I had two experiences recently that let me know that I wasn’t in the best of places.
Snowboarding Struggles
I went snowboarding in late December when I realized something horrible about myself. If you’ve ever been snowboarding, you know what part of the ritual is plopping your butt down in the snow so you can fasten your bindings. When I did this, my gut got in the way. I had gained so much weight that I was having a hard time bending over to reach my boots. My stomach fat was blocking the motion. I sat there and considered the situation for at least a couple minutes. I was not happy. And my butt was now wet.
The first thing I did when I got home was weigh myself. The scale blinked a distressing 176.o at me. An all time high. I have a light frame, similar to a skeleton with some skin and facial hair. I wear 156.0 much better.
75 year old gym rat
This month, I was at the gym pedaling away on the stationary bike. There was a lady on the one next to me. I’m competitive in all aspects of life, so I snuck a glance to see what level she was pedaling at. If you’re next to me on the stationary bike, we are racing.
She was alternating between 6 and 12 (max is 20). She wasn’t going crazy hard, but at a higher level than most people pedal at. I also noticed she had been on the machine for almost an hour.
A couple minutes later, someone came up to talk to her. I listened in:
- Guy: When will you be done?
- Lady: 5 minutes, I ride for an hour and I’m almost done.
- Guy: Wow, that is a long time and you’re going hard. Nice work.
- Lady: Thanks! Do you know that I’m 75? I do this 5 days a week. It’s how I stay young.
I nearly fell off the bike. That last thing she said blew me away:
It’s how I stay young.
Up until now, I had not glanced at her face, only noted her slim figure adorned with pink and black spandex. I turned around to join in the conversation. Despite her 75 years, she looked at least a decade younger. I was even more amazed after talking to her. She went on to explain that she rides for an hour 5 days a week and then does a light jog after that around the track. Amazing. This woman knows how to live.
Back to me
The weight gain was a culmination of two years of extreme chaos. Between a demanding job, two children, this blog and a home improvement project, life has been very busy. I once read that a person only has the willpower to control a finite amount of things in their life. While I held my life together, the main thing that fell by the wayside was a healthy lifestyle. I ate lots and lots of crap. Froot Loops? Guilty. Cap’n Crunch? Guilty. Eating an entire box of Girl Scout Samoas in 3 minutes? Guilty on more than one occasion (Nothing like getting 175% of your daily saturated fat in one gluttonous act). At the same time, my exercise routine dropped off. Can’t bike today, have to (insert one: finish the plumbing, tile, hang ceiling fans, paint, install flooring…).
(Mrs. 1500 note: This is entirely his choice – he cannot stop until it is done. This is my only complaint about him. True story: I was complaining about this very thing at a recent girls’ night, and one of the ladies said, “I would gladly trade my husband for him. My husband is an 80 percenter. He gets a job 80% done, and then stops.” So the grass isn’t always greener, but I still wish Mr. 1500 would take a break now and again…)
(Mr. 1500 rebuttal: What Mrs. 1500 says is technically true, but actually she withholds food and toilet paper if I do not meet her deadlines…)
(Mrs. 1500 response to a blatant lie from Mr. 1500: If this were really true, why are you even talking about your chunky backside?)
(Mr. 1500: I’m hungry.)
I had to take drastic measures. I went back on my nasty Soylent for a while. That worked, but I can only take it for a couple days, so not a good long term solution. I did change some other things and it’s working. As I write this, I’m down to 164.5.
(Mrs. 1500 note: I have exactly zero plans to divulge what I weigh.)
(Mr. 1500 note: Absolutely no comment here. I wish to live.)
What is working for me
- Carrots! During the day when I get hungry between meals, I shovel carrots into my face. While I don’t really enjoy them, they keep the hunger at bay with far fewer calories than cookies or whatever crap I was eating before. At dinner, the largest portion on my plate is always vegetables. I make sure that broccoli, cauliflower and other nasty green stuff make up least half of my plate. Warning: Eating half a bag of baby carrots in one sitting will make your stomach do somersaults. This is unpleasant.
