The Senior Walking Fitness Blog

Hello Everybody,

With spring arrived in the Northern hemisphere we can at last relax in the sun with a glass of wine and enjoy the weather. After all, we do know exercise is good for us, we know the pounds we gained at Christmas are still there. But, hey, it’s spring - where’s the hammock.

Weight loss motivation can be difficult. But if we want to look good on the beach, or even on the hammock, this summer we had better start an exercise program now. By exercise I mean anything from walking to swimming to lifting weights. Whatever helps burn off the calories which need burning off for you to lose weight. But before we can lose weight we must get motivated to start that exercise program. So what are the five most popular excuses not to lose weight?

It’s a Losing Battle:  You’ve tried before and the weight just comes back on again. ‘I’m too heavy for exercise. I just look silly’ you say. Well maybe if you carry on as you are you will look even more silly until one day you end up looking totally ridiculous. Surely that is enough weight loss motivation to start you exercising and eating a more healthy diet. You don’t need a crash diet, just start slowly with a little exercise and cutting out junk food. The secret is to keep it up. Carry on and you will lose weight and keep slim. Go back to your old ways and you will put on weight again.

I Don’t Have Time:  Yes you do. When did you last watch television? Probably yesterday or today. The average person watches 4.5 hours television every day. Can you manage to watch just 4 hours a day? If so you have just swapped watching C list celebrities doing idiotic things for being slim, healthy and living longer.

I Get Bored:  You are doing it wrong. Listen to music. Go with a friend. Talk to someone on your mobile if you really must - although maybe not if you are swimming. Or if you are walking try just looking around. There is plenty to see on a walk whether it is in the country or in a town. You could try varying the exercise you do. One day swimming, one day walking, one day cycling. You must have a favourite, so you can look forward to that day coming around. Exercise need not be boring.

I Can Never Get Started:  That is because you do not want to start. You fear failure.There is a little voice in your head saying it just won’t work. Ask it how it knows. Has it any evidence? If you failed before and you repeat exactly what you did last time of course you will fail again. But you are not doing that. This time you are doing it differently. This is not a crash diet, it is a permanent lifestyle change to regular exercise and healthy food. Kick the little voice into touch.

My Friends Are All Fat and Jolly:  Are fat people really jolly? There is nothing jolly about finding it hard to climb stairs or run for a bus. Heart disease or Type 2 diabetes is not very amusing. Do fat people have much to be jolly about? I agree that peer pressure can be hard to resist. Living with someone addicted to junk food and fizzy drinks when you are trying to eat fresh vegetables and lean meat is not easy. Just try your best. Perhaps your example will encourage others to follow your lead, when they see how much better you look and feel.

That is all there is to it. Getting motivated can be difficult in many types of activity. But identifying what is stopping you trying to lose weight is half the battle. There are many motivational books and DVDs available in bookshops and on the internet. Try them by all means. Only don’t put off your weight loss program while you read too many motivational books. To lose weight for the summer you really must start now. Good luck!

See you soon,

Peter Stockwell   

28 April 2010

Technorati Tags: diet motivation, incentives, motivation, weight loss motivation, weight motivation

Hello Everybody,

One of the hardest things to do is lose belly fat. It seems to remain even though you are losing weight elsewhere. So how do you target this area? The short answer is you cannot. Various exercises, such as sit ups and crunches, are sometimes recommended for reducing fat around the belly and waist. These may help a little, but not much, as they are building muscle rather than decreasing fat. But we must try to reduce fat in this area. It can generate oestrogen and excess chemicals in the stomach which can result in a number of illnesses such as cancer, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Belly fat and a spare tyre are risky things to have.

The problem of not being able to reduce fat in specific areas means that you have to reduce your overall body weight. Do this enough and the fat around your middle will disappear as well. It will be the last to go and that is why people say they cannot get rid of it. It just takes longer. You will need a diet and exercise program to lose weight. Not just diet, not just exercise, you will have to do both every day.

Walking is an excellent exercise for relaxation and peace of mind as well as for losing weight. But we must be realistic about what we can achieve. A person weighing 168 pounds walking at a fairly leisurely 2 miles an hour will consume 100 calories per mile walked. That is good you may think and it is. However it may be tempting to call into a coffee shop along the way and enjoy a small latte. You should know that the 200 calories in your latte will take an hour to walk off. If you have an almond croissant as well you can add a few more hours of walking to burn away the calories.

So to lose that belly fat you need to eat a more healthy diet as well as exercising. If you are overweight it is probably because you have been eating a lot of animal fats, sugars and carbohydrates such as white bread. You may have eaten junk food or deep fried food. Perhaps you are addicted to caffeine or fizzy drinks. Think about what you have been eating and try to eat in a more healthy way. Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, lean meat and oily fish such as mackerel. This is not a case of moving from food you like to food that tastes terrible. Check out the Mediterranean diet on the internet. You will find multiple dishes and snacks which are not only good for you but which actually taste better than the dreaded small latte and almond croissant.

