The Senior Walking Fitness Blog

Hello Everybody,

Are you are over sixty and do you feel as fit as you did ten years ago? Maybe not, but assuming you have no health problems you could easily get back to your old fitness level. If you have stopped taking exercise and are eating high sugar, high calorie food as well as maybe an increased alcohol intake we know the reason you are unfit.

Change is always a worry and changing your diet should start slowly. Decrease portion sizes by 10 per cent and then 20 per cent if you can manage it without feeling hungry and snacking between meals. Do not cook with fat, or use oil or butter for cooking purposes. Butter isn’t essential on bread and if possible leave it out. Halve your alcohol consumption. Eat less sugars and starches. This should make a difference without greatly changing what you eat, but the ideal is a more healthy diet as a lifestyle change.

One of the best is the Mediterranean diet of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meat and oily fish, it even goes well with a glass of wine. So wine hasn’t vanished completely from the menu. But you must enjoy the food or you will give it up. Try and see if it is for you. If not just return to your normal diet, but with the changes suggested.

Exercise is the other element of getting fit and losing some weight. Before you start check with your doctor to see if he knows any reason why you should not start gentle exercise. He will probably be delighted.

Walking is the simplest way to start a fitness program. It is recommended that you walk for at least 30 minutes a day, but not at first. Take it easily and work up. The 30 minutes does not have to be all at once. It can be 15 minutes twice a day, or even 10 minutes three times a day. You can walk anywhere, city, country, beach, but do try to walk at a reasonable pace. You will be helping prevent many illnesses of later years, stroke, heart attack and even some cancers are all more prevalent in people who are unfit and overweight. So walking exercise is well worth doing.

You may feel a little sore at first, even from walking a short distance, but this will soon pass. The important thing is to keep going.

Weigh yourself once a week and be happy with losing a pound or so. You are not on a crash diet, you are just eating better and starting a fitness walking program. All being well, in a couple of months you will be feeling ten years younger.

See you soon,

27 September 2009

Photo: freefoto

Technorati Tags: best way to lose weight, breast cancer, fitness exercise program, heart health, over fifties, senior exercise, senior walking, ten years younger, walk, walking, walking for fitness, walking for weight loss, women's health

Hello Everybody,

Walking for fitness is an excellent way to achieve weight loss, heart health and general wellbeing. It is also easy enough to do and does not disrupt other activities, as daily visits to the gym may. However, if it is your only form of exercise it can result in you becoming stiff and inflexible in the back and the backs of legs as you build more muscle in those places.

A few minutes a day, or every other day, spent doing upper body exercises can avoid this.

Advice from the National Institute on Aging, published on the excellent Parentgiving website, shows that making small changes when it comes to strength building can have big benefits, even for those people who may have already lost a lot of muscle. Increases in muscle mass that aren’t even visible to the eye can still make it easier to get up from chairs or climb stairs. Some of the exercises for Seniors, to build strength in the upper body include:

Arm raise - While sitting down and holding light hand weights, raise your arms at the same time, holding them straight out, then sideways. Hold the position for one second and then slowly lower your arms to repeat and do 8-15 repetitions. The back should remain flat against the chair and the feet on the floor.

Bicep curls - While in a seated position and holding a light hand weight, raise and lower one arm at a time to curl the bicep up. Hold it for one second and slowly lower, then do 8-15 repetitions.

Tricep extension - In the same seated position as the others, gently lower the weight behind your back, while using the other hand to support your arm. Hold it for one second and then slowly lower it and repeat with 8-15 repetitions. The opposite arm should always support the one with the weight that is going toward the back.

 Some upper body exercise is a good idea to increase your flexibility and compliment your walking for fitness program. With it will come better balance and less risk of falls, so it is well worth doing. But remember fitness and weight loss are not just ends in themselves, the idea is to become more active in order to have a better quality of life. That is really what it is all about.