- Eating at home: When I go out to eat, I order horrible things. Good-bye broccoli, hello anything fried. We used to eat out weekly. Now, we limit it to once per month. This has helped immensely. A bonus is the money that we’re saving.
- Experiment with good food: When I was a child, our family’s diet was limited to what my mom liked. Unfortunately, my mom likes about four things: meatloaf, tuna casserole (yeck!), hamburgers and sausage. Really, that was about it. Family meals would rotate between those four dinners. After I turned 30, Mrs. 1500 introduced me to Thai food. Holy cow, that stuff is great. Around 35, I tried Indian food for the first time. I didn’t like it at first, but now I do. You have no excuse not to try to replicate this good at home. Do yourself a big favor and check out the House of Spice blog for some great ideas.
What the hell does any of this have to do with an early retirement blog?
My parents’ retirement is killing them. They could do anything they want, but choose to do nothing but watch TV. Since they don’t live near, I don’t see them often. When I do, I see how they’ve deteriorated. Somehow, they become more sedentary every time. The first thing my mother does whenever we go somewhere is find a place to sit and plops down. It’s horrible seeing loved ones slowly die before your eyes, but that is exactly what they are doing.
On the other hand, others give me reason for optimism. We have neighbors that are knocking on 80. Despite their advanced age, they walk for miles every day. They also swim and keep active by working around their home. They are in better shape than many 40 year olds.
Health and quality of life is everything. All the money in the world isn’t worth anything if you don’t have your health. Keeping mind and body in top condition is critically important to successful retirement. I’m not going to stop working so I can sit around and watch TV. Exercise is at the top of my list when I quit my job.
I look forward to going for long hikes or bike rides every day after we drop the kids off at school. Keeping in the best shape possible will be my number one priority.
- I want to be able to keep up with my children.
- I want to bike through the mountains. (Some day, I’ll reach you Estes Park)
- I want to hike through my neighborhood and the open space that backs up to it.
- I want to continue to write code and learn new programming languages so my brain gets a workout too.
Hello carrots, bye-bye chunky butt.
Hey gym lady, want to race?
Mrs. 1500, where is that pot pie?
Join the 10s who have signed up already!
Subscribing will improve your life in incredible ways*.
*Only if your life is pretty bad to begin with.
Without your health, you have nothing. Keep up the good work Mr 1500.
-Bryan
Mrs. Income Surfer note: My husband is an eighty percenter
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That’s what became crystal clear to me when I went for a physical 2 years ago, after putting it off for 3 or 4 years. I was 50 pounds overweight and my blood numbers were deadly (literally). But there’s nothing like wanting to stay alive to get me motivated!
I dropped the 5 pounds in 6 months and jolted my blood numbers back into acceptable ranges. It’s 2 years later and I’m still keeping that weight off. Hiking 3 times a week (just came home from a 2-hour one) and being responsible about what comestibles I put in my mouth has done the trick.
If this sounds a little like bragging, my bad. But I DO feel good about it!
Retired To Win Alex recently posted…How a Discretionary Fund Beats a Discretionary Budget
Good for you, Alex. I don’t think it is bragging at all. It is difficult to lose weight, and you should be proud of your acheivement. Congratulations!
Good luck. Girl scout cookies are evil. My plan this year has been not to buy any at all.
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That was my plan, too. Then the littlest 1500’s preschool teacher started selling them…
I want a Samoa.
I swear you will have the ass of a 14 year-old schoolgirl if you follow Tim Ferriss’s diet, Mr 1500. No white carbs, just protein, fat and lots of green veg (six days of the week), then a pig-out, eat-till-you-feel-sick day when you force as many carbs down your throat as you can. Sounds crazy but it works.
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Funny you mention it, I have been following it, cottage cheese and all. I do love bread, so that part is hard. I’m getting used to it all though.
