Forces are combining together at the moment, and they are all pushing me in the same direction. …
This month Marsha at Splenderosa is asking us to talk about what we see as a challenge, and right now few things are challenging me more than improving my physical fitness.
This is not about being super thin, it is not about pretending to be something I am not, it is just about feeling better, feeling more comfortable, remaining agile, it is about respect for myself and for those around me …
As a blogger I inevitably spend a part of each day sitting at my desk. I enjoy that … I am creative, I am communicating, I am working and having fun. …this is not about to stop but there is a need for a new balance.
For someone like myself who has always got away with a minimum amount of exercise, it is difficult to bite the bullet because I know it will mean making changes in my daily routines …. Getting out and about no matter the weather … Feeling some aching muscles and being more careful about what I eat.
This sort of challenge is easier at 20 because your body is quicker to react, but I know that this time I’ll be needing more discipline, it will take longer to see and feel results and I guess my challenge right now comes in finding that discipline.
So what is my great plan? Well I’ll be exercising each day and ignoring those croissants, but what I’d like to ask you is where do you find the strength to improve your self discipline? For whatever reason?
Where does your motivation come from, what helps you the most? and if you were standing beside me in a moment of weakness, which words would you choose to keep me on the straight and narrow?!
Thank you, I look forward to reading your words of advice.
And if you would like to see what other bloggers are finding a challenge, just pop over here.
66 comments
I love your blog and I love the Tuesday posts Marsha puts together! I dream of being a part of all of it one day as my blog grows. Each time I read your posts I am inspired and feel a sense of renewal….thank you!
Hi Melissa,you are right, Marsha’s monthly parties a great fun, we are blessed to have her!
Xx
I feel exactly the same and get my best exercise with motivated friends on the weekend. We have the opposite problem in Australia, it has been so very hot. I also work full-time so sit at a desk most of the day. I find that I do better if I do my exercise first thing in the morning. I absolutely love your blog – it is so visually beautiful. I look forward to it popping into my in box…thank you, Lyn
Thank you Lynn, having lived in India for a while, way back, I remember how the heat could make it difficult to exercise ….. I found an arrangement with one of the palace hotels in town, and swam a couple of miles in their pool each dawn!
Xx
Thank you Lynn, I know what you mean about exercising in the heat. We lived in India for a while, way back, and in the end I came to an ‘arrangement’ with one of the big palace hotels in town, and swam a mile in their pool every morning at dawn!
Xx
Stepping up to excercise was a challenge for me as well. My 20 ‘s and 30’s were never troubled with a thought of weight management bet exercise or watching what I eat. Then things began to slow and the weight creepy on. My next birthday is the big 6-0 and have vowed not to be in my sixth decade on earth overweight and full of aches and pains. I found walking and Pilates. Walking helps with cardio and keeping weight off but Pilates keeps me limber and joints free from ahes. Search for the right fit and when you find it, you will look forward to class, your activity and waking up feeling great every morning. Good luck!
Hi holly, I have tried the local gym classes, but it takes up so much precious time in an already ambitious agenda ….. I love to walk because it just means stepping out the door with the dogs and can be done any time …. I think I should look into Pilates
Xx
Stepping up to excercise was a challenge for me as well. My 20 ‘s and 30’s were never troubled with a thought of weight management bet exercise or watching what I eat. Then things began to slow and the weigh crept on. My next birthday is the big 6-0 and have vowed not to be in my sixth decade on earth overweight and full of aches and pains. I found walking and Pilates. Walking helps with cardio and keeping weight off but Pilates keeps me limber and joints free from ahes. Search for the right fit and when you find it, you will look forward to class, your activity and waking up feeling great every morning. Good luck!
Stepping up to excercise was a challenge for me as well. My 20 ‘s and 30’s were never troubled with a thought of weight management bet exercise or watching what I eat. Then things began to slow and the weigh crept on. My next birthday is the big 6-0 and have vowed not to be in my sixth decade on earth overweight and full of aches and pains. I found walking and Pilates. Walking helps with cardio and keeping weight off but Pilates keeps me limber and joints free from aches. Search for the right fit and when you find it, you will look forward to class, your activity and waking up feeling great every morning. Good luck!
