Getting the weight down

Bill Mattocks

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During the COVID-19 period in 2020 when I was working from home and the dojo was closed, my weight shot up to 268 lbs. My diabetes was terrible, A1C was 10.

Now I'm back down to 219. My A1C is 8.3.

My fitness level is still terrible, but improving. Just got my 3rd Pfizer shot. Better, but still long way to go.

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Buka

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During the COVID-19 period in 2020 when I was working from home and the dojo was closed, my weight shot up to 268 lbs. My diabetes was terrible, A1C was 10.

Now I'm back down to 219. My A1C is 8.3.

My fitness level is still terrible, but improving. Just got my 3rd Pfizer shot. Better, but still long way to go.

View attachment 27172
You go, my brother.

I had a similar thing happen, I shot up to six feet, four. Now I'm back down to five feet, eight.

I just got my third shot, too. But I still ain't going back to work until this is over.
 

Alan0354

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Good from you, but your A1C is still high at 8.3. You taking any medication?

I lost weight during the pandemic, I actually do more workout at home, I usually talk too much in the gym!!! Since early this year, I started practicing stick fight with a cane as there are so many attacks on older Asians, for my age, it looks normal to have a cane with me. I added the cane exercise on top of what I have been doing, I lost almost 10lbs without even trying to be on diet. Seems like getting the heart rate to over 160 and sweat it out do the trick for me.
 
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Bill Mattocks

Bill Mattocks

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Good from you, but your A1C is still high at 8.3. You taking any medication?

I lost weight during the pandemic, I actually do more workout at home, I usually talk too much in the gym!!! Since early this year, I started practicing stick fight with a cane as there are so many attacks on older Asians, for my age, it looks normal to have a cane with me. I added the cane exercise on top of what I have been doing, I lost almost 10lbs without even trying to be on diet. Seems like getting the heart rate to over 160 and sweat it out do the trick for me.
I take piles of medication. 4 daily pills and a weekly injection.
 

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Good work, Bill! My fitness went down over the last 18 months, too. I kept teaching during most of the pandemic, but only to 1 student, and only staff forms (outside), just to keep up some mobility and movement. I've always depended upon my MA training as the base of my fitness training. Even when teaching, I make a point to do as much of the work as I can with the students. The place I taught at closed a few months ago and that one last student quit for family reasons, so I'm now back to having no classes.

I did better, absent classes, when I could go to a gym to work out. I struggle to keep a consistent practice at home.
 

Alan0354

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My wife's A1C is 6.0. Her doctor told her to walk 35 minutes non-stop daily. Will exercise treatment still work for you so you don't need to take medicine?
Have your wife do different exercise at least every other day, don't walk everyday. I don't know whether you read about my wife. She used to walk 2 to 3 miles(very fast walk) a day, 6 days a week. I told her not to do that, take days off in between or do punching bags every other day. She did not listen. She had her first hip replacement in 2012. Last year when gym shut down, she went walking again, there went the 2nd hip. She had the 2nd hip replacement exactly a year ago.

Get a stationary bike or a treadmill. Walking is rough on the joints as the road is bumpy and not level. I saw your video on throwing 15lbs bags, you don't look young(sorry), so I take that your wife is not young either. Be careful.

Hip is a funny joint, once you have pain, there's not much rehab you can do, not like shoulder, knee etc. Good news is hip replacement has very fast recovery and you'll be good as new.

You are into MA, you have a kicking bag at home? If so, show her how to do bag work, it's as aerobics as anything else. That's where I do all my aerobic exercise!!! I HATE walking and running!!! Bag work is full body workout, you punch and kick, you cover everything.

Better yet, teach your wife how to use a cane for stick fight. If you wife is Asian, it is even more important because of all the attacks on older Asians. I join this forum because of learning stick fight, it's the best weapon for older people.




I think Bill is doing exercise already, that's the reason he almost lost 50lbs and got the A1C down from 10 to 8.3. I don't know what type of diabetes he has, some people have type I, that's hard to control. Thank God my A1C is only 5.8, I'll die if I have to watch out on sugar intake!!! My favorite junk food is Twix ice-cream bar. I have to dip it in sugar before eating!!! I am very bad. Hey, I work hard and I eat hard :).
 
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Gerry Seymour

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Have your wife do different exercise at least every other day, don't walk everyday. I don't know whether you read about my wife. She used to walk 2 to 3 miles(very fast walk) a day, 6 days a week. I told her not to do that, take days off in between or do punching bags every other day. She did not listen. She had her first hip replacement in 2012. Last year when gym shut down, she went walking again, there went the 2nd hip. She had the 2nd hip replacement exactly a year ago.

