Fit at 50 and Beyond – Aches & Pains

I have heard it said that “the best doctor is the one inside yourself.” I think one could say something similar with respect to dieting. So many people are searching for the perfect diet. The South Beach Diet, The Atkins Diet, The Jenny Craig Diet, and about 100 other fad Diets . . . Are these the magic bullet? In my opinion they are not needed. I learned two things many years back concerning weight loss:

1. Weight loss is not as important as weight maintenance.
2. To maintain your weight, get enough exercise, especially after meals.

Why Is It Important To Exercise After Meals?
Many years back my wife was trying out the Hilton Head Metabolism Diet. Two features of this diet consist of exercise and a low fat diet. Specifically, according to the diet, exercise is to be done after meals in order to increase one’s metabolism. It is accepted medical fact according to Webmd.com and Mayoclinic.com, that exercise increases metabolism. And exercise that develops muscle, like weight lifting (or lifting heavy boxes in your garage), is even more beneficial. In fact, at Webmd.com they mention an “Afterburn Effect” of such muscular activity that can last for as much as 24 hours after the activity.

My Winter Exercise Plan!

What Types of Exercise Do I Do To Keep Weight Off?
The answer to this question is “Any!” Any type of activity will work. You can walk, jog, ride a bike, play catch with your kids, or work on a project. You should, however, try to work in some activities that develop muscle if you can on several days a week and try to do some aerobic type exercise like walking, biking, swimming, or jogging  on some days. Personally, I jog 3.75 miles every other day. And on the non-jogging days I will work on projects around the house for an hour or so after dinner that often involve lifting of some sort. One winter I cleaned and organized our incredibly cluttered storage shed – it took about 15 after-dinner 1-hour sessions! And truthfully, I don’t think I would have straightened it up any other way   Also, I reserve a fire wood pile for splitting in our cold winter months when physical activity is restricted, even though I could easily afford to buy a wood splitter and split it all in a day or two. The wood splitting is the ultimate in upper body muscle development!  So get active, and maybe clean up your garage while you are at it!

Of course, use good judgment before starting any exercise plan and consult a doctor if you have health or age-related concerns. For example, shoveling your walk after a heavy snow when you have a heart condition would not be a good idea.

But I Want To Lose Weight!
Losing weight is all about energy. As stated at Webmd.com, “… weight is dependent on the balance of total calories consumed versus total calories burned.” Burn up more energy than what is provided by your food intake and you will lose weight. I would suggest maintaining your current diet caloric intake (minus any fatty foods or excessive calories) and increasing or doubling your physical activity level. You will lose weight, since you are burning up more calories than you are taking in. And you will probably convert some fat (low density) to muscle (higher density) so even if you do not lose much weight, you will become trimmer.

More Tips
Get enough sleep. It is strongly suggested that sleep-deprived people tend to gain weight – see article at Medscape.com. It makes sense to me – When you are tired, you tend to not be physically active. Also, eat a balanced diet, avoiding excessive amounts of high fat foods and especially avoiding excessive amounts of  “empty calorie” foods like soda, candy, and snack cakes.

Yes, it is that simple! And the cost of this diet plan? Nothing, it is free. So get active, watch what you eat, and stay healthy and well rested.

Benefits of Keeping Physically Active
You will feel better. Much better! Personally, I feel bloated and all out of sorts if I can not get some sort of exercise on a daily basis. Often, I will not sleep well if I have not gotten some sort of exercise.  And personally, I would rather be able to take care of myself in my elder years instead of being a burden on my children – keeping fit will help achieve that goal. You can read about more benefits of exercise at Mayoclinic.com.  As an added note, upon receiving the results of my blood work done as part of my recent physical examination, my doctor recommended “Get 30 minutes aerobic exercise each day”. He also stated that he makes this recommendation to virtually every patient he sees.