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I'm in my late fifties, and it's discouraging how difficult it is to shed pounds at this age. To add to the mix, I became a vegetarian last year, and so what used to work--lean meats and salads--is off the table now, literally. I was horrified to learn at my doctor's appointment in May that since I became a vegetarian, my cholesterol went UP. It's still not over 200, but the bad cholesterol level rose. Cheese is the culprit, and I have to cut that way down.
But I do find that there's a basic rule that seems to work--if I walk 2 miles--which I try to do every day and is not always possible but I do it as often as I can--and if I make sure that I eat salad for a meal or before a meal at least once every day, eventually a pound will come off. It's slow going, and it's hard as hell, but I'm determined to keep going.
Another problem with vegetarianism is that you are hungry frequently, so you've got to keep fruit or something handy to kill the hunger pains without resorting to easy stuff like muffins or bread or pretzels. It doesn't SEEM as if an apple is sufficient to kill hunger pains, but surprisingly, it does stave them off for a while so that you can think clearly about preparing something healthful rather than grabbing something convenient.
I'm thinking here about days when I am working and get hungry, even when I've prepared a salad or something light for lunch. I find myself getting hungry in between meals. I don't want to waste my free time doing food prep, so often I try to find places where I can buy healthful choices.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 07-04-2016 at 07:46 AM..
My wife pointed out something very interesting. We were having a conversation about her late father and I asked her what he did for exercise back in the 70s. Her dad, a naturally thin man, passed on his thin genes to her and I assumed he did some type of rigorous workout to stay trim in spite of his heavy drinking and smoking. She said, "Are you kidding? Back then, people didn't have to exercise. They were active!" People didn't set aside 30 minutes or an hour 3 times a week to get fit. They made it a part of their lives all day every day. That's what we should do. His hobby was gardening. He would spend hours in the garden most days, raking, hoeing, digging, bending, stooping, planting, hosing, harvesting, etc. . . And surprise surprise, he stayed thin. That's the key; doing it every day a lot, not just a few minutes.
My wife pointed out something very interesting. We were having a conversation about her late father and I asked her what he did for exercise back in the 70s. Her dad, a naturally thin man, passed on his thin genes to her and I assumed he did some type of rigorous workout to stay trim in spite of his heavy drinking and smoking. She said, "Are you kidding? Back then, people didn't have to exercise. They were active!" People didn't set aside 30 minutes or an hour 3 times a week to get fit. They made it a part of their lives all day every day. That's what we should do. His hobby was gardening. He would spend hours in the garden most days, raking, hoeing, digging, bending, stooping, planting, hosing, harvesting, etc. . . And surprise surprise, he stayed thin. That's the key; doing it every day a lot, not just a few minutes.
This true. Nowadays people hire someone else to cut their lawn. They use those awful leaf-blowers instead of raking. They walked places. Kids don't walk to school anymore, that's a big one. When I was a kid you had a fat boy and a fat girl in the class. Now half the kids are fat.
Weight is food. It's almost all diet. Some exercise. Some sleep. Etc. Mostly food.
Exercise can help you lose weight, but that's not where its importance lies. It is, however, VERY important to your well-being. Humans were designed to move.
My wife pointed out something very interesting. We were having a conversation about her late father and I asked her what he did for exercise back in the 70s. Her dad, a naturally thin man, passed on his thin genes to her and I assumed he did some type of rigorous workout to stay trim in spite of his heavy drinking and smoking. She said, "Are you kidding? Back then, people didn't have to exercise. They were active!" People didn't set aside 30 minutes or an hour 3 times a week to get fit. They made it a part of their lives all day every day. That's what we should do. His hobby was gardening. He would spend hours in the garden most days, raking, hoeing, digging, bending, stooping, planting, hosing, harvesting, etc. . . And surprise surprise, he stayed thin. That's the key; doing it every day a lot, not just a few minutes.
I know plenty of active gardeners who are overweight.
Times have changes. We have too much delicious food available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Restaurant portions are larger than ever, as is portion size for home cooking. People are used to snacking and having regular meals. Combine that with inactivity and it's a wonder anyone is not overweight. When you learn proper potion sizes it's fairly shocking at how small they seem. A friend of mine reuses frozen meal containers to lose weight. Whatever fits inside is her portion for lunch or dinner.
It depends on your BMR, which is basically how many calories you use just by living. My husband burns many more calories just by existing, so when we eat the same number of calories...I gain and he maintains. I need to burn more through exercise just to keep things the same. Some people don't need to exercise, some can just walk, and some need to work out vigorously. It's what your scale tells you. Every individual has a different BMR.
Exercising (without a calorie deficit being created) probably won't make you lose weight, but it could make you physically measure smaller, depending. I am at the same weight I was last year and I am a full jeans size smaller, and my stomach is flat. This is with working out.
So it depends upon what your goals are. Do you actually need to lose fat, i.e. you're getting to the unhealthy stage due to the excess weight specifically, and you want to reduce that? Then exercising will make certain of your systems healthier (or should) but you'll still have the fat to contend with as your physical issue, unless you start eating less than you burn (hence reducing the fat). Sorry, yes, diet almost certainly WILL come into play here. Are you already fairly healthy, and just want to "look tighter", without really wanting/needing to lose fat/weight or better your health**? (And/or do you have another "non-cosmetic" goal, such as wanting to help waylay osteoporosis, increase lung capacity, increase muscle mass or whatever?) Then working out without a caloric deficit should help you toward that goal.
**Although of course, even if you're already healthy, exercise can't hurt and may help you maintain the health you have and/or help waylay future issues. (We all know this, though.)
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(We all know this, though.)
