YSFLIGHT.COM -

2014/12/21 Two years has passed since I started riding an exercise bike 1 hour per day. (Can a 40-year old man reduce 25lb and get six-packs?)

I started riding an exercise bike 1 hour per day December 20, 2012.

When I started, I weighed 170lb, and my body-fat ratio was 25%. After two years, I weigh 154lb, and my body-fat ratio came down to 20.5%. I couldn't reach my goal of 143lb, but I still keep riding.

I was never told by my primary care physician that I am obese or fat at all. I was a bit heavier than Japanese standard. Here in the U.S., 170lb for my height was at the dead center of the healthy standard.

I, however, have a good reason to stay healthy. I plan to fly a Cessna, visiting air shows, win in bowling leagues, write programs for my hobby and my job, and taking pictures of birds until I am 100-years old. Since I am sitting on my desk almost all day everyday, I need to boost up my exercise outside my office.

The biggest obstacle for me was time. I cannot afford cutting time for programming, updating YSFLIGHT.COM, studying something new, (and playing Dragon Quest). The solution was mounting my laptop on the exercise bike. In fact, I am writing this text while riding on my exercise bike.

My first-generation exercise bike, which broke in about a year.

My second-generation exercise bike.
It makes some noise that makes me worry that it could break any moment. But, it has been working for 15 months so far.

I didn't change my eating habit mainly because everyone tells that my body weight will rebound if I temporarily reduce my eating and resume the normal level when I am lighter. I decided to only increase the amount of exercise with no reduction of food. I think I can cut my eating if I decide to. Only one thing that I could not put restriction on myself was coffee. And, that I was not so serious. I just casually thought about reducing coffee when I was a sophomore in my college. It didn't last. But, if I am really determined not to drink coffee, I think I can do so. But, eating good food does good for stress relief. Not eating good-tasting food may cut down my body weight, but might not good for my mental health. I don't think I was eating too much food anyway. Increasing exercise should be good enough.

By the way, the reason why I think I can restrict food if I decide to is that I am already putting food restriction to reduce the risk of kidney stone. Spinach and nuts are my favorite food, but I am not eating them. I raise the restrictions in special occasions though since my PCP told not to be too strict and make it a stress.

I lost 2lb in the first month. And, 2lb per month for the first 7 months. My body weight came down to 154lb early July. The pace slowed a little bit, but I was 149lb late October. My waist size came down to 30 inches from 32 inches.

My weight-loss came to the complete stop then.

I added some weight training in my exercise menu in November. I started with 20 push ups. Are you laughing? Well, 20 normal push ups is nothing, but try this. Bend your arms, stop, then push up. Don't stay up long. Bend your arms immediately, and then stop. Repeat it. It is much tougher than bending your arms and immediately push back up.

To my disappointment, my body weight started raising. If I burnt almost all fat and had nothing more to burn, it makes sense to gain weight by added muscle. But, I still had some fat around my belly.

I have added pull-ups in January 2014. I could do only 3 consecutive pull-ups at the beginning, but now I can do 12-14 times.

Then I added sit-ups. I started with 30 times. I gradually increased and now I do 44 times. I can go beyond that, but if I do it too much, probably I cannot continue every day.

Despite all these added weight trainings, my body weight stubbornly staying constant. I always weigh myself before going to bed. It sometimes come down to 151lb, but it is 154lb on average. What really doesn't make sense is my body-fat ratio. I can do much more pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups than earlier this year. I don't see clear six-packs, but I'm getting some shades. If I touch my belly, I can feel it much harder than 12 months ago. Even my new pants became a little loose, and tried to buy a bit thinner one, and turned out 30 inch cargo pants was the thinnest one that nearby Target carries. I am sure I have gained muscle and reduced fat. But, my body-fat ratio meter tells 20.5%. No change. It doesn't make sense. I seriously doubt that my body-fat meter is inaccurate.

In conclusion, I still don't have clear six-packs. I couldn't achieve my goal of 143lb. But, I achieved some improvement. And, I keep going. What's important is to be able to fly a Cessna, win in bowling leagues, and write programs for my hobby and work. I think this exercise is doing good for my purpose.

I hope I have six-packs and weigh closer to 143lb one year from now.