Get a stationary bike or a treadmill. Walking is rough on the joints as the road is bumpy and not level. I saw your video on throwing 15lbs bags, you don't look young(sorry), so I take that your wife is not young either. Be careful.

Hip is a funny joint, once you have pain, there's not much rehab you can do, not like shoulder, knee etc. Good news is hip replacement has very fast recovery and you'll be good as new.

You are into MA, you have a kicking bag at home? If so, show her how to do bag work, it's as aerobics as anything else. That's where I do all my aerobic exercise!!! I HATE walking and running!!! Bag work is full body workout, you punch and kick, you cover everything.

Better yet, teach your wife how to use a cane for stick fight. If you wife is Asian, it is even more important because of all the attacks on older Asians. I join this forum because of learning stick fight, it's the best weapon for older people.




I think Bill is doing exercise already, that's the reason he almost lost 50lbs and got the A1C down from 10 to 8.3. I don't know what type of diabetes he has, some people have type I, that's hard to control. Thank God my A1C is only 5.8, I'll die if I have to watch out on sugar intake!!! My favorite junk food is Twix ice-cream bar. I have to dip it in sugar before eating!!! I am very bad. Hey, I work hard and I eat hard :).
I know of no studies that suggest walking leads to early hip degredation. Heck, even running isn't likely to accelerate that, so far as I know (it puts more wear on the knees).
 

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I know of no studies that suggest walking leads to early hip degredation. Heck, even running isn't likely to accelerate that, so far as I know (it puts more wear on the knees).
Tell my wife about this, she was doing fine in the gym until the shutdown. Her family do NOT have hip problem, she's the only one.

If you are young, it's not a problem. When you get old, crap happens.
 

Gerry Seymour

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Tell my wife about this, she was doing fine in the gym until the shutdown. Her family do NOT have hip problem, she's the only one.

If you are young, it's not a problem. When you get old, crap happens.
That's a single correlation. It's possible there's causality. It's also possible she just had bad hips, just like I have bad knees. I used to run distance, but my dad ran a lot more than I did and has better knees at 73 than I have at 51. And my knee problems started at age 16. Sometimes joints just suck.
 

Alan0354

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That's a single correlation. It's possible there's causality. It's also possible she just had bad hips, just like I have bad knees. I used to run distance, but my dad ran a lot more than I did and has better knees at 73 than I have at 51. And my knee problems started at age 16. Sometimes joints just suck.
I need to clarify, I wrote that because the doctor told his wife to walk 35minutes every day. This means no break in between. It is NOT the running, walking that is bad, it is the NO BREAK in between days that is bad.

My wife did high impact aerobics for over 20 years 6 days a week when she was younger. I did not know better those days to warn her. As she approach 70, she couldn't not do those anymore, so she started walking 2 to 3miles a day( very fast walking). She walked 6 days a week, I kept telling her to do punching bags in between like very other day and only walk 3 times a week. She did not listen. That went her first hip. I am pretty sure if she listen to me, she likely won't have to replace the hip. It's very likely she already worn out her hip from 20 years of high impact aerobics 6 days a week. Genetics is not her problem, nobody in her family has to replace hip.

It's not only running, even punching bags, weight lifting and other sports are the same. You do NOT do one hour, 6 days a week. You push when you do it, it's no problem to run 5miles a session. BUT you do NO do it with no day in between to give that part of the body a chance to recover. Instead, say you run 5 miles one day, next day, you do few sets of punching bags(mainly the upper body), then the day after, you do weight training. Then the 4th day, you run 5 miles again......... The key is to let that part of the body rest and recover before pushing it again. Then, when you push, you PUSH HARD.......then rest.

People can get away a lot if they are young, you won't see the ill effect until you hit 60s or 70s. If you don't workout wisely, you wear out the cartridge and it won't recover. When you get old, they will show up.

If you in competition, you have no choice but to work hard everyday, but look at all the athletes, they all have to retire before 45, their body start breaking down!!! For us ordinary people, the goal should be how to do the same thing when you turn 60 and beyond. I read quite a bit, learning how to keep myself in reasonable shape without a lot of injuries. I am 68 and I still can keep up with much younger people.

I did a lot of reading, like for serious weight training, you do one body part ONE time a week. When you do, you go all out, then rest. Like day one is chest, you do heavy bench press, then incline press, decline press. You push until failure. Use heavy enough you only barely make like 5 to 7 reps. You do 4 sets of each. Then next day, you do say squats, you push. Day 3, you do say shoulder and biceps, Day 4, you do pull up and core exercise, Day 5, triceps, back, neck and whatever remains. Then 2 days off. Then repeat again. This is how you get stronger, more muscle and prevent injuries. You do the same thing every day, you won't last a year even if you are young.

