Don't Blame Being Fat on Aging

 

If you're over the age of 50 and weigh at least 20 pounds more than you did 20 years ago, you can blame  it on the pandemic.  Being stuck in a house, day after day for over a year, with nothing much to do but eat surely packed on some pounds.  

Okay-----You can stick to that story if you like but there's an even bigger reason as to why some of us are carrying around a thicker waist, thighs, and butt.  As we age many of us tend to be less active, which slows down our metabolism and we all know metabolism determines how many calories we burn daily.  The older we get the more likely we are to scale back on all of those strenuous, but fun, activities we used to do like biking for 5 miles, hiking, being a gym rat while showing off how much you can lift. or those one-hour Zumba classes three days a week.

But here's the REAL truth:  SUGAR is the guilty culprit.  Most packaged foods, snacks, and drinks are sweetened with fructose, a simple sugar from fruits or veggies like corn. Your liver turns it into fat. If you regularly pump fructose into your body, tiny drops of fat build up in your liver. This is called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar a day for women and 9 teaspoons (36 grams) for men. But the average American intake is more than double that:  22 teaspoons a day (88 grams). For example, just one 12-ounce can of regular soda has 10 teaspoons of sugar -- and no nutritional benefit.  So if you drink a can of soda every day and don’t cut calories elsewhere in your diet, in three years you’ll be 15 pounds heavier. Putting on too much weight can lead to problems like diabetes and some cancers. The more ut over time, swelling and scarring can damage your liver. 

Too much sugar during the day can also mess with your blood glucose levels and cause energy spikes and crashes. You may struggle to stay awake at work or doze off  for that "afternoon nap."  In the evening, a bowl of ice cream, cookies or a couple of glasses of sweet wine can pump you with sugar and keep you up at night. It also can cut short the time you’re in deep sleep so you may not wake up feeling refreshed.

Several studies have linked sugar and mental health problems. One of the latest showed that men who ate more than 66 grams of sugar a day -- almost double what’s recommended -- were 23 percent more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression than men who ate 40 grams or less. Too much sugar could fuel depression through swelling, or inflammation, in your brain, which is more common in people with depression.

Here's the KILLER:   Sugary drinks may add years to your biological age. DNA called telomeres cap the end of your chromosomes to protect them from damage. Longer is better. Shortened telomeres may go hand in hand with age-related diseases like diabetes. One study found that people who drink 20 ounces of soda a day have shorter telomeres. Researchers figure that’s like adding more than 4 years to the age of your cells.

I'm not writing to tell you to cut all sugar out of your diet but what I am saying is you may want to cut back if you've also cut back on your active lifestyle.  Right now, everyone is using the pandemic as an excuse for those extra pounds but the pandemic will soon be behind us so what will your excuse be then?

Boomers with Health Issues May Be Unlucky at Love

If you're single with Shingles, high blood pressure, arthritis or some other aging-related health issue, your chances don't look too good when it comes to finding romance.  That's because a survey conducted by the online dating site OurTime.com has revealed more than 50 percent singles over the age of 55 say they would not date someone with health problems.

That would surely rule me out of the dating pool since I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure at the age of 49.  Fortunately, my husband chose not to make it an issue since he married me the following year.

But never fear, if you don't look all that hot with your aging face and body, that's OK because, according to the same survey, 68 percent of adults age 55 and older say they would be willing to date someone they felt was less attractive.  

Other key points of the survey:

Some 70 percent of men and 59 percent of women say they are willing to date people of other religions.

65 percent of people 55 or older said dating more than one person at the same time was fine.

60 percent said they would date someone outside party lines.

46 percent of adults 55+ said they were open to dating someone of a different race

Where do you fall in line with this survey?

All Baby Boomers Look Alike in the Dark

On Thursday of this week, I was shopping in Harris Teeter (my favorite grocery store) when the lights went out.  I'd never had that experience before, although one of the employees said  it happens there about once a week.

