Things change especially when it comes to how much weight we gain as we age. Oh yes, I was once svelte and tight. Even though this is presently a memory, I will be healthy and svelte again. What I want is to firm up and lose weight even though my real focus is on figuring out how to stay healthy as I age. Because regardless of the pooh, poohs of friends claiming “I am not fat” (fat is in my head), I can see myself. I am not crazy.
Vanity tried to stop me from adding my picture above. But I cannot fix the problem until I am ready to deal with it. According to discover good nutrition, a ” … subtle shift in your metabolism starts somewhere in your 20s or 30s. You start to slowly lose muscle tissue and gradually pick up some body fat. By the time women reach the age of about 40 and men enter their 60’s, they start to lose about 6-8% of their muscle mass every ten years. That translates into a drop in metabolic rate of about 10% every decade.”
To deal with this, one of my friends does not eat after 4pm and she eats very little. That seems to work for her. In fact when I compare my total food intake to hers, I feel like a glutton even though I really don’t over-eat. But if I am sitting next to her, it looks like I am. Another friend exercises six days a week, eats no red meat and enjoys a glass of wine daily. Still another friend is basically a vegetarian with pescetarian proclivities. She has absolutely no fat on her body.There seems not be just one way to stay healthy as folks age.
A good number of my mid-life friends have begun to acquire a slow accumulation of fat — the kind of fat that initially looked sexy. But over time, it has settled in as a fat layer they can’t seem to shed. And even though misery loves company, I no longer want to be in this club. So I joined Weight Watchers two days ago.
I exercise and I count carbs. These behaviors will mitigate weight gain. But if your body has hit a plateau like mine, even this level of due diligence will not bring rewards. The old “Eat less, exercise more” promises results. But can I do this without
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