Oh ditto on the bread . I could eat a whole loaf of French bread in a day. Thankfully I don’t.
You know I’m really surprised to read about your weight gain in my head with all the house project I would have thought you’d be burning tons of calories.
But I guess it makes sense . I feel like everyone thinks if you exercise you can eat whatever you want but as you’ve shown its a two step process. Exercise and good food = body you want.
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“You know I’m really surprised to read about your weight gain in my head with all the house project I would have thought you’d be burning tons of calories.”
I know, right? One day, I went up and down the stairs at least 50 times. Fail.
Lots of veggies cooked at home the way to go!! Mr. Maroon changed our regular diet when he had an aha! moment the day our son was born. We are very much better for it. When you feed your body good, real food, it starts to crave the goodness. My cooking habits have become a little lax over the winter. But it’s time to get back in the swing of things. Glad to hear you’re feeling better!
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Thanks Mrs. Maroon! Vegetables are definitely the right way, for other reasons besides health too. Meat has a large environmental cost. Then, there is the animal welfare issues…
I’m running the Brooks 5K at the Berkshire Hathaway weekend in May – want to run it with me? =)
Mrs. PoP recently posted…Our Neighbors Are Freaking Cool
I ran a 10K about 6 months after we moved from the 873 feet of elevation of Madison, WI to the almost 6,000 feet in Douglas County. Never again. Fun fact: They were running a half marathon at the same time, and many of the half marathoners finished before I did. Did I say fun fact? Not so fun for me…
Mrs. PoP, I would totally do it, crappy knees and all, but we have to leave early on Sunday. I’ll see if we can squeeze it in…
I want to retire at around age 60 and I will lose my employer drug benefits then. I live in Ontario, Canada so the government drug benefits don’t start until I am 65.
If I remain healthy I will be able to retire on my small savings. If I develop high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and cholesterol issues I will not be able to afford to retire and I will have to work longer until I qualify for government benefits.
If I gain weight I will develop the same joint issues many of my chubbier coworkers suffer from. Many my age, early 50’s, are already forced to work part time and to miss a lot of work after joint replacement surgeries. If that happens to me I will be a very poor retiree.
I did the British 5:2 diet in December and easily dropped 10 pounds without exercise.
I need to get back to that in April
British 5:2, hmm. I just googled it. Were the “2” days hard?
Yeah, I didn’t even go into the money aspect. First world health care isn’t cheap, so that is another huge reason to keep your body in peak condition.
I ate sensibly on the 5 days that they say you can eat anything. On the 2 low calorie days I did eat very low calorie and I did not feel deprived.
I did the 2 low calorie days on my 2 days off of work because I was worried about feeling weak but that didn’t happen.
Restarting on April Fool’s Day because I still want to drop 15 more pounds.
Got it and thanks for your thoughts. This is intriguing and I’ll probably give it a try next week.
We have the same issue, particularly Mr. SSC. I think there is something about men where their weight can fluctuate more without noticing clothing-wise, whereas women, we gain 5lbs and our clothes are too tight. Honestly, I think the trick is just to eat as much real food as possible, and keep things that are your weaknesses out of your house. I love cereal and pretzels – I have no resistance… so I just try not to buy them! And if I do want to have some pretzels, I buy a bag eat some, and then bring the leftovers to work and put them in the break room.
I think every one is different, I know when I eat less carbs and more veggies, I have so much more energy. So every time I want to pig out – I just try and remember how good I feel when I eat healthy! Sometimes that works… or at least reminds me only to eat half the bag of pretzels…
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My weakness is sugar in almost any form. But if there are chips in the house, I will eat them. I have been really good about not buying them, and not being tempted by them. I discovered Kale chips (thanks, Lindsay and Carol) and all they really are is a salt-delivery system (stole that from you, Dick) so whenever I need salt, I bake up a batch. About 9 calories, tons of salt (I don’t have any issues related to salt so this isn’t a problem for me) and kale even has protein in it. Win win win.
