Getting Healthy or At Least Trying!

Hey everyone!  What the heck am I talking about with the "Getting Healthy" bit, when we are currently surrounded by so many delicious temptations?  I'm not intending to put a damper on anyone's food cravings, but I thought it might be a good time to share what The Man and I have been doing, because we have reached that age when you'd better take better care of yourself so no one else has to.  We joined a small gym about a year ago, and felt like we were at least putting some effort into taking better care of us.  Then, about four months ago, we found out about this App for our iPhone called My Fitness Pal.  It's FREE and makes logging your food intake so very easy.  It keeps track of a multitude of different things that I won't go into, but it can be set up to record the number of steps you take every day.  My favorite feature of this App is that after inputting some info, it figures out how many calories you can consume to lose a pound per week (you shouldn't lose more than that).

Another thing that I figured out about a month ago, are my energy cycles and how it affected my gym workout.  I'm an early riser, but The Man is not.  That meant we were going to the gym around 8:30 or 9 o'clock in the morning.  That happened to be just about the time I was having my first energy slump of the day, so I was struggling to get through even 30 minutes of exercise.  I also really hated that by the time we got home and cleaned up, the morning was almost shot.  So, while The Man was in Peru, I went to the gym no later than 7 o'clock, and found I could exercise for an hour instead of the mere 30 minutes.  Wow, that was a wonderful and empowering feeling!  It's a good thing our gym is only 5 minutes away, because we now each go at our desired times.

This is what the gym looks like at 7a.m. -- The Early Bird (me) has the place to herself!

I don't have to contend with a bunch of stinky, sweaty bodies (except mine)......heehee!

 I refer to this section as the "torture and blood-letting" area -- I stay away from there!

First up is this "bad boy," and as long as I can watch HGTV, 

the elliptical doesn't kick my butt too badly.

It's harder than it looks, but it really gets your heart rate up, and it's good for 

the arms, too.

Then it's on to the treadmill.  I prefer this one on the end.....don't ask me why.

I'm on the treadmill for quite some time, but again, HGTV is key!  I just love watching those young married couples buying their first house.

So you may be wondering why I would be sharing all this right in the middle of celebrating Fall.  Well, good health does not follow a season, and The Man and I wanted to go into the "major" food feasts of the year a little bit more grounded and better prepared than we typically do.  I'm happy to say that I've lost 14 pounds in the last 3 1/2 months, and while I won't say it has been easy, it has been doable.  Will I avoid Halloween candy or do diet food for Thanksgiving and Christmas?  Not on your life!  Do I have a better handle on how to approach the various celebrations and indulgences?  Absolutely!  It is so very true that everything is more difficult & takes longer as we get older.   When younger people get sick with a cold or the flu, they can usually bounce back in just a few days.  Where as the "older generation" typically takes several weeks to fully recover.  When younger folks (I now refer to anyone under the age of 50 as young....lol) imbibe a bit too much over the holidays, they can go on the "Diet Fad of the Month" and drop that extra poundage in no time.  But for us "elders," it is a real struggle.  So, I truly hope no one is offended by my diatribe, because I really just wanted to give hope to those who struggle with weight and other health issues.  

Now, who wants an apple?