Fifty and Fit

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HeatherCSamps17
HeatherCSamps17 Posts: 22 Member
in Motivation and Support

Looking for inspiration from other women and men who can show me that it is possible to be fifty or over 50 and fit!
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  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,172 Member
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    I'm 57, have been on MFP for (I think) for about 6 weeks. Have lost just over 10 pounds. Started running the Couch to 5K program 5 weeks ago and can now run 20 minutes straight. The Zumba classes I've been taking for a year really helped my cardio stamina, for sure. Also began a gym class called BodyPump, doing the the low weights so I can keep up with the reps. My friend sold me a bike and I'm riding twice a week. You can totally do this, too! Good luck!
  • lpina2mi
    lpina2mi Posts: 425 Member
    edited July 2017
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    HeatherCSamps17 wrote: »
    Looking for inspiration from other women and men who can show me that it is possible to be fifty or over 50 and fit!

    I think of Jane Fonda, Michele Obama, Barbara Kingsolver, Cher, Rita Moreno, Wendy Whelan, Gloria Steinem, Jane Goodall, Emmylou Harris...or am I dating myself?
  • 88olds
    88olds Posts: 4,485 Member
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    Ok. I started at age 44, 285 lbs. Lost on my own to about 215-220. My goal was 204.

    Like a lot of guys I soon joined a gym. Built muscle but could never get below 212. Finally at age 56 I decided to make another serious effort.

    I joined Weight Watchers. Ended up at about I weighed when I graduated HS. I'm 67 now. My little avitar pic is me this time last year on a paddlboard. This morning's WI- 177lbs.

    So yeah, it can be done.
  • HermanLily
    HermanLily Posts: 217 Member
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    54, totally possible
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    My Newspaper Article Feature:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10347057/my-success-story-made-the-front-page-of-the-newspaper?new=1
    http://archive.kitsapsun.com/news/woman-making-strides-in-weight-loss-fitness-2cecd299-3c0a-5674-e053-0100007f162c-370759861.html
    Before and After, Same Outfit
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10488151/before-and-after-same-outfit/p1?new=1
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,140 Member
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    Just turned 50 and am an avid long distance cyclist.

    In the past couple weeks I have ridden a difficult 210 km event (hot & hilly) and then a week later cycled a quick 160 km event.

    My husband is 61 and he rides with me.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    I was fat and but fairly fit from age 31 to age 52. I had a very peculiar (and daft!) excuse for staying fat for twenty years but too many use age as their personal excuse.

    Now I'm slim and very fit at age 57. Clocked up over 4000 miles of cycling in 10 months last year including riding a lifetime best distance in a day (129 miles). There's an awful lot of cyclists quite a bit older than me completing all day events with a smile on their face and looking remarkably fit.

    50's have been a great decade for health and fitness, probably my best decade since I was a teenager. One of the big factors is I simply have more "me time" now the children are grown up - use that time wisely to invest in your healthiest future possible would be my advice.
  • MidModJenn
    MidModJenn Posts: 216 Member
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    lorrpb wrote: »
    My Newspaper Article Feature:
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10347057/my-success-story-made-the-front-page-of-the-newspaper?new=1
    http://archive.kitsapsun.com/news/woman-making-strides-in-weight-loss-fitness-2cecd299-3c0a-5674-e053-0100007f162c-370759861.html
    Before and After, Same Outfit
    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10488151/before-and-after-same-outfit/p1?new=1