One lady asked how long it would take before the lights came back on so she could check-out.  That's when we discovered that although the lights went out in the store, the power for the cash registers were working just fine.  No problem there.  We may not have been able to see the price of anything as we shopped but the scanners at the registers would help us out.

When it was my turn to check out the cashier kindly asked me if I was a senior.  I have to admit I was taken aback by her question.  Although I thought I was looking good after an intense workout at the gym, I was certain the cashier  had not mistaken me for a high school girl but I sure couldn't believe she thought I was a senior citizen.  What?!  Are you kidding me!

I asked the cashier if she was serious and if she thought I looked like a senior.  She didn't respond to the question but she covered it nicely by saying, "Thursday all seniors get five percent off their grocery bill and I forgot to ask the gentleman ahead of you so I didn't want to make the mistake again."

Well, she did make a mistake but I didn't want to get indignant so I asked her if 55 qualified as a senior.  She said I had to be 60 so I told her if I was still shopping there in five years, I'll qualify.  Then I turned to the white-haired woman behind me, who CLEARLY looked like a senior, and said, "I guess we all look alike in the dark."  

And if it's any consolation, I did get some free seafood from the seafood and meat section.

Viva Viagra: WHATEVER!

Is it just me or are there other baby boomer women out here who are sick and tired of hearing about the magic of Viagra? I just saw a video on You Tube where a rather handsome group of baby boomer men are belting out a song to the tune of Viva Las Vegas. (That’s the song Elvis made famous back in 1964). Viva Viagra is apparently a new ad campaign from the drug manufacturer, Pfizer.

What is disturbing to me is the fact that erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs are a huge business. Pfizer reported Viagra sales of $450 million in its most recent quarter. What is even MORE disturbing is the fact that Viagra, Levitra and Cialis can cause irreparable harm to the body. Possible side effects include:

•changes in vision such as loss of vision, blurred vision, eyes being more sensitive to light, or trouble telling the difference between blue and green objects or objects having a blue color tinge to them
•difficulty breathing, shortness of breath
•chest pain or palpitations
•prolonged erection (lasting longer than 4 hours)
•skin rash, itching
•diarrhea
•dizziness
•flushing
•headache
•indigestion
•nasal congestion

And if that’s not bad enough, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has added hearing loss as another risk.

OK, so does that mean that men are willing to risk going deaf, dumb and blind (womensvoicesforchange.org) for the sake of having sex?

Thank God my husband doesn’t need it and as long as I keep up my end of the bargain, he NEVER will!

Why Exercise is Important to Baby Boomers

Why Exercise Is Important

• It strengthens your heart
• Improves your circulation
• Keeps muscles in tone
• Helps prevent osteoporosis
• Helps with weight control
• Helps hold down your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels
• Makes you look and feel better

As we age, exercise becomes even more important. Older adults who exercise regularly tend not only to be stronger and have better balance and coordination, but to be better able to manage the sorts of daily chores that allow people to remain independent. They are also more likely to be physically fit.

Fitness is having the health, strength, endurance and range of motion needed to do physical work without becoming exhausted. A fit person can perform better and with less effort in sports and other physical activities and therefore is more likely to enjoy them.

One of the suggestions I make in my book, Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age, is to keep a journal of your eating and exercise habits. That way you’ll have a good idea of what is or is not working when it comes to weight maintenance.

Women’s Health is offering a great FREE calendar/journal, full of information about and for women. It talks about topics of interest to us such as health, nutrition, life etc. Most women don't find out about this book until Nov/Dec. and by then they are usually out. So you have an early heads up. Click on (or paste and copy) the link below and get this great calendar/journal.
http://www.womenshealth.gov/pub/2008calendar/order/index.cfm
Here’s to aging gracefully!

Why Baby Boomers are FAT in North Carolina.

When I first moved to Durham, NC more than 10 years ago, I noticed there were quite a few folks in my age group I considered to be overweight.

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks---The reason why baby boomers in my neck of the woods are overweight is because there are NO SIDEWALKS! Trying to exercise by walking in many Durham neighborhoods becomes a hazardous mission when you are competing with vehicles for road space. It’s especially challenging when the vehicles refuse to obey the speed limit signs or refuse to give us the right of way.

