Richard Ha writes:

This morning I weighed 201, so I haven’t gained any weight. I haven’t done anything special about trying to lose weight except that I’ve increased the proportion I’m eating of vegetables to meat. My appetite is big because I’m lifting weights at the gym. Hopefully everything will settle down in the next few weeks.

My resting heart rate is 57, which is the lowest it’s been in the last two months. Although I’d like to lower it into the high-40s, I’m okay with 50s. Out of shape, my resting heart rate would be in the mid-70s.

I noticed that my heart rate at the gym is up over 160 on the last of the 4 x 10 sets. This is what’s driving my resting heart rate down. Very good. It was getting hard to raise my heart rate high enough just by training on the elliptical.

It’s my second week back at the gym and I am very encouraged. At first I wondered whether or not age had caught up with me. Now, though, I don’t see any reason I cannot get back to where I was six and a half years ago.

Why do I say this? Because I can do as much work in a few exercises as I was ever able to do. These are the exercises I had been doing at home. I can now do four sets of 25 knee ups. This is an exercise where you hold yourself suspended above the floor by forearms and elbows and raise your knees until your thighs are parallel to the ground. I can also do four sets of 10 reps of 25-pound dumbbell raises to shoulder height, front and side.

When I was at my best form, I was doing about the same. So, a muscle being a muscle, I feel that with smart training I can bring all my muscles up to the same—or a higher—level. Which means I should be able to recover my previous fitness level. This might take the better part of a year, which is okay with me, because it’s the journey, not the end, that is most satisfying.

Several points to remember. One only has to train a muscle once per week. You can do it more frequently, but that’s not the most efficient way. This is especially important for senior weightlifters. I notice that I need to be more careful about injuries. But other than that, I see no limitations.

My exercise program involves going to the gym four times a week and training a different muscle group each time. My goal for the first few months is to get up to four set of 10 reps for each exercise. I want to build a base from which I can build upon when I start to train seriously.

When I first went back to the gym, I wanted to be able to represent the 60-year-old group respectably. But now I’m looking beyond the “old guy” category.

I gained a pound this week. The main thing that has changed is that I started going to the gym again. My appetite has increased because of it. I need to watch it.

I’ve been lifting weights off and on for 30 years or so. I generally lift religiously for several years, then get burned out and lay off for a few years and then go back again. My t-shirt says 3rd Annual Big Island Push Pull Championship. October 8, 2000. Hilo, Hawaii. Wow, six-and-a-half years ago.

When I was younger, I would sneak back to the gym at 5:30 in the morning after not going for awhile. My brother Kenneth would tease me by saying: “That was you, eh? With the plastic nose and bushy eyebrows, training in secret?”

We teased each other because sometimes he was out of shape and at other times it was me who was out of shape. I would train early in the morning until I got back in respectable form to lift with the strong guys in the evenings.

The guys in the evening would say, “Long time no see. Still strong, eh? You just started back?” “Oh yeah,” I would say. That was after maybe four months of sneaking into the gym and training early to get back in shape.

Now, at 62, I don’t have those issues of “attitude.” It’s humorous to think about now.

I’ve got a long way back. But I feel good and can’t think of any reason I can’t get all the way back. We’ll see what happens.

Richard Ha writes:

Now that I’m no longer depending exclusively on exercising to lose weight, I’m enjoying the exercise much more. Read about my new way of eating here.

Instead of mostly aerobic exercise, now I’m combining it with weightlifting.

Four days per week, I do 10 minutes of warm-up on the elliptical trainer, followed by 10 light dumbbell warm-up reps for biceps, front and rear shoulder, side obliques and traps. In addition, I do 10 warm-up reps of cable pull downs and 25 reps of crunches. Then I do three more sets of these with a weight that I can just barely finish during the last rep.

So I end up doing 40 minutes of cardio on the elliptical and one warm-up set plus three working sets with the dumbbell. I like the idea that I do a total of 100 crunches in each session.

I’ve been doing some form of this routine for a while now. When I first started I could barely finish three sets. Now I can do four fairly routinely. I try to use a little more weight on one of the exercises each day, but not too much. It’s important not to hurt yourself by being overly enthusiastic. This is the most common reason people quit weightlifting.

I’m ready to include 30 minutes of elliptical workout on two additional days per week. This should be fairly easy to do. In a couple of weeks, I’ll train one day with heavier weights but fewer reps. My objective is to increase strength. I’ll describe that when I get into it.

I saw my friend Desmon Antone Haumea yesterday for the first time in several years, and he commented, “E Richard, you still solid, eh?” I hope to maintain that for the rest of my life.

My resting heart rate is 61 and my weight, 201. I’m going to eat a higher proportion of vegetables to meat for awhile.

Richard Ha writes:

You may recall that two weeks ago I gave up trying to lose weight merely by exercising more than I ate. I realized that despite the fact I love to exercise, that wasn’t working for me. Several times I had read that exercising alone is not a successful strategy for losing weight. But I also knew, intuitively, that doing a whole lifestyle change was not going to be easy, and I was looking for an easier way.

