Oh my gracious, how?

I'm doing more sports now then when I was 20, the only difference I need my late afternoon nap and sometimes little pain here in there

I have never stopped skiing, walking, bicycling, yoga, aerobic, and I still have the same weight as when I was at 20 and I'm 49 and people say to me how come you are slim? Like if at 49 it's a condition: You have to be fat. The key word is "move"! Each Summer I do between 2000 km to 2500 km bicycling, and also gardening, yep gardening can be strenious! This Friday I'm going on a 5 days ski trip, I hope my knees will keep up, and my glucosamine will not let me down

Freddy said:

To me, it doesn't come down to schedules, laziness, or anything other than desire and respect for yourself.

Click to expand...

I can agree with this. The problem that I had with the Steph posting is that he/she attributed it ALL to laziness. I have a real problem with gross generalizations of any sort. That kind of an attitude can get anyone into real trouble and has caused alot of problems for innocent people.

Sometimes folks just need some encouragement and guidance. I agree that exercise and fitness does not need to get sidelined completely due to age, disability, obligations, or other circumstances. An appropriate program can be designed for anyone - and that is why info sharing is so helpful.

mireckca said:

I took a look at it too and think that it looks great so far. The "home" page is the only one up so far (as you said, it is under development) and it is very impressive. I think that the next one to be up should be the "contact" page - since that would give you a way to provide the info yet to come on the other pages to folks that inquire.

Click to expand...

Funny-I had to take a peak myself. Just call me nosey nellie . I agree with the "contact" page but also Freddy the "services" that is always huge with me. If people can see what it is you are going to offer, it will give them a reason to check back when your site is complete. Other than that, I think it looks great!

mireckca said:

Hey - I figure if it were just addressed to Chelsie he would have / should have PM'd her, right?

Click to expand...

True- that makes me feel better-I like the way you think mireckca!

I'm so sorry to mireckca, gymrat and anyone else I may have offended with my "lazy" comment. That sincerely was not my intention. I'm not a negative/hurtful person and I didn't mean for one of my first few posts on here to come across that way.

Let me just explain real quick... I used to work out minimally (few hours cardio/week) and "watch" what I ate, but it didn't have any effect on me. I even tried weight watchers for a few months... again, with no success. Then in late 2007, I joined a gym and combined cardio + weight training and immediately saw a decrease in pounds just from the added activity. Then from there, I learned more about nutrition and started altering some things in my diet. That change brought on another significant weight decrease. It wasn't until I became very serious with my diet that I saw the best results, but I know (at least, for me) that this type of training helped put those changes into place.

I do have friends who are overweight, as well as friends who have health issues that prohibit them from doing certain things. I didn't mean to be insensitive or to imply that those individuals are lazy. In my experience, some are (like my co-workers, who eat nothing but junk food and cookies all day, don't exercise and then complain about their weight).... but I shouldn't have generalized that as I know what a struggle this can be. Health issues and limitations aside, I do believe that incorporating more activity (in whatever capacity you safely and physically can), can bring on positive changes.

I know individuals in their 40's, 50's and beyond who are in amazing shape because they are careful with their diets and maintain a regular fitness regimen so while I know that certain ailments may accompany age, exercise can be a great way to combat certain things also. My bf is a personal trainer and one of the coolest things he told me recently was about a 70-something year old client that can now leg press 400lbs. Granted, it was a gradual increase, but she wanted to achieve that goal and he slowly worked her up to that ability. I think that's so great to hear! I can only press around 200-something, so the fact that an elderly person can out-press me is such an awesome thing! It makes me believe that anything is possible.

Anyway, I commend anyone who strives to better themselves and make improvements. NOBODY is perfect and it's all about taking it one day at a time and the fact that anyone here is interested in being committed to their health like this, is already a step in the right direction!

StephM- Very well said. But you really didn't need to apologize. We are all different people and we all have different opinions. That is what makes the world go round. But you were very kind for saying sorry, and by doing so, shows me what a caring person you are.

