need a "talking to" about exercise 50-60 yo
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I'm a little younger than you. Nine months ago, at the age of 44, I lost the roulette spin and developed an obesity-exacerbated condition. Basically, because my legs had to carry too much... me... the veins in my lower legs collapsed (refluxed) and my lymphatic system got a bit crushed, leading to cellulitis, lymphedema, and a weeping wound on my leg that required daily nurse visits and multiple courses of antibiotics over a 10-week period to treat. (The one that helped the cellulitis didn't help the lymphedema. They tried a couple of others before finding the right one. And then it took three courses of that right one).
Treatment prescribed? Compression stockings and weight loss.
But what got me to start exercising? Reverse psychology. See, when I had that weeping wound, the doctors told me to stay off the leg as much as possible. Keep it elevated. Don't walk. Take a taxi to the office six blocks away. I hadn't been exercising much, but I still loved to walk (even if I generally 'rewarded' myself with a Chipwich or potato knish afterwards, negating the calorie burns). By the time the vascular surgeon confirmed that it was not only safe for me to walk again but vital... I was champing at the bit.
My condition is treatable, not curable. But I am doing what I can to avoid future flare-ups. This is weight loss. This is exercise. This is my life quality on the line. Oh, and P.S.? I kind of like what it's doing for/to my body.3 -
Walk, walk, then walk some more. Build up gradually, add 5-10 min per week. Visit a nursing home. If that doesn't motivated you, I don't know what will1
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ImKaren768 wrote: »I know all these young people are active. I didn't find the category for even less then sedentary when I set up my profile. I'm 59 and have no desire to exercise. BUT, my weight loss is slowing done. So nag me, tell me I can do it...mostly tell me how you get moving!
For me, 'how to get moving' is acceptance that it is up to me to take responsibility for my health - both current and future. And, for me, that means doing the very best I can to be healthy - losing the weight I need/needed to, making healthy but not restrictive food choices, and gaining/maintaining the best fitness level I can.
I also am 59 and will be the first to tell you that doing all of that is no guarantee. I am recovering from major surgery to address a health issue that was totally unexpected and outside of my control. However, I firmly believe that my fitness prior to that surgery was, and continues to be, a huge factor in my recovery. Moving forward, no plans to be 'old'!3 -
I'm going to turn 60 in two months. I was in truly terrible shape two years ago when I determined to lose weight and start progressive weight training. I love it - it makes you feel and look good. This may sound negative... but If you depend on being nagged by others in order to get your act together - you probably never will. Do this for yourself - because YOU want to improve your life. Take charge and just DO IT! You can accomplish more than you think.1
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Thank you for this thread. I'm a 66-yr-old couch potato who is just getting her mind around the idea of becoming fit through exercise. I shouldn't be "mobility impaired" at my age!4
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@ImKaren768 Please click this link and don't let age define you and don't use it as an excuse.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10585399/70-lbs-down-67-years-old-weight-lifter-and-gym-rat-lots-of-pics#latest2 -
I think a lot of people missed your sense of humor, which I love! What's with all this SUPER SERIOUS stuff on these responses??? GOOD GRIEF people, lighten up!!
OK, since you couldn't find a category for less than sedentary, I'll give you one: on the way to a life threatening illness! How's that one? That should be motivating. Then you can pick whichever one is seen most in your family: heart attack, diabetes, stroke. If you have a high stress life, plan on one of those in the next year.
How to get moving: well, get a friend, like me, who is in the same boat and has a sense of humor, and work together! I'll be your friend! I'm on here a lot and on Facebook a lot too!! And the best way to get moving: invite people to your house. You will be sweating for HOURS cleaning everything in sight. Add to that some tai chi and some good yoga and in no time you will be more coordinated as well as more limber. It's a GREAT way to start moving. Tai chi burns some of the HIGHEST calories in exercise! Check it out! And the risk for injury is low because the movements are slow and controlled.
So, in summary, find friends, clean house, add at least an hour a day of tai chi and yoga. Of course eat well. You're already starting out with a great first ingredient: a sense of humor.
PS: I had a STROKE at age 49 in front of my classroom of 7th graders. I'm trying to regain my life and I have a long way to go. I speak from experience, and I know that it can help you.5 -
ImKaren768 wrote: »I know all these young people are active. I didn't find the category for even less then sedentary when I set up my profile. I'm 59 and have no desire to exercise. BUT, my weight loss is slowing done. So nag me, tell me I can do it...mostly tell me how you get moving!