My problem, and I suspect the problem of many, is that I have a lot going on and counting calories is at the bottom of my priority list. That’s not good or bad, it just is.

Two weeks ago I discovered what I was looking for—a way to adjust food intake without investing a lot of time. I wanted a technique that was practical and nonjudgmental. In other words, it had to be something I would actually do.

The answer turned out to be a method called The New American Plate, suggested by the American Institute of Cancer Research.

More than anything else, this method captured my attention because I knew I could do it within my present lifestyle. I know that the best chance of success requires changing one’s lifestyle. But, me change my whole lifestyle? Come on—get real. Who am I kidding!

This method says one should try for a plate of food that consists of 2/3 veggies and 1/3 meat-type proteins. I stretch that to mean that one should try to achieve that goal by the end of the day or the end of the week. And then I eat anything I like, though I keep in mind that I will need to end up with a 2/3 – 1/3 ratio. I can do that! It has the added benefit of helping to lower one’s risk of getting cancer and other chronic diseases.

This past week I felt like I needed to catch up, so when deciding where to go for lunch, I suggested One Plus One Cafe at the Prince Kuhio Plaza, where I ordered the House Special vegetarian plate. That wasn’t hard at all. Many restaurants have vegetarian plates.

After having visited Hamakua Springs, Abel Porter, president of the Sullivan Family of Companies, and Amber Isom invited June and me to attend a luncheon at Mealani Experimental Station in Waimea Saturday. They were meeting with area ranchers and processors.

Amber asked me to bring a salad. So I made the lettuce/diced-tomato salad Alan Wong taught me to make. Amber told me that Abel mentioned the salad was good three times. I’m glad I did Chef Alan’s recipe justice.

Since it was a meeting of area ranchers, they had a steak barbeque. I fixed myself a plate that was 2/3 veggies and 1/3 steak and sausage. I was doing good.

But then Abel said they had brought Cheesecake Factory products on line and that they had some for dessert.

Having been to New York City where I tried all the cheesecake I could, I needed to judge this cheesecake for myself. I just made a mental note that I would have to eat a little more veggies in the next couple of days and it would be okay.

Now this is my kind of eating plan. By the way, the cheesecake was exceptionally good. It was right up there with Junior’s.

I traded an unopened lettuce and tomato salad and dressing for tasty, grass-fed beef steaks and sausages. We both came away from the trade feeling we received something of value.

So today I owe. If I eat a little more than 2/3 to 1/3 veggies, I should be good.

I’m looking for ways to increase my veggie consumption. For example, I keep sliced Japanese cucumbers in a bowl as a standby snack, in case I open up the refrigerator. I set no limits on that and Hamakua Sweet tomatoes.

By the way, I am not gaining weight anymore. I lost half a pound this week.

Richard Ha writes:

I weighed 202 at 7:30 p.m., which is a half pound heavier than last week. But I normally weigh myself early in the morning when I weigh the least amount all day. So it’s okay.

I am feeling a lot better about my weight loss program. I should probably call it my “Exercise and Good Eating” program. In addition to lifting weights and cardio, my goal now is to make my meals two-thirds fruit and veggies, and one-third meat, fish and fowl.

Although I started this program to lose weight, it has the added advantage of being recommended by the American Institute for Cancer Research as a way to decrease one’s cancer risk.

Two-thirds/one-third is a simple goal that I can monitor on the fly. If circumstances find me taking in more than 1/3 protein, I simply adjust for it in subsequent meals. I don’t agonize over the details, I just lean toward 2/3-1/3 whenever I can. This way I can have my cake and eat it too.

Try AICR’s New American Plate approach to eating. Look at your plate every time you sit down to a meal. Your plate should hold two-thirds (or more) vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans. Only one-third (or less) of your plate should hold animal protein.

Instead of eating fast food, now I go to the natural food store Island Naturals, which has a nice, veggie-oriented food bar. Items are sold by the pound, so one can mix and match. I like that I can put it on a round paper plate to take out. That’s about the size of our plates at home and I can easily eyeball what I’m eating. Nice.

Since I separated the exercise component from the weight loss program, I can now exercise again in a way that makes me happy. I love exercising. When I had the exercise program tied to and responsible for weight loss, I got mentally tired if the exercise didn’t result in weight loss. Now I exercise for its own sake, and it has become enjoyable again.

My exercise objective is to improve the blood flow system of my whole body. Weightlifting causes blood vessels to grow, as one can see when looking at bodybuilders; they have vascularity that is mind-boggling. It is a simple concept. The body adapts to stress. Exercised (stressed) muscles need improved blood flow to move nutrients and waste in and out of working muscles. So getting into the weightlifting mindset takes care of all the details.