I am a total gymrat- I run every day and do resistance training 3 days a week. Has it help me? More than you know. Is it for everyone? Heavens no. I accept people for who they are not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. I know what works for me, and I know that what I do to stay in shape is my own perogative. I used to weigh over 200 lbs. (15 years ago) I am now just a little over 120 lb. I could of never done this without cardio and weights. I know the benefits of it. However, being that I am now at the 40 mark, it isn't as easy as it was 10 years even 5 years ago. Is this an excuse? No it is reality. So as you age, you can only do what you can do. And if you have other health issues that contribute, that makes things even worse. I just know, what works for me, works for ME.

Physical fitness is a touchy subject. Now, if this were a Fitness forum, things would be different. But it isn't. So, I think we all just need to remind ourselves that we are all individuals, and if you are into fitness, so be it, and if you are not, there is nothing wrong with that either.

But once again, very kind of you to say sorry.

StephM said:

I'm so sorry to mireckca, gymrat and anyone else I may have offended with my "lazy" comment. That sincerely was not my intention.

I'm not a negative/hurtful person and I didn't mean for one of my first few posts on here to come across that way.

Click to expand...

No problem, Steph. I always cut folks from Jersey some extra slack (I moved to Toronto from South Orange 6 years ago).

I had foot surgery and it slowed me down alot. I should also have knee surgery but cannot at this time. I know that I am probably overly sympathetic to folks who are dealing with circumstances beyond their control. And with job losses and health care cuts, the situation is only going to get worse in terms of foregone medical care.

I do agree that there is always something folks can do to stay in shape. But not everyone realizes this because they are so overwhelmed with issues and problems. Call me stubborn but I still maintain that this is not always a laziness issue.

Oh- reading what Freddy has to say always gets me motivated!

SkinCareDiva said:

I can tell you the one reason I am not satisfied with my body is because most often, I am too lazy to workout. I have plenty of time and I just dont want to. Even if you have physical limitations to working out it doesn't mean you can't eat healthier and cut out some of the extra junk to help you lose a few. Everyone has their own pile of excuses.

Click to expand...

Uh oh....don't mention that "L" word!!!
You are right about healthy eating though! You can control what goes into your mouth.
I bet you get more exercise than you realize too if you take care of a house or have a job that isn't sedentary.

Gymrat - Congrats on your weight loss. That's awesome! You're right... I'm so used to being on fitness forums that I guess I got carried away for a moment, but I was just trying to put things in perspective since I know how I used to be, personally. I do realize that may not be the case for everyone...

mireckca - How do you like it up there in Toronto? I was in Montreal once and loved it... would love to go back! I'm about an hour south of where you lived, but I guess the Jersey people do have a reputation of some sort. Oops! How is your foot doing? When was your surgery? I can understand how physical limitations could restrict your ability to be more active. It sounds like walking isn't exactly a small task for you. I guess as humans, we don't realize what we take for granted until/unless it's not there anymore.

You guys are pretty sweet here. Very glad I found this place!

StephM said:

mireckca - How do you like it up there in Toronto? How is your foot doing? When was your surgery? I can understand how physical limitations could restrict your ability to be more active. It sounds like walking isn't exactly a small task for you. I guess as humans, we don't realize what we take for granted until/unless it's not there anymore.

Click to expand...

Steph - Toronto is great. It is really the financial and business center for Canada, so it's been a comfortable place to be for me. I worked in NYC for 12 years before coming here - so it's nice being in a cosmopolitan place without alot of the headaches that Manhattan has. Of course, everytime I get home to NY I hate to leave it again.

My foot operation was about 10 years ago and it doesn't impair my mobility now. I walk probably 10-15 miles per week just doing errands and going about town. But the next day I do pay for it in my knees - old childhood, sports related injuries, I think. So I stick to low-impact, elliptical types of exercise whenever I can.

All the best to you as you complete your program. This is a good place to take a break and maybe even have a laugh or two.

I had a baby about 6 months ago and I have 2 other kids. Everytime I have one it gets harder to lose the baby weight I recently bought the wii fit because there is no way I can get to a gym so now me and my kids workout with the wii. I hold the baby while I do my step aerobics. He's my 20 lb weight lol. I lost about 10 lbs in a month so I'm liking it. I'm thinking about taking alli. I don't really eat high fat foods, so I'm not really all that worried about the side effects. I'll keep you updated on how that goes...