I’m just here for the Samoas.
I know this struggle well. It might be the only thing that I hate about being a member of the 9-5 workforce. I just can’t find a routine that works for me to get to the gym. My work out sweet spot is like 10am. That ain’t gonna fly. Now that it’s getting nice out, I’m hoping to have more success.
Nice job on the 12 lbs!
Kate@GoodnightDebt recently posted…February 2015 Recap
Oh man, Samoas are great. They are my kryptonite. If there is a box in the house, it will taunt me until I empty it.
I have found that eating is way more important than exercise (thanks Go Curry Cracker!). Exercise is still important, but a solid diet will work wonders.
I too find that no carbs and lots of veggies/lean protein makes you feel amazing. I went extreme (my own version of ideal protein) and lost 27 lbs in the last 2 months. I feel 10,000 times better, cut my cholesterol by 33%, and actually save on grocery spending by eating a lot less.
It helps if you (or the Mrs.) are able to bulk cook veggies ahead of time.
I think the hardest part was cutting out alcohol. I love alcohol. Wine, beer, SCOTCH – doesn’t matter, I am an equal opportunity drinker. The amount of empty calories in the aforementioned delights (much like Samoas) do not bode well for the midsection!
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We moved to our current house, and this block drinks a lot. I have discovered an affinity for tequila, and sometimes you really want a drink. Ooh, margaritas… And I love cider, and now the rest of the world is finally catching up with my trend. It had been a long time coming, but now there are about 5 cideries within 20 minutes of my house.
27 pounds in 2 months is killer progress! I think your diet is right on too. Carbs will kill you.
I’ve been struggling with my weight because I sit on a chair all day and don’t move around much. Cube madness! I workout after work but sometimes I know it’s still now enough! On another note, one my colleagues just bought a massive truck, double cab, chrome handles. I think it must be have cost at least $50,000 without interest….that’s when I wonder if he’s making more money than me….even tough I have a higher title than he. Who can afford a $50K truck without a loan right? He’s single and we live in the city…..Am I being too critical? My imagination just goes off.
SavvyFinancialLatina recently posted…Cut the Chord
I’m a cube dweller too. Not fun at all. I like my job, but sitting is not good.
Your colleague is crazy. Here in Colorado, people go nuts for trucks too. No one needs a ridiculous rig to go grocery shopping, but that is exactly what people do. Let him shovel money into that depreciating asset while you shovel money into sweet investments.
Speaking about cubes they say just getting up every 2 hours to move around helps maintain your metabolism. Am I making this up? No I’m sure I read it somewhere.
Anyway at my company the designers are all around 50 and in Great shape . they walk for 15 min at 9, 12 and 2.
In case you guys want to try. I also walk with them sometimes. But I was much more consistent when I was pregnant
The Roamer recently posted…31 Day Challenge Update
Myfitnesspal helps me tremendously. It’s crazy how many calories are in a lot of foods.
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It is truly sobering to see them add up so quickly.
For those of you who don’t know, MyFitnessPal is an app for Android or Apple and you enter the food you eat into it, it tells you how many calories you have consumed for the day, adding as it goes. You have a set weight goal, and it gives you caloric intake for the day. It subtracts calories burned off during exercise. Just a really great app. And free. Plus it has a bar code reader, so you scan the bar code on the packaging and it knows serving size, caloric content, etc. The most random foods, it knows everything about it. Amazing!
Ah the joy of getting older.
I’m requiring myself to do fitness stuff 3 times a week. Now that’s 2x volleyball and 1x gym. I’ve also added the heavy olympic lifts back in. I haven’t found anything better than that to really make the weight melt off.
On top of this, I’m back on the zone diet. 3 cheat meals a week and well rounded meals. It’s the most manageable for me. No limits on types of food, just quantities. And no reading labels. just weighing them out!