Sorry for the three posts. My iPad is acting up. Hope you are faster at your new challenge than my iPad is at updating. Xx-hb
My motivation comes from wanting to be as active as possible without limitations. I do Yoga and walk. I plan to add some more cardio over the winter. I pride myself on staying relatively lean for one in her 70’s. Yes it gets more and more difficult with the passing of the years. But, just trying to maintain motivates me. I do it first thing in the morning. It is as much my morning routine as my coffee. Being outdoors early is a blessing by itself. It prepares me for the challenges of the day. If I can go out in the cold and the heat, I can handle whatever comes along that day. Set a time and stick to it!
I admire your discipline Bonnie. Early morning sounds good but my day already kicks off at 7 and I’m not sure I have the willpower to start exercising at 6 ….. In the summer …. Maybe!
Sharon
X
Ah yes, I know exactly how you feel. I turned 60 last year and actually have more energy that I ever thought I would at this particular age. Starting an exercise regime is the hardest part, but once you get into a routine, because we are all creatures of habit, it will become your first choice of things to do. I’ve tried everything, did Pilates for 10 years, yoga, spinning and now I’m into high intensive interval training which takes only about 30 min to accomplish. I do this at a gym in a class situation which makes it easier. You could always go the route of a personal trainer too. If you were doing it with me Sharon, we would encourage each other and share in our aches and pains and know that because we are taking good care of our bodies it will reward us in many, many ways and that occasional croissant will taste all the better. Bonne chance, I know you will accomplish what you set out to do. Cheri
Hi Cheri, I have seen this interval training on the net – it looks appealing … And exhausting! I was thinking of giving it a go, thank you for your words of encouragement
Sharon
X
My motivation comes from this: I am a senior woman who has been through a myriad of health issues in her 65 years. I only have so many years left on God’s Good Earth, a wonderful husband, children and a gran. I want to stay as healthy as possible to enjoy my family and the travel I can still do, Paris this June! 🙂 I do not want to be a burden to my children, so I walk, hit the gym, do yoga and play tennis and golf and this is with a past history of Polio, Guillian-Barre Syndrome and now Fibromylagia and Hypothyroidism. I am not making this up! Yes, I ache and have bad days, but I am motived to exercise and eat right so I feel better. A wise physician from the 1700’s once said, “You will live to a healthy old age if you get a chronic disease and take care of it.” This is so true! So, “Get up, get dressed and get out there people!”
Thank you Michele!!!
I’m 52 and I’ve been a diabetic since 9yrs. Having my second baby at 29 was very dangerous where he had to be 6wks early because I was dying. Since then, slowly I’ve been losing energy. I’ve had 18 surgeries so far. I have many problems and I also have Fibromyalgia.
You have inspired me to do better and not give in. May I copy the quote from the 1700’s? I’d like to keep it around for encouragement!!
Thank you again!!!!
Pam
Michele, you are an inspiration, thank you!
Sharon
X
My motivation comes from this: I am a senior woman who has been through a myriad of health issues in her 65 years. I only have so many years left on God’s Good Earth, a wonderful husband, children and a gran. I want to stay as healthy as possible to enjoy my family and the travel I can still do, Paris this June! 🙂 I do not want to be a burden to my children, so I walk, hit the gym, do yoga and play tennis and golf and this is with a past history of Polio, Guillian-Barre Syndrome and now Fibromyalgia and Hypothyroidism. I am not making this up! Yes, I ache and have bad days, but I am motived to exercise and eat right so I feel better. A wise physician from the 1700’s once said, “You will live to a healthy old age if you get a chronic disease and take care of it.” This is so true! So, “Get up, get dressed and get out there people!”
Hi Sharon, I love your blog and especially all your beautiful photos.
My two sisters, Mum and other family members have all decided to try and get fitter, healthier and hopefully slimmer in 2014. We are in contact with each other by email, phone or in person and send each other hints, tips and encouragement to help keep ourselves on the right path. We are doing the 5:2 diet plus no wine during the week ( well, unless there’s a special occasion! ) and trying to get up to the recommended 10,000 steps per day! I have now done some nice scenic walks along the beach with the hubby.
My other incentive is that we will be coming to France in July – yay! And I will need all my energy for walking around Paris and the countryside. Plus, all that wonderful food.
So Sharon, I think that if you have the support of friends or family even if it’s over the internet you will stay strong. Best wishes, Gaynor
How lovely to be doing this with friends and family! … Now, who could I recruit?
