The Secret to Graceful Aging

Since turning 40 a while back, I've been even more focused on bodybuilding as the key to growing older with grace.

Not bodybuilding with an eye toward growing to freakish proportions, which requires a narcissistic and obsessive mindset (and it's a younger man's game), just training to build and maintain lean muscle mass while stripping off unwanted fat.

It's almost a requirement in Hong Kong, where a typical expatriate lifestyle could result in weight gain with ease. This town is filled to the brim with restaurants, beer, a hectic pace, beer, high stress levels, and beer. I recall putting on about 15 pounds when I first moved here, not good when I arrived at 250 pounds to begin with. No wonder Hong Kongers called me fat.

After making the decision to stop being a 265-pound beached whale, I began running the steps of pain. That worked for a while, but years of being overweight made my knees complain that they weren't up to the task.

Joining a gym, walking and changing my diet helped; I was able to get down to 197 pounds, which was both good and not-so-good. Sure, I'd lost a lot of fat, but at my height that weight made me a stick, and I still had stubborn fat that wouldn't come off. I couldn't eat any less without starving myself; something wasn't adding up. I had to find another way to burn off the fat without sacrificing what little muscle I had left.

Tom Venuto Then I discovered Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, the best investment I've ever made.

In the bargain I became friends with the author, Tom Venuto, a New Jersey native (I have several friends from there, and they're all the nicest people you could meet, despite the jokes). I keep reminding him to visit Hong Kong, but it looks like I'll have to make a return trip to New Jersey to join him for a workout.

Tom's e-book has made a huge impact in my life. As a natural bodybuilder, Tom eschews supplements, steroids and gimmicks in favour a no-nonsense, truthful approach based on proven principles. Applying these ideals has added at least 20 pounds of lean mass to my frame. I'm nowhere close to Tom's condition, but if I even get halfway there, I'd be satisfied.

View large image Tom's photos are great motivators, but even so, I messed up my diet for a brief period, which caused me to gain a few pounds body fat (that's what I get for thinking I could get away with sloppy eating habits), but not to the point where my clothes would no longer fit. And the damage wasn't irreversible; my goal is to strip off at least 10 more pounds of fat.

The best part is that as I lose fat and gain muscle, I get to eat more. It seems counter-intuitive, but the leaner one becomes, the greater the calorie requirement grows. That doesn't mean I want to gorge on pizza; in fact I've never eaten cleaner than I do now.

The best part of combining bodybuilding with a sound eating system is that I enjoy life more as I age.

What could be better than being healthy, fit and active for the next 40 years?