Today I turned 45 and my 6-pack is nearly there. My goal isn’t to get big nor to exercise a lot but to get rid of fat I don’t want and free the rest of me while taking minimal time from the rest of my life. As always, to learn more about myself and to grow.

This

(My usual diet)

Plus this

(All my exercise equipment)

(rowing machine, four kettlebells, ab wheel, sneakers, and cleats. I forgot a Frisbee)

 

Plus burpees, cold showers, and a pressure cooker for the most delicious, convenient, and cheapest food I’ve eaten

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Equals this

If you’ll pardon the hand-held selfie:

I think the abs look good for a 45-year-old.

I’ve never felt better. My resting heart rate is 53 or 54 beats per minute. I recently hit a personal rowing record: 5,016 meters in 20 minutes, which I nearly repeated (5,009 meters in 20 minutes the next time). I love what I’m eating more than ever—preparing from fresh and raw nearly every meal, including things like whole wheat bread from wheat berries I grind into flour myself, mostly local vegetables I eat within hours or days from being picked. I’ll get a little more definition around the belly-button. Why not, when what creates the definition is delicious food and enjoyable exercise?

Here’s another look, catching the striations on the shoulder:

I’ve written about fitness for a while. I’ve held back on writing about how good feeling this fit feels so I plan to write about it more. Since my older step-brother used to tease me for being chubby until now, I’ve never felt so good about my body. And it hardly takes time or money. I exercise between 15 and 40 minutes a day, spend no money or time on gyms. The rowing machine I bought years ago used for half-price and it works as well as the day I bought it.

Past pictures of having more fat around the middle and less muscle.

Incidentally, the picture of the food is the entire contents of my fridge this morning, plus most of the things I eat from my cupboard. The following is roughly one week’s worth of food for me, though the specific fruits and vegetables change with the season.

From the fridge:

• 4 eggplants
• 1 ginger
• 2 habaneros
• 1 yellow cucumber
• 2 green cucumbers
• 1 white cucumber
• 1 bunch thyme
• 3 yellow zucchinis
• 3 green zucchinis
• 1 bunch kale
• 2 bunch chard
• 1 loaf homemade bread
• Blueberries
• Cherries
• 2 bottles of beer (one has been there a few weeks, the other a friend brought. Not sure when I’ll open)
• 1 bottle of wine (opened months ago, still haven’t finished)
• 1 cup thai green curry paste
• 1 box baking soda
• 2 summer squashes
• 2 heads lettuce
• 1 bunch collard greens
• 2 bunches of beets
• Bits of dill
• Plastic bags (all reused from other people getting them)

Not from fridge:

• 1 granny smith apple
• 1 red apple
• 1 banana
• Oats
• Wheat berries
• Nutritional yeast
• Green lentils
• Black-eyed peas
• Garlic
• chia seeds
• vegan protein powder (trying it out, but I don’t think I’ll continue it)

Not pictured:

• Nuts: brazil, almond, hazelnuts, cashews
• Peanut butter
• Pickles
• Spices and salt

Just finished:

• Peaches (eating a half-dozen a week during the summer)
• Cabbage (aka a bag of chips. I go through a head or two a week)
• Recent fruits and vegetables I’ve eaten a lot of recently: broccoli, cauliflower, pears, plums, nectarines, papaya, peppers, bananas, mangoes, black beans, tomatoes, and I forget what else

Note that I’m not leaving out butter, oil, coffee, juice, milk, or other condiments. All the packaging I go through is in the picture too, which is basically a couple bottles a month and something like a box for baking soda per year, stickers on fruit, and things of that scale.

I’ve mostly cut out olive oil and reduced alcohol to a drink a week, which I appreciate more.

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