Retirement weight gain/loss

[davemartin88]

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.

[KM]

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

(DH also retired and has dropped about 35 lbs.)

[Donzo]

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 ( this used to hurt!)

ER is truly a blessing

[LOL!]

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.

[Balance]

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.

[H2ODude]

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."

[Sometime Soon]

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.

[SJ1_]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkTinkerer What did most of you see in your weight after ER? Up, down, or the same? ArkTinkerer

been about the same for the last 10 years (retired 2.5 yrs ago)
5 10 178

[Sometime Soon]

Down about 12 pounds from retirement 3 years ago.

[AnIntentionalRoad]

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.)

[Goonie]

I was over-weight for several years before I retired, and gained about 20 more after retirement. I climbed up on my Doc's scale in August 2013, and saw it hit 292#. Yikes! I decided then and there to do something about it. I cut out most dairy, cut red meat way back, cut out fried food, and eliminated about 99% of candy and sweets.

I started eating a lot more fruit, veggies, nuts, whole grains, legumes, and things like that. I still eat fats, but in the form of mono- and poly-unsaturated varieties. No trans-fats and very little saturated-fat. I also started working out at the local hospital's exercise facility (it's open to those 50 and over, and requires a doctor's order). My daily goal is to always burn more calories than I eat!

I usually exercise and workout 7 days per week. I go for 3-5 mile brisk walks at least 6 days per week. And go for 10-15 mile bike rides several times per week.

I've lost 70# in the past year! I'm shooting to lose at least an additional 50#. I'd like to get back down to somewhere between 160-170#. Currently blood pressure is 114/60. LDL, HDL, Total Cholesterol, and triglycerides, are all in the normal range. All of my other blood work is good, too. I only take two meds, one of which has been cut drastically, and hoping to be off of both before too long! My mirror shows the true outward results, too!

Over all I feel fantastic, and I certainly don't feel a bit deprived with my healthy eating choices!

[mickeyd]

I'm about the same weight that I was when I retired about 12 years ago. I attribute that to a balanced diet and daily trips to the fitness center.

[Dog]

I retired 8/1 and my mother passed away on 8/31 after lots of doctor visits and 4 days in hospital/hospice care. Stayed by her side the entire time and am the executor of Will and have been focused on organizing and meeting legal requirements since. I had a very steady exercise and eating regimen while working the past year and was in the best shape since high school. That has been blown to bits. I believe I've got just about everything handled for her estate (except 4 timeshares), and am looking to get back on track. I've gained a few pounds but mostly have seen muscle mass turn to fat which means my clothes are snug. I actually enjoy exercise and am looking forward to getting back into a routine.
Congrats to all of you that have been successful in gaining back your health!


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

[bbbamI]

Great to hear from you Goonie...and congrats on the weight loss!

[Sea Kayaker]

I am only about 1.5 months into ER. My much improved health and fitness as been by far my biggest accomplishment thus far. On my ER "to do" list (of about 30 things) GET FIT was #1 - and I have attacked this with a zeal that has surprised me a bit. About a month before my ER date I was 235lbs - this shocked me a bit. By simply improving my diet I was able to lose about 10lbs during my final month of work. Then, the day following my departure from my job, I signed up for 3 months at a gym a couple of blocks away. Since then, without fail, I have been doing 90 minutes of intensive cardio EVERY DAY during the 5 day work week. The first week was murder, but each week it has been getting easier. And the weight has been coming off rapidly.

Also, as I have touched on in some other posts, with the removal of work stress, the desire to eat fast food and consume alcohol has largely been eliminated. I enjoy cooking healthy meals that are ready when DW gets home from work. One night on weekends we treat ourselves to some good wine.

I am now 192lbs (down 43 lbs), and feeling (and looking IMHO) better than I have in many years. My increasingly wonky knees are magically unwonky. So much so I have started running again.

Early retirement has exceeded my expectations on so many levels - and I'm really just getting started.

[Ozstache]

One year in, about the same as when I started.

[Dash man]

I retired 19 months ago and have dropped from 224 to 188, mostly from reducing stress eating and cutting out sweets. I would love to exercise more, but arthritis, nerve damage and asthma make anything other than walking difficult, so I try to walk some every day weather permitting. My blood pressure is still controlled by medication, but all of my blood work is normal and makes my doctor happy. Early retirement has been great so far!

[easysurfer]

I gained about 5 lbs. I think a combination of not walking as much (I used to walk a few miles a day just to catch the train) and just getting older. On the other hand, I do have a more regular exercise routine now.

[Goonie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bbbamI Great to hear from you Goonie...and congrats on the weight loss!

Thank you!