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LenDentonThrive Letter #20

Building Long-Term Fitness

The key to long-term fitness is more about using a smart strategy than merely eating less and exercising more. In today’s LenDentonThrive Letter, we’ll unpack the key to long-term fitness.

But first, here’s a quick preview of what’s in the LenDentonThrive Letter #20:

• The Big Idea - This week, we’ll explore the secret to building long-term fitness through lifestyle design.

• Tip of the Week - A quick tip or strategy to help you improve your health, fitness, and life.

• News You Can Use - I’ll share two or three useful items from my reading stack for you to check out later.

I’m glad that you’re here! We have a lot to cover in ten minutes or less, so let’s get started!

1. The Big Idea - Building Long-Term Fitness

Losing weight can be challenging, especially for Over-50 Guys. Keeping weight off is even more difficult. Research shows that most people regain the weight they lost within 2 years. (1)

Why We Regain Weight

Here are two reasons that we tend to regain the weight we worked so hard to lose. First, our brains are programmed to defend our bodies against radical weight loss. When our brains sense a significant drop in calories, they respond by reducing our metabolic burn rate, causing us to burn calories more slowly than we would under normal circumstances. Then, the brain attempts to restore the lost weight to the previous levels. This is called setpoint theory. This is how our brains tend to sabotage our weight loss when we employ calorie-restrictive diets.

Our brains are actually programmed to protect us from losing weight!

A second factor in play with our ability to lose weight and keep it off is our choice of how we lose weight. In order to lose weight, you must develop and maintain a calorie deficit, meaning that your body burns more calories than you consume. And, there are lots of ways to create a calorie deficit. This includes processes such as:

• Calorie-restrictive diets

• Low-fat diets

• Fasting protocols

• Ketogenic diets

• Cardio training (Running, walking, etc.)

• High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

• Rigorous strength training

• Crossfit

All of these approaches provide benefits that can help you develop a calorie deficit.

They also have a common drawback. In every case, the benefits of all of these approaches end when you stop doing it!

Obvious, right?

Well, not really.

That’s because every day, Over-50 Guys embark on restrictive diets and/or strenuous exercise programs to lose weight and become fitter. And, they typically choose rigorous approaches that provide results in the short term but are not sustainable over the long term.

And, when the process stops, so do the benefits.

This is the primary reason why so many people, including Over-50 Guys, gain back the weight they worked so hard to lose.

They treated their weight loss like a project, meaning it had a beginning and an end. They started out well in the beginning, but over time their enthusiasm diminished as they grew tired, bored, or injured themselves.

So, the “fitness as a project” approach obviously isn’t working (as the research confirms). Let’s talk about what to do instead.

Building a Fitness Lifestyle

Looking back 10 years, I was that typical Over-50 Guy who had tried and failed numerous times to lose weight and keep it off. So, at the age of 55, when my doctor told me that I was “a poster child for a heart attack or stroke,” I decided to do something totally different.

I decided to only do things that I could do every day for the rest of my life.

More specifically, I decided to create a fitness approach that had a beginning but no ending. By choosing to do things that I could do every day, I would avoid the failure points that I had encountered every time in the past.

This meant that I would purposely avoid restrictive diets and exhaustive workouts that had left me constantly hungry or injured in the past. It meant no more crazy diets or killer workouts. It meant no more CrossFit or weight room injuries. No more sore knees from jogging with 70 pounds of excess weight. No more low-fat diets.

Instead, I decided to experiment with a combination of healthy food choices and walking 10,000 steps a day. I dropped sugars and other high-glycemic foods from my diet. I bought a step-tracker and started walking…and walking… and walking a bit more.

Here’s what happened:

• I started losing weight.

• I found that I really enjoyed my walks.

• I wasn’t hungry…in fact, I was eating more food than I had eaten before.

• My energy levels went through the roof.

• My metabolism improved (cholesterol dropped by 60 points!)

In 7 months, I had lost a total of 70 pounds. And, most importantly, I’ve kept the weight off for 10 years now!

Am I telling you this to brag? No! I’m telling you this to make an important point about becoming healthier and more fit.

The point is that a good long-term strategy is better than short-term intensity!

Lifestyle beats the program approach every time.

A Healthy Recommendation for You

Today, I call the lifestyle that I created 10 years ago my ThriveLife. It’s custom-tuned for my personal preferences and appetites.

My recommendation is for you to create your own custom-tuned version of the ThriveLife that fits your preferences and appetites. There is no specific formula for building a ThriveLife. Rather, it’s a framework with lots of flexibility. To get a better description of what the ThriveLife looks like, read this.

Remember, to build sustainable long-term fitness choose to build a lifestyle. Build a ThriveLife!

Thanks for your time and attention. Have a great weekend. See you next Saturday!

Thrive & Prosper,

Len

Footnotes:

1. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/maintaining-weight-loss#:~:text=Most%20people%20who%20lose%20a,rate%20their%20bodies%20burn%20calories.

Want to Go Deeper?

Do you want to dive deeper into ThriveAge and what it can do in your life? If that sounds like a smart move for you, then consider subscribing to the LenDentonThrive Letter. It’s totally free!

As a bonus, new subscribers will receive a free .pdf version of Chapter 1 of my upcoming new book, The ThriveAge Way (The Over-50 Way To Lose Weight, Get Fit & Stay Fit For Life).

ThriveAge is the roadmap to your custom-built ThriveLife!

2. Tip of the Week: Manage Your Sleep Schedule

Keeping to a regular sleep schedule is one way to maximize the quality of your sleep. Choosing regular lights-out and wake-up times 7 days a week is a great way to improve your sleep. It allows your body to synchronize your circadian rhythm. Conversely, constantly changing up your bedtime and wake-up times plays havoc with your internal schedule and will deprive you of the quality sleep your body needs.

3. News You Can Use

Here is some “news you can use” from my research and socials:

1. Mayo Clinic Minute: Walking is a step towards heart health

   https://youtu.be/7dPor-O50C4?feature=shared

2. Here’s a recent ThriveLife post from my X (formerly Twitter) feed:

Follow me on the socials for daily tips and strategies for living your ThriveLife:

I’m Writing A Book!

I’m a busy Over-50 Guy who has spent the past ten years building a practice of personal health and fitness that relies on real food and smart exercise instead of crazy diets and killer workouts. This process, called ThriveAge, helped me to lose 70 pounds and keep it off for going on ten years. Now, I want to share what I have learned with other Over-50 Guys. So, I wrote the book!

In The ThriveAge Way (The Over-50 Way To Lose Weight, Get Fit & Stay Fit For Life), I share everything I’ve learned about the principles and practices necessary to create and sustain a healthy lifestyle. I call it my ThriveLife.

New subscribers to the LenDentonThrive Letter will receive Chapter 1 of my new book for free. To get your free copy of Chapter 1, just subscribe to the LenDentonThrive Letter.

Hey, Before You Go…

First, are you a subscriber to the LenDentonThrive Letter? Please share this with someone you know who might benefit from it. I’d appreciate that! And, I bet the guy you forward it to will too!

Second, did someone forward you this copy of the LenDentonThrive Letter?

You can get your own free copy by subscribing today. And, I’ll throw in Chapter 1 of my upcoming new book as a bonus.