Diary of a 60 Something......Thursday and Friday

Thursday  23rd March 

Today is very much an exercise day as I am joined by my husband.  We go relatively early and spend an hour there.  My husband does the treadmill and weights and me the cross trainer. 
We return home and I eat earlier than usual as I am going to my Pilates class at 1pm and need to digest! 

I have got back into the swing of Pilates again - I always felt the benefits but somehow going on holidays disrupts the pattern but now I am determined to be consistent and go to my twice weekly sessions.  Its surprising how much better my joints are now and my back is much stronger.








Feeling virtuous I return home and plan the evening meal.  Quiet evening tonight watching TV....bliss!

Friday 24th March

Put a load of washing on and catch up with the ironing. Quick session at the gym and then home. Hung out washing and then go to Lidl with my husband....when I tell my daughter what I have been up to in the day she usually mocks me by saying  "living the dream"😁

Back home have lunch and then I dedicate the afternoon to painting. One of my hobbies is painting

portraits.  Just recently my granddaughter asked me to paint her so she can put on her new bedroom wall.  She is delighted with it, however my grandson wants me to paint his portrait which is fine but I am struggling with his likeness.  Children have such perfect skin no blemishes no wrinkles and  its hard to identify distinguishing features.  Its much easier with craggier older faces!

Evening we have dinner with friends then home to bed....zzzz


So ends my week long diary.....as you can see quite unremarkable but very busy and we think very fulfilling.  

Now the weekend look forward to - the weather is going to be good so look like gardening will be on the agenda!

Diary of a Sixty Something...... Saturday

My husband and I are really enjoying our retirement always busy and so much we want to do and achieve.  When I say this friends ask me "what exactly do you do?". When put on the spot it is hard to think of all the things which keep us so engaged.  So I am going to share my diary for 7 days to provide some insight but also to remind me of what I actually do with my time......

So starting with last

Saturday 18th March

We wake up roughly the same time every day at around 6am.  All the conditioning from years of working and getting up early are hard to shake off.  However we are morning people and tend to pack a lot of energy into the morning.
We tend to talk for about half an hour and then my husband brings up a cup of tea for both of us and toast for himself - I don't eat breakfast! I know people say you should and most important meal of the day but I really don't need it.
For the next hour and a half to 2 hours we read the newspapers on line, mainly Telegraph, Mail, Guardian, Independent and Express.  We have a keen interest in politics and so read many of the headlines and articles of dominating the press - we share our thoughts and opinions and basically put the world to rights....
At the same time we watch SkyNews. This is our preferred station but flick over to BBC occasionally.
I also check out twitter and Facebook.

At 9am I am down to our gym and workout on the cross trainer for an hour before returning to get changed as we are meeting my son's in laws for lunch
11am we drive to Edgeware and catch the tube to Angel where we go to a delightful Italian for lunch at 12.30. 
3pm we make our way the short distance to the KingsHead Theatre Pub to see an abridged version of Madame Butterfly.  The Opera was excellent.  There is so much talent in the world.  The experience was also very different with an intimate room which reminded us of the small theatre in Trafalgar Studios.Fascinating being so close to the singers.

Around 6pm we say our goodbyes and make the journey home arriving back around 7.30pm then time for relaxing watching TV and then bed around 10pm - exhausted!

New Year Resolutions for dummies :)

When you reach this age you feel you have done resolutions ...but then you realise that instead of dismissing them recognise that you have reached a state of realism and acceptance and a rebalance of expectations.  You know what you should be doing and the benefits.....but you also know its all in your hands. So with this in mind what am I going to aim for this year?

1. Maintaining health, diet and fitness
2. Developing my hobbies and interests
3. Making the most of every day
4. Be more disciplined with my blog
5. Ration time on twitter and Facebook
6. Cherish every moment with my family

So looking at Number 1 ....I feel I am top of my diet..protein, lots of veg and low carb....works for me.  Not a fan of fruit but will endeavour to consume some :(  Also watch portions...greed can sometimes over-ride common sense.

