We’re closing in on nearly three months since my last blog post. Three months during which life zoomed along, barely under any kind of control. (Seriously, I even had dreams about trying to maneuver an out-of-control car: one night, it was rocketing down a winding ramp from the upper floor of a parking tower, with no steering or brakes; another night, I was trying to steer the vehicle down a dark, winding highway, with no lights, driving from the back seat. Ya don’t gotta be Freud.)
I left one job and started another – while still training my successors at the former job. I started my part-time online teaching gig for the third semester. I planned and taught a two-day seminary intensive. And I planned and survived an ordination service. All good! But now ask me how much exercise I’m getting…
No, don’t. It will make me cry. With the exception of an 8-mile hike I led in early September (at a “conversational” pace), most of my walks have been under 2 miles.
And in all of this, at the very point when I most wanted to SHED a few pounds (before my ordination!), I actually put a few more on! Yes, instead of losing the weight I’ve been trying to lose for several years, I gained! Thankfully, those extra are already gone and I’m back to the weight I also don’t want to weigh. But it’s better than the line-in-the-sand number I approached.
With my new schedule and obligations, it is going to be more important than ever to set an exercise and meditation/yoga schedule and keep it! And I plan on taking that yoga/meditation component much more seriously than I’ve ever managed to before. Several years ago, when I first started training for a 50K, my dragon boat coach asked me why I wanted to do it. “Partly to get back in shape,” I answered. She responded, without missing a beat, “80% of your weight is determined by your diet; only 20% is determined by exercise.” Then she added, “I think you’d lose more by managing stress than by adding exercise.”
Those words came back to me when I read this article, which cites a study concluding that there is no intrinsic change in our metabolism as we age. What causes weight gain is changes in behavior: diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management.
So how can you boost a sluggish metabolism? We all know, don’t we? But it’s nice to have a short list of reminders (that article has more details about each):
- Do less sitting
- Add High Intensity Interval Training to your workout mix
- Eat more protein
- Get more sleep
That reminds me of another link I’ve been saving to share. Some of us probably take a lot of vitamin and mineral supplements we really don’t need. And sometimes we take them to make up for stuff we should really be getting from whole (minimally processed) foods. But according to the AARP, these three might really be useful: calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B12. Read more here.
We’ve talked about this connection a lot on this blog, but while it’s still breast cancer awareness month (aka October), it’s worth being reminded that exercise can prevent cancer or the recurrence of cancer. According to a new study in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, handily summarized by Runner’s World, “more than 46,000 cancer cases in the U.S. annually could be prevented if people followed the guideline of getting at least five hours of moderate-intensity activity per week.”
Remember that challenge I set for myself last spring, to be doing pull-ups, handstands, and L-sits by this fall? The one for which I promised video evidence? Yeah… no. Somehow, I developed bursitis in my shoulder so bad I couldn’t even lift my arm into a shirt sleeve or jacket. I had to let the arm hang at my side and pull the shirt sleeve on over it. I had to seek spousal assistance to remove a pullover sport bra. Ended up getting a cortisone injection in September and just this week started weight-training again. Seriously, y’all?! What is going on with my goal-setting and keeping?!
But to help with my weight-lifting progress, I downloaded a super easy free app, Strong Lifts. Check it out.
Role models!
A little female-centric with the role models in this post, but fear not: men will be well-represented in the next post!
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson published her first novel at age 50 – and snagged a Netflix deal, too. #lifegoals 
76-year old Helen Mirren on a fashion show runway… as my grandmother would say, “oh SHUT UP!” 
73 year old Jeannie Rice is running faster than she was in her 60s! (photo swiped from Women’s Running magazine, who got it from Jeannie Rice)
50 is the new "forte" 
Sometimes I worry about you. Ease up, puh-leeze. And wow, those role models!
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Great stuff, You are one busy person. One day at a time. Wild respect, Suez
On Mon, Oct 25, 2021 at 6:58 AM 50 is the new forte wrote:
> Marilyn posted: ” We’re closing in on nearly three months since my last > blog post. Three months during which life zoomed along, barely under any > kind of control. (Seriously, I even had dreams about trying to maneuver an > out-of-control car: one night, it was rocketing down” >
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