The heart is at the center of the whole blood flow system and the heart is a muscle. So I make sure to exercise the heart in a systematic manner as well. A low resting heart rate is an indication that one’s heart is in good physical condition. The lower the better. When I’m out of condition, my resting heart rate is in the mid-70 beats per minute. My goal is to maintain it in the mid-50s. This is doable, as I’ve been able to achieve this for months at a time. Recently it has been in the mid 60s. Doing cardio, combined with weight lifting, takes care of all the details.

Combining the weightlifting and the cardio into an exercise schedule and then working toward small improvements along the way is very enjoyable for me.

I went for a echocardiograph/treadmill test this past week as a check-up for a minor surgery. They took a reading with my body at rest and then after maximum stress. I asked a lot of questions because I want to beat the test next time.

I found out that the computer controls the speed of the treadmill. The treadmill is set to account for one’s height, weight and age. The session is 12 minutes long, broken up into four three-minute segments.

I asked what the expected maximum heart rate is for someone my age. The formula they used was 220 minus one’s age (220-62), which resulted in an estimated maximum heart rate of 158. So the computer program is set up to take almost everyone in this category up to the limit of his/her ability. After all, they have to challenge the most fit people too.

The first three minutes were warm up. The treadmill was set at 1.5 MPH and the incline was set midway. I don’t recall if my heart rate rose above 100. The next three minutes were below 3 MPH at max incline. I think my heart rate rose into the 120s. The next three minutes were at 3.5 MPH at max incline. My heart rate went into the 140s.

The last three minutes were set at a slow jog, at 4.4 MPH and max incline. My heart rate went into the 150s fairly rapidly and into the 160s in less than one and a half minutes. By two minutes it was over 170 and it settled at 172-174 for the next 40 seconds. I thought about going for the whole three minutes. It appeared to me that this might not be my max heart rate, but we wouldn’t know without increasing the speed. So I stopped at 2 minutes and 40 seconds.

The machine measures the heart under stress. The heart does not care if the work is caused by carrying a bag of rocks or body fat; stress is stress.

Now I have a goal. I’ll simulate this at home and be ready to beat the machine next time. Fun!

By the way, the doctor told me that I did great. I know!

Richard Ha writes:

After ten months of trying, I’ve finally come to accept that I cannot lose weight through exercise only, while ignoring how much I’m eating. Now that I have realized that, I am able to move ahead with a new program.

Now I look at exercise as an activity for its own sake. My exercise goals are now focused on maintaining muscle mass and lowering my resting heart rate. Previously my main goal was to spend a lot of time expending calories. But my body started shrinking from non-use. It’s the “old man syndrome,” and I cannot succumb to that.

To maintain muscle mass, I’m going to do regular weight-lifting exercises. This is something I have lots of experience doing, and something I love to do. Lowering my resting heart rate has more to do with short bursts of high heart rate activity than long, slow, distance work.

My resting heart rate, after one month of relatively little exercise, was 67 beats per minute this morning. My goal is to maintain it in the mid-50s.

To lose weight, I am increasing my consumption of vegetables so that they make up approximately 2/3rds of what I eat every day. I had been using a small bowl as my dish. But now I will use a regular-sized plate, so I can see and keep track of everything. Previously, I lost track of how many bowls I consumed as well as of their make up.

On Saturday, we stopped by Cronies for lunch. Their salads are extremely large. June and I split a Kalua Pig Caesar’s Salad. There were still two servings of protein and two servings of veggies in each half.

Because I have this new goal of maintaining a 2/3rds veggie and 1/3rd protein ratio, I knew I would need to eat mostly veggies for dinner. So far, this all seems doable.

Now I’m looking at what I can eat to achieve my 2/3rds vegetables goal. Besides fresh lettuce in salads with tomatoes and cucumbers, I need to include steamed or cooked veggies. Soybeans, string beans and sweet corn immediately come to mind, as do eggplant and squashes with olive oil and herbs.

I now weigh 201.5. I lost another pound. So far so good.

The week of March 5th was the last time that I did any serious exercise.

After that, I became distracted with Chef Alan’s cookout at the farm, followed by the Tomato Recipe Contest.

The following week I had a cancerous growth removed from my face and the doctor told me not to exercise for a week. And then before I knew it, another week went by.

So here I am at 204.5 pounds, 6.1 pounds heavier than I was just four weeks ago. I gained an average of 1.5 pounds per week over the last month. This is the equivalent of 750 extra calories per day.

How to look at this situation? Am I a failure? Should I just give up trying to lose weight? Maybe abandon this weight loss report?

Many baby boomers are going through the same experience, and I need to approach this in a logical manner. It has nothing to do with self-esteem or self-worth.

So I am not giving up. I’m just changing my approach.

What are my goals? Number one is to maintain a resting heart rate in the 50s. By the way, it is high right now at 64 beats per minute.

My second goal is to know, at any time, my caloric intake for the day. I am flying blind in this area. If I don’t know what it is, how can I control it?

To achieve my first goal—of a low resting heart rate—I need to exercise, which is is easy for me. To achieve my second goal, which is knowing my caloric intake status, I need to do some research and planning. Let me know if you have any ideas. Next time I will report on what I come up with.