I cleaned up my diet, doing intermittent fasting, no cheat meals/snacks, while still working a ton of overtime.
Thanks for sharing your journey! I've had knee and weight problems as well. A knee is very complex. When I visited three of physicians, I got three different explanations. (I wasn't even asking for that, my physician was on holiday once, and then left and another took her place.) They were open about the risks of operating so I avoided that. My knee slowly healed by itself over five years and then I could run again. It's still shaky, I will never go back to having 20 year old knees, it is what it is.
My body accepts weight loss easily, especially from April to August. I learned that I can sustain diets for three months but not for six. Losing weight is hard, the only thing harder is staying at the lower weight, once you reach it. Only after 20 years of zig-zagging weight did I finally hit on intermittent fasting. That seems to be the last part of my weight puzzle, I've been at a good weight for 2 years now.
The way I frame intermittent fasting is to listen to my body and not my mind. It's easy to convince myself that I deserve a snack, that it would be healthy to eat, that I will compensate for a snack now by skipping a meal later. The truth is I never have to eat. Any human can skip food for seven days without any ill result.
Looking forward to read how your knee injury and weight unfold! Best of luck!
Any human can skip food for seven days without any ill result.
I've read an interview with a doctor recently who said that any period of total fasting longer than 72 hours is potentially dangerous. Of the top of my head (unfortunately I can't find the article), the risks I remeber are: creation of gallstones, and gut bacteria migrating from colon to small intestine, permanently altering the microbe structure there. She said they always feed patients in the hospital via the digestive tract if possible.
Thanks for sharing your journey! I've had knee and weight problems as well. A knee is very complex. When I visited three of physicians, I got three different explanations. (I wasn't even asking for that, my physician was on holiday once, and then left and another took her place.) They were open about the risks of operating so I avoided that. My knee slowly healed by itself over five years and then I could run again. It's still shaky, I will never go back to having 20 year old knees, it is what it is.
My body accepts weight loss easily, especially from April to August. I learned that I can sustain diets for three months but not for six. Losing weight is hard, the only thing harder is staying at the lower weight, once you reach it. Only after 20 years of zig-zagging weight did I finally hit on intermittent fasting. That seems to be the last part of my weight puzzle, I've been at a good weight for 2 years now.
The way I frame intermittent fasting is to listen to my body and not my mind. It's easy to convince myself that I deserve a snack, that it would be healthy to eat, that I will compensate for a snack now by skipping a meal later. The truth is I never have to eat. Any human can skip food for seven days without any ill result.
Looking forward to read how your knee injury and weight unfold! Best of luck!
One thing I use everyday is my kitchen scale. It helps ensure exact portions and I can track everything on the myfitnesspal app. My scale uses 3 triple A batteries and the last time they died I got pissed off. I was able to find some triple A batteries at home that I took from remote controls but I also went to the store and got a 4 pack of energizer rechargeable batteries for the future.
So, I get home from work today and heated up some spicy Italian sausage made with lean ground chicken, sautéed with tons of veggies, some pesto, and some chickpea pasta. I go to power on my scale and it's dead, I think no problem I have those rechargeable batteries now. Well, I was only able to locate 2 of the rechargeable triple A batteries. I turned this house upside down trying to find them. So now I had to try to eye ball the portion size. This type of thing always happens to me smdh.
I'm glad you were able to avoid knee surgery. My mom recently had it done because she was bone on bone and in extreme pain, but now she is still in pain due to the surgery. I am trying to avoid it as best I can.
I've read an interview with a doctor recently who said that any period of total fasting longer than 72 hours is potentially dangerous. Of the top of my head (unfortunately I can't find the article), the risks I remeber are: creation of gallstones, and gut bacteria migrating from colon to small intestine, permanently altering the microbe structure there. She said they always feed patients in the hospital via the digestive tract if possible.
I've heard you can fast for extended periods of time as long as you stay hydrated. I have personally done many diets and cleanses in my time and I haven't had any problems. In particular I did the "master cleanse" which is a liquid diet made up of water, lemon, maple syrup, cayenne pepper. You don't eat anything just sip on this and I did it for 10 days. The first couple of days were hard but day 3 or 4 I got out of bed full of energy and not even thinking about food. My eyes were clearer as well as my skin. On the diet you can have herbal tea and in the mornings you're supposed to drink some salt water which was the worst part. I guess this wouldn't be considered a proper fast due to the calories in the maple syrup.
