Patience as we age and try to lose weight.......

The one conversation that I seem to hear all the time from my contemporaries is about losing weight and the struggle it is for them. Well it is harder to lose weight as we get past our 50's for several reasons: we're usually not as active, our metabolism has slowed down and were still eating and drinking the same way we did when we were in our 20's and 30's. All these things make losing weight almost impossible. Also remember it took many years to gain this weight, in some cases 30 years, so have patience and give yourself some time to lose the weight.

A 60 year old friend of mine had a goal of losing at least 20 pounds in 6 months, in my opinion a lot, but that was his goal. When he only lost 12 pounds he became discouraged and went back to his old eating habits and stopped working out convinced that he was never going to reach his goal. This resulted in gaining back the 12 pounds and added 10 more unwanted pounds for a total of 22 pounds.

 My advice: Don't get discouraged!

Enjoy this journey in which you'll have learned to exercise everyday and to eat a healthier diet. If you lose only 1 1/2 pounds a month that means 18 pounds a year and in two years 36 pounds. My experience is that's the way to do it.      Have Patience, it's worth the (weight) wait!

Keep it Simple, Consistent and Fun.

Watch for my website, aprimelife.com coming soon.

Eat, sleep and exercise the formula for good health as we age......

This seems like a no brainer, it's what we do every 24 hours. We have to sleep, eat and move so the important question is the level at which we do theses three important ingredients for better health.

Speaking as a 77 year old I need more sleep today than when I was 50, at least 8 hours, why because I just don't function as well with less sleep. I believe the body needs more time to recover as we age. This isn't a bad thing only a reality of aging.

Arnold at 77

The amount we could eat and drink when we were 30 years old was fine for that age but it's not a good idea to eat and drink that much when entering your 60's and certainly not in your 70's. What I've learned as I past my 60's was eat less, exercise more and get a good nights sleep. So let me elaborate a little.

This didn't just happen over night I began to gain weight in my late fifties because I was eating the same amount I did in my 30's...so I cut down on the amount of food I ate. In a period of a few years of eating less, cutting out fast foods and increasing my vegetables and fruit intake, guess what, I lost weight. I just changed my eating habits. I began exercising more which made the need to get more sleep a must.

There is no magic formula to a healthy life as you age so follow these three endeavors with enthusiasm and leave the rest to nature.

Keep It Simple, Consistent and Fun.