Staying fit in advanced age

Silver Sneakers is a great program. I did that for a while at our local rehab center. May get back to it this winter. Always saw people I know there.

Haha!

I have found that I do about one mile during the day in my house!! Still, I need to get outside for another mile or so, or water exercise.

I’m 67, trying to learn how to start a diet or how to adjust my eating habits due to my medication.

I face the same challenges. A lifetime of eating habits is hard to overcome.

When it comes to giving up "bad stuff", I try to take a moment and ask, "Do I really, really want this? Or is there a better choice?"

But when I'm hurried or stressed, it's just too easy to fall into an old pattern.

Even small changes add up over time. I've made a lot of dietary changes -- more vegetables/salads, less meat, way less sugar, less alcohol, etc. But it has taken years. And sometimes, I just gotta have the ice cream! It's a slippery slope.

What sort of changes are you looking to make?

First thing we did was to stop stocking the things we knew we shouldn't have in our home. Sure, we make treats for special dinners and holidays, but there are no brownies, cookies or ice cream at hand. Snacks are healthy nuts, high-fiber, low-sugar protein bars (after much testing we found a few tasty ones) carrots, clementines, small apples. If we want chips for a meal, we buy a small bag to share.
Next, we started reading labels at the grocery srote, and stopped buying 99% of prepared meals. It's quick and easy to season & pan grill a fish fillet, chicken breast or lean pork chop and pair it with a fresh or frozen vegetable - we have a long list of 20-30 minute meals.
We also try to share a meal when we go out - portions served in restaurants are enough for 2-3 people! Also, it feels like a real treat to have something different, but we still aren't destroying all our efforts to eat healthy.
Sue

This dialog has been very interesting to me. What I'm taking away from these comments is that we all have to wade through this ageing business individually. We can find help in the strangest places for individual anomalies but there is no effort made by the medical establishment to coach us in the best way forward. So we try things and decide subjectively if they are working for us and take our hits as they come. That's rather disappointing actually. I don't believe we are destined to just dribble our way in the final quarter of our lives, "Go placidly amid the noise and the haste.....". But now that I know that, I will just stay with my young trainer and physical therapist and continue trying to sort the best way forward. These two understand the body extremely well but they are in their 30's and really have minimal experience with the specifics of these ageing issues. We are addressing them as we see them. And so far the results look promising. I'm in better shape now than I was in my 60's because I'm paying attention. I was stronger then but in much poorer shape. It seems sad that anything I learn won't be passed on to others outside of my immediate group and I am sure I'll make some mistakes that hurt, but I guess this subject is not interesting enough to the establishment. They seem to have sort of kind of stopped with Silver Sneakers.

Can you recommend supplements and habits to follow each day?

Not sure if you have a YMCA nearby. They offer many fitness courses for cardio, strength training and flexibility (yoga) and balance. Plus you meet people near your age and there's plenty of time for socialization if you desire it. There are specialized programs for cancer survivors -- Livestrong-- and arthritis, Parkinson's etc. If you don't have a local Y, you might want to explore their 360 online program. The Y is a breath of fresh air when it comes to attracting people of all ages.

I love this discussion. @rodkleiss thanks for starting it. I have a few things to add.

If you like research and evidence-based knowledge on aging and fitness, wellness, exercise and a ton more, I recommend checking out :
- McMaster Optimal Aging Portal https://www.mcmasteroptimalaging.org/
It is run by McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada.
Here's the section on Exercise https://www.mcmasteroptimalaging.org/age-well/healthy-lifestyles-and-wellness/exercise

My husband and I do HIIT (high-intensity interval training). It's a great way to fit in a workout in a short period of time. We follow a classic workout for boxers, working out 4 times a week on this schedule:
Monday - cardio and light weight combos
Tuesday - sprints
Wednesday - strength
Thursday - day off, stretches and walking
Friday - cardio

Five weeks on and one week off.

I'm pretty proud to say that I still do burpees. (I still don't like them, but proud when they're done. 🙂 )

I've added a lot more stretching and light mobility warm-up exercises BEFORE working out now. That has become imperative to reduce risk of injury.

Do you mix up your workouts to keep it interesting? What's your favorite workout?