Nah, nagging doesn't work. You've gotten excellent advice in this thread, but it's up to you to make the decision, and then follow through on that decision.
I'm 58 in 2 weeks and the only thing that's even slowed down my workouts have been the rotator cuff surgery I'm rehabbing from now (still doing lower body weight exercises with the docs blessing though) and the staff infection I had last year - that stopped me dead in my tracks for 3 solid weeks due to the antibiotics I was on, too ill to exercise.
As others have said, I run circles around the younger folks at work and still play sports with nieces and nephews in their 20s.
So, how long do you want to feel like you do?0 -
If you are on Facebook check Adriana Miranda in her 60's and for me I role model of where I want to be in her age :-)0
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I'm 61, and I don't relate to the idea of "doing exercise". Weak character that I am, I just like to have fun.
The trick, for me, was that as an inactive, out of shape, obese 46-year-old desk-job IT professional recently out of cancer treatment (6+ months of surgery, chemo, radiation, etc.), I found something active that was really fun: On water rowing. More about that later.
I'm not saying that you should row, necessarily. Maybe you should find a fun aqua-exercise group, or take up line dancing, or hike to bird-watch, or go to an ultra-chill relaxing yoga studio, or resume a childhood hobby like (I dunno) ice skating, or learn to kayak, or take golfing lessons, or learn tai chi, or .... or ... or ....
You need to decide what sounds potentially fun for you, and try it out. If you're not sure, take some beginner group classes, and commit to attending a full session of any class before giving up on it, even if it feels clumsy and impossible at first (as long as it doesn't actually hurt you in some way, of course). In my experience, anything complicated enough to stay fun in the long run is going to be somewhat daunting in the first session or two. Introduce yourself to the instructor, make clear that you're open to tips or modifications that will help you.
I go to my Y regularly. There are people of all ages and fitness levels. No one is out of place. Most people are friendly (a few are shy ). I've made friends there . . . and gym friends tend to be ones who'll want to do other fun active things with us - double win.
So, around 15 years ago, I learned to row. It was fun, but hard & scary. First, we worked on rowing machines. Just walking upstairs to the room was hard: Whew. I wanted to be able to kinda keep up, so I started doing Richard Simmons low-impact aerobics a couple of times a week, in between weekly rowing sessions.
And so on - wanting to do this fun thing better got me to do other things to be a better rower - off-season spin classes, weight training, stretching and yoga, swim lessons - not all at once, but over time, to improve my rowing ability. Most of them turned out to be fun, too! And I met more people doing them, we became friends, they turned me on to other fun active things we did together - virtuous cycle: More fun!
In season, I row 4 days a week, and take spin classes two days, plus do occasional bike rides and weight workouts. In Winter, I do some rowing machine, some swimming, and usually up the length & regularity of weight workouts.
This last Friday, I was out in a boat - one of those long skinny ones like in the Olympics, though ours was slower - with rowers who are 80-something, 71, 70, and (!) 26. Who's the least fit? The 26 y/o.
The 80-something guy rows every single day most of the year, for an hour or more. He also goes on regular bike rides - dozens of miles at a time. Guy's got washboard abs.
The 71-year-old woman - you'd swear she's maybe 55 - rows with me 4 days a week, lifts weights several days a week, takes multi-mile walks with her rambunctious dog, goes to pilates class (taught, not just to seniors, by her 71-year old husband, who has one knee replacement & one hip replacement) twice a week.
The 70 year old woman rows 3 times a week, goes out with a walking group most other days, and weight trains.
All of these people are strong, vital, active, generally healthy (one has osteopenia), energetic, and at a healthy weight. They take few or no medications. They seem to have no problems with daily life activities, including fairly challenging ones.
I also hang out with a group of mixed media artists in their 50s and 60s. Let's consider the 4 of them I see most often. Other than one who does pool exercises twice a week, they are very inactive. Two are severely obese, with mobility problems. One is substantially overweight, only one at a healthy weight.
They have problems with mobility. One gasps audibly from the exertion of walking from her handicap parking spot into the restaurant where we meet. Two are diabetic or prediabetic, take medication for high blood pressure and more, and sometimes struggle with side effects and drug interactions.
