So, is this you today??? Or this???

OK! So You’re not 25 (or even close?) Anymore

So what do you do about it?
Sit back in your chair and just accept you’re getting older? Nothing you can do about that anyway (shrug) right?
Or! – Make each day Count!
Fine! – And how the heck do we do that??

This, and similar thoughts have been niggling at the back of my mins for some time and I am finding it harder and harder to sit back and wait for old age and – gulp – death to take over. Like I read people tended to do way back when.
Now – apart from any other reasons, just allowing this to happen is BORING. I get antsy sitting on the sofa too long, even when I have something creative to do while I sit there.

So naturally, being me, I started researching as many ideas and suggestions as I could find. And found so many, I thought I’d pass on a few in case there are others out there who would appreciate a few ideas.
Here goes.

De-stress – Quite a popular expression these days, but not always easy to do is it? One doctor (Pablo Quintana M.D.) said in one of his reports that spending even 10 minutes at a time doing something you enjoy can, if you let it, help you work on beating some of the stresses many of us feel today.
SO, what is causing your stress? If it’s something medical, you may need to speak to your primary care doctor. But if it’s the stress that can come from managing while living on a very small budget; Living alone; knowing few people, Maybe due to moving to a new area; Feeling unfit, but not knowing how to even make a START on correcting any of these things, whatever is causing your own personal stress; You CAN make a difference.
In the past few years, I have suffered several of those listed. Besides being at the ‘No longer a spring chicken’ end of the age spectrum – AND a fairly recent widow, I was very aware that I first needed to help myself.
Onward and Upward then, I decided.

The Truth about Metabolism and Calories.

Is there such a thing as metabolism raising diets? – NO
Although chilli peppers and green tee may bring short a term boost. A balanced diet with sensible portion sizes is far more important.

Can exercise speed up your metabolism? – YES
Muscle burns more calories than fat.
Strength training and cardio are good choices.

Can eating lots of small meals increase Metabolism? – NO
Try small meals if you tend to over eat at mealtimes.
Number of meals matters less than total calories eaten.

Is it common to have trouble losing weight because of slow metabolism. – NO
A slow metabolism is rare.
If you are following all the guidelines, but still having problems slimming down, Speak to your Doctor.

Lower carb Substitutes for Bread, Pasta, Rice, Potatoes.

Bread Swaps

A lettuce wrap works great as a taco shell, or burger bun.
Chinese cabbage is a good wrap for sandwich fillings.
Cauliflower makes a good pizza crust. Among other yummy things.

Pasta Swaps

Shredded spaghetti squash, excellent as spaghetti.
Zucchini or egg-plant slices make great lasagne, noodles.
Cauliflower is just as good as pasta in mac’n’cheese.
Use veg peeler, knife or spiralizer to turn veges into noodles.

Potato Swaps

Grated squash can become hash browns.
Turnip or cauliflower works well as ‘mashed potatoes’
Jicama (Mexican potato) can crisp up just like potatoes
Rutabaga (swede) adds body to soups and stews, can also be riced.

Rice Swaps

Cauliflower riced or pulsed in a blender.
Bulgar, quinoa or barley make great rice substitutes, especially as a side dish or in stir fries & soups.

Should I add vitamin supplements to my diet.

First check your diet to see if it’s missing any item that you need to add as a supplement. Unless you have a really unhealthy food regimen (fish & chips, burger and chips etc., every day) you could be already taking all the vitamins you need. Or you could, just by adding or removing one or two items, get your vitamin need up to scratch.
But if you are missing any needed items, can you add this food(s) naturally? If not, then look at a supplement for that section of your diet. But try not to go overboard with multiple supplements that may not be necessary. Also, bear in mind that too many extra supplements may well end up down the toilet rather than staying in your system.

Hidden Sources of Trans Fats

One way to pile on the pounds is not always apparent so it will be of benefit to check food labels, but the following foods may well include such hidden fat.