See you soon

Peter Stockwell

 23 September 2009

Photo. freefoto

Technorati Tags: best way to lose weight, breast cancer, fitness exercise program, heart health, over fifties, senior exercise, senior walking, walk, walking, walking for fitness, walking for weight loss, women's health

Hello Everybody,

I was reading in a Forum about somebody who knew she should exercise but was too lazy to do so. What should she do. Sadly she received little sympathy, but at least she realised there was a problem and was asking for help.

The good news was that having succumbed to sloth she did not appear to have fallen into gluttony, the two deadly sins of the obese.

She was on the verge of a lifestyle decision. To want to be fat or not. For obesity is not a regrettable affliction, it is a lifestyle choice. We are not born fat, we get fat and, apart from unusual medical conditions, we get fat from eating too much and not exercising enough.

Obesity runs in families, which is hardly surprising as families tend to eat the same food. Parents accept being fat, children have little choice in the matter and are taught obesity. One day their children will be the same and so it carries on through the generations.

Back to the lazy woman. She seems to want a healthy lifestyle. It’s just a case of getting round to it. There are lots of reasons not to, one of which is opportunity. I was recently at a British seaside town. Along the promenade were numerous shops selling food. Every one sold high calorie, high cholesterol junk food and nothing else. There was nowhere to buy fruit or even a, not particularly healthy, sandwich. People had to eat something and that was what they were eating. They were sitting in the sun getting fat.

Assuming she can avoid British seaside towns my advice to the woman is to start small. Walk around the block every day, then around two blocks. When she is comfortable with this find somewhere nice half an hour’s walk from home and walk there. Without noticing she is doing an easy weight loss program. Look at diet, but don’t change it overnight, the cravings will start and she will he straight back to bad old ways and feeling a failure. Just cut out one item of junk food a week until she is eating plenty of fruit, lean meat and less sugar and carbohydrates.

She should take the easy way and she’ll get there, and that’s not being lazy.

See you soon,

Peter Stockwell.

20 September 2009

Photo. freefoto

Technorati Tags: fitness tips, fitness walking, heart health, over fifties, senior walking, walk fit, walking exercise, walking fitness, weightloss

Hello Everybody,

Walking in the city can give you more than just the benefits of a walking for weight loss program. It can save money and time.

Transport for London has given a list of reasons to walk in London and these apply in varying degrees to most cities.

‘Walking benefits

Walking can be the quickest way of getting between Tube stations If you choose to walk for some journeys in London, you’ll discover there are loads of benefits.

Walking is quicker

109 journeys between Central London Tube stations are quicker by foot than Tube. And half of London car journeys are under two kilometres - just 25 minutes walk - easily within walking distance.

Walking is good for your health

It’s the nearest thing to perfect exercise - at least as effective as exercise at a gym. Walking can halve your risk of coronary heart disease and help prevent some cancers. Walking helps reduce stress

Walking regularly improves your well being and helps reduce stress.

Walking is cheaper

Not paying for the journey may make you smile too!

Walking leads to a greener planet

You can breath in more pollution inside your car than from walking the same route.

The average drive to school and back releases 800g of carbon dioxide into the air - enough to inflate over 60 balloons.

And of course walking is the most sustainable form of transport!

Walk to work

Why not try and fit some walking into your working day? Whether it’s walking to or from work or walking to a meeting instead of taking the bus.’

What Transport for London doesn’t say is that, as in any city, we should be careful where we walk, particularly in parks and at night in unfamiliar areas. But given sensible precautions and reasonable weather there is a lot to be said for carrying out daily journeys on foot.

Of course your walking for weight loss program is just as effective in the city as in the country, so long as it doesn’t take place between coffee bars and pubs. Next time you are waiting for a bus or heading for the Tube try walking instead. It is less stressful and may even be quicker.

See you soon,

Peter Stockwell

16 September 2009

photo www.freefoto.com

Technorati Tags: fitness tips, fitness walking, heart health, over fifties, senior walking, walk fit, walking exercise, walking fitness, weightloss

Hello Everybody,

If ever there is a time when a walking for fitness program brings spiritual as well as physical benefits it is now.

‘The days grow short when you reach September,’ as Kurt Weill has it.

