I’m Tony
I have been interested in eating healthy for more than 35 years. Unfortunately, my actions haven’t always matched my aims. As Mae West said, “I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.”
I drifted too, for a long time, but after writing posts for this blog for nearly 11 years, I have gotten good at it. I used the Lose It! App for a while (iPhone, iPad, Touch) a calorie counter that also breaks down nutrients and gives you a daily weight chart to demonstrate your progress. It’s not the only tool like this around, but it’s a good one. I think you are better off using a tool than not using one, especially if you want to get control of your health.
Using that tool and practicing some self discipline I now have complete confidence in my ability to maintain a healthy body weight. I still need to work on the lean muscle mass thing, though. I love riding my bicycle and have no problem logging lots of miles and putting calories into the bank to free up my eating. I average around 100 miles a week. That covers a multitude of sins at the table. Biking is a wonderful cardio workout. Few people realize, however, it is also very stimulating for the brain. It’s a lot more fun than working with weights, but ya gotta do that, too. I write about the benefits of cardio exercise on the brain often in this blog as it is usually misunderstood and/or completely overlooked in most fitness writing. I had an aunt who died of Alzheimer’s, my mother suffered from dementia in her final years, and my grandfather on my father’s side also had cognitive problems in his later years. In addition I had another aunt and cousin who suffered from dementia. So I am dead serious about protecting myself from mental decline. Check out my Page – Important facts about your brain – and exercise to read more about it.
I retired 22 years ago. I spent 20 years as a Reuters Correspondent and Editor after starting my career in men’s magazines. I taught journalism at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University for a couple of years, then wrote in the investment department of a major U.S. philanthropy where I spent my last five years managing $900 million in bond investments.
Now that I am retired, I have complete control over what I eat. My heart goes out to you folks who go to work every day. It is much harder to control your caloric and exercise activity. There are business lunches and dinners to attend, late days at the office, working through lunch as well as traveling. I think if I were still working I would seriously consider bringing lunch from home a day or two each week to keep a handle on my intake. With a fridge and microwave where you work, you are good to go.
When I started writing for this blog in March of 2010 I weighed 165 pounds, the lowest I had been in 15 years. I thought I had arrived at fitness and health. Now, in 2022, I weigh 152 pounds. That’s right, I have melted off a further 10 pounds from my best weight in years. My resting heart rate is under 50 beats per minute (bpm), a result of my cycling, but significantly under the ‘normal’ of 65 to 90 bpm for a guy in his 80’s. I have less than 16 percent body fat and a 31 inch waist (the same as high school). I have reached this state of fitness and health following the ideas and techniques I write about in this blog. You can, too.
When the blog started, I was talking the talk, over 10 years later I am walking the walk. You can do the same. I am just a regular guy. If I can do it you can, too. Check out my page How to Lose Weight and Keep it Off for a start. Lots of excellent, practical principles there that I have learned and now apply to my daily life.
Just over 20 years ago my weight got out of control and I ballooned over 220 pounds. I took off 50 pounds in a year, but that only got me down to the mid-170’s. You can read How I lost 50 pounds in 52 weeks if you want chapter and verse.
When I retired, I started taking courses from The Great Courses. They include “Nutrition Made Clear” by Professor Roberta Anding. She has an MS in Nutrition and is a registered Dietitian and a certified specialist in sports dietetics. Another superb course is “Lifelong Health: Achieving Optimum Well-Being at any Age” by Doctor Anthony Goodman. He also teaches “The Myths of Nutrition and Fitness.” By now, in 2020, I have probably taken more than a dozen courses on mental and physical health and wellness as well as healthy aging.
I have about 40 games of backgammon going on the web. I was born January 26, 1940. I am an Aquarius and a senior citizen. At 82 years of age, I am healthier by far than I was over 20 years ago when I was in the work force and a relatively young man in my 50’s. In early 2000 I was accepted into Northwestern University’s SuperAger Program which you can read about in this blog and simply Google superager.
As a senior who presently is winning the war of the waistline, I am also grappling with the experience of aging. As part of this blog’s focus on good health I look seriously into aging and what can be done about it. I know there is no fountain of youth, but there are techniques for aging gracefully and, more importantly, retaining one’s mental powers. I promise to share with you everything I can find out about it.
The masthead photo is a shot of me taken 40 years ago by a girlfriend when we were bike riding by the lakefront in Chicago. I had a lot more hair then.
Tony
Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger 
WONDERFUL WEBSITE….Barbara Ann and I have attended Weigh Watchers for several year, trying to maintain our respective weight in balance with our years, now in our early 70s. I built a workout gym in one of the buildings on our property in Maine…it has helped greatly in maintaining weight and strength goals. I excercise daily, in the gym, walking and controlling the food intake…lessons learned:
1. Appitite never diminish with age; You will love pizza until your dying day.
2. Never sit down before 4:00pm, and then have a beer…standing and body movement is healthy.
3. Have sex weekly, laugh daily, and try to do both with your wife, and lover…hopefully one in the same.
4. Learn to forgive yourself…it is difficult to make it to the end of life without regrets, less is more.
Thanks for sharing and caring..wish we could have know each other better back in Class of 1957.
