I was “told” by a Cardiologist 2 years ago when I was 48, it “only takes two weeks” to adjust to a PaceMaker. He had me on a Rush List to get one. I have NO SYMPTOMS other than a 35 Resting Pulse. During exercise, its Normal up to 160, & during the day its 45-90. Im 50 now, and never followed through w the Procedure! I didn’t want to disrupt my Training/ Racing Schedule, and haven’t looked back!

Question: Why 2 Years Off??? Thanks!

I was “told” by a Cardiologist 2 years ago when I was 48, it “only takes two weeks” to adjust to a PaceMaker. He had me on a Rush List to get one. I have NO SYMPTOMS other than a 35 Resting Pulse. During exercise, its Normal up to 160, & during the day its 45-90. Im 50 now, and never followed through w the Procedure! I didn’t want to disrupt my Training/ Racing Schedule, and haven’t looked back!

Question: Why 2 Years Off??? Thanks!

Long story short, they programed(or in my case did not, left it on default settings) and sent me home with it all whacked out. My resting rate my entire life was 28 to 30, they had it set at 60. They also left on the on demand function, which as you move, ramps up your rate. Since mine was set for a 80 year old with COPD, just getting up to walk would ramp it up to 100 to 120, which I normally walk at about 45 to 50. When I would try and sleep at night, I could feel it pounding, roll over and it would pound more, so no sleep for like 9 days.

So all in all, mine almost killed me, was passing out walking to the store all the time, and had no sleep for 9 days. I got PTSD like some Vietnam soldier, sitting in a jungle all day and night, worrying about dying at any moment, with no break. When I finally figured out what was going on, thanks to my primary doc, they reprogramed it for me, but the damage was done. Took two years to figure out the PTSD, and then treat it. I was a mess..

I'm over 50 and have experienced the same thing. Here's what worked for me: No Sugar, No Grains, No Booze. Listen to the Vinnie Tortorich podcast for the details (but there really aren't any, it's just that simple). It's definitely not fun, but it terribly effective. Also watch the "Sugar Coated" documentary for an eye opener about the American diet.

Great Quote!

Gotta disagree on “No Grains.” Wheat Berries, Farro, n Groats, and the like, (omit white & brown rice!), are All low Glycemic Index, no cholesterol, low no fat, resistant starches... ie Excellent Nutrition, Affordable n Versatile!

Sorry Man... What a Story! Were u having Symptoms tho prior to the installation? There is a strong Camp that says unless and until u have Symptoms, (fatigue, dizzy, etc.,) LEAVE IT ALONE... thats me... thanks

https://www.healthline.com/...erol-does-not-matter

Holy crap, that sounds like a seriously bad medical malpractice type of mistake that almost killed you but left you emotionally scarred for life. Glad you are kicking ass back in the pool. Thanks for sharing. The rest of us don't know how fortunate we are.

March 2018 age 55 weighing 205 at 5'10" wearing 36 inch pants. My wife signed me up for Myfitnesspal, I linked my Garmin to the account and set my macros at 50% Carbs 30% Protein 20% Fat. After a few days of what I thought was a healthy diet I realized I was eating close to 75% Carbs and about 8% protein. I made changes to ensure I was getting 30% Protein. By July of 18 I was down to 167 and have maintained it since, wearing 32 skinny fit pants.

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

Sorry Man... What a Story! Were u having Symptoms tho prior to the installation? There is a strong Camp that says unless and until u have Symptoms, (fatigue, dizzy, etc.,) LEAVE IT ALONE... thats me... thanks //

Of course I was having symptoms, it was not elective surgery! (-; I was getting dizzy, nearly passing out. Put on a halter monitor, heart was stopping for up to 20+ seconds sometimes. It was diagnosed as 3rd degree heart bloc, just some dead heart cells along the electrical pathway from top to bottom. Atrial rhythm was fine, just getting blocked, so the ventricle would not get the signal, and just sit there full of blood to be pumped..


But you are so right, even with symptoms like I had, in retrospect I should not have gotten the pacemaker. the doctors made it seem like it was do or die at the time, even came in on their day off to put the thing in me. But what I have learned in the past 19 years of living with this thing, that it could be other things that caused the initial symptoms, things that are easily fixed. And since, I have found that mine could have been, it was just a perfect storm that made it seem so dire at the time. I left the hospital being paced 35% of the time(after getting the right settings), and over the years I have programed it 3 or 4 more times, being paced like .01% of the time, so virtually never. I even talked to my doc about taking it out, he said maybe, but the wires stay in anyway, so not much point really. It just sits there recording my every beat, so I guess I got a very expensive HR monitor, but can only read it once a year!!!

Insulin combined with other hormones declining for most men 50's and beyond. Partly why HRT and HRT clinics have become popular. At 56 I have been tested and have low T and even though I don't compete and was given a prescription I decided not to use with hope to deal with aging in a natural manner (I have a fairly extensive background on the subject). However, we can take that type of information and use it to help plan our nutrition intake along with training like you are doing. The approach is the same regardless of hormones. Watching calories and type of calories along with training load needs.

