Reasons to be cheerful!

[jumbojak]

I'm down below 200 pounds for the first time in seventeen years. My hip isn't hurting as badly. Everything else seems to be going wrong but that's good I guess. I have had to buy new clothes though.

[Dave]

I'm down below 200 pounds for the first time in seventeen years. My hip isn't hurting as badly. Everything else seems to be going wrong but that's good I guess. I have had to buy new clothes though.

Know the clothes problem, JJ, have gone from 34" waist to 30" over past three years, got loads of "too big" trousers. Now also buying small size teeshirts and jackets and can wear "tailored" shirts without straining the buttons!

Good though, being short the medium jackets etc were too long in the body and arms and 34" trousers are tailored wider in the leg, making me look even shorter. Now I do not FEEL so short and wide!

Never mind how I look . . .

[jumbojak]

Pants are tricky for me. I have large legs and extremely muscular calves so most pants are too tight in the legs there. I came across some Levis that fit very well though, so between those and the Red Cap shirts I like my "uniform" is basically complete.

I don't think too much about clothes so I have a set pair of pants and a set shirt. For a while it was jeans from Tractor Supply and a tan shirt but I have been convinced to add a bit of color. So in addition to the tan I have a few greys and some blues to throw in the mix.

[Dark Lightning]

Pants are tricky for me. I have large legs and extremely muscular calves so most pants are too tight in the legs there. I came across some Levis that fit very well though, so between those and the Red Cap shirts I like my "uniform" is basically complete.

I don't think too much about clothes so I have a set pair of pants and a set shirt. For a while it was jeans from Tractor Supply and a tan shirt but I have been convinced to add a bit of color. So in addition to the tan I have a few greys and some blues to throw in the mix.

Levi Strauss used to carry a line of jeans called "Husky" which might fit the bill for you. I doubt if that is the same as "Relaxed Fit", these days. Even if a guy didn't have that big a waist, the legs had plenty of room. That's a '50-'60s thing that I remember growing up. I was a skinny little kid, so didn't wear those.

[Buddy]

Pumpkin spice lattes are back.   

[xSilverPhinx]

Pants are tricky for me. I have large legs and extremely muscular calves so most pants are too tight in the legs there.

Muscular calves are a rarity in men it seems. Going to the gym you see all those men buffed up in their upper bodies, but with rather noodly legs. I know it's much easier to put on more muscle in the arms than in the legs, but it seems to me like some of those men don't even try.

It's rather bizarre. 

[xSilverPhinx]

Pumpkin spice lattes are back.   

Now that does sound interesting. I shall have to try that one of these days.

[jumbojak]

Pants are tricky for me. I have large legs and extremely muscular calves so most pants are too tight in the legs there. I came across some Levis that fit very well though, so between those and the Red Cap shirts I like my "uniform" is basically complete.

I don't think too much about clothes so I have a set pair of pants and a set shirt. For a while it was jeans from Tractor Supply and a tan shirt but I have been convinced to add a bit of color. So in addition to the tan I have a few greys and some blues to throw in the mix.

Levi Strauss used to carry a line of jeans called "Husky" which might fit the bill for you. I doubt if that is the same as "Relaxed Fit", these days. Even if a guy didn't have that big a waist, the legs had plenty of room. That's a '50-'60s thing that I remember growing up. I was a skinny little kid, so didn't wear those.

The Levis I found are actually pretty nice. Can't remember what style they are though. Now I just tell Amazon to order jeans and they show up at my door.

[jumbojak]

Pants are tricky for me. I have large legs and extremely muscular calves so most pants are too tight in the legs there.

Muscular calves are a rarity in men it seems. Going to the gym you see all those men buffed up in their upper bodies, but with rather noodly legs. I know it's much easier to put on more muscle in the arms than in the legs, but it seems to me like some of those men don't even try.

It's rather bizarre.

Muscle men with chicken legs make me chuckle. What's even funnier is seeing a lot of these fitness buffs try do do actual work. I think working out puts muscle in the wrong places. I'm not nearly as strong after getting hurt but, despite  not looking cut, I can usually put those fellows to shame.

[Buddy]

Pumpkin spice lattes are back.   

Now that does sound interesting. I shall have to try that one of these days.

They are really popular at Starbucks and for some reason men like to call people who like them basic, but I don't care because they are delicious.

[Dark Lightning]

Pants are tricky for me. I have large legs and extremely muscular calves so most pants are too tight in the legs there.

Muscular calves are a rarity in men it seems. Going to the gym you see all those men buffed up in their upper bodies, but with rather noodly legs. I know it's much easier to put on more muscle in the arms than in the legs, but it seems to me like some of those men don't even try.

It's rather bizarre.