I never paid much attention to the city not having neighborhood sidewalks until this morning when my husband and I took a five-mile walk in Largo, MD. There were sidewalks for miles and miles and miles. And check this out: there were sidewalks on both sides of the street! It didn’t matter that it was hot and humid at 8am. Just the thought of strolling along on a beautiful sidewalk made exercising worthwhile and so enjoyable!

Many baby boomers in Durham are forced to take their lives into their own hands when they try to exercise. I wonder what developers were thinking about when they decided not to include sidewalks in their overall plans. Maybe they just figured we didn’t need them because we’d much rather spend our time smoking cigarettes in the city known for being the American Historic Tobacco District.

WHATEVER!

A Baby Boomer Diva Butterball? Whatever!

Yesterday after church a woman named Lois came up to me and complimented me on my appearance. She said she noticed I had lost weight. I thanked her for noticing and explained that I have been working on dropping some pounds. I told her I had lost about five pounds. She thought it was more than that and then went on to tell me I had turned into a little "butterball" so losing any weight was obviously noticeable.

WELL!!! So that's what I've been looking like to the general public? A little butterball! Funny no one else said anything before. Maybe they were just trying to spare my feelings because you know how sensitive some of us women can be about weight issues. But this particular baby boomer diva didn't bite her tongue or mince words---she just came right out and said what she thought.

Although Lois and I have been attending the same church for years, we became friends after my book "Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age" was released. She bought a copy and said she's read it about four or five times. Bless her heart.

I told her how I had changed my eating habits and about going to the gym and participating in the fitness boot camp.

On the way home from church I told my husband what she said and he was surprised at her comment. But then I asked him to BE HONEST and tell me if he thought I had gained alot of weight. And then he confessed that I had packed on some pounds since we first met six years ago but his love for me wasn't measured by how much I weighed.

Awww...that was sweet. But I do thank Lois for keepin' it real.

To Drink or Not to Drink

How many times have you seen someone order a fast food meal, loaded with calories, and then turn around and order a diet drink? Maybe you've even done it yourself. What is the point of the diet drink? Is it to fulfill a craving for the "taste" of a soda? Why is it so hard to order a cup of water?

Our drinking habits can be just as bad as out eating habits.

I'm sure you've heard it before----alcohol, no matter what form it comes in---packs on the calories. Coupled with the bloating that never seems to go away, you also have a tendency to eat more when you drink alcohol.

Studies may say a little red wine is good for your heart but a "little" wine every day can add up and before you know it, that "little" dress that used to fit you so nicely will become a tight squeeze.

The same goes for soda. It is loaded with sugar and let's not mention all of the damage it could do to your insides over time. I'm personally not going to drink something I know can remove acid or corrosion off of a car battery.

There is nothing better than water...and when you add a freshly squeezed lemon, you've got yourself a real treat. I recommend you go to this website and read up on the benefits of water and you just might not want to drink soda again: http://www.watercure.com

One more thing...if you're going out for a night on the town, eat something first and try sipping not gulping down your favorite drink....even if someone else is buying.

Late-Night Snacking

One of the worst things you can do to sabotage your weight loss goals is to eat late at night. That was a major problem for me for years because of my work schedule. Even though I ate my “dinner” at work, I would still be hungry when I came home and found myself snacking on more food. Sometimes I would actually make an entirely new “dinner”, watch TV for awhile and then go to sleep. That is a big NO-NO!

If you must snack later in the evening, why not choose a fresh piece of fruit instead of the potato chips and ice cream. Some people argue that they just don’t have a taste for fruit and if that’s the case, well don’t worry about it. Just start preparing yourself to buy a whole new wardrobe---a size (or maybe two) bigger.

And while you're just sitting there snacking you can read my book, "Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age."

Eating at Your Desk

Unhealthy Habit #3


When I worked in TV news, I made it a habit of sitting at my desk and eating because I didn't want to miss any "breaking news." Sometimes I felt guilty about going to the bathroom because there were no news scanners in there and I needed to know what was going on 24/7.

