(updated June, 2023)

Happily married for 40 yrs (44 together) with three grown daughters, three grandsons and three granddaughters. :)

I'm also in the same lane as some of my buddies; I have never fit the BMI charts due to big bones and muscle mass.

Although I was and am fairly active...I had gained a nice thick layer of fat in my later 40's and early 50's due to poor eating habits.

By mid 2015, I experienced a real health scare related to a genetic history with diabetes. I found and signed onto Fat Secret soon after, and have been using the site, logging my intake and calorie expenditures daily ever since.

I try to eat a balanced diet (20-25% protein, fat and carbs more or less equal) most days, LOL.

The information and encouragement I've gained from fellow FS members, logging as best I can what I eat and drink, as well as logging my exercise and daily calorie expenditures (using a heart rate / GPS based activity monitor) has helped keep me on track and has also greatly improved my overall health, endurance, BF % and weight.

I have been in maintenance mode since early 2016. While maintaining hasn't been a total holiday, I also don't feel like I'm on a "diet", just much more mindful and careful with my calorie intake, matching intake to daily, weekly and monthly ACTUAL calorie expenditures while maintaining energy levels and muscle mass. This is easier said than done...intermittent fasting and sometimes carb restriction (if I'm not doing high energy expenditures) help keep things on track.

My long term goals are to sustain my health, a healthy weight and lifestyle while optimizing my fitness, endurance and strength (power to weight ratio), as best I can.

While I still log food and calorie output daily, I am hardly ever on the social feeds over the past few years but still check in once in a while to see how friends are doing...always encouraging to see others sticking to the "good fight". Take care and good luck!!