I'm dying here

[Boerrancher]

I haven't been able to loose the weight that I put on while I was recovering from my injuries from Afghanistan, and managed to put on even more since I retired. My step son wanted to do kick boxing to get in shape and loose some weight and the wife thought it would be a good idea for me to do it as well to help motivate him and for me to loose a few pounds, so needless to say I took him to the dojo this evening for our first session.

Beginners are thrown into the work out with those who have been training for years, and most of them are teens in their prime. I am 43 and have 37 pcs of surgical hardware in my shoulder, back and pelvis along with a few pieces of shrapnel that was left in me. I didn't fall out and I was able to keep up for the most part, but now that I am back home in my easy chair.... I am freaking dying here.

Best wishes,

Joe

[9.3X62AL]

I admire the grit, Joe. Tylenol is your friend.

[freebullet]

Have a cold one & relax...you deserve it. Thank you for your service.

[Hamish]

I vividly remember being 17 and feeling a little smug watching the overweight middle aged folks while taking tae kwon do.

Now,,,,,I would settle for overweight and middle aged, not prematurely elderly and doing a very good imitation of a silverback gorilla, belly and all.

Joe, like they say, it's the journey, not the destination. (Although the destination looks a little better every day.)

[country gent]

Sir, thank you for your service may God bless you. Always remember you arnt cometing with the youngsters but with yourself only. Do what you can do and improve at your pace. Its the spirit more so sometimes. I am disabled with Multiple Schlrocis ( balance issues numbness and some other impolite concerns. I had to stop NRA high power service rifle matches due to it. I still do eberything I did before Just not always the same way as before. Sunday I am going to my first BPCR shilloette match. Keep plugging alnog and dont ever give up or give in. Do all you can and push the limits. Enjoy the step son do all you can with him.

[bruce drake]

Joe,

You and I are in the category of Old Bull now. I just have less metal in my body to account for the same aches and pains when I try to workout with the 16 year old son.

Moderation is the key. I take him down about once a quarter in the dojo and then try to recover the other 3 months while looking cool and collected...

Bruce

[Bzcraig]

As long as you are not further injuring yourself, take it slow but don't stop bro. At 57 and starting to put some weight on, I am having a heck of a time with the discipline necessary to even go out and walk or do any regular exercise. Sounds like you have the discipline and motivation. Thanks for serving brother.

[Lloyd Smale]

I feel for you. When my son at age 8 decided he wanted to take karate I was 36 and healthy. He talked me into going with him and i know how many sore mornings i woke up that first year. I cant imagine how tough it would be on you. Seeing that you got your pain and injury fighting to protect my family i wish there was a way i could take on some of it myself.

[JeffinNZ]

Well, I'm no expert on weigh loss as I have been built like a rake my entire life but I believe you should be a dash more moderate in the exercise stakes. Ease into it Joe.

[292]

As others have said, thank you for your service. I need to follow your lead, at 51 I'm getting soft and lazy.

[NSP64]

Unfortunately, we are not as young as we think we are.
It is a natural progression of life and genetics as we grow older, we add on weight.
Some people(Jeff in NZ) will be skinny their whole life.
Most of us will have lower testosterone levels and that leads to lower drives to do stuff that we did when we were younger.
Slow and steady.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Thanks for stepping up for our country and us. I appreciate your dedication and the price you paid.
What you faced recuperating is a tough one.. Adjusting intake to instant lost activity is not easy.

Weight loss. Do all things in modration.. I grew up near a Potawatami family... Grand daughter of the last area chief was given the reservation. Her grandsons were my good freinds. Anyway they were always taking about never taking more from the land than you need. Some time along I realized it was about all aspects of life.
Shorty after I left the pickle suit brigade I took a good look at what many Americans think life is about.. Everything in excess. I realized it is a personally induced slavery. I also realized that is not life but slow self inflicted death. I like to hunt and fish and walk and climb trees and swim and kayak and.... I also realized I needed to be healthy to enjoy doing those things. Some things are just more important than sitting about being excessive with food.
So I decided for me.. I will not be a slave to appetite or my taste buds. I refuse to fall into the gluttony trap. I will be in control of my future and refuse to kneel to the dictates of unhealthy eating practices. I do not care what the practices of food slaves are. I will not live like them.

We rant and rave about the Second Admendment (Rightly so) But why would anyone want to give away health and the freedom of enjoyable activity just to be like most everyone else walking about with double the excess baggage bloated about thier frame ?