Current Assets:
Cash: $1,569
HSA: $33,137
IRA: $149,542
Roth IRA: $235,252
Brokerage: $334,017
401k $61,128
Home $70,000
Car $9,000
Current Debts:
Credit Card -$2,389
Prior Months Net Worth $868,902
Current Net Worth $891,256
Net Worth Increase of $22,354
Prior Months SWR 2.07%
Current SWR 2.019%
Dividends/Interest Earned This Month: $2,619
Minimum Cash Value Credit Card Rewards Points: $9,490
Life & Finance:
This was the largest months net worth increase I ever had but it is misleading. Months ago I received an email stating I could not contribute to my companies 401k any longer due to my earning too much money in 2024. I finally got a email from the parent companies benefits department after I complained to my local HR, and in the email the rep told me the money in my 401k would remain there but I wouldn’t be able to contribute anymore going forward, which was ok with me. Well, I received a really big check which looks like it is for all contributions I made and all matching company contributions made in 2025, and it was taxed to death too! But, when I log into my 401k providers site the money is still there. I am sure sometime next week the balance will be updated and next months net worth increase will take a beating.
On another note I am just so tired of trying hard to get ahead and things keep yanking me back. I do not like Trump at all and the current bill that they are trying to pass is absolute trash but it has the part where overtime will not be taxed. That would be a win for me that I am in need of. I’m so tired of not getting ahead fast enough even though I am making all of these sacrifices.
I’ve recently considered getting my degree using some online colleges. There are videos on youtube that show how to fast track a degree in 12 months for not a lot of money. This would come in handy for many things. One specifically would be if I wanted to move to Japan. All the jobs there from what I have seen and heard require a college degree. Even the most basic of jobs require it.
I have a 2015 Toyota Prius which I purchased new at a great price in February of 2016. They were running specials to get rid of the 2015’s. My plan was to buy a new car every 10 years. I would only buy Toyotas as they are reliable, low maintenance, and can be had at a great price depending on when you buy, and now also depending on if there are tariffs. I just did my oil change and I have enough products at home to do 2 more oil changes and after that I am considering buying a Rav 4 or preferably a Highlander but obviously I am searching for the best deal and it has to be a hybrid. This goes against what most Early Retire people do as they would prefer to buy used and use cars as little as possible. For me I am solo and my car is my only form of transportation. I need a reliable car to go back & fourth to work, run all my errands, and go to visit my family who live a couple hours away. I can’t deal with the repairs and downtime from owning a used car. I’m going to budget 25k for a new vehicle plus whatever I get for a trade in (or cash I get from a separate sale)
Besides all of my normal bills this month I sent my mother a Mothers Day card with a $250 check in it and I paid my annual home owners insurance bill which was just over 1k.
Fun:
None
Fitness/Health:
I have been working crazy amounts of overtime. I use to tell myself if I work a 12 hour shift I’m not doing anything else including going to the gym. Well, I went to the gym even on 12 hour shift days in May and I have stayed consistent. I weighed 194.3 at the end of last month and I am now at 192.1. Not a big change but it’s still going in the right direction. I’ve been trying to get in enough protein because I do not want to risk losing any muscle, but I find it a bit difficult to hit my protein goal of 170 grams per day. I am aiming to drop 1 pound per week which is actually pretty good since I am attempting to gain muscle while also burning fat which is a balancing act.
I have stayed away from fast food but I did make a few cheat meals for myself. An example would be a pizza I made using a high fiber tortilla with some pizza sauce, low fat cheese, and Turkey pepperoni. It’s low calorie, has some protein, fiber, and satisfies that little craving. I still enjoy most of the meals I’m having and at the rate of losing 1 pound per week I should be at my goal weight of 170 by September/October.
My arthritic knee has not been a problem this entire month except for when I needed to bend to grab something under my desk at work. I was concerned as to how I could work out my quads without putting a load on my knees and I found a gym which is kind of far from my house which has this lay flat horizontally machine that you can press weight with and it works great and not much pressure on my knees. So I will go there specifically for leg days and other days I will just go to my local gym.