Where did my fat spread? To my stomach, hips and behind because I wasn't moving around after I ate. If you do choose to eat at your desk, it is imperative that you find some time during the day (or evening) to exercise--if it's nothing more than a walk. But if you continue to take in more than you burn off that only equates into FAT.

Also, studies have shown that if you eat at your desk or on your living room sofa or even in your bed for that matter---you're inclined to eat more because there's no designated time or reason for you to get up from that spot. How many times have you ever sat in front of your TV and ate a whole bag of chips (or at least HALF of the bag) or pigged out on ice cream right out of the carton?
When you designate your kitchen as the place you will sit and eat, you're less likely to overeat.

Going to a restaurant for the all you can eat buffet, however, is another story!

Your Eyes are Bigger than Your Stomach

Remember when you were a child and your mother told you to eat all of your food because it was good for you? And she also reminded you how fortunate you were to have food on your plate because there were poor children in Biafra who didn’t have anything to eat.

Well, you’re all grown up now and while it’s important to maintain a healthy, nutritious diet, there is no need to CLEAN YOUR PLATE. That means it’s unnecessary to pile on all you can eat because “it just looks so delicious” and then go out of your way to finish it all. Calories add up---especially at middle age---while your metabolism is continuing to slow down. If you’re taking in more than you’re burning off, you could easily see an extra 5-10 pounds in a matter of months.

More fruits and vegetables are definitely the way to go. Why not try color-coded days by eating only fruits and vegetables of a certain color. For example: On Monday, make it a green day and eat all vegetables and fruits that are green in color. For lettuce, I would recommend a mixed green variety because plain lettuce has no nutritional value. On Tuesday, you could do a red day and so on and so forth.

Today, I decided to do a mix and match day: purple and red so I’m loading up on the blueberries, strawberries, and watermelon.

The Joy and Pain of Middle Age

If you're a woman who was born between 1946 and 1964, you’re considered a baby boomer. So what does that mean? It means, you are now journeying into a new phase of life. It means when you look in the mirror these days, you may see a woman you’re not quite sure you recognize. She has strands of gray hair and wrinkles in places easily seen. That drop dead gorgeous body has been replaced with some cellulite and unattractive bulges. These are just a few of the road signs pointing to your middle age journey.

Aging is a fact of life. You may be able to slow down the process but you will not stop it. All the plastic surgery in the world will not help. It doesn’t matter how may face lifts, botox shots or tummy tucks you receive, at some point you will FEEL what it’s like to grow older.

Here’s some of what you can expect as you age:

After 30 years old, your metabolism starts to slow down which means you burn fewer calories. In some cases, the level of activity also decreases. So if you’re eating more but burning fewer calories, you’re going to see an increase in your weight.

Aging also impacts your cardiovascular system. Your heart muscles begin to weaken, making, it harder to pump the same amount of blood through your body.

Hearing loss is one of the most common conditions affecting baby boomer adults. One in three people over 60 years old have significant hearing loss, according to doctors at the Mayo Clinic.

The desire for sex may also decrease, especially for middle-aged women. Vaginal dryness is one the reasons why. The lack of lubrication in the vaginal area can make physically intimacy painful and uncomfortable.

The healthy head of hair and glowing skin that used to make you the envy of your girlfriends also starts to take its toll. As we age, our bodies produce fewer natural oils which, in turn, make our skin drier and more wrinkled. In addition, our hair starts thinning out.

Even though aging is a natural part of life, there are a number of things you can do to ensure good health for a long time. Eating a healthy, balanced diet that includes loads of fruits and vegetables is a good start. Nutrition really is the key. Many health experts say you need food to jump start your metabolism first thing in the morning. That, in turn, will give you the energy needed to put in a 30-minutes walk or good aerobics workout, because exercise is also a key component.

Since we know we can’t turn back the hands of time, let’s just celebrate this new phase of life together!

Peace & Blessings,
babyboomerbev (Whatever! A Baby Boomer's Journey Into Middle Age)