My current and longest-running health and fitness push began shortly after my 60th birthday in 2018. We had a large family gathering to celebrate. Later, I didn't like how big I looked in photos from the birthday party. Didn't like how I looked in the mirror or how clothes fit either. That was the seed that sprouted into my Madonna Project.

Yes, it's named after and partially inspired by the singer, Madonna. About the only thing we have in common is our age (she's 3 months older). I'm not a super fan or a kindred spirit, and our politics don't mesh. But I do like a lot of her music.

I just happened to be watching a Madonna video and began thinking "If she can look that good and move as well as she does at our age, I can certainly do better than I'm currently doing."

The original focus of my Madonna Project was movement — just moving more, being more active. I walked. I walked down grass paths, on the dirt roads where I live, through tall weeds, and for really tough walks I sludged through mud. When the weather was too bad to be outside, I did video workouts and dancing (or something that looks roughly like dancing).

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At the same time I began really focusing on my indoor and outdoor homestead chores. Shoveling, slingblade use, construction, deep cleaning all kept me moving and productive. Yes, I'd gotten a bit lazy the past few years. Too much time indoors. Progress on my tiny off-grid homestead came to a crawl during that period as well.

A couple of months after increasing my movement I added more or less regular workouts with squats, crunches, lunges, wall pushups, and stretching. I tried out workout apps and exercised along with YouTube fitness instructors. Started using a pedometer to count steps.

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In the Spring and Summer of 2019 I began noticing my pants were fitting better, not as tight. Woo Hoo. Hadn't stepped on a scale in months. Loose pants were a bigger motivator.

It wasn't until mid-summer of that year that I began seriously incorporating nutrition and fitness monitoring into my Madonna Project. Got a fancy new scale to track my weight. Drank more water. Reduced my sugar intake drastically.

Then I started a fairly strict ketogenic diet and more regular, intense workouts. By my 61st birthday I was down over 35 pounds from one year earlier, felt great, and looked a lot better. And I needed new clothes because my pants size kept dropping.

Everything was going well until I got hit with COVID early on. Some of the additional weight lost since my 61st birthday and from being sick came back during the long recovery period. Just did not feel like exercising and my ketogenic diet went a bit wonky. I did however maintain a daily 20 minute walking routine throughout 2020 so that at least kept me moving.

Although I kept off the majority of the weight I lost — about 50 pounds since November 2018 — I haven't progressed much at all in 2021. A few weeks ago I recommitted myself to my Madonna Project. Then in mid-March I discovered Actifit. That has served as an additional motivator. Using the app and writing reports keep me focused on my overall health and fitness goals.

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Learn more about how I'm getting fitter and healthier at 62 through my daily musings in my Actifit Daily Activity Reports associated with this blog.

Visit my other blog that's just getting started to learn about day-to-day life on my tiny off-grid homestead as well as other topics that spark my interest.

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