I have always been a slim guy. However, from college to my late 20s, I was significantly underweight, weighing only 129 lbs at 6'0" height at age 29. At the time, I was truly unhealthy. Due to my work-a-holism leading me to skip too many meals, my doctor told me I was suffering from a condition known as gluconeogenesis -- in short, my body was eating away at the protein in my organs and muscles to make the glucose it needed to survive. Not good!
Determined to make a change, I competed in EAS's Million Dollar Body of Work Challenge in 1998 and gained 26 lbs (!) in 12 weeks by making a wholesale change in my eating habits, weight training consistently with a personal trainer, and drinking lots of weight gain shakes with protein and creatine supplementation. I ended up at 155 lbs by my 30th birthday.
Beyond continuing to eat, and eating only healthy foods (I don't eat from fast food restaurants or drink carbonated sodas), I then did no real exercise for 10 years.
I turned 40 in September 2009 and I thought I'd give weight training another try just to get in better health, get stronger, and feel sexier. I got up to 172 lbs. Later, in 2012, I hit 180 lbs. Around the same time, I started a separation from my wife. We ultimately ended up going through a divorce.
In that first year of separation, I decided that I really didn't like how I looked at 180 lbs; so, I started cycling almost every weekend. Typically, I'd sign up for an organized ride and do 50 to 75 miles each ride. Other weekends, I'd just cycle around a nearby lake, maybe doing 25 miles on those rides. All summer long I would just ride and ride my bike, thinking about what I wanted to do with my newfound freedom from the institution of marriage. In the end, I lost nearly 30 lbs, ending up back down around 150 lbs by the end of 2012.
In 2014 and 2015, I stopped biking so much but still my body weight started slipping back down to around 145 lbs. That got me wanting to get back into putting on weight again through weight training.
As of May 2016, I am hanging around 155 lbs and feeling pretty good. I think I look pretty good. I have no problem being motivated and getting to the gym. I love working out and feeling fit. What I want to do now is get more organized in my work out routines and lift more heavily to failure in a consistent manner. So, that is what I am going to start doing.
I have not yet figured out my eating plan to support my heavier weight lifting. I need to work on that if I want to achieve my target weight of 165 lbs, which I think is a perfect weight for 6' 0'' with a more muscular physique. So, I want to add 10 lbs through muscle while getting more 'cut up', especially now that summer is here.