Goals for May were:
-Continue the Diet & Exercise (Done)
-Work All Overtime Possible (Done)
Goals for June:
-Continue to Diet & Exercise
-Work All Overtime Possible
- If the 401k balance drops respond to the email from Corporate and ask why my contributions were cashed out
if I wanted to move to Japan. All the jobs there from what I have seen and heard require a college degree. Even the most basic of jobs require it.
From what I hear, the done thing is to get an eikaiwa job to get into the country. For this you need a college degree and a TESOL/TEFL/other such certification. Once you are in the country and have enough job exp and job references, you can apply for other jobs. Regardless of whether your ultimate goal is teaching, getting an eikaiwa job is the easiest way to get into the country, which is the initial hurdle overcome. It's much easier to get a job of any type from inside Japan. Besides, with a college degree, english cert, and job exp, you can now teach English in any country you want.
Current Assets:
Cash: $1,514
HSA: $33,605
IRA: $150,060
Roth IRA: $236,066
Brokerage: $342,821
401k $62,089
Home $70,000
Car $9,000
Current Debts:
Credit Card -$1,105
Prior Months Net Worth $891,256
Current Net Worth $904,050
Net Worth Increase of $12,794
Prior Months SWR 2.019%
Current SWR 1.99%
Dividends/Interest Earned This Month: $2,609
Minimum Cash Value Credit Card Rewards Points: $9,568
Life & Finance:
My SWR dipped under 2% which is exciting, but I will need to do some updating. When I started tracking over a decade ago my goal was to save/invest 450k in which would give me $1,500 a month to spend using the 4% rule, but over the past few years inflation has hit countries all over the world (including the “cheap” countries I plan to spend most of my time in). I may need to update my monthly spend to 2k instead of $1,500. I will run the numbers and decide at the end of the year. If I do make that change then todays numbers would give me a 2.65% SWR.
My mother had knee replacement surgery about 8 weeks ago and she went in for another surgery last week. A hysterectomy if I remember correctly. I am trying to figure out something nice to do for her because the knee replacement surgery and recovery was very painful for her and this recent surgery was something that popped up last minute that her and her doctor decided was best.
My company sent me a check in May for all the contributions I made to my 401k for 2025. I have been keeping track to my 401k balance waiting for the balance to drop by the amount my company paid me but so far it is still all there which has me very excited. I almost never get wins in my life so I’ll take it wherever I can.
Fun:
None
Fitness/Health:
It is very easy to maintain my weight which is all I did in June. My weight stayed between 192-195 all month long. I had no days off from work in June and lots of those days were 12 hour shifts. I didn’t have time to go to the gym so I just focused on my diet.
Goals for June were:
-Continue to Diet & Exercise (Only was able to focus on the diet)
-Work All Overtime Possible (DONE!)
If the 401k balance drops respond to the email from Corporate and ask why my contributions were cashed out (The 401k Balance has not dropped!!)
Goals for July:
-Continue to work all overtime possible
-Diet & Exercise
Historical Annual Progress
2014’s Net Worth Increase $24,786
2015’s Net Worth Increase $43,912
2016’s Net Worth Increase $76,342
2017’s Net Worth Increase $68,122
2018’s Net Worth Increase $70,282
2019’s Net Worth Increase $42,274
2020’s Net Worth Increase $31,296
2021’s Net Worth Increase $77,022
2022’s Net Worth Increase $70,106
2023’s Net Worth Increase $118,165
2024’s Net Worth Increase $101,556
It seems like 2025 will be a ground breaking year for me. First off we are in the first 6 months and I cleared over 100k gross already. I have NEVER done that before. Usually I am happy to hit 6 figures for the entire year. Don’t forget I spent 3 weeks in Thailand in March where I was not earning any overtime.
Also, just with this first half year progress I beat out all except 4 of my past entire years net worth increases. 2025 will hopefully be the first year I make over 200k gross for the year and I will continue to save as usual. My only hope is we hurry up and have that market crash that I’ve been waiting for so I can finally get in and invest without the prices being drastically overvalued.