What you eat and drink before and after exercise matters. So says trusted Consumer Reports in this WASHINGTON POST article. Briefly, “a pre-exercise snack can give you energy, and eating after exercise is important because that is when cells are primed to absorb carbs and protein. Be sure you’re drinking enough fluid before, during and after workouts to stay hydrated.”
The Silver Diaries blog has some helpful suggestions for speeding up the 50+ metabolism. Read the blog and see how weight training, more protein, spicy food, hydration, coffee/green tea, fasting, and, yes, rest, can contribute to burning more calories than you consume to help drop those pounds.
Not the Hell’s Angels kind. There are Buzzed Boomers out there still riding the Harleys. But we’re talking bicycles. When the knees start to go and running, softball and high-impact sports become more painful than fun, a number of Baby Boomers have turned to bicycles as a low-impact way to stay in shape. Benefits include strengthening muscle groups used in maintaining balance and strength (ie, quadriceps), enjoyment, autonomy, and improved cardiovascular function. It will help you lose weight, stay strong, avoid chronic illness, stay mentally alert and live longer. There are some safety concerns regarding cycling for seniors, but they shouldn’t dissuade you.
Neighbor Art joined some other seniors for regular joint rides. Long John prefers solo rides and has knocked out 600 plus rides since the beginning of 2020.
There are lots more bike paths out there than when we were kids. Check it out.
– Jet Cannon
We’re always watching our weight. Watching it increase more than it decreases. So we’re conscious of those calories in our cocktails. A shot of vodka has about a 100 calories. But that’s not the whole story. There are also calories in the mixers. Seven ounces of tonic will add another 90 calories. Same with 8 ounces of orange juice.
But what about mixing with diet sodas or diet tonic? Well everyone knows that diet sodas cause cancer, obesity, and diabetes. Except there is no evidence of that. So in keeping the calories down, just mixing with soda water and a little lime juice or mixing with diet drinks will basically cut the cocktail calories in half compared to traditional mixers. And that avoids the sugar. Which we know is bad. Or at least we think we know it’s bad. Hard to say these days.
– Jet Cannon
REAL SIMPLE posed the question, “Should you be drinking water first thing in the morning?” Short answer is it’s good but not required. However, adequate daily hydration is required. The benefits of water first thing in the morning include:
– Helps you wake up
– May boost mental performance
– Cold water may boost metabolism for about an hour
– May quell hunger sensation
For adequate daily hydration, which is what matters more than the timing, how much is enough? Shoot for half your body weight (in ounces).
Final bit of advice from REAL SIMPLE, when you’re thirsty, drink up. Brilliant!
– Jet Cannon
Dave Robson wrote in The Guardian recently that it’s possible to reframe exercise pain into exercise gain. (Did we really just write that? Sorry)
But in our defence, the article is titled, The mind gym: five ways to make exercise a pleasure.
Here are the five ideas quoted or summarized.
Select music that moves and distracts you.
Avoid pictures of perfect bodies for inspiration. In one study, “The sight of the fitness gurus had left them feeling less attractive and more concerned about their weight and shape, which put a downer on the whole experience.”
One study found that “reframing muscle aches as a positive signal can ramp up the production of the brain’s endogenous cannabinoids and opioids, natural analgesics that could mask the strain.
“The use of mental imagery can improve the accuracy of our movements, and even our overall strength. Studies show that people who spend a few minutes each day visualising the lifting of heavy weights see bigger strength gains than those who did not practise an imaginary workout.”
Have trouble getting to the gym? “Try temptation-bundling, which involves packaging the things you don’t want to do with one of your guilty pleasures. The technique was developed by Prof Katy Milkman at the University of Pennsylvania, who gave people iPods loaded with four addictive audiobooks to enjoy while they worked out. The simple strategy increased their gym attendance by 29% over the following seven weeks.”
Let the trickery begin!
– Jet Cannon
Eat This, Not That sums it up nicely. Don’t eat because you’re bored, sad, tired, or just a great cook. Eat when you’re hungry, only, and keep moving as much as you can when you’re not. Chances are you will lose those excess pounds.
The ETNT website is loaded with more ideas for staying healthy.
– Jet Cannon
After a well-earned sabbatical, Buzzed Boomer Chief California Correspondent Old Man Wrong updates us on his fitness journey. Here is his report.
Coming to ‘fitness’ relatively late in life, I figured I had several advantages. Smoking heavily (very) early on had made my lungs ripe for saving. Decades of running, barely upright, and rarely running full-bore, saved the cartilage and so on. I’m only slightly used. I was set for a wonderful September Surprise.
