The Deck Jacket thread.

[CatsCan]

Don't worry, I was merely joking, I am quite happy with 78 kilo at 187 cm It's just a little bit of fat gathering round my hips every winter that make me feel uncomfortable wearing Jackets in S or M, especially winter jackets.
I am an outdoor guy, also jobwise, spending most of the days from April to late October out in the nature, working with kids in the woods, surveying for my archaeology, working at the iron age house open air museum, where I do courses with people all ages (building primitive selfbows, shooting primitive selfbows, fire making, blacksmithing), building prehistoric houses with mostly hand tools, most times only together with one companion. I do this since over 25 years. When I was young, during my University years, I spent all summer at excavation sites, working as a helper in the diggings, shoveling, pushing wheelbarrows full with moist sand...
Only the winters are "not much to do time". In the winters I gather vine curled walking sticks in our forests and prepare them for their seasoning, take the seasoned from last year and make them into fine walking sticks. I have always works physically hard with my body and I eat what I want.
Years ago, when I had gained to 84 kilos (not through muscles), I had been on "paleo"-diet, just to see, what it does. I lost a lot, mostly water and belly fat, could see a six pack, just because muscles were visible again. But I looked sick in my face, unhappy, I stuck to this diet for too long, over a year. Blood values were fantastic, but then I got a bacterial infection from a wound and my body nearly gave up, kidneys are at 60% now, which is stable, but makes me weaker. Building wooden constructions from oak trees is a very hard task now. I am turning 57 soon. Have one old disk fracture, three disc prolapses, healed foot fracture, one healed arm fracture, two longs scars on my left leg. It was mainly the many years of blacksmithing and wood house building that took it's toll on my body. I know why my ancestors rarely made it over 60

 

[CatsCan]

95% dependent on diet and only 5% on exercise.

I think diet and exercise or physical activity in general depend on each other. If physically very active and working outdoors in hard winter weather is your activity, your diet has to be accordingly, you simply need more (healthy fats, carbo hydrates and a protein rich food, more calories). If you have a bureau job only, you can't eat like that and expect to be lean. In my winter construction projects I did benefit if I had a bit more body fat. It's just where this fat is dispersed in your body, that matters. Ideally nutrition is matching the life one lives. My problem always was, that I had times with long periods of bureau work following times of hard physical work, it takes time until the body realises that conditions have changed, but the appetite stays the same

 

[CatsCan]

This is me 2019 in my paleo period.

 

[CatsCan]

This is me preparing one of the smaller oaks, 30 more to come. This is very hard on one's back, I can tell you. You eat ALOT during those times.