Sharon
X
I really agree with Gaynor. The exercise activities I have “stuck with” have been with one or more friends: a great Pilates class with a close friend (who invited me to join her in the first place) and a water aerobics class with a group of athletes who have become friends. Although it was hard to start, I very soon reached a point where I had to exercise very little discipline to get to these classes: I wanted to be there and missed the camaraderie (and even the exercise) when I had to miss a class. The other exercise that I have sustained has been daily walks on nearby forest trails with the dogs. There is no discipline involved here; the dogs must be walked and I am the only one available to do it. Best wishes!
Stop eating glutinous food and sugar for three weeks, start walking and have fun and you want believe your energy level !!!!! :). I don’t know you Sharon but I love you!!! Harlene
Lucky me !
Xx
I too sit at my desk a good portion of the day, but when I turned sixty, I was hit with a triple play of dreaded news…Diabetes-Osteoporosis-Arthritis. And seeing that there were many more items on my Bucket List to experience, I didn’t want to be D-O-A before they were all checked off, so some drastic action was called for. I just purchased a home and, acting as my own contractor, I gutted it, renovated and moved in in just TWO short months. In the process, I lost 23 lbs! So, when I looked at myself in the mirror, I realized that not one stitch of my clothing fit. Oh dear, I had to buy a whole new wardrobe!
Can’t think of a greater motivation for losing weight and getting fit than the dream of a hike among the ruins of ancient Sicily, (did that last summer), mile long walks with my dog, (she’s loving it…and getting fit herself) and the thought of slipping into leotards without fear of humiliation and taking that ballet class for seniors I’ve always wanted to.
Oh, and did I mention that new wardrobe!?
Hi Sharon,
my motivation is at the age of 80, (I just had the big 50!) I do not want to be home or bed bound instead I have every intention of being fit, healthy, active and doing things that I love. To achieve this
**I don’t “do or think old”
**I eat healthy food 90% of the time (& don’t beat myself up the other 10%!)
***Move Move Move at every opportunity & a 20min strength training session 2/week
I highly recommend the free app MOVES – as we all carry our mobiles everywhere -it counts your daily steps, the aim is to get to 10,000 /day , and if you don’t get close you end up competing with yourself to do better the next day!
(Research shows that just 10,000 steps/day for 365 days a year with no other changes to diet resulted in weight loss)
Enjoy..Caroline
I love it! You are off looking after horses each day, riding, and yet you feel the need to ‘find more time’ for fitness!! A perfectionist if I ever ….
But yes I agree – it’s about finding a balance that works for you. I love that my mother still plays tennis 4 -5 times a week in her 70s and yet I can barely muster a regular game! With two primary school aged boys – it’s keeping anything regular and routine that I find the most difficult!
So I have chosen Pilates as my ‘keeping fit’ once to twice a week as it develops ‘core strength’. So then I can then pretend to keep up with them, whatever they want us to do together – bike riding, cricket at the nets, swimming… at least I feel I am keeping my core muscles strong to cope!
Good luck with your new goals!
Jen
x
I work from home and am on the computer all day for work. With young twin boys it is still hard to exercise each day. My goal has become to get up and move throughout the day. Research now shows sitting is not good at all for us even if you work out and then sit all day. Ugh! Being active in a variety of ways is best. And trying to get 10,000 a day seems impossible for me. I love this blog and all the fellow readers, everyone is so inspiring!
This is exactly what I’ve been trying to do myself Sharon, exercise more & feel better. I had an injury to my hip while painting this house we are now in about 1-1/2 yrs ago & it still hasn’t healed entirely. I’ve tried just about everything so exercising has been at a bare minimum until I heal, or so I thought. I’ve got to just keep it up & so far I’m doing much better lately. The pain isn’t gone entirely but slowly getting less.
I paint every day of the week. It’s my profession, my passion & my love. The hours are fly by & then the sun is down. Balance, I’ve always strived for it but never truly found it.
