I am six months into my Project 60+ and I thought it would be a good opportunity to take stock and do an update on my progress.    In August of 2020 I made the decision to get into the shape of my life by the time I turned sixty the following September (2021).  A goal of this length for me would normally fall under the “pipe dream” category.  However, after six months I’m seeing real progress and have stuck to the plan.   

Everything was going really well until a couple of weeks ago when the always pragmatic and helpful Mrs. Beatty asked how I’ll know if I’m in the best shape of my life.   Of course, this stopped me like a smack with a shovel.  I mean how do you really know if you’re in the shape of your life.   I suppose a battery of tests and lab results would prove it out but that sounds exhausting plus we’re in lockdown.  The only real test available is for Covid and I’d prefer not to have a reason to take it!  No, most of the judging in this case will be anecdotal.  In truth, I’ll be in good shape, but it won’t really be in the shape of my life.   At sixty I simply can’t replicate the condition of my body at say, twenty-one.  The physiological changes are simply too great.   I won’t have the muscle mass, the flexibility or the hormones (testosterone) I did when I was younger.   But really that’s not the point.  The point is to be in the best shape I possibly can be at sixty and to prove it I’ll have to do something extraordinary, something other than not groaning every time I get up off the couch.

I will have some data to prove the changes to my body.   I managed to take measurements of all the important areas – I just have to remember where I put them.  I also am using a scale that measures my weight as well as a host of other attributes such as muscle mass and body fat.   It even gives me my metabolic age.  Right now, it says I’m 61 – stupid scale – but it’s better than when I started which was 64.  Clearly these scales aren’t very accurate but I’m not very accurate either so it’s kind of a perfect match.  The real test in this exercise will be in how I feel.  I may not be able to replicate the physical condition of my twenty-one-year-old self, but I’d like to feel like I’m twenty-one.  So far, I’m feeling like I’m somewhere in my late thirties or early forties.  Not bad.  

So, what have I been doing you ask?  Well, it’s kind of simple.  I’ve changed my diet and I exercise consistently.  These two things have allowed me to shed 27 pounds, 5.5 percent body fat and gain 2 percent muscle mass.  I’ve lost 6 1/2 inches on my waist to the point where none of my pants fit anymore not that it really matters because I never go anywhere (Here’s to pantless Zoom calls!).  This is a far cry from mid-summer when my pants were so tight it was a workout just getting them done up.  In fact, there were several pairs I didn’t have a hope of wearing.  Once we come out of this lockdown/winter hibernation I hope to emerge as a version of my twenty-one-year-old self and if that doesn’t happen I’ll just buy new pants.  

Specifically, I’ve been using intermittent fasting as a diet tool.   Intermittent fasting is limiting the window you eat to a 6-to-8-hour period and fasting in between.  Dropping one meal a day has reduced my caloric intake and helped me lose weight.  I’d like to say it was a breeze but there are some days when I’m so hungry I gnaw on the edge of my desk.  So long as I distract myself, I’m fine.  I generally eat the same breakfast/lunch six days a week.   I make steel cut oats and mix them with a variety of berries, nuts and seeds.  It looks like I’ve dumped the contents of a bird feeder into a bowl, but it tastes pretty good and powers me through to dinner.  I also practice portion control.  I watch how big my portions are and I never have second helpings. 

I stopped drinking alcohol.  Yes, this is a big one, but it’s made an equally big difference.  I’ve had an on and off relationship with booze for years.  I didn’t drink for 26 years and then in my fifties decided to take it up again.  Although I enjoy drinking, I don’t believe it does me any good – none.  Drinking adds weight to my frame and totally screws up my sleep.  There’s also mounting evidence of a link between drinking alcohol and certain cancers.  So, I decided to stop drinking.  Again, not a big deal.  

I exercise six days a week but I’m active every day.  What’s the difference?  Well, I’m active daily in that I have to walk my super dog – Lola.  That gets me out the door twice a day rain or shine – or miserably cold.  This is good for both of us.  As for exercise I generally run 4 days in a row and then take a day off.  I’ve also been strength training a couple of times a week.  In both cases I generally keep the sessions to around 30 minutes.  Once a week I’ll run for 45 minutes or an hour but that’s in slow preparation for a marathon I’m hoping to run in the fall – if they’re even staging them by then.  None of it is all consuming and, in fact, it’s pretty easy.  It’s just that I’ve been consistent with it and that’s the key.  

For me, the shocking part of this process is that I’ve stuck with the process.  My life is littered with hobbies, books, ideas and plans that have fallen by the wayside after a few weeks.  Normally I’d have lost interest in this program ages ago.   Somehow, I’ve hung in there and stuck with it.  There are two keys to this; the first is that I was pretty desperate to turn my health around.  I had no doubt that I was headed in the wrong direction.   The second is that I’ve had some success.  There’s nothing like a little success to spur more success.   Had I not dropped some pounds or felt better I’m not certain I’d have stuck to the plan.  I persevered long enough in the process to see some progress and that gave me the boost I needed to keep moving forward.

While I’ve had success, I haven’t reached my target.  The goal is to be in outstanding condition by September 2021 and to run a marathon or a similar challenge this fall.  There’s loads of work to do before that can happen.  However, it hasn’t been overly difficult so far.  In fact, anyone can do what I’ve done.  I made it manageable by not jumping in with both feet.  Rather it’s been a building process.  It started simply by walking.  Then it moved to a walking with intent (set distance, time and intensity).  The diet came next and that was really a process of subtraction rather than calorie counts and special foods.  If I can do this, and stick to it, anyone can.  The key is to start and then to just keep on going.  For me it’s been worth it.  I’m feeling great and looking much better than the mid-summer bloated version of myself.  I don’t make old man sounds when I get up out of a chair and the only real downside to this project is my pants not fitting.   Then again at least I can get them done up – keeping them up is another matter.