Weight and strength
Mar. 11th, 2026 12:28![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bill_schubertOn my journey to figure out what to do with the body that seems to accompany me everywhere I'm trying new things that ultimately result in being back to the basics of where I always knew I should be.
First was Noom, which I really liked. It started my journey to go from 230 to 210. That was a big deal. No drugs to help, just knowledge. Noom took me through much of what I already knew but it was like having a friend along to help. A great program. But I plateaued at 210 and could not break through that floor.
I should say that the govm't says I should be about 170 or so. That would make me an emaciated beanpole and really unhealthy.
Last August I started taking HIMS version of GLP1. And it obviously works. Reduces food noise. I lost another 25 pounds pretty quickly with only a couple of plateaus. And I could easily have continued to 175 or lower. But my skin was hanging off me, my right knee joint felt like it needed to be replaced and I could not move well. My pickleball was desultory. I just was not being athletic.
So I had a talk with ChatGPT. The upshot of that several hours of discussion was that it was time to get off the weight watch and get on the muscle growth. Ultimately ChatGPT convinced me that I needed to stay under 190 but other than that don't worry about the weight. But I need to reduce my belly button girth from 42 to 38 or less and the only way to do that is through resistance training. Build up muscle bulk.
I had an A1C test about that same time that indicated mine was high but it has been hight for most of my adult life so no panic. BUT more muscle bulk will help control it.
After Noom ran out (it lasted a year and then kind of fizzled) I tried a couple of different food tracking apps and finally found on that is simple, both web and phone based, and can shoot PLU codes making food recording so easy.
My protein was about half what it should be and I needed to do some strength training, resistance training.
About that time I found a guy in England that I follow online by the name of Will Harlow. He's a physio exercise guru for seniors. His site, for which I pay $550 a year or so, has videos during which he does the day's routine with you in its entirety. Just like having a personal trainer. It is an excellent system and I'm a month into it with huge differences in the way I move and feel for about 20 minutes focus a day.
I now start and end my day with protein. I've got huge vats of whey protein (a brand specifically selected by ChatGPT) that I drink in the morning and once or twice during the day. I eat yogurt with granola and chia seed in it and focus on protein any other time I eat. If I really work at it I can hit the daily goal but it takes a lot.
So exercises that are really not too arduous and maximize protein. Nothing earthshattering, nothing new, nothing I should not have been doing all along. But at 72 it is different. I'm not going to be a muscle man but I am going to be able to get out of my seat without using my hands, get up and down from the floor easily, play pickleball with some athleticism for six hours a week without getting tired. Basically stuff I should be able to do, have done before, and now I'm doing it again.
And I started spacing out my GLP1. Instead of every 7 days I'm taking it every 8 days. As long as my weight stays close to there it should be I'll keep that up and then move it to 9 days. I still track everything I eat so I'll know immediately if things aren't right and move the dose frequency back to where it was. But I don't want to be on the drug forever.
All in all it is an interesting experiment. GLP1 and an AI helped me figure it out.
Such an interesting time we live in.
First was Noom, which I really liked. It started my journey to go from 230 to 210. That was a big deal. No drugs to help, just knowledge. Noom took me through much of what I already knew but it was like having a friend along to help. A great program. But I plateaued at 210 and could not break through that floor.
I should say that the govm't says I should be about 170 or so. That would make me an emaciated beanpole and really unhealthy.
Last August I started taking HIMS version of GLP1. And it obviously works. Reduces food noise. I lost another 25 pounds pretty quickly with only a couple of plateaus. And I could easily have continued to 175 or lower. But my skin was hanging off me, my right knee joint felt like it needed to be replaced and I could not move well. My pickleball was desultory. I just was not being athletic.
So I had a talk with ChatGPT. The upshot of that several hours of discussion was that it was time to get off the weight watch and get on the muscle growth. Ultimately ChatGPT convinced me that I needed to stay under 190 but other than that don't worry about the weight. But I need to reduce my belly button girth from 42 to 38 or less and the only way to do that is through resistance training. Build up muscle bulk.
I had an A1C test about that same time that indicated mine was high but it has been hight for most of my adult life so no panic. BUT more muscle bulk will help control it.
After Noom ran out (it lasted a year and then kind of fizzled) I tried a couple of different food tracking apps and finally found on that is simple, both web and phone based, and can shoot PLU codes making food recording so easy.
My protein was about half what it should be and I needed to do some strength training, resistance training.
About that time I found a guy in England that I follow online by the name of Will Harlow. He's a physio exercise guru for seniors. His site, for which I pay $550 a year or so, has videos during which he does the day's routine with you in its entirety. Just like having a personal trainer. It is an excellent system and I'm a month into it with huge differences in the way I move and feel for about 20 minutes focus a day.
I now start and end my day with protein. I've got huge vats of whey protein (a brand specifically selected by ChatGPT) that I drink in the morning and once or twice during the day. I eat yogurt with granola and chia seed in it and focus on protein any other time I eat. If I really work at it I can hit the daily goal but it takes a lot.
So exercises that are really not too arduous and maximize protein. Nothing earthshattering, nothing new, nothing I should not have been doing all along. But at 72 it is different. I'm not going to be a muscle man but I am going to be able to get out of my seat without using my hands, get up and down from the floor easily, play pickleball with some athleticism for six hours a week without getting tired. Basically stuff I should be able to do, have done before, and now I'm doing it again.
And I started spacing out my GLP1. Instead of every 7 days I'm taking it every 8 days. As long as my weight stays close to there it should be I'll keep that up and then move it to 9 days. I still track everything I eat so I'll know immediately if things aren't right and move the dose frequency back to where it was. But I don't want to be on the drug forever.
All in all it is an interesting experiment. GLP1 and an AI helped me figure it out.
Such an interesting time we live in.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-11 18:48 (UTC)It is not the same as in my 30's or 40's. Whole different viewpoint. But it is really effective. I really am an entirely different physical person.
I'm the same curmudgeon, though.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-11 20:07 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-03-11 20:41 (UTC)