Fitness Over 50 – Introduction
Hey, my name is Rich and welcome to Hashi Mashi, a fat to fit transformation plan to help you look and feel better than you thought possible. Six years ago, when I was 55, my brother mocked me and gave me the inglorious title of ‘Fat Bastard’.
For too many years he had heard me say how I wanted to lose weight and get into better shape. Yet, I was still obese, after decades of diets.
And he made sure to let me know that my attempts to hide my triple muffin top were not successful. “You’re such a fat bastard.” He was right. I was a mess.
Having a pregnant belly that an extra large shirt could not hide was the least of my problems.
My doctor also told me that I had high cholesterol, high blood pressure and was on the cusp of type 2 diabetes. He said, “You must lose weight!” But how? He had no answer other than go on a diet, which I already did many times.
Walking up my block left me out of breath. I was disgusted with myself, as you might feel right now. I made a decision to make an end to that way of life. After six months, I happily lost the title of the fat bastard.
I was 75 pounds lighter and felt better than ever.
You could almost say that I discovered the minimum effective dose to look and feel better. Some might call it the lazy way to get fit. Faster than you ever thought possible.
My goal is not to give you scientific lectures on how to burn fat and build muscle. Instead I aim to give you the simplest habits, recipes and lifestyle changes that can help you look and feel better fast.
I want to share what I’ve learned and what I’m learning about health, fitness and wellness with you.
Are you happy with the way you look and feel right now?
Have you ever felt disappointed with how you look to yourself and even your family? To the point that you do not even want to look in the mirror? Even to see yourself in that suit you looked great in 10 years ago, but can no longer fit into.
Don’t you wish you could find a simpler, easier way to look like the fit man or woman that you want to be?
Do you want to inspire yourself, your kids, your grandkids, but don’t have all day to workout and you hate traditional ‘diets’ and counting calories? How can you go from fat to fit, no matter what your age, even if you are over 50?
Change Your Food, Change Your Life
One evening I was in a New York City deli, where I spent much of my time with my friends, Ben & Jerry and Tahoe from Pepperidge Farm’s. Also known as vanilla heath bar crunch and white chocolate macadamia cookies.
I was so fat that I could not see my feet looking down, and could barely bend down to tie my laces.
But, I still wanted that blueberry muffin at midnight. The pain of my out-of-control obesity, divorce, and depression weighed heavily on me. I did not know what to do to help myself. I had tried so many diets and was still confused.
I knew I needed to change my life, but I did not know how.
That night, on June 21, 2012, I decided that I was going to really focus on vegetables. Why vegetables? Because I never heard of any of the diet doctors debate about vegetables. They argue about milk, meat, eggs, juices, but not vegetables.
But, I still had no clue what to eat despite all the books and PBS shows I had read and seen. My diet still revolved around pasta, bread, chips, pretzels, meat, chicken, cheese, peanut chews, m&m’s and chocolate chip cookies.
I decided that the next morning I will have vegetables with my eggs instead of the bagel.
Hashi Mashi – My First ‘Real Food’ Meal
I asked the chef to change the menu. Instead of the usual bagel, egg and cheese, with a slice of tomato and onion, plus orange juice, I requested something different.
I asked for a whole egg, 3 egg whites, to hold the bagel and cheese, and add all the vegetables he had, plus avocado, hummus, olives and capers. No surprise that he did not like that at all as most chefs react when you change the menu.
He threw spinach, tomato, pepper, onion, garlic, mushrooms on the grill with the eggs with a bit of a grimace.
And then the chef asked, “what am I going to call this mess?” Initially I thought to call it a mishmash, a word derived from Yiddish which means a mess, a jumble of confusion. But since Jimmy was from Yemen and spoke Arabic, I asked him what is a mix or mess called in Arabic? He said Hash, so I said let’s call it Hashi Mashi, which sounded like mishmash to me,
And I was certainly a confusing mixture of ideas when it came to diet.
That Hashi Mashi breakfast was my first real food meal based on as many vegetables as I could think of.
Six months later after focusing on one Hashi Mashi style meal at a time, with vegetables and real food as the foundation, I was 75 pounds lighter.
I was as shocked as my brother whose jaw dropped when he saw me.
After adding strength training like deadlifts, squats, push-ups, and another 5 months, I was a total of 100 pounds lighter, to where I am today at 170 pounds, five years later.
All I did was to eat real food, with a focus on vegetables, walking/elliptical, jumping rope, doing push-ups, squats & deadlifts.