And boy can I binge when I’m having a cheat meal. Nothing more depressing than me moaning on the carpet after eating 2x the normal dinner plus dessert and a few beers. My wife has the smug “what a dumbass” look on her face too.
I want to be back to 185 by June and using the above and Beeminder to track everything. So far so good!
If you can’t tell, this is a topic that I feel pretty strongly about.
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Ahh, the zone diet. So many to try. And you know what? I think that is the key for me. I get bored doing the same thing, so new diets are good. I think that changing things up is good for the body too.
Thanks a lot for the recommendation. Love the “dumbass” comment! I get that same look frequently.
Well, unfortunately, my chunky butt is a bit bigger. However, I have begun to control some of it because I am an active weight lifter. You might want to add that to your work-out. We lose 1% of muscle mass for every year after 40. You and I are 41, but I am as strong (in terms of bench-press) as I was when I was 21.
My weakness is I don’t know when to stop eating. I, like you, just go on and on and on. And we don’t even have kids yet. I need to start eating carrots.
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Some of the best advice I ever read was don’t finish up your kids food. You will pack on so much weight doing that. So should you ever have kids, don’t finish up their plate. Put it in the trash or the fridge, not your mouth.
It is very easy to let your health suffer, we forget that its our body and mind that allow us to enjoy and complete everything in our life. And actually exercise has been scientifically proven to improve brain function. So by not exercising you are actually making all the other brain intensive activities you do harder on yourself.
We have chatted about this briefly on another one of your posts. But I have converted part of my garage into a home gym where I do P90X and Insanity. On my DIY magnetic chalk board I have a few quotes on the wall that put things in perspective:
You will make time for the things that are important to you. And your health should be high up on the priority list. A 1-hour workout is only 4% of your day, and if your in a hurry, 30 minutes will do (only 2% of your day). You have no excuse.
You don’t have to workout. You GET to workout!
A moment of pain [or 30 – 60 minutes] is worth a lifetime of glory [or phenomenal mental and physical health].
Good work on dropping some pounds already.
Cheers!
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“You don’t have to workout. You GET to workout!’
Love. This. Attitude.
Funny you mention the P90x garage gym. I was just telling the wife last week that we’re going to do the exact same thing.
Keep up the good work on the diet. You’ll definitely feel a 1,000x better and it will give you the energy for the next project. Cube life doesn’t help stay in shape, but I try to get in the gym 4-5x days a week and focus on protein/vegetables.
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Yeah, I already feel better. I always skip stairs and lately I’ve noticed that its getting easier.
Carbs are my enemy. If i look at a carb i gain a lb. I don’t know what god awful thing i did to deserve that body chemistry but i have it.
I’ve tried the balls to the wall cardio for a year and that only goes so far. I’ve tried hard core weight lifting and i bulk up but that fat doesn’t go anywhere. I’ve done the restriction calorie diets… nope my body holds onto that fat even harder! The only thing that has ever worked for me is a body builders diet. Very low carb, high protein, lots of high fiber vegetables. I am an engineer. I don’t want to be a body builder. Sigh.
And the worst part is naturally skinny people or people with more “normal” body chemistry’s don’t get it. They go all “you just aren’t trying hard enough or your doing it wrong”. Consider this story. I had 2 cat’s. They were brothers. They had the exact same frame. It became very clear that by age 1 we had a very fat cat and a normal cat. Vet gives guilt trip. For 7 years i’ve carefully controlled food intake of each cat. Cat’s get fed twice a day and food is taken away as soon as fat cat is done eating his measly portion. Both cat’s sleep 18 hours a day so it’s not like one of them is a marathon runner. I can commiserate with fat cat’s lot in life.
I’m not done ranting. And those same people even after you do your best to explain that everyone’s body chemistry is unique… they start in on the medical route. Well it must be low blood sugar. Nope. Well it must be a thyroid problem. Nope. . Nope. Then clearly you must be lieing to yourself and you aren’t following a diet properly and cheating.