For me I see great advantage to all the excessive food fests so easily obtainable. I never see another kayak on North Fork River. I seldom encounter another hunter in the river bottoms. I seldom see another hiker on the trails. The past participents are all in line at some $7 food fest slowly self destructing. But it does break my heart whenever we return north to the US of A to see all the vastly overstuffed frames that used to be outdoor participants who are now hardly able to exit their vehicle let alone go for a walk in the fields.

An alternative to loosing weight.. get a good dose of whatever influenza is floating about. If you survive in your weakened excessed condition you will have lost something rapidly. I do not recommend it but it will work. Colera also can be a very agreesive weight removal aid.. but the survival rate in many places is only 50%.

So the choice is yours. Take control or suffer. I am 62. I am no different than anyone else out there. It is your life and the only one you get. Make the most of it. I refuse to be a slave.
Mike in Peru

[WILCO]

Cardio Joe. It's all about cardio. Build up to it. Don't hurt yourself. A nice cold peach tea will do wonders too. :)

[Boerrancher]

Thanks fellas for all of the words of encouragement. I actually woke up this morning feeling pretty good except for the blisters on the balls of my feet. Yes, I am a tinder foot, and the berber carpet just ground all of the hide off of them.

Much of this was nothing new, as I was a MMA fighter as a teen and young man a long time before it ever became popular like it is today. It is just difficult to get this older, slower, and fatter body to move like it use to. I was really expecting to pay for it this morning, but other than a bit of extra pain in my lower back I actually haven't felt this good in a long time.

Bruce, as far as being old bulls, yes it is true. I have two more boys, 8 and 9 who want me to do do Tai Kwan Do with them 2 nights a week an hour before kick boxing. I can see this is going to get really fun and interesting.(insert sarcasm here). I actually laughed at your post because it is so true. I will bust my butt at times to keep up with or still out do my kids, and then spend weeks or months recovering from it. Ah, the wonders of life. I wouldn't want it any other way... Except for maybe a bit less pain.

Best wishes,

Joe

[41 mag fan]

Boy I know how you feel Joe. I got a boy age 21 now, who thinks when he's around he can outdo the old man. Well it's just not so....then I pay the price for weeks afterwards.
When I turned 35, I felt my self getting a little slower. When I turned 40, I REALLY felt myself slowing down.
After 3 knee surgeries, and now 44, I have really taken a back seat. Knees are going to be messed up for life, I see kids while at work underground moaning and groaning about a job they have to do. I think to myself, at their age...early 20's I'd of worked circles around them.
I'll do the jobs they're whining about...only thing is not as fast now. The only thing these kids can do, is work longer than me.....
Used to be, I could work a back breaking job for 8 hrs, go out and party all night long, get 4 hrs sleep and right back at work. Then turn around and do it all over again.
Now at 44 yrs old, I can do 4 hrs of back breaking work, before I'm shot, takes 8 hrs to recover, and then i need 8 hrs of sleep just to recuperate!!
Boy getting old sucks!!

[runfiverun]

i'm sure a pair of lightweight wrestling shoes would be forgiven.
they provide some ankle support too.

[9w1911]

I suggest you start swimming or a stationary bike or a real bike but low impact cardio to help get that ticker up to par
yoga is something that you should consider and its ok beginner classes are fine to start some motion you may not do to because the hard ware but it will help get you limber and aligned
chiropractors also
also start to substituted meals with smoothies w protein powder make them big enough to cure the hunger
its not easy but you can do it

[popper]

At my age I notice the effect of gravity. Hair grows at the bottom, not top, chest has slid a bit. Wife exercises 3x a week, has her hand in a cast from falling off the machine. I rub her feet almost every eve after her 'session'. I used to work out a bit till my shoulder came apart, now I'm a believer in low risk.
substituted meals with smoothies w protein powder does work for some people and tastes better than it did in the '50s. Thanks for the service to us.

[Smitty's Retired]

Hang in there Joe. I had an older gentleman tell me years ago, "Getting old ain't for sissys." Now at 58, I understand what he was talking about.

[Boerrancher]

The step son is dragging around tis AM complaining about how bad he hurts, and as I said I feel pretty good. I walk a lot exploring these hills and hollows. I have lived on this farm most of my life and find new things every time I go out. I am still looking for Dad's cave. He never got a chance to tell me where it was before he died. I know it is here because my loggers were the first to find it and tell me about it, but that was 20 some years ago and I never gave it much thought until Dad's widow told me shortly after he died that he that he had found it. He had given her instructions to tell me about it after his passing but he never told her where it was. I guess he figured I knew where it was. I spend several days a week weather permitting looking for it which means walking up and down these rocky hills.

