oldranger wrote:... But as I lose weight my energy consumption will lessen and I'll have to exercise more or drink less beer to continue to lose weight. This sucks!
As your fitness improves so does your basal metabolism, which will partially offset the reduced calorie expenditure from weight loss. Do not focus simply on body weight if your are also gaining muscle mass by resistance exercise. Tracking body fat, not weight, gives you a better picture of your progress. Also, your optimum protein needs increase with age.
https://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/ ... calculator
If a gym is inconvenient, body weight exercises are also good. Those do not build large muscle mass or contribute much to power, but do increase the so-called muscle endurance (a somewhat inaccurate term, but commonly used). In most outdoor pursuits muscle endurance better serves you than hypertrophy or power.
If you want to add something to your Christmas list you can ask Santa for an inexpensive set of weights. A used basic no frill set should cost about a dollar per pound at a Play It Again Sports or similar. Who cares if the weights are dinged up a bit or have a few rust spots? Or go to a big box sporting goods store and buy a brand new set with chrome, colored vinyl coatings and a designer logo for several bucks per pound. I'm cheap. I buy used. Don't forget to use workout gloves. The ladies in our lives prefer our hands not be calloused claws.
OTOH the various military special forces specifically recommend AGAINST iron weights for potential applicants. Their data shows applicants that prepare for SF training by using body weight workouts have better PT scores and fewer injuries (and higher completion rates) than those that prepare by pushing iron.
My basic workout is primarily body weight supplemented with free weights on some trouble spots after I finish the body weight routine. Bike riding or treadmill for cardio. Bad knees, so I do not run anymore. Save my knees for hiking. For some reason the treadmill does not bother me, just running.
Lots of smart phone apps for tracking workouts. I use these
http://www.rittr.com/ because I am used to them, but others work as well. I like phone apps and body weight workouts because I can continue doing them while traveling.
Track your diet for a week or two using the USDA Supertracker website. A big PITA to track everything you put in your mouth but very worthwhile. 2 or three days is not long enough to get a good snapshot of your daily intakes. Need at least a week. You can keep going every day for as long as you want, but that is a lot of bother. I do two weeks every few months. At the end of the recording period print out the reports and you can see your average daily macro- and micro-nutrient consumption in detail. Use the reports to make the adjustments in your daily eating. You are probably eating better then you think you are and only some minor adjustments need be made. (well, except for the holiday parties and big meals with all the goodies that happen this time of the year).
Of course, age takes its toll. As you age you naturally do not drop body fat or gain muscle mass as you used to (or heal). Us old farts have to work twice as hard to see half the gains the young lads do. But we do what we must to keep the grim reaper at bay and continue enjoying our preferred recreation.