news. So many people report losing weight, eating better, gaining muscle, lowering BP and blood sugar after retiring. It's a clear illustration of how so many health issues can be addressed by healthy eating habits.

The bad news: look what work is doing to the average person. Maybe if companies want to cut their health insurance costs they could stop measuring performance by how many hours you bill, how often you get on planes, how late you're in the office. They mouth nice platitudes about work/life balance but that's not how you're evaluated and compensated.

OTOH, maybe we're just an atypical group. We retired early because we had many interests, had the resources to enjoy them and made plans, one way or another, to fund health insurance and out-of-pocket medical expenses. There's probably a subgroup that goes downhill after retirement because they sit in front of the TV (or video games) and eat junk food because they can't think of anything else to do or can't afford anything else. They may also be postponing medical or dental care or refilling prescriptions because they don't have the money.
 
Athena, I noticed the good news/bad news element too.

Unfortunately, from what I've seen, spending money on healthy alternatives from an employer point of view generally just benefit the employees who are making better choices already. Giving better benefits in that regard does not move the needle in terms of attracting better talent. I've come around to the view that decoupling of health insurance and employment would be a very good thing.

I made better choices because, as you point out, I had the resources to do so, including the time required to eat right.
 
Weight is within 5 pounds of retirement but definitely more muscle now as I work out regularly and have a much more active lifestyle. Like to think I'm a "solid" 200 lbs now! Honestly, I'd like to lose about 5-10 lbs if I could get it off my stomach but I did drop a belt size so have made progress.
 
Retired 1.5 years ago and have lost 70lbs so far. Need to lose another 30.

Yes, the weight loss has been the result of better eating habits and more exercise.....but I tried that numerous times while working and inevitably I would find:
- myself chained to desk for 10+hrs a day,
- no time for lunch,
- a quick run to the vending machine for chocolate to give me the strength to suffer through my fifth unnecessary meeting of the day
- dining with the 7pm "lets order pizza, because we're gonna be here for awhile" crowd
- skipping the gym, because it was 8pm and I just wanted to GO HOME
- etc
- etc

That sort of stress and lifestyle always defeated my focus on getting healthy. I would just "give up" after awhile.

Honestly, it was a top 3 reason I decided to retire early. Today, I feel like a million bucks. I go and visit ex-co-workers every now and then and they just keep saying "WOW, retirement has treated you well".

Yes. Yes it has :dance:

(DH also retired and has dropped about 35 lbs.)
 
I was up to 242lbs while working. I was traveling 4-5 days a week and eating out (well - company card). Been retired 8 years now and am at 200lbs. Went from a 40" waist to a loose comfortable 34". Just not eating all the delicious and fattening fancy restaurant food several times a week and starting to work out 3 times a week did it.
Blood pressure is 115/75 and my feet don't hurt any more ( :dance: this used to hurt!) :D

ER is truly a blessing
 
Congratulations to all those who wanted to lose weight and did so.

I've lost about a pound a week since retiring. My stats are now 180/68 and all without going to the gym. I basically stopped eating potatoes, pasta, bread, alcohol, and sugar (except for chocolate). I do exercise outdoors quite a bit though.
 
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At the beginning of the year I weighed in around 225 due to, as others have said, traveling, eating out chained to a desk punching out e-mails, failing to get consistent exercise, etc. Then upon stepping off of the crazy work treadmill, I changed my eating habits (lifestyle change), I exercise in multiple ways each day, I stretch out twice and I don't find myself sitting more than a couple hours in any given day. Result is I am now at 200, my waist line has dropped from 38 to 34 and my body feels fantastic. I have been vocal that the new American lifestyle of eating processed food, being on computers all day and having others do all your manual labor is definitely contributing to the obesity epidemic. Most of the retired guys I know are in great health or at least better health than they were before they were retired.
 
I have hovered +/- 3-5# around the normal - overweight BMI number for my height for many years. Always dealt with high stress times with more exercise so if anything, I lost weight during stressful times. Now exercise is more regular and probably more intense for my age. I like to eat and while I try to avoid desserts and lots of fat I pretty much eat what I want. When I start gaining, which I almost always do traveling, I up the exercise. I hate that some day physical limitations will force me to "diet."
 
My goal was to lose enough weight and get enough exercise to get off blood pressure medication. I haven't got there, but I did lose 12 pounds over the first three years of retirement.
 
I lost 35 pounds over my first year of ER. Didn't diet at all, just stopped eating out for lunch and breakfast and became much more active.

225 to 190 but fluctuate now between 190 200 (I'm male.)
 
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