So as a 55 year old woman, I am beginning to feel my age in the day to day aches and pains in my joints!   Sometimes getting up from a seated position or laying on the couch is a lot like unfolding a difficult beach chair!   Once I’m up I’m fine but the getting there is NOT pretty.

Of course this is appalling to me…I always prided myself in being thin and not having to worry about my figure.   That all ended at age 30 when I had my first child (you’re welcome Tommy).  It was a shock to realize that the baby fat doesn’t just fall away as you blissfully breast feed your child.    Enter the gym membership.   And not just the gym membership but the personal trainer.  A former Marine who kicked my butt.  Thankfully, with a combination of running 2-3 miles a few days a week and a good weight lifting program, I managed to get back into fighting pre-baby shape after the first and second pregnancies.  Oh and I also moved in 1996 – that process alone caused me to lose 20 lbs.   Keeping the house showing clean with a dog and two very small kids…great diet plan!  NOT.

Now, the weight has slowly crept back up.  Back injuries and hip pain have caused me to stop running and it’s been a rude awakening to find myself fighting to get back into shape!   And as one ages extra weight is harder on joints etc.  Sadly, my running days are over due to my hip and back issues but I have started walking on the treadmill at an incline that I gradually increase and as I do I keep the mph steady.   At first I found myself hanging on for dear life which is terrible form…if you can’t walk normally its too hard for you, you need to adjust….but with time and perseverance I can now walk into the incline up to 21%.   I may not be able to speak to anyone at that upper level, but I don’t have to hang on !   30 minutes nets me around 400 calories without the pounding of running.   I also love yoga/pilates for strength, flexibility and balance.  I find myself unable to balance as well as I used to…not only from extra weight throwing me off but also from aging.  I almost think this is more important than the cardio as I age.   How many older folks get hurt from balance and falling?   I urge everyone…even men…to do a regular yoga class.   Men have a harder time with flexibility and don’t feel comfortable in these classes often times, but this is exactly why they need to go.  My husband still has not attended.  I’m working on him.  I secretly want to see him in this class so I can laugh at him – but don’t tell him I said that.   One poor man I attended with once was having such a hard time achieving lotus position he farted several times in the process.   It’s poor form to laugh in class when this happens.

I also have started using an iphone app called MY FITNESS PLAN….this allows me to track my calories and exercise so I know pretty accurately what my calorie intake is for the day and I can stay on top of my eating.   LOVE this app.  It allows me to input my own home recipes too…and it has a huge library of restaurant food and grocery foods.   The biggest challenge is figuring out amounts.   Often they list grams instead of cups for certain things.   But for the most part it’s easy and thorough.  One just has to be honest and input EVERYTHING one eats.  Minor detail.

The last thing I have been doing is making one meal a day a smoothie/juice drink.   Usually I do this around brunch time using fruit, spinach ( which is a vegetable that blends well and you don’t taste it) almond milk, whey powder (if you use regular milk or yogurt you don’t need extra protein).  I often add a bit of coconut milk yogurt or flax seeds.  Another favorite is pumpkin puree, almond milk, coconut yogurt, dash of ginger and nutmeg and ice.   It tastes like pumpkin pie!  Many smoothie recipes call for bananas…and I am allergic to them…so I have to find recipes without them.   Pineapple works well in alot of recipes and adds natural sweetness so I don’t have to add honey or any other sweetener.  The protein powder and frozen fruits make the smoothies thick like a milk shake…and they satisfy my hunger.   I usually have a small snack mid afternoon and then a normal dinner.   If I eat a lunch as I am as I write this (chili, guacamole and some yummy desserts at the office)  I will drink my smoothie for dinner.  But since dinner is usually the meal my husband and I share, I try to make dinner my normal meal.  I have experimented with these a bit and I’m one of those who has texture issues with food….if it’s gritty and grainy, I’m not going to drink it.   So there have been some that have gone down the drain fairly quickly.  Taste, I know is also subjective so folks need to try what they like and what works for them.   The NINJA blender is a must for these or some other professional style blender.

I have started to see some slow progress in my waist line…frankly, I’m more concerned with health than weight loss but I wouldn’t mind getting down in pounds a bit.    As I recently joked with a friend “I have a turn of the (20th) century figure that I need to maintain”.   A figure from a time when weight on women was a sign of affluence and money….and women who were tanned and stick thin were the lower classes that had to work hard in the sun everyday to eat.   Now it’s the other way around – of course.

So as we slide into Fall and in anticipation for the feasting of the upcoming holidays….I thought a health oriented blog post would be appropriate.   And as I am enjoying my chili and guacamole I can feel less guilty.