Anyone here go from pot belly to rock hard abs after retirement? (55, divorce)
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I did it. But it took a whole lot of dedication, and I looked (see the past tense?....illness has currently changed my shape) better than I did at 25. But as a woman, I can tell you that the attention I got was very, VERY disconcerting, and frankly some of it was downright abusive.
Weight lifting, hiking, Yoga (very good for stretching those muscles that have been compacted by weight lifting) spin class (oh god, you won't believe how many calories you burn and the sweat literally pours off you...you'll leave with you and your clothes drenched), power walking with interspersed jogging, sit-ups (I started being able to do 1/2 a sit-up...by the end of the first week I could do 5...I built up to 200.)
And I want to say that I have issues with my spine. Go slow at the beginning. Listen to your body and stop if the pain is "bad" pain vs. "good" pain. DO stretch before and after....ever so gently.
I retired in May and have lost 20 lbs and my blood pressure has dropped 20 points. It's a combination of less stress, move activity (gym, biking, walking) and eating the right things only when I'm hungry (not just because it's lunch or dinner time). Now instead of sitting at a desk for 6 to 10 hours a day, I can get up and bike or walk whenever I want to. I usually eat a good breakfast (oatmeal and fruit) have my big meal of day around 2pm with a salad for dinner around 7 Currently my most stressful decision is deciding on a new wastebasket for the bedroom.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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What will be your lifestyle / exercise options? I love swimming and ice cream . Ice cream is more accessible, (grocery store 5 miles away). Swimming is tough (50 mile drive to a 50m pool).
Keep it DOWN now!
Firm it up NOW.
Rock Hard Pot Belly Balloon is real tough to 'downsize'
reducing calories to match activities is key, taxing exercise essential.
Walking is great for maintaining, so the sooner you get to 'maintenance' shape the easier it will be.
Thanksgiving and Christmas and Valentine's Day are rough on your physique. Get physical
I am worried that I'll get fat AFTER I retire. I currently work 4 days a week, and it takes me those 4 days of being back to eating salad every day to lose what I put on during my 3 day weekends. AND, unlike most people, I put on weight in the summer. Why? Because we go boating, with beverages, snacks, and eating out; spend 2-3 evenings at festivals, bars, and clubs with free beer and liquor (my husband is in a band and the gigs are WAY more numerous in the summer), and sit on the deck with an adult beverage or two in our "spare time". In the winter we do none of those things. And after we retire, every day will be like my current weekends. I keep telling DH we're going to bike, and golf, and walk EVERY DAY when we retire. He says "Sure! We'll ride our bikes over to Harpoon Harry's in the morning for a bloody mary, then we'll walk over to Hurricane Charley's for lunch, then over to TT's Tiki Bar for happy hour...."
He is NOT helping.
I did pretty well for the first few years of retirement (having worked-out and watched my diet for years and also walking while playing golf). Then we moved nearer the grandkids and the golf and walking were largely replaced by reading, writing and TV. I lost about 20 lbs last year, but, have since put 10+ back on.
As many have suggested, trying to get rid of belly fat as one gets older - is considerably more difficult than at a younger age. In addition to the physical difficulty, the motivation tends to slip. "Rock hard abs" in a 70-80-year old body is somewhat of a paradox. What's the benefit and motivation?
I did it. But it took a whole lot of dedication, and I looked (see the past tense?....illness has currently changed my shape) better than I did at 25. But as a woman, I can tell you that the attention I got was very, VERY disconcerting, and frankly some of it was downright abusive.
Weight lifting, hiking, Yoga (very good for stretching those muscles that have been compacted by weight lifting) spin class (oh god, you won't believe how many calories you burn and the sweat literally pours off you...you'll leave with you and your clothes drenched), power walking with interspersed jogging, sit-ups (I started being able to do 1/2 a sit-up...by the end of the first week I could do 5...I built up to 200.)