But live and, wait around long enough, the world will catch up. For me, it was the Fitness Watch. Later in life, I‘d run and run (and RUN) and also swum. And swum some more. And walked and walked. And climbed. Toughed out numerous events (~$85/pop, dang it). And finally along comes the semi-affordable Measuring Device, to track you and revel with you in your triumphs and pick you up in your failures. All packaged as a Dick Tracey 2-Way Wrist TV.
How far? Where? How fast (slow)? How many steps? What cadence? VO2 max?
But now also the dreaded section of your the many-screened Suunto V fitness watch: Fitness Level.
Like I said, age 0-30 was not the healthiest time in my life. But I soldiered on, and holy sugar, here I am, 60. And trying. Pretty hard!
Here’s what it is: My latest Fitness Watch measures the usual things. Where, when, how far, how fast, etc. But also how much heart rate. And how hard trying. Then sums up fitness level and fitness age.
And the verdict?
Not at all good. Fitness level “Very Poor”. Fitness age: [can’t print]. The company is Suunto which must be Scandinavian, which must mean we’re going on their scale of what’s fit in super-healthy Nordic land.
But I am not 79!
– OMW
Today.com has a nifty article about morning being the best time to exercise. But evening has some benefits, too. So, really getting in a workout anytime is what matters. Excerpts:
“Women who exercised between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. had greater reductions in their belly fat and blood pressure, and they achieved stronger leg muscles, compared to those who worked out in the early evening, researchers reported last month in Frontiers in Physiology.”
““When you exercise first thing in the morning, it gives your metabolic rate a boost… it allows you to burn more calories even when you are sitting at your desk doing nothing,” fitness coach Laurent Amzallag told TODAY.”
“Working out also releases endorphins, which help you feel great throughout the day, she added.”
What about the folks who aren’t crazy about cranking it up first thing in the morning?
“Evening exercise — between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. — “greatly” increased upper body muscle strength, power and endurance, and enhanced overall mood for women, according to the study published in Frontiers in Physiology. For men, the p.m. workouts lowered systolic blood pressure and fatigue, and stimulated fat oxidation compared to early morning exercise.”
So you see it’s all good. Morning or evening. Or both for the uber-achievers out there.
– Jet Cannon
Our early human ancestor, Australopithecus afarensis, was walking upright around six million years ago. Give or take. So reports the University of Washington magazine. Today, some 145 million Americans walk as part of their fitness regimen. Besides weight loss, heart health, improving balance, preserving muscle strength, and lowering blood sugar, walking appears to also boost creativity. Hitting 7,000 steps daily reduced the chances of early death by 50%-70%, according to one study. In short, it’s all good. Just don’t bump into one of the 144,999,999 people out there.
– Jet Cannon
Photo: Britannica.com
SeniorHelpers.ca offers some compelling reasons for Buzzed Boomers to consider adding swimming to their exercise routine.
“We all know there are plenty of advantages to exercising, but it can sometimes be difficult for older adults who have arthritis or other painful illnesses to exercise. An exercise that is especially beneficial to seniors is swimming. It is an ideal workout because it presents little risk of injury and is low impact. Here are just a few of the health benefits swimming offers to older adults:
You should always talk to your doctor before starting any exercise program.”
Now where did we put that Speedo?
Like cardio exercise, muscle-strengthening is crucial for staying active and healthy as we age. AARP recently published excerpts from The Whole Body Reset: Your Weight-Loss Plan for a Flat Belly, Optimum Health, and a Body You’ll Love – At Midlife and Beyond by Stephen Perrine with Heidi Skolnik. We want that book!! In the meantime, as a quick summary, resistance exercise and protein timing may provide these health benefits:
– Keep our brain healthy
– Reduce risk of future weight gain
– Keep blood pressure under control
– Slash risk of heart disease
– Beat back diabetes
– Be better poised to battle cancer
– Stay happier
Sold! Weights, yoga, Pilates, calisthenics are all good ways to build muscle mass. Talk to your doctor, blah, blah before doing anything stupid.
– Jet Cannon
Costco is offering a 24-can waterproof backpack cooler so you can get your steps in and have plenty of refreshments on hand. Genius!.
“Not only can green tea aid weight loss and help you recover faster after a workout, its potent antioxidants may also lower levels of “bad” cholesterol levels, while simultaniously increasing levels of “good” cholesterol levels, according to Harvard researchers. How does it work? Studies indicate that the polyphenols in green tea may block cholesterol from being absorbed in the intestine and also help the body get rid of cholesterol.”
So says Best of Life Online. See the rest of Foods Men Over 45 Should Eat by clicking here.
