As I sit here sipping my morning coffee from Prado and scrolling thru facebook………
It occurs to me that every ad I see is about menopause and the ever – expanding girth that goes with it. Is this what my life is destined to be? Should I purchase my plot at Ocean View now? And seriously… HOW CAN I STOP SEEING THESE DUMB ADS? ( I adjusted my FB settings so hopefully that will do the trick!) So now, I felt inspired as a middle aged woman, to post some tips about Fitness & Health for us ‘almost over the hill’ ladies. (Men you should read this too since after all, I AM your trainer) Now, before we try to do or read about all the ‘things’ out there, we need to focus on the 3 basics: Food, Sleep & Exercise. Let’s talk about those:
- Food : How’s your eating? Great? Good? Some days good, some days donuts? The things we eat are like medicine for our body. Think of your meals like fuel for your car. The older it gets the more service it needs ha! I find as I am getting older, I do not need to snack. If I feel pequish it’s because I did NOT eat adequately at the previous meal. For me personally, around 1650 cal a day helps me maintain where I am at. It’s easy to track on your Health app for just 1 week to get the general idea of how much you consume. We are all different so perhaps you need more or less. 2-3 cups of veggies a day is a MUST!
- Alcohol: Kind of goes in line with food right? Starting your day with coffee & ending with wine is a great idea… True or False? Seriously, there is absolutely nothing cool about a ‘wine mom’ so ditch that habit ASAP. Start with water , end with water. (By the way I will never give up my 1 coffee after bootcamp it won’t ever happen ha!)
- Sleep: Are you getting your 8 hours? A sure way to toss & turn at night is to eat too much or drink alcohol after dinner. Not getting enough sleep will raise your Cortisol levels because your body will feel stressed. When that happens you will think you’re hungry and reach for the munchy stuff.
- Exercise: Never mind this 3 day a week stuff, aim for an hour a day of anything. Spread it out if you like during your break or evenings. Do what works for you, just make sure you add in the strength training to build those muscles because THAT IS THE KEY to everything!! I will talk about that more later.
Now these are the 4 basics. First, they need to be addressed and THEN, the micro managing can begin! Stay tuned for future blogs where I will discuss some basic meal ideas, hormone facts & effective exercises you can do to COMBAT the middle aged rut!! This next stage of my life will be all about empowering and educating my dear bootcamp friends so we can grow old together and kick some butt!! ( Just like Betty Jean in the morning class at 93 years old! )