All i can say is that in the event of an apocalyptic world event i will live longer than you because i’ll be the last to starve. So there.
Zaxon, you and I can hang out together.
Zaxon, I’m sorry and I totally get it. I feel very lucky that I can substitute carrots for chips in the afternoon and the weight melts off. It hardly takes any effort. Man, I sound like a jerk now. Sorry again.
“All i can say is that in the event of an apocalyptic world event i will live longer than you because i’ll be the last to starve. So there.”
LOL! Time to stockpile the Samoas and Froot Loops. Should I arm myself too? Maybe I’ll turn our Honda into a Mad Max type vehicle…
Best of luck! I have a very active job that keeps me on my feet all day, but when I was working at a desk, I could feel my stomach starting to roll out and over and it scared me a lot! It’s wonderful that post workout feel and that’s exactly what I always work towards!
Amanda S @ Passionately Simple Life recently posted…Life Update…
Nice, my job is the opposite of yours. I do nothing but sit on my ass. Bleh.
This is one of the reasons I want to quit formal work. I’ll write code or read for 4 hours a day and engage in more active pursuits the rest of the time…
I try not to eat out at restaurants too much either. As soon as I walk into a restaurant, I know there are way too many options. I especially try to stay away from restaurants that offer free appetizers, like bread and salad. Salad can be especially unhealthy at certain places because they obviously have to make it taste good so they add a bunch of unhealthy dressings.
Good advice. I just can’t help myself. Pile of french fries, get in my mouth! Fried onion tower? Come to daddy!
And that is why we almost always eat at home now…
I found getting one of those fancy Calphalon brand woks from Bed Bath & Beyond (with those 20% off coupons they always send me in the mail) was really key in getting me to eat more veggies. Woks just lend themselves to this type of cooking and I find throwing a bunch of veggies in the wok to be enjoyable. I am not religious about avoiding carbs. I like to get the couscous from Trader Joes (a great value) to mix in with my veggies because it cooks fast. Add in a sliced up orange for sweetness and as well few spices. Yum! I also like brown basmati rice, but it does take longer to cook.
You should come over and show me how to make dinner. It sounds great. I will probably need about 50 lessons…
Just wanted to come back and say thanks a lot…I can’t stop craving some thin mint girl scout cookies.
I think I am going to have to hook myself up to like Ben Stiller did in Dodge ball and got shocked anytime he tried to take a bite of something bad (and when I say bad, I mean good).
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9AvVu-P6Do&w=420&h=315%5D
Gen Y Finance Guy recently posted…February 2015 – Detailed Financial Report #2
Ha, shoot me your address and I’ll mail you 20 boxes! Come on, I dare you!
Way to take responsibility for your own health. Without your health, early retirement is nothing. We just did Whole30 program a few times and lost a bunch of weight. I think that program is very well worth doing. Definitely take a look. 🙂
Tawcan recently posted…Dividend Income – Feb 2015 Update
Whole30, yet another one to try. I’m glad it worked for you!
Really enjoyed this. The ability to stay mobile and upright is statistically correlated with a longer life span (walk stride vs. life span). My parents are active in their older age as well, and are role models for how I intend to finish things out myself.
Thanks Simon!
“My parents are active in their older age as well, and are role models for how I intend to finish things out myself.”
Beautiful. One thought I’ve often had is that the hardest part of retirement isn’t the money, but how to successfully fill that new vacuum of time.
I’ve figured out you really only own 2 things… your mind and your body. Therefore I exercise both regularly. Body is exercised 4x a week at the gym, and the mind is hopefully worked everyday through my work, reading anything I find interesting, and talking to others.
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“I’ve figured out you really only own 2 things… your mind and your body. Therefore I exercise both regularly.”
Oh wow, this is the comment of the day. So true.
