(Vintage) clothes and weight gain

[VansonRider]

Just looking for some support and maybe advice.
I've always been into niche hobbies, vintage style is only one of them. I have been practicing HEMA (historic eropean martial arts) specifically the Fiore de Lebiri tradition for years. I long board and cycle (both pedal and motorized). I've learned to crack a bullwhip and can do some wraps and targeting. Archery is the most recent thing I've picked up.
Point is I've always bee physical, but never "worked out" as such.
Well first with covid, then going back to college, AND having a new baby, I've put on the covid 15, the freshman 15, and aquired quite the dad bod.
I'm 5'10 and went from 180lbs to a high of 230. That's 50 extra pounds over the course of maybe 7 years or so.
I've joined a gym, and throgh them hired a trainer, but with watching the kiddo it's been next to impossible to get on a solid schedule.
I had good luck with keto before, and I'm back on the high fats low carbs train. I've lost 10 pounds over 6 weeks, but without regular gym visits I seem to have stalled out, been at 220 for 3/4 weeks now.


In the language of "my people" I've gobe from wearing size 40 Vansons, to 42, and now I can just fit a 44 but a 46 is reallly the confortable size.
I'm ok not fitting into my 40"s ever again, that was a 20 year old's body. Even when I get back down, my mid 40s shape likely isn't the same as my mid 20s shape.

Anyone faced this? Succesfully got back into fighting trim? What worked for you?
Ultimately I want to be smaller and more energetic for my son, I don’t want to be “couch dad”! The goal is long term health and energy, when he’s ten, I’ll be turning 55.

And of course getting to wear my smaller Vansons and look sharp in them is just a side benefit…

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Just looking for some support and maybe advice.
I've always been into niche hobbies, vintage style is only one of them. I have been practicing HEMA (historic eropean martial arts) specifically the Fiore de Lebiri tradition for years. I long board and cycle (both pedal and motorized). I've learned to crack a bullwhip and can do some wraps and targeting. Archery is the most recent thing I've picked up.
Point is I've always bee physical, but never "worked out" as such.
Well first with covid, then going back to college, AND having a new baby, I've put on the covid 15, the freshman 15, and aquired quite the dad bod.
I'm 5'10 and went from 180lbs to a high of 230. That's 50 extra pounds over the course of maybe 7 years or so.
I've joined a gym, and throgh them hired a trainer, but with watching the kiddo it's been next to impossible to get on a solid schedule.
I had good luck with keto before, and I'm back on the high fats low carbs train. I've lost 10 pounds over 6 weeks, but without regular gym visits I seem to have stalled out, been at 220 for 3/4 weeks now.


In the language of "my people" I've gobe from wearing size 40 Vansons, to 42, and now I can just fit a 44 but a 46 is reallly the confortable size.
I'm ok not fitting into my 40"s ever again, that was a 20 year old's body. Even when I get back down, my mid 40s shape likely isn't the same as my mid 20s shape.

Anyone faced this? Succesfully got back into fighting trim? What worked for you?
Ultimately I want to be smaller and more energetic for my son, I don’t want to be “couch dad”! The goal is long term health and energy, when he’s ten, I’ll be turning 55.

And of course getting to wear my smaller Vansons and look sharp in them is just a side benefit…

Took me a while to find my old post in a similar thread a few years back, but here's a link:

https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/well-it-finally-happened.101124/post-2692142

In the 3+ years since that post I have still maintained my target weight, so I'd like to think I've been fairly successful. I still drink mostly water and have loosely incorporated intermittent fasting. It seems to have worked well for me, but again, I am not a medical professional.

Best wishes on your journey!

 

[VansonRider]

That's the kind of thread I'm hoping to start here, exactly.
Thank you for the link!
I already cut the sugar and carbs, I think I need to count KCals, so an ap might be helpful. That and just do some pushups everyday at home in addition to getting a regular gym schedule up and running.
I'm thinking a daily habit will help a lot, and be something thats sustainable long term.

 

[Edward]

I did exactly the same. I don't ever expect to get back to my university years when I was wearing a 32" waist. However, in 2010 I had a 38" waist; by 2018 I was wearing a 48". In 2022, teetering on need a 50" (and unable to buy anything I really wanted to wear, trouser-wise - oddly, vintage repro companies are happy to make tops that fit the big guy, but they seem to assume we'll never want trousers bigger than a 42...), I went on a hard diet. Three packets of chemical muck, 100g of chicken, 300g veg. The first week was hell, but across five months of that I managed to drop 70lbs. Back down to a 42 waist, which I've maintained. I'd rather get lower, but it's much better than it was - and I can buy trousers. Jackets in my wardrobe vary from a size 42 to a size 48 depending on brand and cut, but they all average out at a p2p of 24 to 25.

