Its All About Showing Up- a little story about aging

The Scoop

I haven’t done a fitness post for a while and since that is one of the things I think about and work on the most I thought I would share how it’s going. If you follow me much you know that I love to stay active and eat healthy. But I also love to have fun and treat myself to all the things I love.

The last couple of years I have noticed that I struggle a little more with keeping up the activities I love. I’m a little slower, more prone to sore muscles and less motivated to do difficult activities. My weight is up a few pounds over where I feel best this past year too. And I find it harder to be disciplined enough to drop the weight which for me means cutting calories. This is all new to me. My whole life if I wanted to lose a few pounds I could do it in a few weeks. So I have been reevaluating my routine.

Here is what I am doing right now. First I try to do what is right for my body at least 80% of the time. That has been a life-long rule for me. I am still at a healthy weight so I mostly will just maintain my 125 to 127 pounds (which is where my weight seems to have settled) rather than worry about being 120 pounds. If what I do helps me lose a few pounds I will be fine with it. I have been doing HIIT runs,meaning that I do a five minute walk to warm up then I run at top speed for a minute and then walk for a minute and repeat for 30 minutes on hills. I do this every other day. On the opposite days I have been doing a 30 minute yoga session followed by a three mile walk on the trails around here that are very hilly. I work in a day off every few days.

I have been studying the new research on strength training and am finding there is a lot of false information out there in main stream media. Strength training doesn’t only mean you have to be in a gym with machines or free weights. There are many ways to build muscle that is lost through sarcopenia (muscle loss due to ageing). Running, hiking and even walking builds strength and muscle. Not only can it prevent sarcopenia it can reverse muscle loss due to aging. Here is a great article that sorts out some of the things we hear in the media today. My goal is to push my muscles to failure or to exhaustion because that is what builds muscle. I do that through my HIIT runs, hiking, and even my yoga pushes my muscles to exhaustion. Have you ever hiked or done somethings similar and felt your leg muscles go weak? Or with yoga you push your arm muscles until they shake? That’s the key.

As for eating I have not been meeting my normal standards. I am craving lots of unhealthy things and so I really have to think about what I am eating. As a rule we eat lots of vegetable, beans, legumes, etc., fresh fruits, lean meats in small amounts, etc. We have been trying pastas made of lentils, quinoa, and garbanzo beans and we really like them. I have a glass wine only a few times a week since alcohol can do a lot of damage. But I make brownies and cookies which probably aren’t the best for us. But at least they are home made so no preservatives and things like that.

My weight is up also because my hormones are out of balance. I have used bio identical hormones since I went thorough menopause at the age of 47 and recent tests showed I was getting too much estrogen and testosterone which among other things makes you hungry thus my eating like a teenage boy. Ha ha! So I am working with my doctor to adjust my dosages. I can already tell a difference and it’s only been a couple of weeks.

Anyway the point of me sharing all this is to say staying fit as most things in life ebbs and flows. There are easy times, good times, and then more difficult or down right hard times. One thing I know for sure is it is all about showing up. Each day is a new day and a chance to be good to my body. I just turned 59 and I am very aware that you can retain what you can’t regain. I know if I stop taking care of myself it is all down hill. So I show up!

Fun Thing

I watch a lot of public television and recently I saw a show talking about the popularity of boulder climbing. Yes people climb big boulders for fun here in Idaho! It was crazy to watch. I consider myself a boulder jumper. We have lots of big boulders around our house in the mountains and for years I have ran at them and half climbed half jumped for pictures for my blog. I use a tripod and timer so that means I have ten seconds to get my butt up and in position. I have had so many laughs as I miss my target or fall. There I am in the middle of nowhere, by myself laughing like a nut trying to get a picture. Lots of times I get up and realize I lost my high heels and there they are laying the ground. Ha ha. The boulder in the picture below is small so one good hop and I was up but some require much more work.

You can see all my looks on the LiketoKnow.it app when you search northwestmountainliving. Just download the free app and follow me or go to the shop tab on the blog to see them.

That’s it gang! Thanks for stopping by!

Peace!

P.S. I started a new IG Account called @northwestmountainliving. If you want to follow along check it out because I will be linking all my outfits and maybe adding some try-on haul stories soon!