Warm Regards and see you at our 60th Reunion.
Bob
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Hello Tony,
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Hello Tony,
Love reading your columns! I agree with you – we have so much control over how we age. Keep up the good work. Oleda
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Hi guys!
As a keen blogger/contributor for a number of health blogs. I was wondering if anyone is interested in a guest posting? (We’re working on a redesign/relaunch of some of the blogs I write for, and I’d like to promote it with some posts around the internet and a link back to the new blog.) If you’re interested, we can trade some content and links.
Im currently writing an article on a piece in the area of nutrition for pain relief and another on Healthy Fats but I can work to a brief also if required! It would be a mutually beneficial relationship!
Thanks! Hope to hear back 🙂
-Marina
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I am very interested in the area of healthy fats. What are your blog(s)?
Tony
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Marina –
What blogs do you write for? I would be interested in seeing samples of your work.
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I just downloaded iPhone app “lose it”, I think that will help control calorie intake and gets you thinking what to eat and to exercise a little more
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Great to see your progress and dedication to being healthy.
Stay with it as the results will last a life time.
Regards,
Eric
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Thanks Eric always good to hear from a man who has always been so fit he could hang out of moving car windows without flinching. See you next year at our big 40th reunion!
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Sounds great to me. I’ve lost 10 lbs. recently but need to lose more. I also have the sweet tooth demon but I’m trying to be more disciplined again (something the nuns beat into us – they knew their stuff) It’s a daily battle but I’m up for the challenge. We now know how bad being overweight really is. Hoping someday someone will call out “Hey Skinny” and I’ll know they mean me.
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What a great site!!! Thanks to the HP News for the information. It is now on my favorites…
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Thanks, Susan. Glad you like it.
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Great site guys. It’s a great conversation to have.
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WONDERFUL WEBSITE….Barbara Ann and I have attended Weigh Watchers for several year, trying to maintain our respective weight in balance with our years, now in our early 70s. I built a workout gym in one of the buildings on our property in Maine…it has helped greatly in maintaining weight and strength goals. I excercise daily, in the gym, walking and controlling the food intake…lessons learned:1. Appitite never diminish with age; You will love pizza until your dying day.2. Never sit down before 4:00pm, and then have a beer…standing and body movement is healthy.3. Have sex weekly, laugh daily, and try to do both with your wife, and lover…hopefully one in the same.4. Learn to forgive yourself…it is difficult to make it to the end of life without regrets, less is more.Thanks for sharing and caring..wish we could have know each other better back in Class of 1957.Warm Regards and see you at our 60th Reunion.Bob
+1
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Excellent blog! I am very excited to keep up reading and learning about leading an overall healthy lifestyle! Im a student of neuropsychology so I am a big advocate of healthy eating and exercise because there is nothing as effective for a healthy brain! I appreciate your dedication to the mind, body and soul!
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HI, Keyla –
So nice to hear from you! Glad you have enjoyed the blog. Couldn’t agree more about healthy eating and exercise. It’s great when it all works together.
Tony
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Great site, guys! Very inspirational. Like John, I’ve had an off and on battle with weight all my adult life. I’m currently on one of those pre-purchased meal plans and it is helping with portion control. Will keep checking in here, and wish you the best!
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Great blog! I have a hard time keeping the weight off- I fluctuate between 180-205 pounds, depending on whether I eat sugar and how much cardio I get. I want to find a way to keep the weight around 190 without all the yo-yo-ing… But how do you not have dessert? I guess the answer is to imitate Tony and just log tons of miles on the bike.
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Thanks for the kind words!
You really want to avoid to yo-yoing. It is a bad negative spiral. You always end up worse off than when you started. I log tons of miles on the bike, but when it snows, rains, etc, I go to the health club. Make sure you get that exercise. I eat chocolate every night – Hershey’s with Almonds. You don’t have to become a monk to be healthy.
You need to reconfirm that when you lose weight, you will continue on that path. It isn’t an excuse to celebrate and binge. It is when you knuckle down that you get to the next level – lower, not higher.
You can do it, just stay focused on the goal.
Read our How to Lose Weight – and Keep it Off page. It has lots of useful info.
And, feel free to come back and continue the dialog.
Tony
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You guys have this weight control thing licked – congrats!
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Vinny –
Thanks! God bless you for your perception!
There’s nothing to it, but to do it.
Tony
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I have nominated you for the “Sunshine Award. You can follow this link to my nomination http://drbillwooten.com/2012/08/04/many-thanks/
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Thanks for finding my blog so that I could find yours! I look forward to reading about your experiences and hearing your stories. I’ve recently reached that stage of, “I’ve GOT to get more serious about this weight loss thing.” Hopefully reading your blog will help to inspire and motivate me!
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Great information…. thanks!!
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HI, Gail –
Nice to see you here. I have one page that could be very helpful to you. Check this link. It works for me.
Tony
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Thank you for following my blog. 🙂 Renee
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Tony, great site. Keep up the good work. Bill
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Thanks, Dr. Bill! Much appreciated.