It looks from the posts here, that we’re all in this together! I don’t doubt you will keep up with your goals! X
I find that stringent workout regimens do not work for me, they do just the opposite. I used to do aerobics like a maniac back in the ’80’s (leg warmers and all, tee hee), children came along and I began going to the gym 3 times a week and taking them for walks in their strollers. Then it was take the girls to the pool, workout in the gym. Then we bought 5 acres and I discovered that by clearing all of that and working like a fool I had no need for exercise equipment. Then I became an obsessed gardener on the wild 5 acres, no need for a gym still. Now… it is riding and has been for 6 years, along with the ongoing obsession with intense gardening. However, I find that now that my horses are home and I no longer ride 5 times a week I am feeling stiff and might be losing my core strength. So… I have found a great YouTube exercise option, Blogilates. A darling young gal with far too much pep and energy can make you sweat in 10 minutes and feel it for 2 days. It really is fun, fabulous and very accessible. My best suggestion to you is.. mix it up. Just do something every day. Good Luck and remember a good 40 minutes hard work on the back of a hunter/jumper is good for both you and the horse. Keep us posted!
Oh my, how perfect! I will be 40 years old come this November 17 and I realized that I spent my entire 30s overweight. I know that it’s kept me from doing things here and there due to the shame or just not being able to find something to wear that makes me feel wonderful in it. Anyways, I signed up for one of those free calorie counting websites (one that does the math for me) and I started walking two miles per day (aside from what I walk as I teach). This week I started a 3-4 mile walk every evening and have lost 10 lbs so far and I haven’t felt this great in years.
I am also learning Italian and made a goal to take a painting workshop to improve my painting skills. THANK YOU so much for sharing your story.
Sharon, at this moment YOU are motivating me!
Like you, I am not a natural exercise person. All my passions involve being seditary- quilting, writing, reading. I’ve always struggled with my weight and since giving up work last spring I’ve put on extra pounds. What you say about not wanting to be super slim, just wanting to be healthy, echoes how I’ve been thinking since the new year started.
We are in the process of having an old farmhouse in Manche renovated and plan to move there full time next year. I want to be fit enough to enjoy all that will come with it- walking, gardening, exploring new places. This should be motivation enough but somehow, on windy, wet days it isn’t proving enough to get me out there. Reading your post has given me a real push, so thank you.
I think it’s a much harder challenge now that so many of us sit behind a computer all (or a lot of) the day…and especially as the working hours now creep beyond the “working day”…I have recently been gifted a bike (one of those fabulous vintage looking ones) by my husband, and so far, it has provided lots of inspiration not just to use it on the many bike trails around us, but has also motivated me to go walking more….of course, the tricky bit is keeping up the motivation! So I am all ears to read what your commenters add to help with that!
I agree with you, Sharon, about the age related need to change course.
The simplest way to describe how I muddle through when it’s a challenge not to give into laziness… I realize that as an artist, I was given a gift and I am obligated to use it.
That keeps me motivated.
Once I start painting, I get lost in it. It seems intoxicating and I am in love with what I’m doing.
Often a painting seems to paint itself…divine intervention?
Thanks to you and Marsha for the moments of introspection.
Hi Sharon
I have just recently signed up to your lovely blog, I am a stylist myself, interested in the Brocante shopping, and have just started a blog….a big challenge for me, to have the motivation and to hope people will follow and find it interesting! Also started an excersise regime, really trying to something every day. I mix mine up with yoga, Pilates and swimming. Living I between Portugal and london, I have found I can do this in both places easily… The challenge is to find motivation to do it, I’d much rather be doing something creative, or reading your lovely blog! It’s inspiring…I hope to come to France for the Brocante shopping, sounds great!
The trick is to find a type of exercise that you find fun, and that you feel better after doing instead of just sore and exhausted. I like Pilates because it’s a good core workout, and I love belly dancing because it’s effective and Fun!
Hi Sharon!!!
I love all the advice from your readers!!!! It’s great!!!
My sister sent me an email 3yrs ago concerning Aspartame. You see I was a popaholic. When everyone gets up and has coffee, I had a diet coke. I would drink a 2L bottle a day and then some. Well, this email was about how a woman near death was told about Aspartame. She quits drinking and eating anything with Aspartame in it and gets better to the point that she can walk again and now is totally the opposite of death.
So, I quit as well and lost roughly 25lbs. Now I’ve been trying to get exercise in my daily routine as well. My husband bought me a treadmill and I’m in love with it. When it’s too cold or rainy out, I do an hour on the treadmill. I feel so much better after my session.
