Thread: The Fountain of Youth

Juan Ponce De Leon came to Florida searching for the fountain of youth. I remember as a little kid being taught that in elementary school and mentioning it to my Mother. She had a wistful look on her face as she told me that there was no such thing. Well Mom was wrong in this case. I was in fair shape most of my life up until my late 40s. I started to gain weight and didn't care. For 36 years I smoked on average two packs of unfiltered Camel cigarettes a day and had minimal physical activity.

Growing up in the fifties and sixties I was active and athletic as a kid playing baseball, basketball, boxing and bicycling. The first twenty years of my working life I was a structural ironworker and got enough exercise to maintain some semblance of conditioning. When I got into tattooing I became completely sedentary I really started going downhill and knew it but didn't care.

After ten years I was beginning to melt into the chair. I was short of wind and had gotten to the point where a XX t-shirt was becoming tight. One day I was getting up from a chair and didn't use my arms to assist my knees. I wrenched one of my knees so badly that I had to use a cane to get around for a couple of weeks. This was a turning point. I came home from work late one Saturday night and plopped down into my "Lazy Boy" rocker recliner and turned on the TV with the remote.

There was a show on from a university class on nutrition. So I sat there and started to listen to the topic which was on our metabolism. At the end of the class the instructor mentioned a book called "Live Right For Your Type". This was a book hypothesizing that by tailoring your diet to your blood type you would optimize your health and well being. So the next time I was in a book store I picked up a copy and looked up type A. I decided that I liked what I was reading and bought the book and applied the theory and went on the diet. In a few weeks my knee was healed enough and I had begun to lose weight on the diet.

I began walking a quarter mile at first increasing to a half, to a mile and ultimately to four miles a day six days a week. A year of so of this and the pounds were melting off. I felt much better and I stopped smoking cigarettes. I replaced them with the tobacco pipe. Not as good as quitting nicotine entirely but I don't inhale so better than the cigarettes. I dusted off my Schwinn Paramount and rekindled my love affair with the bicycle. I gave up walking and began riding the bike daily for 10 to 12 miles.

A couple of years of that and though I'd never felt better in my life I had lost so much weight that people who knew me wondered if I might not be ill. Another dark cloud came along that had a silver lining. I took a fall from my bicycle and broke my collar bone. This put me out of work for five weeks and cramped my style with the bicycling. Not to be deterred I bought a stationary bicycle trainer that you mount your bike in and pedal against resistance. It came a week later and I was doing an hour a day on it with my arm in a sling. By the time the five weeks were up I was actually a stronger rider than before the accident.

During my time recuperating I did a lot of reading on the internet and found that weight training was highly recommended for avid cyclists. Had I been weight training before the accident it is possible that with the increased muscle mass and bone density I wouldn't have broken the bone. One way or the other I began to get into squats, deadlifts, clean & jerk and other movements.

So now five years since the broken collar bone episode I feel better than I did when I was half my sixty years. The weightlifting has also cured the lower back trouble that I had since I injured myself in my early twenties doing ironwork. So to sum up, I discovered the fountain of youth and it consists of proper nutrition and exercise.

very well said. I don't subscribe to the blood type diet (although my wife is crazy about it) but I agree with pretty much all you've said. I was a very healthy athlete in college, but 5 years of sitting at a desk eating junk food didn't do me any good. I have spent the last year exercising and lifting weights, watching what I eat... it's amazing how much better you feel.

Running is the only thing that has every worked for me.

But i hate running. So i am about 20 pounds heavier than my ideal "Healthy weight" right now w/ my frame.

I agree. After 2 years off from running due to complications of surgery I am slowly rehabbing back into condition.

Truth be told I am using the EA Sports Active for the WII. They are really good basic workouts. They use lunges and running and other sports to keep the workouts different.

The good part is that they use the Theraband type resistance. Which is good for me. After that I can transition to free weights or other resistance. Right now I am on the programs 30 day challenge and doing well. They are 30 minute routines so that is a good thing.

I will be transitioning to the TRX suspension training soon to up the ante.

Good on ya Guys.

that is amazing JimmyHAD! i love hearing or reading stories of success like this, unfortunately they are less common then i would like them to be. in my limited opinion forming your diet around your blood type is a great guide line and works for many people but can have exceptions and inturn downfalls. but it sounds like it has worked great for you which is perfect.

about 2 years ago when my g/f and i started dating (she is a registered holistic nutritional counselor) i drastically changed the way i was eating. but it was all basic stuff like lots of greens, less complex carbs, good quality meats, etc. she cooked all the meals and we bought groceries together so it was an easy choice. i went from 210-215 to 185-190 in 3 months and had no idea. i had tons of energy and felt great but didn't own a scale so didn't know my weight. now i have stayed at that weight and energy level for the last 2 years and i absolutely know it is because of my diet. and i still cheat sometimes (more times then i tell my g/f ), but i am in the habit of eating good food, so that is all i crave.

PS PLEASE can someone come up with something other then the Body Mass Index. if i have one more person say they are overweight accoding to it i may sceam. according to the BMI i have 28% bodyfat and am overweight which is nowhere near true. (sorry for the slight off topic rant)

Wes

Wes, I agree that the BMI is BS. At 5'9" and 175 I am rated overweight and I am not by any stretch of the imagination. As for the blood type diet, I stayed with that for about a year and then decided to go my own way. I lost probably 100 pounds and have kept it off for years now.

It required a lifestyle change encompassing diet and exercise. I have read much criticism of the blood type diet and the science behind it. Many vegans object to it because depending on your blood type meat may be recommended. Being A positive that wasn't an issue for me. Wouldn't be anyhow but I just thought to mention it. The one thing that even the naysayers have admitted that regardless of whether the science behind the diet is valid if you follow it you will improve your health because you will be leaving the processed junk foods and eating a healthy diet.

I just joined the gym again about a month ago. I had for many years been riding my bike to and from work (yearround), about 35 minutes each way. That was a decent way to stay in OK cardio shape anyhow.

Then my work moved to a place I could no longer bike commute to and from, so I did nothing for about 6-8 months. I started feeling real doughy....

Then I signed up the the gym, which is all of 90 seconds drive from my work. I feel much better now that I'm getting back into form.

The added bonus is that sometimes (like this very morning) I just shoot over there and have a shave before work, or at lunchtime---no kids or wife bugging you about how long you're spending in the bathroom.

Okay

sory to side track a bit, but I read the other day that some theories are that Ponce was actually looking for pure spring water for the manufacturing of Rum.

I've always struggled with weight. naturally big, slow metabolism etc. side of the family I take after all big. ideally for my frame and 6' height I should be 205. I'm 275. I'm determined now though, especially with my 3yo girl saying "daddy you're fat", to get back into shape (which sadly requires constant work, I really get irritated by people that don't have to work to stay thin). yesterday was first day. ride my bike to gym (only .8 miles, later I'll lengthen the route, but with 21 speeds I can vary how difficult it is) then weight train and ride back. diet too is critical. I am cutting out sweets almost entirely, adding salads and vegetables, and not drinking as often (no more one beer or drink with a meal, I can't feel it, so why waste the calories?).

I'm also testing a theory I have that more razors make you feel thinner.

Red

Originally Posted by Big Red

I'm also testing a theory I have that more razors make you feel thinner. Red

You can tell your wife that honing is exercise and burns calories. Therefore more razors and hones are exercise equipment.