Thanks. My wife has been the motivation for the health focus. We have used a Keto focus, although more her focus than mine. I do a basic keto diet while not going extreme. I have lost as much weight as she has without the attention to detail. I hope to go down another 10 - 15 pounds.

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I stand 6-5. Depending on the day my weight floats between 185-192.

It wasn't always this way.

In 2003, when I decided to change life for the better, I weighed over 300.

Today my diet is plant based and supplemented with meat and eggs for protein and cholesterol. Yeah cholesterol. It's good for you. I do not eat wheat due to diagnosed celiac sprue. The base of my diet is beans, peas, and field greens. These foods I eat in unlimited amounts. The next level is things like rice sweet potatoes, squash, and fruit. These are eaten in portion for nutrition and also calories. Eggs and meats like chicken, pork, bison, lamb and elk eaten for B vitamins and protein and always held to 6 ounces (or 4 medium eggs) or less. Snacks are things like nuts and seaweed. I will eat cheese or dairy when it is served to me, but I avoid dairy on a daily basis. Alcohol is a never for me. I consume food between the hours of 12:00-10:00.

It ain't for everyone, but it is working and easy enough for me to stick to it. I find highly processed food products and many sweets to be almost repulsive now. However, it took a while to get used to eating only natural food.

Here!

I have my own challenges but weight isn't one of them
I'm 58 and no where near as fit as I once was.
Here's my bio.
I lived in the Rocky mountains. 26 years. Hiking, skiing bicycles were a big part of my life outside of work. Then in 2010 my wife and I decided to move to Florida. My job was physically demanding and that helped but outdoor activities were sitting in a boat, or sitting on a beach drinking beer. No hills and way too hot for me to do much outside most of the year. At least that's my excuse. My wife passed away last summer and I decided to get out of Florida. Quit my job, sold my house and moved. When I arrived here in South Carolina after buying a 2 story house with a half acre on a hill I found myself forced to get with it. When I first arrived I had a tough time just checking the mail and climbing up to my bedroom on the second floor. Not to mention cutting the grass. Since moving here I'm doing more stuff outside.Hiking is my favorite pastime and I'm getting some time on the trail. Recently I hiked up to a waterfall that involved a 1000 foot elevation gain. Pretty much a grunt and kicked my ass. But I did it. Sounds pretty good right?
Well these are my challenges...
Diet.Cooking for 1 is tough for me and I tend to fall back on comfort food.
Tobacco.I have smoked cigarettes for probably 35 years. I have quit so many time's I lost count.
Alcohol. I'm not a drunk but afternoon cocktails with smokes and a good book have been a staple here for many years.
Lastly, living alone in a big empty house.
These are the things that I'm facing going forward that I know should be dealt with for me to live as well as can be in the future.
I'm looking forward to spending time with you guys.
Anyway that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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WOW. I go next Tuesday and I will do my best to get ready, I pick up the drink on Friday start on Monday.

smoker as well ,great with the beers for me..i am tackling weight first, with beer reduction of course. figure i will have beers once a week instead of 3.small steps life is to short to be the fittest in the graveyard, but i am not happy with my current self .have to start somewhere..

having some people here to share this with is uplifting. i like the TSD and find myself here a lot.i have some good friends i ve known for decades, but don t talk to them about this stuff.thank you all so far...

The drink is what prevented me this time. I did everything else.

I remember the old school Pilsner ad.

Yeah I figure things need to change because pretty soon parts are going to start falling off if you know what i mean.

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Mike, thanks for sharing your story. I'm very sorry to hear of your Bride's passing.

Congrats on working more activity back into your life. I can identify with some of what you said. Our first home sat on a 1.1-acre lot. When we first moved there, we planted 40 trees. It never occurred to me that I'd have to trim around them with a push mower or a weed eater for the next 20 years. (We had a small lawn tractor, but it wasn't great for trimming.) Between all the landscaping and mowing, my Bride and I would spend several hours a week working in the yard from early Spring till late Fall. That really helped with my weight. About 11 years ago, we moved into a Patio Home. The HOA handles all the exterior maintenance, and I've slowly put on weight ever since. We're moving back into a house next year, so I'll start getting more outside exercise again.

I admire you for pursuing physical activities like hiking and trail walking. I take walks around our neighborhood, but I need to do more. I honestly can't say I enjoy it. I have to push myself.

My eating habits are OK, but they could be better and more varied. I eat Grape Nuts and almond milk, a boiled egg, and a banana most every morning. It satisfies me, and it takes very little preparation. Lunch is my "big meal" of the day. We're retired, so we sometimes go out for lunch. When I do, I often eat salads for the main entree. When we eat at home, it's usually involves either a bowl of soup, a small meat serving, or maybe a salad. In the afternoon, my Bride and I will have some kind of ~100 calorie snack. For dinner, I'll often have steel cut oats, fruit, maybe another egg, and half an avocado. The oats fill me up, the fruit satisfies my sweet tooth, and the egg and avocado provides some protein. Dinner is also easy to prepare, as we pre-cook a large pot of steel cut oats about once a week. Since I'm trying to lose weight, I adjust my portions to aim for about 1700 to 1800 calories per day. I'm a real creature of habit with my meals, and I'm hoping some folks here will talk about their healthy meals so I can get some new ideas.

Same here. It's funny how we all struggle with something. You mentioned that you like beer a lot. I would have to say dairy products, especially ice cream, has been one of my big struggles. I ain't giving it up! I'm just going to moderate how much I eat of it. I've gone from eating a couple of big bowls of ice cream at a single sitting to a half or three quarters of a cup two or three times a week. That is working for me. I know you'll find something that works for you.

If something is going to fall off, I hope it is my belly.

I have almond milk and cereal 6 breakfasts a week(preferably unsweetened almond milk). The other breakfast, every Sunday, I rotate between frozen waffles and eggs. Sugar-free syrup.

What cereal do you recommend, Paul? I'm looking for something to fill me up that is low in sugar. So far, it has been Grape Nuts and Cheerios.

Unsweetened almond milk was a pleasant surprise for me. I like it better than dairy milk. I've pretty much given up dairy milk.

Almond milk pleasantly surprised me as well, especially since I have never once seen a nipple on an almond.

I am still trying to find a low sugar cereal as well.

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i am an oatmeal, or shreddies guy.. full english on sundays.....

I'm actually gravitating back to the "low in sugar" brands muhself, though I'm still open to others except Raisin Bran-highest in sugar that I know of(besides its benefits). Certainly your two are good choices. Look into Grain Berry brands(you can find clones of Bran Flakes and Cheerios, which are the two I like). Wheat Chex, too.

Keep it up, I think activity trumps food but that's just me. Get active, however that works for you. Diets come and go but the the one constant is exercise and activity.

So who here has experience with the whole "quit smoking thing" that's my big problem here.