I would suggest that you take things from all the lovely ladies comments and see what can fit into your schedule. I find that I have to like the exercise to get me motivated and put an encouraging quote(Like the one Michele put in her comment) on your bathroom mirror or fridge, somewhere you can see it every morning. Start your day with a positive.
I hope in some way this helps. I wish nothing but the best for a very beautiful, elegant Lady!!!
Pam
xox
What a great topic and it seems to appeal to many people, it certainluyy resonates with me! Lots of great advice here, might I add “portion control”, besides cutting out anything “white” (sugar, white flour etc), I am not great in denying myself, I also live in France, so cutting back on cheese, pastry etc is very hard! a great help to me was the book FRENCH WOMEN DON’T GET FAT (whether myth or not is a different story) where the author speaks of portion control, meaning to lessen the amount of food we eat, certainly worked for me! and finding the exercise routine that suits you, just keeping moving and walking the dogs is great, but toning your muscles speeds up your metabolism…
Anyway, great topicanxd 9I wish you all the best!
everything in moderation is good: everyday…
do a few back and legs and arms stretches in bed before you get up, move every joint in your body
walk to ??once a day instead of driving
run up the stairs twice each time you need to go up there..
allow yourself one croissant on the week end only and buy it at the best patisserie, enjoy every bit of it
allow yourself 2 squares of dark chocolate every week day with your one coffee
cull all your sugar, cut down your wheat (bread- pasta-couscous) -none past 4pm
enjoy a nice protein laden lunch with greens vegetables and light dinner
be kind to yourself and for your motivation keep telling yourself ” I want to be healthy and be fit ” just like a mantra….the rest will follow
that is what I started a year ago and still doing it….I lost 6klg without ever being hungry,
I have more energy and will turn 65 in March..
I am renovating my house and busy,busy (no time for my blog ..)…..and started swimming first thing in the morning …lucky me I am back in Sydney..
Regarding exercise. At first you must be disciplined – but do at least 20 minutes of something almost everyday. Then it slowly becomes a habit and then somewhere along the line it becomes a NEED and you truly want to do it. Healthier eating naturally follows. Try some Yoga! Good Luck!
Funny you should bring this up. In a couple of hours go for a stress test. I’m 60 yrs. old. I workout 4 times a week. I’ve always lived a pretty active life….not sports just active. Anyway, my cholesterol is fine, I don’t have high blood pressure, my weight and BMI is considered ideal, I don’t smoke. Three weeks ago I had a mild heart attack. It was so odd. Pay attention to your body. I actually felt more like I was having a kind of panic attack that wouldn’t go away. I ended up at one of the best cardiac hospitals in the country, USA. The cardiologist said he never saw a case like mine before. It’s totally heredity. He put me on medication and I’m to gradually resume my life as usual. My point is, I truly believe if I hadn’t exercised daily and sat at a desk all day I probably wouldn’t have known I had a problem until it was really bad. It’s a bit hard for me to understand beings I already live a very healthy life style the only thing to do is add medication to my life. As a side note….I do notice women with a little more fullness in their faces look younger. Having a thin face can be very unforgiving. Well, that’s my excuse haha.
This post is highly motivational!! I also do not like exercise, some truly like it..not me. I will do it if I must but I have gotten lazy although come summer and spring, I normally step it up a bit! Best of luck…..
We seem to be on the same page Sharon…
I think that exercise is the most important part of our day ( at least I tell myself that) whether it be running. gym… pilates or yoga… it’s time that I find is great for thinking… reflecting on what I am doing and what needs to be done… Me time… and there isn’t much of that… as you know…
Good luck with the new regime… and let’s hope that we will begin to enjoy it… 😉 😉 xv
P.S Prefer lunches with a glass of wine… maybe next time we meet we better do a good walk first!
Sharon, I am one of those also who has to push myself but do this. I walk about 4 miles each day, PaddleBoard as often as the weather permits, and do yoga 5 times a week. I just turned a new decade in December and so this is work!
So bummed, my comment was eaten twice!! Oh well…..wishing you luck. I am not a big fan of exercise and am worst in the colder months but get better in spring and summer, so much of it is mental. Once in the zone, I get very disciplined but it takes a while to get there….good luck!