I discovered that vegetables like asparagus, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, okra, potato, pepper, spinach, mushrooms, onion, watercress, zucchini, etc, were all great ways to have a satisfying meal.
And leave you feeling good physically and mentally.
Vegetables are not just window dressing for steak, burgers, chicken, or fish.
You can actually have a meal with mostly vegetables and leave the table satisfied.
Focusing on vegetables, raw and cooked, helped me get fitter than I ever thought possible after the age of 50.
As you might imagine, I eventually got the nickname Hashi Mashi and a mention in the NY Times as a weight loss blogger, because of my dramatic weight loss and creation of the most famous breakfast item on the Tudor City Cafe Menu ( at least I think so ).
What Other Benefits Might You Enjoy from the Hashi Mashi plan?
Changing your body from fat to fit is also about building muscle, gaining strength, improving your cardio fitness and flexibility.
You will discover additional benefits of transforming your body from a blubber jello blob to a lean and strong machine.
Besides weight loss, check out these great benefits:
- Lowering your high cholesterol without statins
- Normalizing your high blood pressure without medications
- Preventing type 2 diabetes and avoiding the use of metformin medications
- Stop or reduce the usage of antidepressants
- Easier breathing when going up hills or just plain old walking
- Fitting in your favorite suit, jeans or dress is now possible
- You will feel a million times better
- Not to mention how much better you will look to yourself, family and friends
- You will become more active
- Vacations will be more enjoyable, including going to the beach
- You will get leaner and stronger
- Your family and friends will feel more secure and happy seeing the healthy version of you
- Earn more money
Yep, you can even earn more money.
Studies say that thinner people make more money. There is a financial price to obesity.
Various studies have shown that overweight people are seen as less conscientious, less agreeable, less emotionally stable, less productive, lazy, lacking in self-discipline, and even dishonest, sloppy, ugly, socially unattractive, and sexually unskilled; the list goes on and on. The stereotypes run so deep that even obese people hold these same discriminatory beliefs about other obese people. Therefore, it may come as no surprise that research has provided strong evidence that obese people are paid less than their slimmer counterparts.((https://www.forbes.com/sites/freekvermeulen/2011/03/22/the-price-of-obesity-how-your-salary-depends-on-your-weight/#75430b4f3d9a))
Are You Obese?
Let’s figure out if you are underweight, at a healthy weight, overweight, obese or extremely obese, courtesy of https://bmicalculator.mes.fm/bmi-chart.
■ Normal weight or underweight (BMI over 18.5 and under 24.9)
■ Overweight (BMI of 25 to 29.9)
■ Obesity (BMI of 30+)
■ Extreme obesity (BMI of 40+)
Or, you can easily calculate your BMI here and remember to write down your result.
If your body mass index is over 25, then you have some work to do.
If over 30, then you better get started immediately.
The truth is, that in both cases, start now, so you can prevent problems in the future.
Overweight and obesity are clear risk factors for many chronic illnesses.
As a former overweight and obese man, I know the frustration of losing weight.
I can relate to the sense of hopelessness, especially when you are over 50.
The good news is that you can reboot your fitness and get fitter than you dreamed possible.
No matter what your age, so, do not give up, it is never too late.
So What’s In It For You?
I want to help men and women defeat obesity, our national plague.
When you sign up here or for my Fit Apprentice Training plan cheat sheet, I will send you a 7 day course to look and feel better, for free.
All you have to do is implement the suggestions and see how you look and feel at the end of seven days.
What do you have to lose?
Other than your muffin top?
If you are obese, do not despair.
It is not your fault, and fortunately, since I was in the exact same place as you, I can save you a lot of time.
After many years of commercial diets, trial and error, I discovered a nutrition and exercise plan I wish I had years ago.
Miraculously, my body responded and I lost 75 pounds in 6 months, getting leaner and stronger than I thought possible.
I’m not special or unique.
Your body will respond the same if you just get out of the way and let it.
At the age of 60, I returned to school to become an American Academy of Personal Training-Certified Personal Trainer(AAPT-CPT), and a Certified Institute of Integrative Nutrition-Integrative Nutrition Health Coach(IIN-INHC).
Now, I want you to benefit from my experience.
Get a free copy of your body transformation guide today!
Next: Read How to Lose 20 Pounds in 3 Months.
Rich is a NASM-CPT (Certified Personal Trainer), an