My opinion is you are doing too much high intensity stuff. That doesn't target fat for fueling. I would exchange a session or two for a longer, but lower intensity exercise. Whether that be bike or run.

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- Jordan

My Strava

Master of losing weight, staying lean and healthy here. It's really simple. Don't eat too much, eat healthy, nutritious and low calorie food. Workout regularly and do different things such as running, strength training, swimming, cycling, yoga, crossfit, stretching, interval training, hot tub, sauna...etc. Don't focus on losing weight. Focus on having healthy lifestyle that you can enjoy for the rest of your life. If you can have that, everything will come to you automatically. You don't have to worry about weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, bad skin and whatnot. If you want to drop some weight, do everything above and EMBRACE THE HUNGER. Fill your tank about 80% and you will lose weight. Your input is more than your output and that's why you gain weight. Your body changes as you get older, so you have to change body composition accordingly, so it will burn fat more efficiently.No one knows your body better than yourself, so do some research, experiment and figure out what's best for you. Good luck!!!

Just Fascinsting! YIKES! Yeah if u were having Symptoms, sure, i understand that.... too bad it went down super squirrelly! To the piint of PTSD... Lawdy.

Could you expand on what your diet looks like or send me a link to a good resource ? I’m interested in the details of what you eat.

Many Thanks,
Tubs

FWIW, I've been doing endurance sports from JHS x-country team until today continuously, year-round, and triathlon for the last 9 of them. I actually probably train more hours in my 35-44 years than before that (thanks, triathlon, doh).

Despite all this training, I'm succumbing to my parental genetics with time. They became obese around age 45, but not morbidly. I'm definitely not obese, but I seem to be picking up 0.5-1 lbs per year if I just train as I normally do and eat as I normally do.

When I was younger than 35, I could literally eat anything I wanted to, literally gorging on meals frequently, and never gain more than 3-4 pounds off my baseline. I roomed with a 270lbs Hawaiian guy my age for half a year, and we were both amazed - I would eat double what he ate, yet I stayed 140-145 and he never got lighter than 265. Sure, I exercised more, but he routinely swam with me and I def didn't exercise off ALL those extra calories.

Now that I'm 44+, I can NEVER gorge on food, and although my weight stays pretty stable, my natural setpoint has crept up from 145 to 160 over the past 15 yrs. My run results have def taken a hit, almost proportionally to my weight gain, on par of 2sec/lbs. (My swim/bike has improved enough to offset the deficit, though.)

Getting older definitely comes with metabolic slowdown and the body just wanting to pack on more fat unless you have good skinny genetics. I have tried caloric restriction, which definitely works, but even with hardcore restriction (<1400 kcal/day, kept that up for nearly 12 weeks!) I only dropped down to low 150s, which is 10lbs over my 'eat everything' setpoint under age 35.

Sucks, but at least I'm not obese as my brother who is only a year older than me is. The only good part of this all is that I do pack on muscle more quickly and hold it more easily. Too bad I'm not doing crossfit, though!

It's not really the ankle issues, though. My gradual weight gain started around age 35, well before I was limited by any ankle issues. I've even made enough of a recovery and adaptation to my ankle limitations such that I can do a full HIM training plan complete with 2hr runs if I wear the right shoes, and limit the fast stuff.

I was still gaining weight even when I ran 2 marathons during those years, and hit 70+mpw both times. For sure, there was no significant weight LOSS during those big run mileage years (unfortunately).

It's definitely not as simple/easy as 'run more = lose weight.' I definitely believe that you can burn as much and even more calories by swim/bike, and that there's not a ton special about running for weight loss, other than the reality that as you get older, the lightest guys do a lot better, as the joint injuries and limitations start also getting worsened by weight gain. I also definitely believe that a lot of older, skinny (and fast) guys have real genetic advantages to staying that way as they get older. Even if they watch their input.

60 years old

Went vegan and now weigh less than I did 30 years ago. Can see veins across my stomach

It works.

I'm unaware of any evidence that suggests that running has a greater weight loss effect than cycling does. Seems to me that top level cyclists riding the TdF etc are as lean or leaner than world class marathoners.

FWIW, i'm 50, and now weigh the same as i did when i was 25. I had a few years when i weighed more, but this was due to being lazy and incorporating too much crap in my diet and too little training (i just cycle exclusively). I set some goals and now i'm 63/64 kg.

Being mainly plant based helps and eating very little rubbish.

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http://www.cyclecoach.com

Yep. I'm 52 and started triathlons 3 years ago at the same time I turned vegan (from vegetarian). Probably a combination of the increased exercise and diet but I went from 165 to 150 in 6 months and have kept it off ever since. I never go hungry or limit food intake.

I never go hungry or limit food intake. //

Isnt that the literal definition of a Vegan, one who limits their food intakes?? (-;

Good for you, that is a solid drop, and to be able to hold it getting older is not a gimme like when you are in your 20's. I always end up with a lot of Vegan alternatives here after camps with folks that subscribe to that diet, and I eat them up and have no issues with the processed side of Veganism. An unprocessed only approach would be just too limiting for me though, but I'm heading your direction..