Fitness - if you read my blog regularly you will know that I take this seriously.  I have a regime that works for me.  I go to the gym regularly and take every opportunity to walk rather than use the car.  You don't have to belong to a gym just keep moving!  Particularly when you reach your 60's - what separates the men from the boys is the investment you have made in your lifestyle and the measures you have taken to sustain the benefits derived.

Interesting that you usually get the usual influx of new recruits in the gym in the New Year - however its been a bit thin on the ground so far! This morning I virtually had the gym to myself and the same has been true over the past few days.

It is recommended that we should do 10K steps a day to maintain a healthy fitness level.  I really didn't appreciate what the is meant until my children bought  a  "fitbit" for my birthday.

I am into gadgets so I can understand the choice of present.  However I didn't realise how useful this would be.  It measures number of steps taken in a day, calories burnt  and sleep patterns and you can also record your diet and much more. All can be synchronised with an app on your iPhone.  Now I know this does not appeal to everyone just nerds like me - however the point I wanted to make is that we can kid ourselves as to whether we are really active in a day.  So far I have achieved 10k steps on a handful of occasions ..days when I have spent at least an hour in the gym and have completed many tasks at home - so you do have to up your game to achieve the goal.  Worth investing in a bog standard cheap pedometer if you want to check your progress.  Find out what works for you!!!

maintaining your figure!!

Continuing plan for the summer determined to get to the gym to maintain my weight and to  tone.....this routine has become very much a part of my daily objectives.

my day also includes

scales
daily calorie count
making the right food choices
portion control

     I also treat my tape measure as my conscience - it doesn't lie!!

I have found that as I have got older I don't seem to need or crave the larger portions I would have had when I was young. We were brought up to "clear our plates" whereas now it is more sensible to say I am full - my body is telling me this so leave the food we don't need. Fortunately the friend I met yesterday has a similar approach to food and watches the carbs and portions size.  Maybe surrounding yourself with like minded people is the answer when socialising and then you are not tempted to order fatty calorific alternatives.

This may seem to be onerous and prescriptive and I understand if this is the impression that is taken from this.  However once you have worked out a healthy diet content which you find appealing you will be surprised how you will become happy with it and more comfortable and the bonus you will start to see a difference in your shape, energy levels and well being. 

I am no saint and like a glass of wine and a bag of crisps like everyone else - however these are acceptable so long as they don't become a frequent components of your diet.

Its a little bit like learning to drive - you never think you will get the knack of being competent so many things to think about .....however driving eventually becomes second nature to you and part of everyday life!

No reason why mature women in age category 50 and beyond can't have a figure which is beach ready!!

Talking of everyday life the rest of the day will be devoted to catching up on jobs in the garden....cutting back, pruning, planting bedding plants and praying that there won't be a frost!

Keeping active and busy for me now in my 60s is vital and hope that it will help in the future with my health and my mind!!

Time for a cup of tea!!

Sunday Sloth!

Well its been an easy kind of a day!  My intent of being "summer ready" started at 8.30 this morning at the gym.  I spent an hour on cross trainer and low level bike.  I always feel so much better after I have done it!  Tomorrow I will do mainly weights to help with toning , muscles and strengthening bones.  Never ends does it?  

I got back home around 10.30 time for coffee with my husband.  The weather here in the south has been pretty mixed and there has been a constant threat of rain.....so I dodged the showers and mowed front and back lawns before preparing lunch.
Still watching the calories - stir fry chicken, courgettes, onion and carrot.

After lunch it has been wall to wall football.  My husband is a Manchester City fan and I decided to watch the matches with him as each one had a bearing on Man City"s success in getting to top of league. ......what am I talking about?!  It is a question of if you can't beat them join them. Anyway worked out well with convincing win against Crystal Palace!  So happy partner!  Thats what I call a result!

end of another year!!!

OK…Christmas officially over,  time to examine the state of mind….state of body……lets start with the latter….



Over the last couple of days at the gym we have had the usual influx of new people at our gym.  Over the past 30 years the gyms I have belonged  to - I have seen the same pattern emerge.  Conscience driven individuals decide at this time of year to take stock and be proactive - admirable.  The downside to this is that really overweight people embrace an unrealistic schedule. I see large men and women exercising using equipment as if they are being chased by a pack of hounds.  After 10 minutes many give up sweating profusely and looking decidedly ill.  They then talk with friends exchanginging thoughts on how hard they are working and disappear to the refreshment area where they have a full strength latte…..