Losing a fat midriff takes time and some effort but the results are well worth that effort. You will not only look good and feel good you will lengthen your life as well.

See you soon,

22 April 2010

Photo. Ricardo Carreon

Technorati Tags: belly fat, diet to lose belly fat, lose belly fat fast, lose stubbon belly fat, lose your belly fat

Hello Everybody

Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia, is a horrible illness. Not least for friends and family who see a loved one vanishing before their eyes. It is one of the greatest concerns of older people, who wonder every day if their forgetfulness is the early stages of dementia. The illness is incurable, but there is some evidence that it can be prevented with the correct diet and lifestyle.

Research shows that a Mediterranean diet of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, lean meat and oily fish, such as mackerel, can decrease the chances of getting dementia. It appears that the nutrients in food are important. A diet low in saturated fat and B12 and high in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, vitamin E and folates is the best. The Mediterranean diet goes a long way towards fulfilling these requirements.

But diet is not the only factor in lowering our risk of dementia. Regular exercise, such as walking, can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by as much as 40 percent. The reason is unknown, but could be related to a reduction in vascular disease in those who exercise a minimum of 3 times a week. It is not impossible that there are other factors relating to exercise and the reduction in Alzheimer’s disease. There is often a social element in exercising and this may increase cognitive activity. But whatever the mechanism exercise decreases the chance of contracting Alzheimer’s disease.

It has been found that increased cognitive activity can also protect against dementia. It is thought that high levels of linguistic ability - which requires the brain to retrieve information - can be learnt or reinforced in later life. This and doing tasks such as quizzes or crossword puzzles, or even learning a language, can all help to sustain mental activity and fend off Alzheimer’s disease.

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. There are drugs which can help some people become less forgetful and confused. It is also possible to reduce agitation, aggression and hallucinations. These drugs only treat the symptoms and some can have damaging side effects. We cannot reverse Alzheimer’s disease once the illness is present. So all the more reason to avoid contracting the illness in the first place. Eating a healthy diet, an exercise program, and using the brain as much as possible is all we have at present. It works for some and must be worth doing for everybody, in the hope that they avoid the horrors of Alzheimer’s disease.

See you soon,

16 April 2002

Photo. Michael J Clark

Technorati Tags: about alzheimers disease, alzheimers disease, alzheimers disease symptoms, alzheimers disease treatment, dementia signs, dementia treatment

Hello Everybody,

The best way to lose weight is through diet and exercise. But what if you cannot exercise? You may have a health problem, hate exercise or just be too old. If you do not like exercise I suggest you do it anyway, but those who find it impossible do have a problem. But do not despair for all is not lost, it is quite possible to lose weight without exercise. It will just be more difficult.

We know that in order to slim you must burn off more calories than you take in each day. So you will need to reduce your calorie intake. The problem is knowing what your calorie intake is. If you are able to exercise you can cut down on carbohydrates, animal fats and sugars and increase your exercise level so that you lose a pound or so a week. Given a reasonably healthy diet you can control weight loss with the amount of exercise you do. No problem.

If you do not exercise you will need to do things more precisely, and that means more information on your calorie intake. This is the tricky part. You must keep records of everything you eat and drink for four days. This is a real pain and it is the point at which people give up. But just keep going.

You will need a calorie chart. These are available on the internet and will tell you the calories in most things you are eating and drinking. Information will also be on the packets, but this seems to be deliberately designed to confuse. Then write down everything you eat and drink - yes everything - with their calories. Add up the calories at the end of each day. Total calories over four days divided by four will give your average calorie intake. You will also have found out what foods are highest in calories and are candidates for cutting out.

Another thing you will need to know is how many calories you must eat to maintain your present weight. A rule of thumb is your weight in pounds times 10 for a woman and times 12 for a man. So if you are a woman weighing 250 pounds you must eat 2500 calories a day to keep as you are.

So these figures show that if you are eating more calories than your weight times 10, or 12, your weight will go up and if you are eating less your weight will go down.

To lose weight eat about 300 calories less than you need to maintain weight every day. When you have reached your ideal weight you can stabilise it by then eating only what you need to maintain that weight.

Of course it is quite possible just to cut out carbohydrates, animal fats and sugars, eat more fresh vegetables and see what happens. If you cannot be bothered to keep records that is the way to go. The result is likely to be that you lose weight, so it is worth trying and certainly saves a lot of effort.

Whichever way you choose you can lose weight without exercise, it may not be as much fun but you can do it. Have a go, the results really are worth the trouble.

See you soon,

6 April 2010

Photo. Nozomiigel (Flickr)

Technorati Tags: best way to lose weight, burn off calories, cut down on carbs, diet and exercise, lose weight without exercise