I am in better shape than most people my age. I just want to get back to my fighting weight of 185 or less instead of this 250 that I am at now. My Dr told me I was in good enough shape to do something like this but if I didn't start soon I wouldn't be it was a huge wake up call for me at my last Drs visit and tipping the scales at nearly 250. I am going to stick with this as I have a lot planned for the rest of my life and I want to be able to do it.

Best wishes

Joe

[JeffinNZ]

I wouldn't take too much notice of Major Drake. Now he's out of the service he doesn't even shave or cut his hair anymore...... [smilie=l::kidding:

[Hardcast416taylor]

Joe. Just remember the old adage that a weary old cowboy had about an achey body. "Nuttin gets the blood arushin again or makes you jump right up in the morning like pulling your boots on and finding a scorpion has taken up residence in one of `em"!Robert

[bikerbeans]

Thank you for your service to out country.

Keep after the weight loss it is the best thing you can do to feel better. About 6 years ago I became sick from pulmonary emboli that destroy about 70% of my lung capacity. I became inactive and by Oct 2011 I weighed 265. After almost expiring trying to walk up a very small incline I put myself on a diet that I know I will have to maintain for the rest of my days. I HATE IT, LOVE TO EAT! Anyway, I now weigh 180 pounds (5'10") and can get around better. If I can loose weight (I am a glutton by nature) you sir with your military training and discipline will be able get back into shape.

Good luck and god bless.

BB

[bruce drake]

Don't you pay no mind to Jeff Joe! I keep the hair neatly trimmed and the retirement beard and mustache was lost last week when the Mrs. said I was starting to look creepy with the facial hair. Since she asked me to grow it, I was happy to take it back off.

I've gotten back into running now that I can't really rolling around on the mats with the boys anymore on a regular basis. I've lost 10lbs since May so yeah, its good to get back into the cardio.

[Smitty's Retired]

Joe. Just remember the old adage that a weary old cowboy had about an achey body. "Nuttin gets the blood arushin again or makes you jump right up in the morning like pulling your boots on and finding a scorpion has taken up residence in one of `em"!Robert

I don't claim to be a cowboy, but I can give you first hand experience to this, and it does cause you to dance around a bit.:oops:

[Boerrancher]

Jeff, I haven't had a haircut in over a year and haven't shaved in about 6 months. I am starting to look like I would fit in with the Duck Dinasty crew.

Bruce, the wife complained about the beard for a bit but now that it is about 4 inches long she stopped. I don't know if she just gave up out of exasperation or what. I will probably keep the beard until the end of April of 2014 after spoonbill season is over as it stays pretty cold on the Missouri River through then, not to mention deer season. I have noticed that the beard does help keep the face and neck warm on those cold frosty days when I would grow it out for deer season.

As to finding a scorpion in ones boot, that was a common occurrence while I was in Afghanistan. I got to where I would pull my socks over the tops of my boots at night. You couldn't get away from them. I believe the national animal of Afghanistan is the scorpion. If it isn't it should be.

Best wishes,

Joe

[Marvin S]

This may sound less than manley but consider Yoga and Pilates. They dont beat you to death. Im fighting back problems now and have just started a mix of these.

[smokeywolf]

Joe,
In deference to much of America, which seems to conveniently forget the service eagerly performed, the sacrifices unflinchingly made and the price that you and your family have quietly paid, you have my undying gratitude. As to your responsibilities as a father, my hat's off to you sir. Although I haven't suffered injuries to the extent of yours, I have 15 years on you and have 4 sons (2 at home) ranging in age from 12 to 31. So I have a clue of what you are experiencing.

33 years ago, when I was in LE I was a gym rat and into weightlifting. My goal in those days was to, with my weak arm, be able to grab a 180 lb. suspect by the front of his shirt and slide him up a wall until his feet were off the floor, so I could retrieve my cuffs, sap, mace or just notebook with by other hand. I think I probably did more damage to myself in the gym than I ever incurred from scuffling with a suspect or an arrestee.

Now, at 58 and 40+ pounds overweight with a ruptured lumbar disc, sciatica, tendonitis, bursitis, arthritis, a shattered left wrist as a teen, damage from Osgood Slaughters disease in my right knee, I still go to the park and throw the football or shoot baskets with the boys, but oh do I pay for it for two or three days afterward.

smokeywolf

[MtGun44]

Joe,

I'd like to thank you for your service, and I am grateful that you came back alive,
I really am saddened by all the wonderful young men that did not, including in my
own family. I hope your injuries heal as well as is possible. Best of luck building back
up, take it slow and steady, and I wish you the best in this.

