Waistline Retrieval After 40

by Mary Andrews


Let’s set parameters of where I’m coming from here.

At 53 years old, I am afflicted by type II diabetes, asthma, somewhat raised cholesterol, as well as whatever caused me to have to have a heart stint installed a few years ago, menopause, and a severe case of poverty.

What does this mean? Well, for starters, Even under medication, I have trouble breathing when I over exert/exercise, almost everything I need to eat is likely to conflict with one of my ailments, and EVERYTHING costs too much.


POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS:

Isometric exercises can be done in a chair. Basically they involve pitting muscle against muscle for short periods of time- repetitively.

Belly dance isolation movements target and control individual muscles, even sitting in a chair you can do a belly roll-- first in one direction and then back. If your knees aren’t too bad, take a class in it. (Note: most all of this dance is done with the knees bent.) If you do have bad knees, it’s still worth your time to take a class or learn the basics through DVDs, because you can belly dance to any music out there, and we all have a radio.

Also, I’ve heard Tai Chi helps lower blood sugar as well as provide isometric and isostatic exercise for people of any age.

Walk the dog. Walk the mall. Walk with a buddy.

When I was younger, I used to do sit ups in bed before I would get up. I’d just throw the blankets down over my feet and do them. I started with as many as I could stand, then I’d do one more and quit. Great way to wake up and get the blood pumping. Each day I would add five more.

I also used to come home from work and turn on the radio. For the duration of 3-5 songs I grabbed up a little weight and exercised to the music, then took my shower and did house-stuff. It was actually very energizing too.


EATING SOLUTIONS:

Drink more water. I heard of one lady, who every time she wanted to eat something, she would drink a glass of water. If she still wanted it after that, she would try not to each much of it.

Oprah did a show about the French diet. She says that they eat all kinds of rich foods, but they have smaller, often tiny, portions. Makes sense to me.

Lose the cokes—even diet ones.

Eat more vegetables and salads, lose the carbs as much as possible, cut/cook the fat off your beef, eat more fish/turkey/chicken, give up anything with flavor, etc etc etc.


All of the above will help you out, but the biggest thing you need, is to decide what you do or do not want, and why.

Do you overeat to feel better, or is it in defiance of the universe?

I haven’t had cable TV in a couple of decades, so I’ve ended up watching way too many God awful exercise programs and advertisements. At first they really just pissed me off. Scantily clad, rib-showing sweet young things who don’t even have the decency to break a sweat are telling me how to lose weight and spend money I don’t have. Yeah, right.

Fact is, they inspired me to jump up and snack on something, even if I didn’t want it. So take that! (Not my brightest move, but what’s a poor, old, fat girl gonna do?) But before I realized it, each time they came on I actually started to get hungry (stupid Pavlov). So when I finally realized it, I started drinking a glass of water whenever I see the evil stick girls taunting me verily from the tube.

Defiance eating is a misguided form of reclaiming control over your life. As body parts start to fall off with age, and even the ugly guys/gals at the club won’t dance with you, and you find yourself training the people you work for, and everybody everywhere seems to have more say in your life than you do, that last bastion of power that only you control is THE RIGHT TO BE WRONG. Much akin to your misery, nobody but you can change it.


And as we age, we must work within whatever parameters we are given.
Good luck

30 pounds or 30,000 words--it's all good!

I didn't gain my weight at 40--it hit me at 35. We moved to Virginia and in six months, I gained 30 pounds, not changing my eating habits or my exercise level. My doctor told me I was getting old. I'm blaming Virginia.

At any rate, neither diagnosis is helping me lose the weight, so recently, I've tried to implement a routine of daily walking. However, as a very busy writer and homeschooling mom, I don't have time or opportunity to wander my neighborhoods aimlessly. Besides, I find that deadly dull. Instead, I set up the ironing board in our bedroom, put the laptop on it, and march as I type. I march while blogging (yes, like now), doing e-mails or while on chats. Usually, I pick times when typos are not as serious because, let's face it, typing on a computer perched on an ironing board while the knees are lifting and at least one arm is pumping isn't the time for accuracy.

People thought I was nuts, but it's been working...slowly. However, I've found my inspiration: http://theweightlifter.blogspot.com/2006/10/low-cal-6011-min-warbiking-3-months-41.html

I want his set-up! Once we move to Minot, I'll be looking for a machine I can attach my laptop to; or I may see what the gym on base has to offer.

Now all I need is a T-shirt that says 30 pounds or 30,000 words--it's all good!

PS--Check out my virtual book tour this August. Forty stops in 31 days and none of it is fattening! http://isigsf.tripod.com for details

Karina Fabian
www.fabianspace.com
www.freewebs.com/dragoneyepi
http://isigsf.tripod.com