    WOW! You look radiant. Congratulations! :)
  • b3achy
    b3achy Posts: 2,128 Member
    edited July 2017
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    I'm 52yo, been on MFP for over a year. I'm 5'3" and lost 25 lbs from May 2016 - Jan 2017, been maintaining at 120-125lbs for the past 6 months or so. I am also in my third season of stand-up paddleboard racing, mostly on flat water in Florida. This is my first year on a real race board, as I was previously racing short/SUP Surf boards. Currently, I do the short races (3-4 miles), but hope to start moving up to some of the longer "pro/elite" races (6-10 miles) next year. Most of the ladies in the 50+ division that beat me are older than me, and a couple of them are in their 60's. One of the best/legend paddlers on the east coast is a 65+ yo gent who in one long race a couple of years ago beat all the other paddlers in the race (which had mostly 20-40 yos). It's very do-able to be 50+ and fit.
  • HeatherCSamps17
    HeatherCSamps17 Posts: 22 Member
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    Wow, y'all are truly amazing! I love all of the replies and most of all, your personal stories. Now, I really need to literally step up and join the 50+ & Fit party!
  • LZMiner
    LZMiner Posts: 300 Member
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    I'm 50, soon to be 51! Totally doable! I'm 5'4" and 127 lbs, curvy and toned. Yoga 2x a week and Pilates. Feel free to send me a friend request.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,140 Member
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    Review of the last couple years, and my July so far. I post this stuff in some Challenges threads. Check the Challenges forum.
    Review ... (Distances include cycling + walking)
    March 15: 489.8 km (304.3 miles) = 38 hours 4 min
    April: 491.94 km (305.6 miles) = 43 hours 6 min
    May: 361.81 km (224.8 miles) = 35 hours 50 min
    June: 569.53 km (353.9 miles) = 41 hours 53 min
    July 2015: 230.7 km (143.35 miles) = 32 hours 45 min
    Aug: 211.3 km (131.3 miles) = 28 hours 8 min
    Sep: 306.7 km (190.6 miles) = 35 hour 2 min
    Oct: 441.82 km (274.5 miles) = 47 hours 43 min
    Nov: 660.21 km (410.23 miles) = 60 hours 41 min
    Dec: 499.91 km (282.8 miles) = 54 hours 56 min
    Jan: 864.79 km (537.35 miles) = 65 hours 36 min
    Feb: 470.53 km (292.4 miles) = 40 hours 39 min
    March 16: 917.73 km (570.2 miles) = 66 hours 13 min
    April: 417.83 km (259.6 miles) = 40 hours 23 min
    May: 267.09 km (165.9 miles) = 36 hours 10 min
    June: 552.1 km (343 miles) = 54 hours 48 min
    July 2016: 709 km (440.5 miles) = 60 hours 41 minutes
    Aug: 775.9 km (482.1 miles) = 54 hours 52 minutes
    Sep: 371.3 km (230.7 miles) = 32 hours 20 min
    Oct: 649 km (403.3 miles) = 49 hours 46 min
    Nov: 403 km (250.4 miles) = 52 hours 16 min
    Dec: 511.05 km (317.55 miles) = 52 hours 2 min
    Jan: 741.9 km (461.0 miles) = 70 hours 3 min
    Feb: 600.5 km (373.1 miles) = 57 hours 30 min
    Mar: 1113.2 km (691.7 miles) = 78 hours 25 min
    Apr: 1181.9 km (734.4 miles) = 76 hours 45 min
    May: 426.6 km (265.1 miles) = 39 hours 21 min
    June: 575.7 km (357.7 miles) = 41 hours 53 min

    Look at that! I did the same time of exercise in June as I did 2 years ago. Consistency!

    July ... somewhere in between my two previous Julys would be good. :)

    _______________________________

    July 1 - 161.5 km cycling (510 min) + 0.5 km walking (6 min). This was a 150 km event put on by the BC Randonneurs to celebrate Canada's 150th birthday. :) Plus a bit extra.
    July 2 - 3 km walking (35 min)
    July 3 - 3.5 km walking (43.75 min) + 20.00 km cycling (63.16 min)
    July 4 - 1 km walking (12 min) + 28.3 km cycling (90 min)
    July 5 - 1.5 km walking (18 min) + 33.8 km cycling (105 min)

    July 6 - 4 km walking (50 min) + 50.9 km cycling (160 min)

    July 7 - 3 km walking (35 min) + 30.5 km cycling (95 min)


    2017 Monthly July
    Walking Distance (km): 16.5
    Walking Time (min): 206.3
    Cycling Distance (km): 325.0
    Cycling Time (min): 1026.3

    Totals
    Total Distance (km): 341.5
    Total Distance (miles): 212.2
    Total Time (min): 1232.6
    Total Time (hr): 20:32:34
  • HeatherCSamps17
    HeatherCSamps17 Posts: 22 Member
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    Wow! You look amazing! I love your adventurous spirit and it certainly has inspired me! If you started at 54 and look like this now, then there is still hope for me. I am 52 and going to get serious about exercising and having fun! Thanks for sharing.
  • HeatherCSamps17
    HeatherCSamps17 Posts: 22 Member
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    middlehaitch wrote: »
    Woke up one day and realized I had become fat, frumpy, and 50+.