So fortunate to have had good health and treasure it beyond gold. Spending last winter recovering from West Nile Virus which left my arms and legs so weak impressed upon my body and me how important it is to stay fit. I had been walking almost 5 miles each day, also doing Yoga, and could not walk across a room without an aid when it first hit me. Recently I had my 70th birthday and know that I would not be alive if I had not been strong enough to fight the virus. That made a big impression on me, and I continue today working out at least one hour daily. So please prepare your body and spirit to fight, to feel good, and to survive beautifully with lots of energy and live a good life. A pesky mosquito continues to be my inspiration!
“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday, I walk myself into a state of well-being & walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, & the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill. Thus if one just keeps on walking, everything will be all right.”
― Søren Kierkegaard
Sharon,
First, I love your blog and your fascinating life. I can totally relate to the exercise issue. I am 46 and find that everything is slowing down and it is harder to stay motivated. My friend always reminds me, take less in and put more out. These words seem to stick in my head. I also have a huge love of sugar and I heard that cardamon helps with sugar cravings. So, I am drinking 3 cups if cardamon/ cinnamon tea a day. Will keep you posted on how helpful it is. Last, as much as I love wine, I am really trying to cut back to one glass a week. I find that it really slows my metabolism. Just keep moving, whatever it is and I know your precious pups will help you do that!
Have a great day! I’m off to Zumba with a friend that is basically dragging me there!
Sharon,
First, I love your blog and your fascinating life. I can totally relate to the exercise issue. I am 46 and find that everything is slowing down and it is harder to stay motivated. My friend always reminds me, take less in and put more out. These words seem to stick in my head. I also have a huge love of sugar and I heard that cardamon helps with sugar cravings. So, I am drinking 3 cups if cardamon/ cinnamon tea a day. Will keep you posted on how helpful it is. Last, as much as I love wine, I am really trying to cut back to one glass a week. I find that it really slows my metabolism. Just keep moving, whatever it is and I know your precious pups will help you do that!
Have a great day! I’m off to Zumba with a friend that is basically dragging me there!
At 47, I’m facing the same challenges. My best successes have been in incorporating exercise into something I love. For me, those things are dance and horse riding (fabulous for your core!). The hardest part for me, is making “me time” a priority. With 5 and 11 yr old daughters and a dozen other faces (ponies, chickens, dogs) looking at me for care, it is nearly impossible.
Hi Sharron I too am facing these issues, I’m 46 and have always taken my good health and good-ish figure for granted. Not now though!! I realise that I am an emotional eater and when my chips are down I seek solace in carbs and self sabotage and undo weeks of good work. I think its important to know oneself and to face up to what are your triggers. I know that quite often what I’m hungry for is not food but will eat rather than deal with whats really going on. Changing these habits-which I learnt from my late mother, who did exactly the same-is real work. When you understand what is going on it is though a light switch goes off in your head. Real success in your own hands. I also know I am at my best when I push myself up my own to -do list and I do well when as much as possible in my life is calm and organised. I walk and do yoga and pilates and getting enough sleep is also very important.
Sharon: I have found that the most difficult part about exercising is “starting”. For years I did Jazzercise and loved it; there’s nothing better than working out to music. While it hit all the bases and jump-started my fitness like no other, it became difficult to do when certain knee problems appeared. However, I have found that walking is a wonderful form of fitness. On a two week vacation to France this past summer, I actually lost 5 lbs., macaroons and all. I now walk every day, even in the rain; if you can manage it after a meal, all the better. Without starving myself, I have gained endurance, strength and have kept a healthy weight loss. Once you start, your body won’t allow you to stop!
That is one area that I do well with If I don’t exercise at least 5 days a week I get stir crazy. I love the gym the feeling of getting it done so the rest of my day is open. I love to eat and if I eat a chocolate croissant, I just make up for it at the gym run an extra mile or whatever. When the weather is nice I walk, Bike or run outside and as usual Barn work is a great reason to get up early and start the day, When the horses are hungry and you know it its hard to sleep in. Keeping them in at night makes for more cleanup in stalls but that too is exercise and instant gratification, nothing like a barn clean and fresh with shavings banked up the walls ready for them to come in. It really is a life style, it has to become part of your routine, like brushing your teeth, a priority. As a nurse I find people are more than willing to take a pill to solve a problem but don’t look as exercise as a “pill” as part of there daily routine. I have 3 kids, job, husband, and ponies etc… and a very busy life but for me its really a part of my mental health, nice thing about gyms is they have child care so you get an hour to your self, that alone when harnessed with children can be a great treat., I cant go without it!! Good luck love the blog.
