Building muscle helps to burn calories but you're essentially right, you can't exercise yourself out of a bad diet. That said, we've had a Royal Marine officer staying with us for the last week so he sort of guilted me into to going to the gym twice a day, and not my usual 40mins poncing about and watching Sports Centre, no an hour and half of ball busting bollox, not sure that it's a terribly good idea. I've had to take the morning off today.

I hope you had a restorative fry-up.

I think I might need something a bit stronger.

You may need to have a word with caretaker, he seems to be the expert in that department.

I deliberately ignored this thread as I knew it would make me feel bad....

I'm 6ft and 220lbs and the biggest I've ever been. I've never been one of those strange people who like sports so, in my middle age, I'm not the once competitive rower, soccer player, ex-soldier etc running to fat. No, I'm a guy with a sedentary job who has a sweet tooth & drinks more alcohol than is probably good for him. (Not binging, but a drink, or two, a night). Who is just fatter and unhealthier than he needs to be. . I keep active inasmuch as I have young kids and life is busy, but making the time for exercise is a struggle. I've tried gyms, personal trainers etc and they never last, plus are friggin expensive. The crosstrainer ended up taking up space in the basement and was used to dry clothes. You know the story.

Our base food consumption is reasonably healthy. We cook from scratch, don't drink pop, eat fruit and veggies etc. Partly this is for us and partly it's a positive impact from having kids and wanting them to be healthy. The downside of having young kids is that there is always sweet stuff in the house that I shouldn't be eating but will pick at late at night when everyone else is in bed. Plus I have no self control. I will eat all the bar of chocolate, not just one square.

Making time for exercise is a challenge. Busy jobs, a lot of travel, two young kids, crappy weather. I have all the excuses. But it's not good enough is it? I'm 47, only became a father at 40 and want to still be around when my kids are in their 30's ideally. I'm a smart guy and realise I need to change my lifestyle but knowing you need to change and actually doing something about it is proving difficult. And knowing that you need to do something about it to be there for your kids and still not changing it doesn't do wonders for the ol' self esteem.

Ho Hum. That's me sharing. I am Atlantic Xpat & I'm a bat fastard. Thanks for listening.

Join Tinder for a little extra-curricular entertainment, no harm in it unless you bring home some creepy crawlies home. But it should focus your physical condition quite sharply.

I've never been a sport minded individual either, I never played any sort of sport at any point in my life.

Until I hit 33 or so, I was able to eat and drink anything and everything and I would stay just around 180, then I hit that magic age where I can't do that anymore and didn't change my drinking of soda habit, and just started to put on weight, although I seem to have stopped at 227 or so, but am down a few pounds since removing sugary drinks from my daily routine.

I take the dog for a walk and run with her a bit, but man does running ever suck, probably doesn't help my joints are always in pain, but a minute or 2 of running, and I feel like I am about to drop dead...

I had a very active job up to around 25 so I got a good workout from loading planes, but now not so active beyond walking the dog, and trying to use exercise work out DVD's for those days when outside isn't an option.

I just don't feel good after exercise, I don't enjoy doing it so it's a hard thing to keep up with since it's downright unpleasant...lol

I am not sure what people see in it, or how they find it enjoyable.


Luckily I am not at a point where my health is horrible from the weight, or sugar, everything still checks out normal, so trying to prevent things from creeping up once I am in my 40's..

I can relate to much of this. If you're eating healthy meals, veggies and fruits you're really half way there. Try drinking plenty of water (1-2 litres per day) and upping the fruit intake even more, and you will feel less appetite for chocolate or other sweets. In terms of exercise, simply developing a walking/hiking routine can also bring about great benefits, and can also change your mindset towards exercise.

That was funny enough I spat out my cheeseburger. Didn't spill my pint though.

Is fruit pricey in the UK? Just curious. I love fruit, but aside from Apples and Bannan's the rest are a small fortune. I bought 1 peach in August and it was nearly $3.....

Fruit is generally cheaper in the UK. However, fruit is much more seasonal here and is very cheap if you buy when there's a glut. I just buy extra then and freeze it.

It can be pricey, it depends on the store and the quality. A good apple would be around 50-70p ($1-1.40). Not sure about peaches.

It's a start.

So, I did really poor at doing much in October, but on the 25th I cut soda cold turkey and haven't had any since then. I replaced it with water, and some cold green tea plain with nothing added.

On October 25th I hit the heaviest I ever was at 238, today 227. 11 pounds lost and all I have changed so far was just dumping sugary drinks.

I hope u are 6 foot 9 inch Smiffy

I am hanging around 204 - 205 I was 215 in September. I am not actually trying to lose any weight, it's just a side effect from eating well and exersice