Love this!!!! You are so right. I’d say that health is most important in retirement. Why sit around and watch The Price is Right when you can be hiking? Plus, health problems are very costly! You’re too young for all of that yet, but for us 43 year olds…we’ll, no time better than the present to keep our butts active!
Hope all is going well for you!
Tammy recently posted…Not a Beginning or an End, Just Living
Ha, The Price is Right! Last time I saw that was when Bob Barker was still on the show. I was sick on a school day. I used to love watching them spin that big-ass wheel. And it always seemed to me that one party would always get screwed on the Showcase Showdown: You get his and hers scooters! Meanwhile, the other guy gets a Corvette.
Keeps your butts active and tell the Mr. to keep his fingers active too.
Life is great and I hope that it’s the same for you as well!
There’s definitely a correlation between busy-ness, exhaustion, and eating bad food. When I was in grad school (which I did while working full-time), I ate a lot (cheetos!!!) and gained about 25 lbs. Not good. I then lost it all and got into even better shape. I must say, it does feel good to be older and even more fit. And, I’m looking forward to the ‘homestead workout’ in the future. I really love the idea of incorporating physical labor into our daily routine.
Sounds like you’re zeroing in on your goal–cheers to that! And, I love your early retirement plans of doing even more; what a wonderful balance of life that’ll be!
Mrs. Frugalwoods recently posted…Weekly Woot & Grumble: A New York State Of Frugal
One thought that I’ve ofter had is when the time comes for Early Work Stoppage (my new name for early retirement), I’ll probably be healthier than ever. Without a job consuming 50 hours of my week, I can really focus.
Totally agree! Ok, I like Early Work Stoppage, although it kind of sounds like a minor plumbing problem, no? 😉 Or a union negotiating tactic?
Mrs. Frugalwoods recently posted…Weekly Woot & Grumble: A New York State Of Frugal
On a side note I love Estes park! What an amazing place (here’s Johnny)! I grew up going to my grandpas cabin up there . The problem with Estes park is they have great salt water taffy. Not great for the diet but worth it. Good luck getting your priorities pointed in the correct direction. P.s. Thanks for the great blog.
Oh yeah, I know that taffy well!
Thanks for the kind comments and stay away from room 217!
That 75 years young woman story is truly motivational. Many people including me make excuses to be lazy. We need to push ourselves a bit more everyday to take risk to achieve greater things that we can do.
Thanks for sharing the great story.
BSR
BeSmartRich recently posted…Recent Buy- Home Capital Group Inc (HCG) +$63 annual dividend
“Health and quality of life is everything.” Absolutely! My retirement was accompanied by a heart attack, and this time last year I was in the hospital with 30 lbs of water weight from congestive heart failure. I could barely walk around, or even breathe. Since then, I’ve lost 55 lbs and begun exercising and I feel better than I have in decades. What good is making it to retirement only to spend it suffering from poor health? Don’t do what I did. Take care of your health before the problems start.
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Entertaining as always Mr. 1500!
I actually never liked the word “retirement” because in its traditional sense, it is associated with leaving the 9-5 conundrum because you’re too old now to keep working. From that angle, it reinforces the fact that we are good for little after retiring at 65…
That should never be the case. Traditional or Early Retirement should just be a phase where we move on to something greater. A place where we can pursue our dreams and ambitions – fitness, family, contribution, fulfillment.
Kudos to the 75 year old gym rat for keeping her spirits high! That’s how life should be!
Josh Collar recently posted…When Levity Meets Gravity
Best of luck with your journey! I’ve found it to be a difficult, but worthwhile, one for me. I lost 25 lbs 10 years ago and just wrapped up my 6 month stint of losing another 26 lbs. I’m finally one of those skinny bitches I always hated – woohoo!=)
I’m trying to get feedback on an online weight loss coaching / personal training program idea I have. I’d love to hear your or anyone else’s advice on what would be helpful for people looking to lose weight via an online platform. Plus I love chatting with fellow FI-ers!