Are the summers killin us?

[volshooter]

Mid 50's here, age wise. Cain't keep my pants up with the 1911 or Vaquero so I bought a Taurus .38 to carry. On 3 different occasions lately, I've been called skinny or lost to much weight by different folks. Belt is on last hole.
Today I hit the scales, 23 pounds lighter than 4 months ago. This endless humidity has melted me again.
I'm 5-10 normal weight is 200.
I feel fine but clothes are hanging off me.
I am outside by 0700 and not back in until 1800. I try to drink a quart of the correct fluid every hour.
I have a feeling that this life style, mostly for men, is what is leads us to shorter life spans.
Proven on many occasions that I am 9 pounds lighter in the PM as opposed to AM to my wife.

Gents, most outside work is performed by men. I feel for those guys on road work crews, cops and all the other folk who have to be outside.
Any thoughts on my theory?

Women struggle to loose 5 pounds, I try not to.

 

[GunnyGene]

You shouldn't be losing weight that fast. Have you discussed it with your doctor?

 

[graygun]

I'm almost 67 and my weight is pretty stable (6',185 ) but I'm retired. I find that my energy level is way down from years ago. I work outside mowing some but not all day. Yeah,might want to see a doc.

5'10" at 200 lbs seems a little high for a norm

 

[exavid]

I think it's the number of summers we've experienced that's doing the damage.

 

[737tdi]

Being an aircraft mech. we work in the heat daily. I drink tons of water, plus the company supplies us with Gatorade type popsicles that help a lot. I work two double shifts back to back and then a single and can say that after that second double I am exhausted and have lost weight. Fortunately I seem to recover quickly as long as I stay hydrated. I don't know if it shortens our life span but it certainly can't help.


Karl

 

[Rick Courtright]

Gents, most outside work is performed by men. I feel for those guys on road work crews, cops and all the other folk who have to be outside.
Any thoughts on my theory?

Hi,

I don't doubt the weight loss at all. We don't generally have much humidity to go along with our frequent 100-110 deg days, so it doesn't seem like as much water's lost as when the humidity's just short of raining and one's pouring the sweat off like a shower.

For giggles, a few years back I went on a dove hunting trip, a one dayer with temps around 103-106 during the hotter part of the day, and kept track of all the water I consumed. It was 2 1/2 gal over about 13 hours. At 8 lbs/gal, that's 20 lbs right there!

One of my hunting buddies works for the county transportation agency on a road crew working the desert from the Palm Springs area and on out. So I asked him how much water they carry on their trucks. He told me five gal/man, and there have been times they just about ran out...

Rick C

 

[volshooter]

Got a DR's appointment coming up.
My dad's side of the family are heavy for their size. We're not fat, my waist size is 33. Body density was mentioned before.
Must be something like that because none of us can float in water. I took the Red Cross courses and even they couldn't teach me to float.
It's been in the mid 90's, 100+ with humidity. I sweat very heavy an stay dripping wet all day. Been to hot to eat very much, that might be part of it.
Yeah, I got to cut back/slow down. Going at it 6 days a week is dumb. Got to learn to say no to folks, just to many projects.

 

[bobski]

80% of your diet should be greens, 20% meat.

salt and sugar are not your friend.

1 month at moms house and i gained back everything to lost.
heat had nothing to do with it.

 

[Mobuck]

I posted a while back about losing a pound a day consistently for a week. I'm at the short end of my belt and clothes are hanging, too. Not getting better. I don't usually eat much at noon but made the mistake of eating at Pizza Hut for lunch yesterday and was sick as soon as the heat hit me. Had to quit early and come home and ended up running the tractor the rest of the day so I could sit in the cab with AC on max.
I've passed out from an overheating event several times in my life and had Lyme's disease about 10 years ago. Those factors seem to contribute to my inability to handle extreme heat/humidity(or maybe it's just age). Either way, I haven't had a comfortable summer since 2010 when we worked in Colorado May-August.

 

[BearBio]

Can't be heat==Remember Climate Change is a myth! :lol:

 

[eveled]

I do a lot of work in very hot places, it is the lack of food that causes weight loss for me. I just can't eat until the day is over.

I think a/C is a blessing and a curse. Seems like a life saver sometimes, but I think going from 120 degree to 60 degrees can't be good for us.

 

[BearBio]

I do a lot of work in very hot places, it is the lack of food that causes weight loss for me. I just can't eat until the day is over.

I think a/C is a blessing and a curse. Seems like a life saver sometimes, but I think going from 120 degree to 60 degrees can't be good for us.

Plays havoc with the sinuses, too!

