Today's post is a flip from my usual:

Boys can get some guff about their weight and body shape, even from their Mom's. Mr. M has always had a tendency to gain weight easily. He blames it on the necessity of saving all those starving children in China. (1940s and '50s.) He did lose a lot on Weight Watchers in the mid '70s and Jenny Craig in the late '80s. But it came back. He was overall very healthy though, until his late 60s.

He hated clothes shopping--nothing fit him right--everything had to be altered. (I could never get through to him that women of all sizes have to have clothes altered as well.) We did go through Color Me Beautiful for Men some decades ago and decided he is a summer. That helped him choose his better colors.

Last year, fearing for his health, he went to work on it wearing with his Fiitbit.

Since mid-July he has lost 65 pounds. He weighs what he did when he graduated from high school. He looked a bit gaunt, and DIL and I convinced him to stop for a few weeks before trying to lose more. Recently he started feeling much better. He sent DIL a Fitbit and she's been losing as well.

One amazing result is his new body shape. Turns out he has broad shoulders and a body tapering to a narrower waist. I'm pretty sure he won't lose more on his shoulders, so I've been buying him some nicer shirts in size M. He then went and bought some for himself--he's thrilled.

In late January I dragged him to the mall. His whole attitude has changed: he likes buying clothes and looking at himself in the mirror. We went to Nordstrom and bought him some nice items, including an Armani jacket. Then to Brooks Brothers where he bought a navy blazer RIGHT OFF THE RACK! No alterations. He's thrilled that he now wears a slim fit shirt.

Then came COVID19. We were about to go out to a fine dining restaurant and he would wear his Armani, but everything closed down. He has worn the BB blazer a couple of times--once to a tax court hearing in San Francisco.

He's leveled off on his calories for now, but he still takes long walks in our neighborhood. We have steep hills and going up and down works the core muscles as well as the legs. He just came by to say hello and as he stood in the doorway, he looked skinnier--the walks have tightened up his midriff and love handles are going away.

I wish I had some better photos--still don't have one with the Armani, but here's a few before and afters, and one with the BB blazer. Not the best photo, but you can get the idea.

He's wearing his very nice shirt and silk tie from Nordstrom. The colors didn't come through in the shot I took in the store--the jacket is a beautiful deep blue. Perfect color for a summer.

So he decided to grow a beard. I always discouraged it because I was afraid it would come out totally gray, like my BIL who looks years older because of that beard. But no, it's coming in mixed and much darker than expected. It's a little longer than in this photo.

And he feels a lot better than he did a year ago! He he is on our June wedding anniversary and watch his progress.

Bermuda photo from November--wearing a big shirt he'd bought the year before. With the tangerine tree was probably January.

Then with his BB jacket, and the lat one, a couple of weeks ago.