True, but in the Northern hemisphere September can be the nicest month of the year. The weather is warm and settled and it is only later that we have the autumnal gales which take the leaves off the trees. In September morning mists clear to sunny days and there are few better times to be walking in the country. Wear an anorak, it can be cool in the morning, but it is a time to enjoy before the dark evenings and short days of winter arrive all too quickly.

September is truly the turning of the year. Birds that came in spring are now heading for their winter quarters, well away from ice and frost. Soon they will be replaced by birds from further north, flying south to keep clear of real arctic weather.

For a walker these comings and goings can add interest to their time in the country.

And - to quote Kurt Weill again, ‘When the autumn weather turns the leaves to flame,’ we are surrounded by beauty wherever we go.

If it is your choice to start a walking for fitness program you should aim to do it every day. Appreciate the early autumn countryside. Much as we take pleasure in each day’s walking some days are better than others and September is as good as it gets.

Do go and enjoy these next few weeks, your spirit needs it.

See you soon,

Peter Stockwell

10 September 2009

Photo freefoto.com

Technorati Tags: best way to lose weight, fitness exercise program, heart health, over fifties, senior exercise, senior walking, walk, walking, walking for fitness, walking for weight loss

Hello Everybody,

As we get older we need to consider ways of decreasing disease brought about by lifestyle choices.

Breast cancer is a devastating illness for a woman and her family. Any possible way of avoiding it should be examined. The risk of breast cancer increases with age. A woman of 60 years old is about 7 times more likely to contract breast cancer in the next ten years than a woman of 30. Although younger women are not immune it is largely a disease of middle age and later life. But women can minimise the risks.

The World Cancer Research Fund has found that alcohol, obesity and lack of exercise is a factor in 40 per cent of breast cancers. Mothers who breastfeed also reduce their risk of contracting the disease. The World Cancer Research Fund recommends that women exercise for at least 30 minutes a day and limit daily alcohol consumption to one small glass of wine or equivalent.

Exercise does not have to be in the gym. A walking fitness program of 30 minutes a day can just be a half mile stroll out and a half mile stroll back again. Of course it is better to do two miles in that time, but any exercise helps. To lose weight diet must be considered, but less alcohol and more exercise is a beginning.

There is a school of thought that says bra wearing may cause breast cancer. The theory is that the disease is caused by impaired lymphatic flow, resulting from the wearing of a bra.

Research suggests that women who wear their bras 24 hours a day have a 3 out of 4 chance of developing cancer.

Women who wear a bra 12 hours a day have a 1 out of 7 risk.

Those who wear bras seldom or never have a 1 out of 168 risk. This is the same as for men.

It should be noted, however, that some authorities do not agree with these conclusions, considering that there are other factors involved and more detailed and accurate research is needed. A pragmatic approach would be for a woman to wear a bra a maximum of 12 hours a day. That will do no harm and may well do a lot of good.

As mentioned above, weight loss is obtained through exercise and a healthy diet. Cancer Research UK suggest that women consider the following:

Replace animal fats with polyunsaturated fats (in many vegetable oils and margarines) and monounsaturated fats (such as olive oil)

Eat more isoflavones (found in soy, peas and beans) and lignans (found in vegetables, fruits, grains, tea and coffee)

Eat more fibre from wheat bran, cereals, beans, fruit and vegetables

Make sure they have enough calcium in their diet – from milk, cheese and other dairy foods, green leafy vegetables (such as broccoli, cabbage and okra, but not spinach), soya beans, tofu, nuts, bread, and fish where bones are eaten, such as sardines and pilchards

Eat foods high in carotenoids (chemicals that the body changes to vitamin A) such as carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, and tomatoes

By following these guidelines, women will be eating a better diet. This helps keep their weight within normal limits and can protect against a variety of chronic health conditions including breast cancer.

It appears that we just need to carry on with a walking for weight loss program and a healthy diet to be well on the way to minimising the chances of breast cancer. And that is really good news.

See you soon,

6 September 2009

Technorati Tags: best way to lose weight, breast cancer, fitness exercise program, heart health, over fifties, senior exercise, senior walking, walk, walking, walking for fitness, walking for weight loss, women's health