Most of them have difficulty with at least some daily life activities like yard work or heavier housework. They ask their adult children for help regularly with routine things.
These kinds of examples seem pretty graphic and instructive to me. I like all of these people, and they all have great character traits and I value them all as friends. But when it comes to choosing my future, I'm pretty clear which of these two groups I want to emulate, and it's pretty obvious to me how to do it.
We don't any of us have guarantees about our futures, but we do have choices. And choices have consequences. So, your call about "exercise".
Apologies for the novel. I feel pretty strongly about this.10 -
I didn't start off loving exercise either. In fact, I looked at is a complete chore. I would have rather gone to the dentist or scrubbed the house with a toothbrush than have gone to the gym.
I finally had enough of feeling terrible and looking terrible so I told myself, 30 days straight in the gym for 60 minutes at a minimum. Much to my surprise, I fell in love with it and now am antsy if I haven't gone by 4pm. My world has changed. My outlook, my looks, everything! I think I've missed 8 days since January.
As with anything, talk to your doc about a plan. Check with a nutritionist too. Once you lose ten pounds and feel that accomplishment you'll probably be hooked! Best of luck.2 -
Get a dog and a super awesome playlist and walk outside. It's really amazing how it can change make your life.1
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I don't love exercise, but I do love walking, hiking, running, backpacking, yoga, dancing, etc. I've been active all my life, partly in reaction to an obese mother who couldn't do half the things she wanted to do because she was too unfit. Travel is a lot less fun when you can't walk more than a block. My family is very long lived and I knew I had a choice as to what kind of life I'd have - sitting on the couch watching TV or living life instead of just watching it. I also didn't want to be one of those people discussed above who spend 20 or more years in bed, just waiting to die.
At 60 I run 35+ miles a week and walk another 20. I only started running 6 years ago but have run 3 marathons. My 78 year old husband can still hike regularly and we walk our dog together twice a day. We know a lot of hikers and backpackers in their 70s. Years ago I decided I wanted to be one of them.
You should think about what you'd like to do and what it will take to get there. Walking is one of the easiest and cheapest activities. Get a dog. Ask a friend or family member to walk with you. Walk at lunch or after dinner. If that doesn't appeal, think of classes you'd like to take: yoga, pilates, Zumba, dance, etc. Since it's summer, go for a swim. In winter, go skiing, snowshoeing, or just for a walk in the snow. Don't think of it as exercise, just as getting out and having fun.6 -
dodieneatfreakwannabe wrote: »I think a lot of people missed your sense of humor, which I love! What's with all this SUPER SERIOUS stuff on these responses??? GOOD GRIEF people, lighten up!!
OK, since you couldn't find a category for less than sedentary, I'll give you one: on the way to a life threatening illness! How's that one? That should be motivating. Then you can pick whichever one is seen most in your family: heart attack, diabetes, stroke. If you have a high stress life, plan on one of those in the next year.
How to get moving: well, get a friend, like me, who is in the same boat and has a sense of humor, and work together! I'll be your friend! I'm on here a lot and on Facebook a lot too!! And the best way to get moving: invite people to your house. You will be sweating for HOURS cleaning everything in sight. Add to that some tai chi and some good yoga and in no time you will be more coordinated as well as more limber. It's a GREAT way to start moving. Tai chi burns some of the HIGHEST calories in exercise! Check it out! And the risk for injury is low because the movements are slow and controlled.
So, in summary, find friends, clean house, add at least an hour a day of tai chi and yoga. Of course eat well. You're already starting out with a great first ingredient: a sense of humor.
PS: I had a STROKE at age 49 in front of my classroom of 7th graders. I'm trying to regain my life and I have a long way to go. I speak from experience, and I know that it can help you.
Nothing wrong with tai chi but it does not burn some of the HIGHEST calories in exercise.
A 125-pound person burns about 240 calories in an hour session, while a 155-pound person burns 300 and a 185-pound person burns 356. A tai chi session is about the equivalent, in terms of calorie burning, as an hourlong walk done at 3.5 mph.
Source:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/424966-calories-burned-by-tai-chi/
Swimming, running, cross country skiing burn substantially more calories for a given time period.2
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