How fit can you get starting at 46

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  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    Didn't you hear 40's are the New 20's!!! :drinker:

    43 years young here and I haven't even come close to hitting my Prime!! :happy:

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  • CherylP67
    CherylP67 Posts: 772 Member
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    On 4/30/12 5 months before my 40th birthday I decided I needed to lose weight and get in shape. I was 306lbs and morbidly obese with high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and most likely diabetic. I had been avoiding going to the doctor for many years so I knew my 40th physical wouldn't be pretty. My goal was to lose 40 pounds in 5 months for my 40th. I started exercising using the Jeff Galloway Easy 5k app. His program uses a run/walk/run interval system to get in shape. When I started I was so fearful of having a medical emergency on my run that I would run laps around our local fire dept so in case I needed help I could yell or crawl for help. Thankfully I never had any problems. In the early days I was running 18 minute miles. Over time I improved my times. I ended up losing 100 pounds by my 40th and ran my first 10k on my 40th. After that I moved onto running my first half this past January. This past Labor Day I ran the Disneyland Half. It was almost 16 months to the day from my first day of running. I ended up finishing the half in 1:53:06 and finished in the top 10% of all finishers. Here is a pic of me from a few weeks after I started and a picture of me after my run yesterday. One thing that has helped in my journey is I have taken a picture when I return home after every run or after every trip from the gym. This has allowed me to see the difference when the scale doesn't show any.

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    You look amazing! So much younger and look how big your eyes are when all the fat is off your face. I would never guess you to be in your 40's!

    Thanks for the tip about taking pics. My first 5k is next month and I'm going to try what you've done.
  • CherylP67
    CherylP67 Posts: 772 Member
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    Didn't you hear 40's are the New 20's!!! :drinker:

    43 years young here and I haven't even come close to hitting my Prime!! :happy:

    WeightlossCollage2012.jpg

    I saw your photos on the fitspiration thread and I LOVE THEM. you are amazing.
  • runs4zen
    runs4zen Posts: 769 Member
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    Amazing stories...and so much in common! We all see ourselves as more fit and better than ever as we get older. Aging ain't what it used to be!!!
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    I am 50 and doing a Marathon in 7 weeks.
  • CherylP67
    CherylP67 Posts: 772 Member
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    I am 50 and doing a Marathon in 7 weeks.

    Fabulous!

    Will this be your first marathon? I'm hoping to build up to a marathon and run one next fall.
  • annie7hudds
    annie7hudds Posts: 199 Member
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    As fit as you want.

    I am 45 and only took up running at age 40. I am still not brilliant, but I persevere. :) There are some people at my parkrun who are in their 70s. And they are faster than many other runners.

    Just think of it this way - you have another 50 years left in you? Keep moving, and you might make it longer. :)

    Go for it I say.
  • Regan45
    Regan45 Posts: 191 Member
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    I thought the same thing - 46 - why bother? This is the way I am now. Over 10 years, I gained 30 pounds. I found myself at 46 exhausted and blah.
    My daughter is a nursing student. She came home for the summer and changed my whole attitude. She started getting me to eat better, then I felt better. She introduced me to MFP and even had me running this summer! Now, the running has slacked since she has gone back to school but I am currently doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I'm on level 3 and I've survived.
    I have lost almost 20 pounds in 2 1/2 months. I haven't felt this good in a long long time. I thought the days of feeling energetic and wearing jeans (not MOM jeans) were over. Not so!
    You can do this and feel 10 years younger! Feel free to add me as a friend if you'd like. Good luck!
  • SJackson50
    SJackson50 Posts: 282 Member
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    The only limits are the ones you put upon yourself. Go get it.

    DITTO!
  • leebesstoad
    leebesstoad Posts: 1,186 Member
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    I'm a 58 year gay man with 2 artificial hips and an artificial knee and I'm in the best shape of my life. One thing I am thinking about doing in the next year, because I have several friends who do it and it is a cause that is near and dear to my heart, is one of the biggest fuindraisers for the AIDS/HIV community. A 545 mile, 7 day bike ride from SF to LA. I was talking with one of my friends who has done the ride the last few years just last night (before I saw your post). And he told me the oldest rider to complete the ride this year was 82 years old. At 46 you are barely even half his age. How fit can you be? Hopefully as fit as an 82 year old enough to ride 545 miles in 7 days.from SF to LA.
  • EL2EL1
    EL2EL1 Posts: 40 Member
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    The best thing about triathlon is that you can start at any age and there are many distances from enticed to ironman. Triathlon training will make you feel good and when you cross the finish line of your tri you will feel AMAZING! Get started, you will not regret it. Triathlon transformed my life.
  • eaglefish
    eaglefish Posts: 130 Member
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    Never a better time to start than today! I'm going on 52 & in the best shape of my life. Lifting more, running faster, eating healthier, running races whenever I want to. Ton's of energy & a much more positive outlook on life.

    Just get started & it'll begin to pay dividends immediately!
  • janetteluparia
    janetteluparia Posts: 318 Member
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    Im 50 and in better shape than when I was 30 raising kids and not taking care of myself. You got this!!
  • juleszephyr
    juleszephyr Posts: 442 Member
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    Depends how much work you are willing to put in honestly. There are plenty of people on here who have never worked out until recently (myself included) who are totally rocking it.

    I lost 118lbs five years ago at which point I had pretty much not done anything since being an active teenager. I now work out daily and get up at 5.45am every morning to do a circuit training DVD and am running my fist half marathon in less than 3 weeks.

    So again I repeat. You can get very fit if you are willing to put the work in.... SIMPLE
  • Greywalk
    Greywalk Posts: 193 Member
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    facts:
    Current age 57...
    age when tired of being overweight...47, out of breath going up stairs.

    Then life style: work, home, whatever my wife wanted to do.
    Current life style: work, home, running, soccer, whatever my wife wants to do.

    Then attitude: just make it to retirement....
    Current attitude: wow next game is and how many of us are running the 5K in November?

    Then 47 and weighing 237 lbs,
    Now 57 weight currently 200...yeah weigh in is Wednesday and I hope to book one more lb before then.

    Other changes:
    2007 ran a half-marathon. Myself and a friend will begin training this winter for a half-marathon to be run in the fall of 2014. I am also working on my master's degree. No longer tired all the time.

    last physical...doctor said lose a few pounds. My family history, father/mother overweight my father high blood pressure, adult type 2 diabetic. Me, no high blood pressure, heath pretyty good, cardio system a go. I am fortunate to have friends and family who even when I was as old as I was when I started to be supportive of me and encouraging.

    Can do!
  • 55in13
    55in13 Posts: 1,091 Member
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    I am 54. At the beginning of this year, I was 55 pounds heavier than I am now. My only exercise each day was climbing two and a half flights of stairs to my office (skipped using the elevator to stay healthy :ohwell: ) and I was winded when I reached the top. I decided to lose some weight and really get in better shape. I started with the C25K and ran a 5k in April. I kept running further and faster. I ran over 300 miles between Memorial Day and Labor Day. I am running my first half marathon in a couple of weeks and I am not even nervous about whether or not I can do it. I have run over 10 miles several times. My times are not competitive but if I really wanted to compete I could. I can maintain a heart rate of over 160 for over 2 hours. Crazy, huh? And I really haven't pushed all that hard.
  • Micbou1
    Micbou1 Posts: 33 Member
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    Very inspiring!!! Great job!

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