Issue 0: Why I Started Forged50
The origin story — and what you can expect from this newsletter
I'm 54 years old.
I run 4-5 days a week. I lift 3 days a week. I cycle. I track my HRV every morning, log my sleep, and obsess over my Garmin data like most people check Instagram.
And for years, despite all of that, I couldn't shake the weight.
That's the thing nobody tells you about being an active guy in your 50s. You can do everything "right" — train consistently, eat reasonably, stay off the couch — and still watch the scale creep in the wrong direction. I wasn't sedentary. I wasn't eating fast food every night. I was genuinely putting in the work.
It didn't matter.
The semaglutide experiment
About a year ago I decided to try semaglutide — a GLP-1 agonist that's been all over the news. The results were underwhelming. Minor appetite suppression, minimal weight change, and the nagging feeling that I'd just paid a lot of money for not much.
So I started digging deeper.
That research led me to retatrutide — a newer peptide still in Phase 3 clinical trials, targeting three receptors instead of one. The early data was striking. I decided to try it.
The results have been anything but underwhelming.
In 30 days I dropped nearly 9 pounds. My resting heart rate stayed at 50 bpm. My training didn't suffer. And for the first time in years, the scale was moving in the right direction — without starving myself or backing off training.
I'm not telling you this to sell you anything. There's nothing to buy here. I'm telling you this because it's what actually happened, and this newsletter is about what actually happens — not what's supposed to happen.
What Forged50 is
I'm one year from early retirement.
That timeline changes how I think about health. This isn't about vanity. It's about being able to run trails, lift, cycle, and do the things I love well into my 50s, 60s, and beyond. The research is clear — the habits you build now determine what your next two decades look like. I intend to build the right ones.
Forged50 is where I document that process. In public. With real data.
Every week I'll share:
My actual biometric data — HRV, resting heart rate, body weight, sleep architecture. Not cherry-picked. All of it. If you’re not tracking HRV, the Garmin Forerunner 970 is what I use - it changed how I approach training recovery.
My current protocol — what I'm taking, why, what changed, and what I stopped (and why I stopped it)
Training breakdowns — real workouts, real paces, how recovery actually feels at 54
Longevity research — what the science says, filtered through what I'm actually experiencing
The retirement parallel — because getting your health right and getting your finances right before 55 are more connected than most people think
I'm semi-anonymous by choice. No full name, no face. The data is the credibility.
What this isn't
This isn't a doctor's advice. Nothing here is medical advice. I'm a guy in his mid-50s running experiments on himself and sharing the results. Everything I try, I've researched extensively — but you should too, and you should talk to a qualified provider before changing anything.
This also isn't a supplement sales pitch. I don't sell anything. When I reference products or services I use, I'll tell you if there's an affiliate relationship — and there will be some. But I won't recommend anything I don't actually use.
The promise
I'll publish every week. Free subscribers get the highlights. Paid subscribers ($15/month) get the full data — complete protocol details, lab results, biometric breakdowns, and the unfiltered version of what's working and what isn't.
If you're a man over 50 who trains, tracks, and refuses to accept that decline is inevitable — you're in the right place.
Welcome to Forged50. Let's get to work.
— The guy behind Forged50
Share this with someone who needs it.
Not medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before changing any protocol. Peptides referenced are used in a personal research context.
This post contains affiliate links. I only recommend products I personally use