Quote: Anybody have any hints to increase my metabolism besides a vigorous workout every other day? Diet ?
This should probably be in it's own thread or rebooted from an older one, but since you asked, I'll respond.
The older you get, the slower your metabolism gets. That doesn't mean you can't lose weight, it just means that diet become's even more important.
A healthy diet ( I favor a Mediterranean) style one is closer to 75% of losing weight, combined with a moderate regular exercise plan.
You want a good balance between complex carbs/ lean protein/ and healthy fats.
Different people find what healthy lifestyle ( not diet) percentage of those 3 things works best for their metabolism/hereditary factors.
You can work out as hard as you want but the older you get, you can't burn the fat as quickly as you put it on IF your eating poorly.
I just turned 65, I'm 5'9" also, and weigh a little over 205 lbs. But I have a 45" chest and from years of hard work/exercise, a pretty muscular frame. I'm maybe 15-20 lbs over my "fighting" weight.
If you really want to see where your at, I highly suggest you get a body fat % test. The Gold standard is the test where your submerged in a tank of water, but caliper pinch test is good enough for most people and most competent health clubs can give you one for a nominal fee.
Don't go by those government BMI mass index charts. They were meant as a very general means of getting the public to self-test themselves. If your an exercise person, you find that the weigh part of that BMI equation will be a problem for you. Muscle weighs more than fat. A well muscled person will show-up as being obese in those BMI charts.
All Pro/ NFL Hall of Fame running back, Barry Sanders was only 5' 9" but weighed 205 lbs.
On the BMI chart he showed as being "obese".
A % of body fat test is the only accurate way to see how much FAT you have and that's what you want to lose. People go on fad/extreme diets without exercising and lose tons of weight. Problem is, body fat is the first thing you put on, the last you take off.
You drastically cut your calories doing whatever, and don't exercise, you lose muscle mass first and body fat last.
People get excited because when they get on scale they see they've lost "weight". What most of them have lost is muscle which you want, and not fat, which you don't.
Once you know your body fat %, you can pick a healthy "lifestyle change" that works for you.