Goodness, you have received so many wonderful comments I don’t know that I have anything to add to all that good advice. For me, it was making the commitment to myself, and taking it very seriously. I believe you have a great deal of mental discipline, and once you put your head in the right place all will follow. That’s what it is for me. I’m going to try to follow our Adkins diet which is much like the Dukan one, but with less strictness. Eating mini portions throughout the day to up my metabolism is key for me. Like Tina, I really do not like to exercise, but I don’t mind fast walking and we have a lovely 3-mile tract in a park nearby. Once on that track one just doesn’t give up :)’s I don’t know if weight gain at mid-life is hormonal for everyone, but I know this plays a key role for me. Hideous, isn’t it? Sharon, I love your honesty here. Onward & Upward, my new mantra. Sending love, darling…
So many of us, your readers, can identify with this challenge. For me, it’s not knowing what to do, but actually doing it. I can talk myself out of exercising so quickly.
It’s too cold.
It’s too hot.
I don’t feel great.
I don’t have time.
There are too many other things to do.
Sometimes, I think that spending the time walking or exercising is being indulgent and that my time would be much better spent doing other things (like reading blogs – HA). I think it boils down to developing a mindset that regards the time spent in developing a health routine as an investment in the future.
Evaluation and weighing the pros and cons helps me. What will happen if I walk my 10,000 steps daily? What will happen if I don’t? I’m at the age where it takes much longer to see results than when I was in my 40s. I don’t like it and get discouraged. I think it will always be a matter of “Just do it,” for me.
Pilates and free weights at home have been helpful for me, along with walking.
Love this conversation. Thanks for opening it.
Like so many others, I watch the intake, no wheat gluten and very limited sugar. Stretches, dance moves if you can’t do something like Pilates. My house has an upstairs, so it acts as a Stairmaster. Walking the dog is my treadmill. In a parking lot, I park far away from my destination, so I have to walk when I get out of the car. Lots of little things like that, daily.
Ooh for once, I will respond without reading the other responses because it looks like I will need to go back and take some time! There is good stuff in there!! A goldmine! 🙂
And honestly? I am not the best person to give advice as I “cede” to the Frenchy temptations all too often but two things that I have been trying recently, ok three: I have been cutting back my gluten a LOT so practically no bread, ditto with my sugar save for fruits because I feel like I need them at this time of year and have somehow switched from coffee to tea (also for the gluten). I am just trying it out and I have to say that I do have more energy and feel “cleaner” not with that numb feeling one can get after say, a big bowl of pasta! Well, I do let myself have breaks from time to time as I know that is just how my mindset works…
One more thing: my Mom reminded me recently of the importance of getting up from our desks at least once an hour, even if it is just for a minute or two. Keeps the metabolism running better…
Bisous,
H.
After a disturbing diagnosis more than one year ago I found discipline in changing ONE thing at a time. The “up side” was that I have a fabulous husband who understood and encouraged me. I became totally and completely focused on ME. Trust me when I say it was the singular most difficult thing to do after 43 years of putting myself behind everything and everyone else. After a few weeks I was able to re-introduce the parts of my old routine that supported my new lifestyle. Once I was comfortable with one change I moved on to the next challenge and then the next, now I don’t even think of the old way!
For me changing one thing at a time worked, but it took a level of discipline that I had ignored for a very long time…. you can do anything you need to to, just find that one thing that matters the most to you, and Good Luck!
Since I was in university in the early 80s I have exercised. I am one of those pear-shaped types, short and round, never skinny, but I am very close to the same weight I was then. I ride an exercise bike, then in my apartment, now in my basement, and also do a few other exercises. Now my routine is based around my back: how not to have back pain. I use my back because I have weak arms, so I do arm exercises with weights to improve my arms. I also do abdominal exercises, and I throw in some squats (which I read in the New York Times were among the most difficult, therefore, most productive for the time spent, and I see results in my trousers fitting much better without any change in weight). It takes 45-60 mins. I read the New York Times on my iPad while on the bike, to make the time pass (I read it in paper way back when), and listen to interesting podcasts while I do the weight exercises. I’m not much for working out to music, but that’s mostly so I don’t wake up the rest of the family when I work out at 6 a.m. I also walk my daughter to school three times a day (I was a late mother at age 43, so daughter is still in primary school). Sometimes I take yoga or other exercise classes, but they are just extras to me. I’m 53 and my goal is just to avoid chronic pain and generally being old, as in those people who complain they can’t do this or that because they get out of breath or don’t have strength. I don’t want to exaggerate or be a fashion model, but just be in good health.
