So is it you today ??? But this ???

OKAY! So you’re not 25 anymore (or not even close?)

So what do you do about it?

Sit in your chair and accept that you are getting old? You can’t do anything about it anyway (shrug), right?

Gold! – Make every day count!

Penalty fee! – And how the hell do we do that?

This and similar thoughts have been nagging in the background of my minutes for some time and it is becoming increasingly difficult for me to sit back and wait for old age and, swallow hard, death to take hold of me. As I read, people used to do it a long time ago.

Now, aside from any other reason, simply allowing this to happen is BORING. I get anxious sitting on the couch too long, even when I have something creative to do while sitting there.

So naturally, being me, I started researching as many ideas and suggestions as I could find. And I found so many, I thought I’d pass a few in case there are others who would appreciate some ideas.

Here it goes.

De-stressing – It’s a pretty popular expression these days, but it’s not always easy to do, is it? One physician (Dr. Pablo Quintana) said in one of his reports that spending even 10 minutes at a time doing something you enjoy can, if you allow it, help you work to overcome some of the stresses many of us feel today.

So what is causing your stress? If it’s medical, you may need to talk to your primary care doctor. But if it is the stress that can come from managing while living on a very small budget; Living alone; meeting few people, perhaps due to moving to a new area; Not feeling fit, but not even knowing how to make a START to correct any of these things, whatever is causing your own personal stress; You can make the difference.

In recent years, I have suffered from several of those listed. Aside from being on the end of the age spectrum from ‘Not a Spring Hen Anymore’, and a fairly recent widow, I was well aware that I needed to help myself first.

Onward and upward then, I decided.

The truth about metabolism and calories.

Are there diets that raise the metabolism? – NO

Although the chili peppers and the green jersey may bring a short-term boost. A balanced diet with sensible portions is much more important.

Can exercise speed up your metabolism? – YES

Muscle burns more calories than fat.

Strength training and cardio are good options.

Can eating lots of small meals increase metabolism? – NO

Try small meals if you tend to overeat at mealtime.

The number of meals matters less than the total calories consumed.

Is it common to have trouble losing weight due to slow metabolism? – NO

A slow metabolism is rare.

If you follow all the guidelines but still have trouble losing weight, talk to your doctor.

Low carb substitutes for bread, pasta, rice, potatoes.

Bread exchanges

A lettuce wrap works great as a taco shell or hamburger bun.

Chinese cabbage makes a good wrap for sandwich fillings.

Cauliflower makes a good pizza base. Among other delicious things.

Pasta swaps

Grated spaghetti squash, excellent spaghetti ace.

Zucchini or eggplant slices make great lasagna, noodles.

Cauliflower is as good as pasta in mac and cheese.

Use a vegetable peeler, knife, or spiralizer to turn the vegetables into noodles.

Potato swaps

The grated pumpkin can be made into hash browns.

Turnip or cauliflower works well as ‘mashed potatoes’

Jicama (Mexican potato) can be crunchy like potatoes

Rutabaga (whey) adds body to soups and stews, it can also be rice.

Rice swaps

Cauliflower on rice or pulsed in a blender.

Bulgarian, quinoa, or barley are excellent substitutes for rice, especially as a garnish or in stir-fries and soups.

Should I add vitamin supplements to my diet?

Check your diet first to see if you are missing any items that you need to add as a supplement. Unless you have a really unhealthy diet (fish and chips, hamburgers and chips, etc., every day), you may already be taking all the vitamins you need. Or you could, simply by adding or removing an item or two, meet your vitamin needs.

But if you are missing a necessary item, can you add these foods naturally? If not, find a supplement for that section of your diet. But try not to go overboard with multiple supplements that may not be necessary. Also, keep in mind that too many extra supplements can end up down the toilet instead of staying in your system.

Hidden sources of trans fat

One way to gain weight isn’t always obvious, so checking food labels will be beneficial, but the following foods may include that hidden fat.

Baked goods: cookies, cakes, and crackers.