And I want to say that I have issues with my spine. Go slow at the beginning. Listen to your body and stop if the pain is "bad" pain vs. "good" pain. DO stretch before and after....ever so gently.
Wow! Very impressive! Yes, spin classes are the hardest fitness things I've ever done.
This is very very hard to do. Due to muscle mass loss, aerobics doesn't work very well, and for the same reason, the calorie diets that are supposed to work don't. Also many of use have diseases like fibromyalgia which work on our metabolism to keep it the same no matter what.
I've tried the calorie level where I'm supposed to drop weight big time---1500 calories a day. When I consume that I actually gain a pound a week. And so to stay at my weight level now I have to not go over about 1200 calories a day.
For other conditions my diet is very restricted now. You'd think that cutting out anything that has sugar, malto-dextrin, high fructose corn syrup, or corn syrup would cause me to drop in weight. NOPE! haven't had the carbs of sugar, or the pasta of wheat, or dairy(cheese etc), or meat or fish for more than 2 months. Have I lost any weight? NOPE!
Exercise at the levels necessary is something that 30 somethings can do. 30 somethings have no idea about how their body will feel when they are 70. If you think its hard to start running when you are 30, you have no idea how impossible it is to do it at 70. Sometimes I am just disabled by sciatica.
Good luck to you even if you are self disciplined. And who but someone who is self disciplined could actually eat a no sugar, no coffee, no wheat, no diary, no meat, no fish diet? Who?
I am a middle aged man in my fifties with a pot belly. Too much food, too much sugar, too much sitting at a computer and not enough physical activity. I may never be as old as I feel.
I always tell myself that once I retire I can get back in shape and lose the gut and feel great again because I will have time to get in shape.
So here is my question:
If you were out of shape physically the day you retired, did you get in great shape physically once you stopped working? Did you lose your gut? Did you hit the gym and get in shape physically and now feel great?
(I am not looking to hear from people who have always been in shape, but instead want to hear from people who changed their body after they retired. Went from sloppy, tired, pot bellied and soft to rock hard and in great shape after age 62.)
I'd say it depends on whether you will be leaving a job that you love or you hate, and whether that job is high stress. I know some that have gotten in better shape after retirement because they are out of the stress zone. Continual stress makes it difficult to get motivated to do anything and you tend to eat poorly.
One friend who retired just of 60, has been taking much better care of herself, and has lost weight.
Zumba 3-4 times a week, bowling once a week. PLUS regular walks if the evening is nice.
I also look forward to talking better care of myself in retirement….I just have to live long enough to get there.
Someone who saw me the last time four years ago, mentioned how I'd lost weight. I haven't lost weight, but I have toned up via exercise I am doing now, that I've never done before.
I do recommend joining a community gym or the Y and visiting regularly. Using the nautilus machines has actually helped my back pain, and I've gotten stronger. And, I've noticed that my face has changed subtly. It looks slimmer. I think it is from the strain of pulling on the compound rower.
If you'd rather, you could join a basketball or other team that involves cardio vascular movement.
I do admit that it is easier to make time for a gym visit now.
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and ice cream 
. Ice cream is more accessible, (grocery store 5 miles away). Swimming is tough (50 mile drive to a 50m pool).
I currently work 4 days a week, and it takes me those 4 days of being back to eating salad every day to lose what I put on during my 3 day weekends. AND, unlike most people, I put on weight in the summer. Why? Because we go boating, with beverages, snacks, and eating out; spend 2-3 evenings at festivals, bars, and clubs with free beer and liquor (my husband is in a band and the gigs are WAY more numerous in the summer), and sit on the deck with an adult beverage or two in our "spare time". In the winter we do none of those things. And after we retire, every day will be like my current weekends. 
I keep telling DH we're going to bike, and golf, and walk EVERY DAY when we retire. He says "Sure! We'll ride our bikes over to Harpoon Harry's in the morning for a bloody mary, then we'll walk over to Hurricane Charley's for lunch, then over to TT's Tiki Bar for happy hour...." 