Baked goods – cookies, cake and crackers.
Popular snacks – microwaveable pop corn, potato chips
Fried food – especially from eat out and take away venues
Dough products – including such as frozen pizza and biscuits
Stick butter
Coffee creamers
Vegetable shortening- lard, dripping

The term found on packets in small print “Partially Hydrogenated oil” is another name for artificial trans fat.

Another sort of unhealthy option of course is sugar, which is often used these days as a preservative. Some of these hidden sugars, under often different names are –

• It has syrup – corn syrup, rice syrup
• the word ends in “ose” – fructose, sucrose, maltose, dextrose
• “sugar” is in the name – raw sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, confectionary sugar.

These are also normally hidden among the ingredients on the packet.
Exercise
If you are out of the habit of exercising (as I certainly was), just take a walk. Doesn’t have to be a long one, ten minutes is doable for most of us at the start. For me, it was around the block, a very short one, (20 minutes in total) but the homeward part had a small hill. First couple of times, I was worn out by the time I got home again. But within a week or so, I was voluntarily extending this.
Walks outside in the air also exposes you to vitamin D, which is good for problems with anxiety, sociable, helps sleep, helps you feel good, helps focus, aids the immune system, boosts creativity, helps weight control. But remember to ‘slip, slap, slop’.
Before beginning any exercise plan, check your health with your doctor. Weight gain can adversely affect your microbiome, encouraging the types of microbes that harvest energy from food an help the body store fat, possibly setting the stage for weight gain.
High fibre foods – veggies, whole grains, fruit, feed bacteria in your colon; also discourage growth of some harmful ones. Probiotics like yoghurt and pickled veg also help your gut. Getting enough sleep, easing stress and exercising may also improve your microbiome. Be wary of taking probiotics especially if you have some health issues, check with your doctor first. Peppermint oil has been proved to have some beneficial effects.
Regular physical activity can improve your balance and boost or maintain your health and fitness. Could help improve your mood, help manage, or lessen the impact of conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and depression.
So what are you waiting for? If the weather is dry and not freezing, get out there and walk, even if for only 1 minutes. I have a friend in a rest home, in her eighties, who regularly gets out, with her walker, and walks. Even if it’s only around the perimeter of the building. Puts me to shame sometimes so I try always to remind myself that –
You’re never Too Old
Recommended for Mature Adults.

Well, being one of those above, I couldn’t help myself, had to go looking for more information that will help me into and through a hopefully long HEALTHY life. Here are my findings.
In spite of what a lot of us believe, as we grow older endurance, balance, strength and flexibility are vital for both health and mood.
Brisk walking, dancing etc. improve the health of your heart, lungs and circulatory system. Can also make it easier to mow lawns, climb stairs etc.
Strength exercises including lifting weights, which don’t have to be heavy weights, or using resistance bands, can definitely increase muscle strength, which in turn will help with carrying groceries or lifting grandchildren.
Balance exercises can help prevent falls. Stretching or flexibility exercises can aid freedom of movement. Weights will help tone muscles. Kegel squeezes for other muscles, quick and long (10 secs) 3 times per day.
Social activities, reading, playing games, making crafts, computer use for indoors, can also help keep our brains active and our mood good. A fairly recent experiment with about 30 people, found that not only is dancing good for most of your muscles, it also helps your mood. As does singing in a group, I am in a local choir and we practice weekly for our concerts. Most of us go home on a high, so singing works too.
The Mediterranean diet is also helpful for keeping our weight in check.
Try to always keep footways clear, clean up spills straight away, invest in good lighting. Find activities such as Tae Chi, Yoga, etc. to help improve your balance. Should lower blood pressure. Good dietary eating aids good health, as does cooking with raw foods, not processed, therefore limiting the hidden sugars in our diet that are in so many processed foods today.
Well, those are my research results – So Far
But I will still keep spending time on finding ways to help me stay healthy and, even on a very small budget, finding out how to delay the time when I will need assistance.
SO – Onward and Upward to all of us over 25. Did I say 25? Why discriminate? Over 21, catch your bad habits early and you’re more likely to have a fit and healthy old age. Very Good Luck and habits to you all