I have been with Gold's Gym for many years. About 10 years ago, there was a young kid Chris, he was only like 26 at the time. He told me he ran 5 miles 4 days a week. I immediately told him don't, have day off in between, do something else in between. He did not listen. Guess what, now he can hardly do much running, maybe twice a week a best. He has so much knee problem at only 37 or so.

It's is NOT running or walking, just don't do daily with no rest in between. You can still run at 70, just do NOT do it everyday. I hope I clarify this.
 

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I need to clarify, I wrote that because the doctor told his wife to walk 35minutes every day. This means no break in between. It is NOT the running, walking that is bad, it is the NO BREAK in between days that is bad.

My wife did high impact aerobics for over 20 years 6 days a week when she was younger. I did not know better those days to warn her. As she approach 70, she couldn't not do those anymore, so she started walking 2 to 3miles a day( very fast walking). She walked 6 days a week, I kept telling her to do punching bags in between like very other day and only walk 3 times a week. She did not listen. That went her first hip. I am pretty sure if she listen to me, she likely won't have to replace the hip. It's very likely she already worn out her hip from 20 years of high impact aerobics 6 days a week. Genetics is not her problem, nobody in her family has to replace hip.

It's not only running, even punching bags, weight lifting and other sports are the same. You do NOT do one hour, 6 days a week. You push when you do it, it's no problem to run 5miles a session. BUT you do NO do it with no day in between to give that part of the body a chance to recover. Instead, say you run 5 miles one day, next day, you do few sets of punching bags(mainly the upper body), then the day after, you do weight training. Then the 4th day, you run 5 miles again......... The key is to let that part of the body rest and recover before pushing it again. Then, when you push, you PUSH HARD.......then rest.

People can get away a lot if they are young, you won't see the ill effect until you hit 60s or 70s. If you don't workout wisely, you wear out the cartridge and it won't recover. When you get old, they will show up.

If you in competition, you have no choice but to work hard everyday, but look at all the athletes, they all have to retire before 45, their body start breaking down!!! For us ordinary people, the goal should be how to do the same thing when you turn 60 and beyond. I read quite a bit, learning how to keep myself in reasonable shape without a lot of injuries. I am 68 and I still can keep up with much younger people.

I did a lot of reading, like for serious weight training, you do one body part ONE time a week. When you do, you go all out, then rest. Like day one is chest, you do heavy bench press, then incline press, decline press. You push until failure. Use heavy enough you only barely make like 5 to 7 reps. You do 4 sets of each. Then next day, you do say squats, you push. Day 3, you do say shoulder and biceps, Day 4, you do pull up and core exercise, Day 5, triceps, back, neck and whatever remains. Then 2 days off. Then repeat again. This is how you get stronger, more muscle and prevent injuries. You do the same thing every day, you won't last a year even if you are young.

I have been with Gold's Gym for many years. About 10 years ago, there was a young kid Chris, he was only like 26 at the time. He told me he ran 5 miles 4 days a week. I immediately told him don't, have day off in between, do something else in between. He did not listen. Guess what, now he can hardly do much running, maybe twice a week a best. He has so much knee problem at only 37 or so.

It's is NOT running or walking, just don't do daily with no rest in between. You can still run at 70, just do NOT do it everyday. I hope I clarify this.
A 35 minute walk - even a fast one - shouldn't have significantly detrimental effects on hip joints. And for a fit person, it shouldn't really require a recovery day in between. Recovery day isn't so much for the joint as for the muscles, when they've been worked hard. Likely the price was paid for the aerobics.

As for the guy who ran that much, that's not all that much. When I was a runner, I knew runners who ran more than that (many ran 4-6 days a week, alternating shorter and longer distances), and who were still running much later in their lives. It really does sometimes come down to genetics. Some folks seem to have more durable joints, some less so. Or maybe it comes down to all the other things we do to them.

You put forth work on the heavy bag as easier, but while it's a perfectly good exercise, that repeated impact is harder on joints in some ways than many other activities. It's certainly harder on some joints than walking for half an hour.

The strength regimen you outlined is a pretty good approach, as I understand it. With that, you're pushing your muscles hard, so they need recovery time. But that's when the body is pushed, and is mostly for the muscles (if joints need recovery time, you've injured yourself, and a day is probably not going to make enough difference).
 

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A 35 minute walk - even a fast one - shouldn't have significantly detrimental effects on hip joints.
It's difficult for me to understand what your guys concern are. I run 3 miles 3 times a week. For the rest of 4 days I walk 3 miles. I was trying to replace my 3 miles running by 3 miles walking (along with punching). But since I love my running so much, I continue my running again (only on the sand beach or dirt road).

If I don't do my running, I feel my hip/knee joint are rusted. After I have done it, I feel fresh and great. I may be older than your guys here (I'll be 74 in 2 months). I just don't see the issue here.