    Lost 30 lbs and started doing some exercise.
    Now I am svelte, strong, and 60+.

    My outside now suits my inside.

    I have never loved exercising, heck I'd never done any until I was 54! But I do love what I am able to do because I have continued to exercise and started to lift.

    Aqua fit and swimming lessons= snorkelling in the Caribbean.

    Walking and participating in 10km races= walking all day around, Rome, Istanbul, Pompeii, etc, and still being able to do it again the next day without aching feet.

    Belly dancing and zumba= I can still dance till dawn.

    Hiking up and down the 2 small mountains that I can see from my living room window= when the going got tough I could lead a pony up through a steep heavily treed mountain slope, then relax in a waterfall at the top. Nothing prepared me for how my thighs felt after a few hours on that pony though- I was walking like John Wayne for a couple of days- not attractive.

    Good old Pilates, and the like= rappelling down cliffs, kayaking through mangroves, good flexibility and balance so I will try almost anything.

    And best of all I was fit when my one and only grandchild came into this world and I was able to roll around and play with him from day one. He is 7 now and I am still his adventure buddy who roams the woods with him, carries him on my shoulders, and did his first camp out with him this weekend. Just the 2 of us and a stuffed toy to keep us safe.

    I will never be a super athlete, it just isn't me, but if I hadn't made the changes I did at the age of 54, I wouldn't be the woman I am at (31days shy of) 64. And I most certainly wouldn't be having so much fun.

    Before and after.

    5s9y5d20n13z.jpg

    Trying to grow some muscles.

    8dfmy1o6l19b.jpg

    Cheers, h.

    5'1, SW 130 (54yo), CW 100-105 (almost 64), maintained 7+ years.

    I am 5"1 also. I would ❤️ to have those abs, bi's & tri's.
  • cossmoss15
    cossmoss15 Posts: 509 Member
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    @middlehaitch l love your reasons for getting fit! Sounds like you're living it!
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,485 Member
    edited July 2017
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    Thanks for the kind words folks.

    To be honest it is the admiration of people like @lorrpb, @Machka9 (above), and @AnnPT77 (not chimed in), and some of the other women that post here regularly that has kept me going some times. *

    I love their dedication and love of their particular sport and tried hard to find one that I could fall in love with. I couldn't, so decided to take the variety is the spice of life approach and plan vacations and cruises that had lots of challenging adventures that would require a good level of fitness.

    I am not a natural, I prefer a bottle of wine and sitting chatting with good friends or reading a book. My exercise routines are wide and varied and my lifting is a slow progressive recomp- if the opportunity comes up to go away for a few days the programme gets cut from a 3 to a 2 day routine, or dumped and I do body weight or dumbbells.
    I have decided so long as I am doing something extra an hour a day 6 days a week, life is grand.

    Cheers, h.

    Edit: * I should have mentioned a lot of the guys on here are pretty inspirational too.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
    edited July 2017
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    @middlehaitch you have such a great perspective that helps me too! You are one hot momma!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,140 Member
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    middlehaitch wrote: »
    Thanks for the kind words folks.

    To be honest it is the admiration of people like @lorrpb, @Machka9 (above), and @AnnPT77 (not chimed in), and some of the other women that post here regularly that has kept me going some times. *

    I love their dedication and love of their particular sport and tried hard to find one that I could fall in love with. I couldn't, so decided to take the variety is the spice of life approach and plan vacations and cruises that had lots of challenging adventures that would require a good level of fitness.

    Thanks @middlehaitch :)

    You were actually one of the ones who inspired me to get back into cycling when I first signed on here!

    Variety is good. Although cycling is my main thing, I also enjoy dabbling in other stuff as well. On our recent trip, we got in a couple decent hikes. And we keep talking about getting our canoe on the water again!

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