Good luck finding the cave, too. I've been in a few wild caves and that can be a lot of fun.

I think of you every time I see and then inevitably handle and admire the knife you made.

Best wishes,

Bill

[OeldeWolf]

Sir, I wish to add in my thank yous for your service.

I am finding a need for major weight loss, also. I have not the metal you do, but am closer to country gent's condition than I like, albeit from different conditions.

you have one advantage others have not stated, and you should use and enjoy it. A youngster at home. :) Not only for someone to workout with, but as a foil against the emotional effects of frequent or constant pain.

Other than that, I get more benefit from naproxen sodium, than from any of the other otc pain/inflammation relievers.

Richard

[popper]

I am still looking for Dad's cave Probably the best & most rewarding exercise you can get. Several friends have limited caloric intake to 2K per day, they are losing weight pretty good. Used to do some minor cave hunting around Springfield as a kid. Then limit the dinner when you get back home.

[shdwlkr]

Joe
As so many have said thanks for standing up for America.
Now as to how you are doing try this
You are 65 and in a car wreck, you mess up your back that you broke decades ago and your wrist. Just sitting was fun for a while but that has settled down, now it is walking and yes it hurts to do that sometimes just standing is painful.

My wrist they think I tore a ligament and it will take the better part of a year to heal, waiting on the surgeon as to whether we operate or not.

I am way heavier than I would like to be and much closer to your weight then I like. For me I would like to get back down to 195 and I could be happy but that mean dropping almost 70 pounds and at my age that just might be a real challenge.

Now the kicker I have a son and a daughter they are very young and dad does have trouble keeping up but we enjoy our time when dad can have them. Yea like so many vets I am divorced and don't get enough time with my kids but that is life and I have learned to enjoy every minute I get with them.

I might even get to become the caretaker on a ranch and if so I just might end life there if the owner is willing. I can think of no better place to end life then working or even just living in the country. Yea I grew up working on a neighbors farm and never learned to like not being there except that farming just doesn't pay what other jobs do and now I have learned that all that money just might not have been worth what it cost me. Think broken bones here and other injuries.

Best of luck with your getting back down to your desired weight.

[onceabull]

Shadowwalker: & here I am hoping that the ranch you speak of is somewhere in the Frank Church or Selway-Bitteroot Wilderness areas..Just got done y'day looking at the website of one such flyin place on the upper Selway R... I will bring my own drinkables and ammo...(also saw another place not far downstream from the Moose Cr.Ranger Station..... Onceabull

[shdwlkr]

Onceabull
It is down east of where I am now about 3 hours away in fact. I am hoping it works out as I just want to get back to the land. Some reason getting dirty from honest work seems to be a good idea to me. There are a couple of other places close that I might get some harvest time work from to keep the money jar from going totally empty. ha ha

[popper]

Boerrancher - Just had to post this to make you feel better.
Church Ladies With Computers Are At It Again :

The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
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Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
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Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say 'Hell' to someone who doesn't care much about you.
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For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
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Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
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A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
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Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
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Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
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Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM - prayer and medication to follow.
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The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
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Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM . All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.
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The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
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Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.
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Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
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The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new campaign slogan last Sunday:"I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours."

[onceabull]

shdwlkr: Please remember that some of our Long Rifles gun show partners are from that area,and one is a farmer !! Onceabull

[shdwlkr]

So do I need a combat helmet or just a water melon one so they know I am harmless?
farmers are some of the best people in the world.
they know what work is, when to work, when to play and just how to live on almost nothing most of the time.

Remember I grew up working on a farm and my dad was an Ag engineer for most of his life even when he left and became a hydraulic engineer he still would work with the farmers in the area that knew him.

[Boerrancher]

Well fellas I must be a glutton for punishment. Tonight I did the Tai Kwan Do work out and lessons with my younger son and then did the kick boxing with the older one. I also lifted weights for the hour break in between the to classes. I don't feel to bad right now but we will see if I can get out of bed in about 6 hours from now.

Best wishes,

Joe

[leeggen]

Boerrancher,
Thank you for your service to each of us out here for freedom. You haver my admerasion, you have taken on a couple of great exercise tasks. Kick boxing, tac wan do, and staying ahead of the boys. I uaed to bail hay with my boys, just a couple things, never show kids fear at that point they win. Don't give up all that exercise will help with the pain after those muscles stengthen. Been there done that it will help it is just getting thru the first few days as you know.
Again thanks for you service and sacrafice also to your family for theirs.
Good luck. Also looking for a cave the past owner hid moonshine and money in on this property.
CD in TN