To be able to listen to our bodies is important. We need to know how to develop our bodies. We also need to know how to maintain it.

It's low tide right now. It's time for me to run on the beach.

 
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Gerry Seymour

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It's difficult for me to understand what your guys concern are. I run 3 miles 3 times a week. For the rest of 4 days I walk 3 miles. I was trying to replace my 3 miles running by 3 miles walking (along with punching). But since I love my running so much, I continue my running again (only on the sand beach or dirt road).

If I don't do my running, I feel my hip/knee joint are rusted. After I have done it, I feel fresh and great. I may be older than your guys here (I'll be 74 in 2 months). I just don't see the issue here.

To be able to listen to our bodies is important. We need to know how to develop our bodies. We also need to know how to maintain it.

It's low tide right now. It's time for me to run on the beach.

That's pretty much my point. Thanks, John!
 

Alan0354

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A 35 minute walk - even a fast one - shouldn't have significantly detrimental effects on hip joints. And for a fit person, it shouldn't really require a recovery day in between. Recovery day isn't so much for the joint as for the muscles, when they've been worked hard. Likely the price was paid for the aerobics.

As for the guy who ran that much, that's not all that much. When I was a runner, I knew runners who ran more than that (many ran 4-6 days a week, alternating shorter and longer distances), and who were still running much later in their lives. It really does sometimes come down to genetics. Some folks seem to have more durable joints, some less so. Or maybe it comes down to all the other things we do to them.

You put forth work on the heavy bag as easier, but while it's a perfectly good exercise, that repeated impact is harder on joints in some ways than many other activities. It's certainly harder on some joints than walking for half an hour.

The strength regimen you outlined is a pretty good approach, as I understand it. With that, you're pushing your muscles hard, so they need recovery time. But that's when the body is pushed, and is mostly for the muscles (if joints need recovery time, you've injured yourself, and a day is probably not going to make enough difference).
I can't speak for fast walk any more than seeing my wife. As I said, she did high impact aerobics for 20 years 6 days a week. That might have done the most damage. Still the bottom line is 6 days a week that did it in for her.

I did not say doing punching every day, same idea as walking, you need time to rest in between. This I have personal experience. I was hard working. I trained in Tae Kwon Do for almost 3 years, I went 3 times a week, BUT I went there 3 hours before class and do punching and kicking the heavy bag. Our class did start till 7pm, I always went there right after work at 4pm and do bag work on my own. I injured my back from the side kick(was my favorite kick) and I had to quit. Till today, I cannot do side kick and round kick. It must be the torque of the hip from pivoting during the kicks.

Also remember, I am talking in the long run.......when you get to 70 years old. Those that are younger can get away with a lot. It's very different if you are old. From his video, Kung Fu Wang looks to be a senior citizen(sorry), so I assume his wife is a senior also like me and my wife. I don't think I would say anything about younger people.

I am spending a lot of time to think about how to keep myself healthy doing all my exercise. I think for 68, I have been successful. I don't do light exercise, I still push. I just put a lot of stress in push-recovery. Like I do pushup wearing 60lbs weight jackets, feet on the chair and do up to 24 reps and 5 sets. But only once a week. Squats with 60lbs jacket and 40lbs dumbbell in each hand, double step up and down to 2nd floor 18times, lunges with 30lbs dumbbells in each hand 22 steps. All just one time a week only. Just different exercises that push different part of the body. I do punching and kicking on heavy bags twice a week only with at least 2 days of rest in between. Only thing I do much more often is stick fighting practice. I am having forearm problem of all things!!! I am new in this, I really want to practice more and don't have the patience to rest in between, I am paying the price. Still looking for exercise to fix the forearm problem.

I fight through so many injuries in my 30 years to say all these from my experience. It is NOT for people that try to be climb to the top, it's for people that want to last in exercising for 30+ years and keep the exercise even when you get old. I determine to do these exercise when I turn 80. PUSH......and REST.
 
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I have a cardio-pulmonary syndrome that stems from chronic bronchitis I had as a youth. In my 60's now. I have tried many things to maintain myself healthy. Some benefit but not as significant as recently. I had 3 heart attacks in 2019. I ran into a video by a cardiologist of 25 years experience from Texas. Dr Nadir Ali. Watch his videos. Ever since I have been using his ideas, I have seen and felt significant benefits. I even tried a more aggressive approach spoken about by a Medical Doctor named Ken Berry. My results were even better. Dr Jason Fung - a Nephrologist, is amazing. This is what helped me the most. I was "prediabetic".

Diabetes and heart disease go hand in hand. Check these guys out if you want. You may be pleasantly surprised.
 

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