I am not trying to be self righteousness but realistic. To sustain any sensible exercise plan you have to know yourself and develop a programme which works for you. The secret is then to make sure you can establish a regular routine which realistically can form part of your lifestyle.

From my experienced observations February marks the decline of the number of new December members who say things like "its a waste of time".  What they need to realise is that there is no quick fix.  Don't kid yourself that you are working hard - 10 minutes of little effort is not a workout!  Talk to the trainers at your gym and work out a regime which will work for you no matter how small…..a little and often will work wonders …..

Reluctant Exerciser!!

All of us know the importance of exercise but many of us don't want to do it.  What we do like are the results in terms of health and physique and toning.

My husband knows all too well the benefits and but reluctantly accompanies me for 2/3 days a week.  He is sensible however…………….

Couldn't resist taking a snap this morning of him on the treadmill at the gym.  Thankfully the machines have integrated TVs  and as I know this helps to pass the time for my husband as he gets really into his sports programmes!

At 69 I think he is in pretty good shape :)

Secrets of a longer life!

According to an article today the secret to a longer life has 4 elements

1.  Regular Exercise

2.  Eating a Mediterranean - style diet

3.  Keeping a normal weight

4.  Not smoking

Theses are the findings of a large study by researchers at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Few surprises here really.  With such strong messages from this study and from all the other findings from other research we read daily you would think that the penny would drop and we would look to improving our daily lives.

I am minded of a situation I used to see regularly when I attended my last gym which was quite extensive as was....... the car park!  Some would turn up in their gear and almost come to blows with others to try and get the parking slot the nearest to the gym entrance so they wouldn't have far to walk  when they had finished their session..........

another anecdote - a  colleague decided to go on a diet and eat her breakfast at work.  She brought her own cereal bowl which wasn't small and filled it to the top with bran flakes and then covered with milk to the rim.  She devoured this in seconds and felt she was eating healthily.  She then had a latte......because .....yes you have guessed it - it was healthy.  When it was pointed out to her how many calories she had consumed before 9am she was shocked.  She then started to look more closely at the calories she was consuming in a day and it was close to 3000!

The harm smoking does to your body is well known often with fatal consequences.  Smoking also has an impact on appearance. Greyness in the skin and premature wrinkles particularly lines around the mouth.

Do we ever learn..............

ref:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2334928/Four-habits-longer-healthier-life-Regular-exercise-Mediterranean-diet-normal-weight-smoking-benefits.html

Developing Interests!

What a week it has been - so much sad news, Margaret Thatcher's  funeral, the bombing in Boston and the explosion in Texas. It makes you count your blessings and you realise that you really have no reason to moan!


So this morning I was determined to get back into my routine and positive attitude.  First thing  went to the gym for an hour on the cross trainer and then on to delivering leaflets for the Council Elections in May. I have always been interested in politics and do my bit for our local constituency.  Delivering leaflets provides me with yet more exercise and also combines this with my political interest.  My husband also helps with delivery and its  much more enjoyable when we do this together.

What I appreciate during my task is how hard it can be for our postman to deliver letters when I experience the challenges,  albeit in a limited way!

Letter boxes are arranged in different ways.....in the middle of the door, some at the bottom and some on the side.  The spring loaded ones are lethal as they snap your knuckles and even worse are the dogs who enthusiastically launch themselves at your enticing fingers.  The more creative have a special box pinned to the wall......flats have boxes in the foyers which can only be accessed at certain times.  Grrrr!!

Access to some of the houses is like an obstacle course - some have complicated layouts which take you through a maze before you reach your destination, others are poorly maintained so negotiating broken paving stones and debris can be a real problem.

At the end of the exercise I feel I have achieved my objectives.......all leaflets delivered, calories burnt off!, and maybe more toned thighs  - I wish.........  time for feet up and a cup of tea....:)