 

[vito]

It might just be that you are eating a lot less when you are in the heat for extended periods. With an air conditioned house, air conditioned cars, and being retired, about the only time I am in the heat for more than a few minutes is when I ride my motorcycle. I well remember when I was in Vietnam a long time ago, the brutal heat and humidity, with no relief day or night, not only required me to drink a lot more, but I found I had no appetite. I came home from that tour the lightest I have ever been in my adult life. It didn't help that the food we had was really crappy and unappettizing. So for you, being outside all day every day, you might not even realize it but you might have cut down substantially on your total food intake and thus the weight loss.

 

[graygun]

Heat and humidity along with the 50s-and-up age attainment all are factors. I cut some acreage lots but usually wait until 5-6 PM to start.

 

[fiasconva]

Please make sure that dr screens you for diabetes. A lot of the symptoms you are describing go right along with it. Good luck!

 

[Dave P.]

You might want to look into getting a DEXA scan done. Most big medical centers or collages
with nutrition or exercise programs can do them. Usually pretty cheap at collages.
Really good way to find out what your body's made out of.
I'm deep into a training cycle for some fall marathons and even in Michigan the
heat has been up there this summer.
I loose about 3-4 pounds per hour on a run and that's while taking in 16 to 20 ounces
of water and sports drink.
Wife and friends tell me I look to thin.....DEXA scan says otherwise.
I think everybody is just used to seeing overweight people.
Dave

 

[wwb]

All I know is that I didn't seem to sweat as much when I was young and skinny. I'm not sayin' I'm old and fat, but......

 

[volshooter]

Yesterday I had coffee for breakfast, a can of sardines for lunch and 3 pickled eggs for supper. I have no appetite during the heat.
I eat mostly wild game, store bought meat, nuts and fish.
I do eat a lot of eggs.
I keep tuna, sardines, nuts and jerkey with me always.
Might be my eating habits.
Never met a salad I really wanted.

 

[Colonialgirl]

Reffing soccer in the summer time sure dried you out, After a 90 minute match, to have drunk 3-4 liters of water was not unusual. Sometimes you didn't even need a trip to the local latrine !!

 

[Dave P.]

Yesterday I had coffee for breakfast, a can of sardines for lunch and 3 pickled eggs for supper. I have no appetite during the heat.
I eat mostly wild game, store bought meat, nuts and fish.
I do eat a lot of eggs.
I keep tuna, sardines, nuts and jerkey with me always.
Might be my eating habits.
Never met a salad I really wanted.

Add some carbs to that diet.
Peanut butter , rice, pasta, etc.
Dates are a good snack real high in carbs ( sugar ), easy to
carry.
As long as you don't have diabetic issues it's pretty easy to take in
more calories.
On the other hand men can be pretty healthy at 6-10% body fat.
We're just used to seeing them walking around at 20% plus....
Dave

 

[RonSwanson]

When I was younger, weighed 300+ pounds then at 6'8", I could easily lose 10 or more pounds of water weight in a summer day of outside work.

I have always thrived in hot weather, hate the cold. I perspire profusely at the drop of a hat, though.

 

[toysoldier]

A carb-free diet is a sure way to lose weight. If that's your typical intake for a day, it's not surprising you have lost weight. What's your ideal weight? Have you dropped below it, or just shed the pounds that accumulated over the years? What's your energy level? A visit to your doctor isn't a bad idea, just for reassurance. And if it catches something, you'll be glad you did.

I'd have to lose 55 pounds and 8" on my belt to get back to an ideal weight.

 

[volshooter]

I have idea what ideal weight is.
I do tend to put a few extra pounds on during the winter months, perhaps 10.
Gonna sound odd but I don't get hungry or cold. I normally eat one meal a day. I don't like sweets, but will hurt you for a Slimjim. Dr. has tried to get me to have 3-4 light meals a day, but I just don't want to eat if I'm not hungry.
A tablespoon of peanut butter works for me.
Spoonful of uncooked grits, oatmeal or cornmeal washed down with water is good.
The only food I desire and can eat in great amounts is sea food.
Since first posting I have made an effort to eat at least a few snacks during the day.
Hard to eat when your not hungry.

 

[Mobuck]

When I'm doing mechanic work or chores close to the house where I can stop and have a snack occasionally, I don't have as much weight loss. It's when I'm out in the field all day w/o an chance to take a break that I really fall apart.
I was out all day yesterday w/o much break and felt wiped out by mid-afternoon. Tremendous expenditure of calories while tearing out fence, cutting posts, and felling a couple of saw logs. We did take a 30 minute break for lunch but otherwise just some water and keep going.