Popular Appetizers: Microwave Popcorn, French Fries

Fried foods, especially from outlets and take-out

Dough products, including frozen pizzas and cookies.

Butter bar

Coffee creamers

Shortening – bacon, dripping

The term on small print packages “partially hydrogenated oil” is another name for artificial trans fats.

Another type of unhealthy option, of course, is sugar, which is often used as a condative these days. Some of these hidden sugars, with often different names, are:

• Has syrup – corn syrup, rice syrup

• the word ends in “ose” – fructose, sucrose, maltose, dextrose

• “sugar” is in the name: raw sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, confectionery sugar.

These are also usually hidden among the ingredients on the package.

Exercise

If you’re not in the habit of exercising anymore (as I certainly did), just go for a walk. It doesn’t have to be long, ten minutes is doable for most of us at first. For me, it was the round the block, a very short one (20 minutes total) but the part of the way home had a little hill. The first couple of times, I was exhausted when I got home. But in a week or so, he was expanding it voluntarily.

Walking on air also exposes you to vitamin D, which is good for anxiety problems, sociable, helps you sleep, helps you feel good, helps you focus, supports the immune system, stimulates creativity, and helps with weight management. But remember ‘slip, slap, spill’.

Before starting any exercise plan, check with your doctor about your health. Weight gain can negatively affect your microbiome, fostering the types of microbes that harvest energy from food and help the body store fat, possibly setting the stage for weight gain.

Fiber-rich foods: vegetables, whole grains, fruits, bacteria that feed the colon; it also discourages the growth of some harmful ones. Probiotics like yogurt and pickled vegetables also help your gut. Getting enough sleep, relieving stress, and exercising can also improve your microbiome. Be careful taking probiotics, especially if you have some health problems, check with your doctor first. Peppermint oil has been shown to have some beneficial effects.

Regular physical activity can improve your balance and improve or maintain your health and fitness. It could help improve your mood, help control or lessen the impact of conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, and depression.

So, what are you waiting for? If the weather is dry and it’s not freezing, get out and walk, even if it’s just for 1 minute. I have a friend in a nursing home, in her eighties, who goes out regularly with her walker and walks. Even if it is only around the perimeter of the building. Sometimes it embarrasses me, so I always try to remind myself that …

You are never too old

Recommended for mature adults.

Well being one of the above, I couldn’t help it, I had to search for more information to help me get in and through a HEALTHY life hopefully. These are my findings.

Despite what many of us believe, as we age, endurance, balance, strength, and flexibility are vital to health and mood.

Walk, dance, etc. improve the health of your heart, lungs and circulatory system. It can also make it easier to cut grass, climb stairs, etc.

Strength exercises, including weight lifting, which don’t have to be heavy weights, or the use of resistance bands, can definitely increase muscle strength, which in turn will help carry groceries or lift grandchildren.

Balance exercises can help prevent falls. Stretching or flexibility exercises can help freedom of movement. The weights will help tone the muscles. Kegel tightens other muscles quickly and for a long time (10 seconds) 3 times a day.

Social activities, reading, games, making crafts, and using the computer indoors can also help keep our brains active and in good spirits. A fairly recent experiment with about 30 people found that dancing is not only good for most muscles, but it also improves mood. Like singing in a group, I am in a local choir and we practice weekly for our concerts. Most of us come home high up, so singing works too.

The Mediterranean diet is also helpful in keeping our weight under control.

Try to always keep sidewalks clear, clean up spills immediately, invest in good lighting. Find activities like Tae Chi, Yoga, etc. to help improve your balance. It should lower blood pressure. A good diet supports good health, as does cooking with raw, unprocessed foods, limiting the hidden sugars in our diet that are found in so many processed foods today.

Well, those are the results of my research – So far

But I will continue to spend time finding ways to help myself stay healthy and, even on a very small budget, figuring out how to delay when I need help.

SO – Onward and upward for everyone 25 and over. Did I say 25? Why discriminate? If you are over 21 years old, catch your bad habits early and you are more likely to have a healthy and fit old age. Good luck and habits to all of you.