Now I'm trying to maintain weight, I tend to eat less. Cut way back on processed food, cut bread way back, minimal sugar. Sweetie are an occasional treat, junkfood ditto. We go to the chippy maybe once every three or four weeks now, where before it was three to four times a week. I also rarely drink alcohol. Never been much of a drinker anyhow, and as the wife can't drink owing to medication I don't drink at home more than maybe onw at Christmas - not much of a social drinker either, now. It helps that I never actually liked beer or the more calorific things (albeit I do enjoy the rare cocktail). Not so much a conscious cutting back on alcohol as it is just that if I'm going to cut my calorie intake, it seems a waste to drink it when I enjoy diet soda alternatives just as much, and prefer to eat.... I'd rather have chips on occasion than a pint, no contest!


All in all, if you're wanting to wear real vintage, it'll be harder in that it's much more limiting in terms of available sizes. I'll still buy something great if I stumble on it, but in terms of actively looking I'm all about the repro now. It's all practical wardrobe for me, though - if I can't wear it, I don't have the space to collect it - and as a recovering hoarder I can't risk starting with stuff I'm too precious about to actually wear day to day.

 

[tonyb]

Clothes shrink in the closet. They have in mine.

 

[tonyb]

…

All in all, if you're wanting to wear real vintage, it'll be harder in that it's much more limiting in terms of available sizes. I'll still buy something great if I stumble on it, but in terms of actively looking I'm all about the repro now. It's all practical wardrobe for me, though - if I can't wear it, I don't have the space to collect it - and as a recovering hoarder I can't risk starting with stuff I'm too precious about to actually wear day to day.

I have LOTS of vintage clothes I can’t wear because I no longer fit into them. I haven’t given up on believing I’ll drop enough weight to get into them again, so I keep ‘em. And seeing how that’s something of an aspiration, I hesitate to buy much other than “everyday” duds to fit me now.

It would be a problem if those old clothes were in my way, but we have plenty of space here so it isn’t.

I have stuff, lots of it, way more than I can honestly say I need, but it all has its place. It’s not haphazard.

I’ve known honest-to-goodness hoarders, and seeing how it affects those people’s lives has me thankful I am not so afflicted. It can get to interfering with a fulfilling life. Too much and never enough, you know.

 

[belfastboy]

Just looking for some support and maybe advice.
I've always been into niche hobbies, vintage style is only one of them. I have been practicing HEMA (historic eropean martial arts) specifically the Fiore de Lebiri tradition for years. I long board and cycle (both pedal and motorized). I've learned to crack a bullwhip and can do some wraps and targeting. Archery is the most recent thing I've picked up.
Point is I've always bee physical, but never "worked out" as such.
Well first with covid, then going back to college, AND having a new baby, I've put on the covid 15, the freshman 15, and aquired quite the dad bod.
I'm 5'10 and went from 180lbs to a high of 230. That's 50 extra pounds over the course of maybe 7 years or so.
I've joined a gym, and throgh them hired a trainer, but with watching the kiddo it's been next to impossible to get on a solid schedule.
I had good luck with keto before, and I'm back on the high fats low carbs train. I've lost 10 pounds over 6 weeks, but without regular gym visits I seem to have stalled out, been at 220 for 3/4 weeks now.


In the language of "my people" I've gobe from wearing size 40 Vansons, to 42, and now I can just fit a 44 but a 46 is reallly the confortable size.
I'm ok not fitting into my 40"s ever again, that was a 20 year old's body. Even when I get back down, my mid 40s shape likely isn't the same as my mid 20s shape.

Anyone faced this? Succesfully got back into fighting trim? What worked for you?
Ultimately I want to be smaller and more energetic for my son, I don’t want to be “couch dad”! The goal is long term health and energy, when he’s ten, I’ll be turning 55.

And of course getting to wear my smaller Vansons and look sharp in them is just a side benefit…

It is old school but my wife and I had great success following the South Beach Diet. The book can be had used on Ebay or Amazon for under $5. It worked really well for us and most importantly the rationale behind it is explained. It has changed the way we eat. My wife tried a multitude of ways to lose weight over the years and nothing worked for her. And she is the most disciplined person I know. But the South Beach worked and now 2 years later we have kept the weight off.