Too old to lose weight or get in shape?
I've been surfing a lot of weight loss related discussions over the past few days, trying to see what other people are doing to stay in shape, and I keep coming across something that I've been hearing for too long now! In the past, I have probably made just about every excuse possible to not be more active or change my eating habits. Finally, when I ran out of excuses and did something about my weight problem, I looked back and felt bad about all the lies I told my self.
Why is it that middle aged and older people often tell themselves that they cannot get back to the shape they were in when they were 20? Most of the time an older body= bad knees, bad hearts, bad lungs, slower metabolism, etc.. I won't deny that, but if you lived 5 miles further from work than your younger co-worker, would you stop going? Probably not. It would just take you a little longer to get there. The same thing is true with your health. It may take you a little longer to get back in shape, but once you're there, the benefits (or pay when it comes to work) are just as good, if not better because the older you are, the more important your health becomes.
"Yeah, but I will never be in the shape I was in when I was (insert ideal young age here)!" I have to disagree with that. I come from a busy family. Throughout my childhood, it was pretty much fast food for 3/4 of our meals and restaurants for the rest. Breakfast consisted of Hostess cupcakes and Pop Tarts. Before I lost my weight, my whole family was in terrible shape.
One weekend while on vacation, my 43 year old dad suffered a terrible pain in his chest and became very ill. A trip to the emergency room and some tests revealed that one of the arteries in his heart was 99% blocked. After his medical procedures were over, he knew he had to get in shape or he wasn't going to live very long. Needless to say, he learned how to eat right, and with regular low impact cardio exercise, he lost over 40 pounds in just a few short months. This brought him down to the weight he was at when he got out of the Navy at age 21, and he's kept it off since. He did all of this with a bad heart, asthma, and a rusty old body that hadn't seen a workout in many years.
Why is it that middle aged and older people often tell themselves that they cannot get back to the shape they were in when they were 20? Most of the time an older body= bad knees, bad hearts, bad lungs, slower metabolism, etc.. I won't deny that, but if you lived 5 miles further from work than your younger co-worker, would you stop going? Probably not. It would just take you a little longer to get there. The same thing is true with your health. It may take you a little longer to get back in shape, but once you're there, the benefits (or pay when it comes to work) are just as good, if not better because the older you are, the more important your health becomes.
"Yeah, but I will never be in the shape I was in when I was (insert ideal young age here)!" I have to disagree with that. I come from a busy family. Throughout my childhood, it was pretty much fast food for 3/4 of our meals and restaurants for the rest. Breakfast consisted of Hostess cupcakes and Pop Tarts. Before I lost my weight, my whole family was in terrible shape.
One weekend while on vacation, my 43 year old dad suffered a terrible pain in his chest and became very ill. A trip to the emergency room and some tests revealed that one of the arteries in his heart was 99% blocked. After his medical procedures were over, he knew he had to get in shape or he wasn't going to live very long. Needless to say, he learned how to eat right, and with regular low impact cardio exercise, he lost over 40 pounds in just a few short months. This brought him down to the weight he was at when he got out of the Navy at age 21, and he's kept it off since. He did all of this with a bad heart, asthma, and a rusty old body that hadn't seen a workout in many years.
Labels: Motivation
2 Comments:
At December 15, 2006 5:24 PM , Anonymous said...
Why is it that you choose not to place a before and after picture?
At December 17, 2006 7:18 PM , MM said...
See Sunday, December 17, 2006 post titled Before and After Weight Loss Pictures for response.
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