Hello Sharon,
It has been interesting to read all of the above comments and to realize that so many of us face the same challenges. I had allowed myself, in my sixties, to put on weight and was having some knee problems. My daughter told me that she wants me to be around for my grandson for many years, and that was the motivation I needed. I began a weight loss journey and lost over sixty pounds. I wear a pedometer daily and a fitness monitor that picks up every move I make. My knees no longer cause me such pain, my cholesterol has dropped by many points, I look and feel better in my clothes, and while in Europe in May, I walked well over 100 miles. I enjoy riding the bike at the fitness center where we live, and walking has become a pleasure.
Sure, there are days when I lack motivation, but being able to play with my grandson gets me back on the right track.
Good luck and please keep us posted on how things go.
Linda
I wish I could look as stylish as that when I ride a bike! All I get is helmet hair and sweaty! I used to cycle a lot, recreation and racing though training took up hours per day so now I run 2-3 times a week up the hill and on the tracks, which is a really nice run and only takes 45 mins! though I do notice now that I’m nearing 40 that I have a few aches and pains that I never used to get…good luck and lets us know how’s it’s going 🙂
Michelle
Hi Sharon,
What a great post for our BIO subject this month. I have to admit that I am ‘ RUBBISH ‘ at exercise BUT I am a very disciplined eater. I really love food but I can stick to my three meals a day and, fortunately for me, the food I really enjoy is pretty healthy { apart from the odd square of chocolate and a few too many glasses of wine !! } I do walk a bit so, that;s better than nothing !!
Wishing you great success with your challenge. XXXX
I started walking 3 miles almost every day last year with my handsome husband it is so much fun we pick new places to walk and see the sights
hold hands perfect !!!
Pam
Hi Sharon, What a great post. I am motivated by wanting to be a strong old lady. My mother lived well into her eighties, but became increasing frail as the years past. She did not keep up with exercise she did when she was younger. When she fell down she was unable to get back up. I expressed my desire tobe able to get when I’m older. He encouraged me to do “burpees”. ZI laughed because I didn’t think I could do them. He said” Mom even if at first you can only get down one leg at a time just do it.” SoI took his advise. The first time I could only do five and i was so out of breath I thought I would die. I have kept it up and increased it to ten reps. it really does strenthen the core. I also eat a low carb diet. I statrt the day with a piece of dark chocolate dipped into peanutbutter with a cup of coffee and that is my sweet for the day.
I would encourage you to find a new activity that you LOVE to do: dancing, yoga (Ashtanga, of course), anything that challenges you and inspires you to keep on doing it! View your efforts as a gift to yourself-the gift of time for yourself and the gift of treating yourself with love and care. You will nourish your soul and your body and all good will come from it! Enjoy–you deserve it!
Best thing I ever bought ( due to time poor issues and motivation lack of ) was a mini trampoline ,( rebounder ) I love it , can fit in 20mins at any time , first thing in the morning and before dinner whilst watching the dinner cook ! Mix up the routine , love it to fast paced music , even do some dance moves on it , keeps my weight in check , added bonus it gives your organs a workout and is great lymphatic drainage
Sharon,
I love the elegance, beauty and humor in your blog! Peeking in on your blog posts is one of the zen moments of my day! My other zen moment is my daily workout. I have two toddlers 15 months apart. I am snowbound here in the USA because of my very steep driveway so I get up at 5:30 and do a workout video or Pilates or run for an hour around my big basement. When I am not snowbound I sleep in and take my babies to our YMCA and workout. I am not normally a morning person but I feel so good after my workouts that it pushes me to keep at it. I am a much happier mommy and wife when I take care of myself first! And I set a goal for myself-I am running a half marathon in my city this spring.
I would just encourage you to ask yourself when you want to eat that extra pastry,”does it help me reach my goal?” and when you don’t feel like getting out of bed for a walk remind yourself how wonderful you will feel with the wind caressing your face.
Maybe unrealistic and romantic thoughts but I do whatever it takes to get myself moving 🙂