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Thought you’d be interested in a new study on diet soda. Thanks for reblogging my post on the subject! http://cookwithkathy.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/sweetened-drinks-linked-to-depression-coffee-tied-to-lower-risk/#
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Thanks, Vinny. Much Appreciated!
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Thanks for liking my post. You have a great blog. Your information can really help me out on my journey to also be healthy and lose weight.
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Thank you and best of luck. I was up over 220 pounds and took off 50 in a year. You can do it. Just take your time. There is a lot of great info here and it’s all free.
I am just a regular guy who had really bad eating habits for years. If you straighten out your head your body will follow. Do it one day at a time. I have learned a ton in the three years of blogging and it is all there to read.
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HI Tony,
I got to your site because you visited mine! Thanks, I appreciate your insights on your blog. I teach yoga to seniors and am in the process of finally creating a site to share meditations with seniors. I look forward to continuing to read your posts!
Kelly
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Welcome aboard, Kelly. Bless you for teaching yoga to seniors and best of luck with your new site.
Tony
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Thanks Tony,
I really appreciate you stopping by this site 🙂 The38daysofcuriosity where you found me, really got me going and keeps me creative so that I can keep building on my ideas to help seniors age well either by giving tools for yoga or supporting caregivers who care for older seniors.
Your site will keep stoking that creativity with seniors as well for me.
Have a great day.
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Great Stuff!!!
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Thanks, Kerri. Much appreciated.
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I just nominated you for the ‘Super Sweet’ Blogger Award. Please see my latest post http://kerrichronicles.com/2013/05/07/thank-you-for-the-super-sweet-blogging-award/
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Many thanks, Kerri. Much appreciated!
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Tony, your the man! It’s awesome to see how well you take care of yourself. If only others in America would follow your lead! I’m 21 and I do my best but like you said its dificult when working 2 jobs and trying to go to school. I hope when my mom retires she will be more concerned about her health. Btw I love how you ride with your dog, very cool! I hope one day to be a man like you.
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Thanks very much for your kind words. My great health is a direct result of writing this blog for the past nearly four years and practicing what I preach. I hope you can get your mom concerned about her health before she retires. She will be able to enjoy her retirement that much more instead of doing doctoring to correct old mistakes.
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Thanks, Vinny and Amen to that.
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What a wonderful and thorough profile you have. It was great reading about your wonderful and ongoing journey with your health and well-being! You serm to really be living life to its fullest! Thanks for following!
-T
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Thanks for your kind words. I happened upon your blog and was so impressed with the quality of your information that I knew I could learn more by following.
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Dear Tony – I couldn’t find any contact info on your blog site. would you be interested in taking part in a “blog hop” for writers? Shelley Sackier suggested it to me. You can drop me a line at info@robingott.com if you’re interested.
Robin
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Tony, came to this place as a result of your recent decision to follow Learning from Dogs, for which I thank you very much. So it’s a double bonus: having your interest in my scribblings and finding your blog.
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Thanks for stopping by. I have become a dog person since adopting my little poodle eight years ago. I learn from her every day.
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And four years later (golly, the years do flick by!) I had forgotten how useful your blogsite really is!
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Hi Tony,
My name is Jennifer Ta and I’ve been following your blog for several weeks now and would like to commend you on the quality of your material and the success you’ve found in your community.
I work for Azumio, a mobile health company with numerous applications and millions of users, dedicated to connecting the public through the first social health network and database. I am contacting you on behalf of Azumio because of your expertise and passion about fitness and health, which are prime categories of interest for our users. We would like to offer you an opportunity to be a guest blogger for Azumio’s website. This is a chance for you to not only expand your personal community rapidly but to make a real difference in the world of health.
If you are interested, please e-mail me at jennifer.ta@azumio.com and I will send you information as to what the job entails as well as information on the benefits of an Azumio partnership.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Jennifer
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Delighted to have become a follower of this very informative blog. Can endorse the huge benefit of bike riding as went back to it a month ago after a break of 50 years! We have a group of neighbours who bike ride three times a week for a total of around 50 miles. Here’s to a fit and healthy autumn of our lives.
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Dear Tony,
You are very strong and inspiring man and i wish there were more people like you in this world 🙂 god bless you 🙂
Evey
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Thank you for the kind words, Evey. You are doing a great job in turning your health and life around. Keep up the good work!
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Hello there! I just wanted to say that you have an incredible blog, and I enjoy reading what you have to say. I also think your writing is insightful, refreshing, and apt! I also find your discussion of health and exercise fascinating.
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You have a good website you got there. It is amazing that in this age, you are much healthier than other people with similar age I know. You must be an inspiration to others. I decided to subscribe your blog since I am very excited to receive any update from you. Also, I was really hoping if you can check my blog http://www.therapy2fightpain.com and subscribe my blog. I would really appreciate if you can check my blog. Thank you and I look forward to visits again.
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Hi Tony, this is a great site with a lot of useful information. I have a lot of catching up to do to read it all.
I am also actively aging despite setbacks like two hip replacements and a heart valve replacement, which I talk about on my fledgling site http://www.bionicoldguy.blog.
I look forward to more visits to your site.
rich
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