Muscle men with chicken legs make me chuckle. What's even funnier is seeing a lot of these fitness buffs try do do actual work. I think working out puts muscle in the wrong places. I'm not nearly as strong after getting hurt but, despite  not looking cut, I can usually put those fellows to shame.

Right. People who actually do physical labor are generally stronger than the guys in the gym, pumping iron for a few hours. Specific weights and specific motions will indeed improve one's physique. Working all day long makes a big difference in overall strength. I was in no way cut, but at the tender age of 30 I could pick up a small block Chevy engine short block (block, crankshaft, rods, pistons and cam) off the ground and put it in the back of a truck, unassisted. That's about 325 pounds. And I have those damned chicken legs!

[Dave]

Pants are tricky for me. I have large legs and extremely muscular calves so most pants are too tight in the legs there.

Muscular calves are a rarity in men it seems. Going to the gym you see all those men buffed up in their upper bodies, but with rather noodly legs. I know it's much easier to put on more muscle in the arms than in the legs, but it seems to me like some of those men don't even try.

It's rather bizarre.

Muscle men with chicken legs make me chuckle. What's even funnier is seeing a lot of these fitness buffs try do do actual work. I think working out puts muscle in the wrong places. I'm not nearly as strong after getting hurt but, despite  not looking cut, I can usually put those fellows to shame.

Right. People who actually do physical labor are generally stronger than the guys in the gym, pumping iron for a few hours. Specific weights and specific motions will indeed improve one's physique. Working all day long makes a big difference in overall strength. I was in no way cut, but at the tender age of 30 I could pick up a small block Chevy engine short block (block, crankshaft, rods, pistons and cam) off the ground and put it in the back of a truck, unassisted. That's about 325 pounds. And I have those damned chicken legs!

It's amazing what the working body can achieve - with a bit of technique. I doubt that I could now even lift one of the 5metre, 25kg aerial mast sections I used to just chuck onto my shoulder and carry around in the RAF. Have carried an almost complete old 4 cylinder Jowett Javelin engine a about 50 yards.

[Dark Lightning]

Yup. I can't pick up one of the heads, now. I was carrying some boxes, edging sideways through the garage and collided with the edge of a cabinet; no rounded edges. Since I'm not spitting blood, I don't think I have a punctured lung, but man this smarts. Bruised for sure, and possibly cracked ribs. Going to the doctor if it doesn't abate in a few more days. All they'll be able to do for those ribs is X-ray them and say, "Yup, those broken!", anyway. <-- Can't do that, either. Salonpas to the rescue!

[jumbojak]

Pants are tricky for me. I have large legs and extremely muscular calves so most pants are too tight in the legs there.

Muscular calves are a rarity in men it seems. Going to the gym you see all those men buffed up in their upper bodies, but with rather noodly legs. I know it's much easier to put on more muscle in the arms than in the legs, but it seems to me like some of those men don't even try.

It's rather bizarre.

Muscle men with chicken legs make me chuckle. What's even funnier is seeing a lot of these fitness buffs try do do actual work. I think working out puts muscle in the wrong places. I'm not nearly as strong after getting hurt but, despite  not looking cut, I can usually put those fellows to shame.

Right. People who actually do physical labor are generally stronger than the guys in the gym, pumping iron for a few hours. Specific weights and specific motions will indeed improve one's physique. Working all day long makes a big difference in overall strength. I was in no way cut, but at the tender age of 30 I could pick up a small block Chevy engine short block (block, crankshaft, rods, pistons and cam) off the ground and put it in the back of a truck, unassisted. That's about 325 pounds. And I have those damned chicken legs!

The strongest person I've ever known was a tire guy at our local shop. He was a bit slow to be honest, but he could pick up a full fifty-five gallon drum and sit it in the bed of a pickup and swing a short handled eight pound maul all day long breaking beads. Chubby, soft looking guy but if he ever got his hands on you when he was mad there was no escape.

[Dark Lightning]

That's one strong guy! My middle son is like that. He worked at a chemical place doing the preliminary dispensing of chemicals for cosmetics. Before he went to work there, I convinced him to buy safety boots, and thankfully he heeded my warning. Back when I worked as a mechanic, I always wore safety boots, but when I was close to graduating from the university, I cheaped out and bought the non-safety variety, saving myself $10. Then I dropped a disc brake rotor mounted in the mandrel when I went to mount it on the lathe. My right great toe is 1/4" longer and wider than the left as a result, and I was out of work for 6 weeks. $10, my ass.  Since he took my advice, he's had a 400 kg (yes, that is correct!) barrel set on his foot with impunity. He could slide those things (they are polyethylene) along the floor, or tip them up and roll them on the edge of the bottom into the dispensing room. Crazy.