Fabulously Fit at Fifty!

If someone would have told me that at fifty I would be a size twelve and feel better than I have in years, I would have said you were nuts. However, I would not recommend this, but this is what worked for me. I had a sciatic nerve problem. What worked to get rid of some of the most egregious pain that I have ever felt was simple; I walked it away. Now you may say walked it away? How did you do that.

Well it wasn’t easy. I had two shots from the doctor, which didn’t stop the pain at all, I still felt it. I had physical therapy, and I also did Tai massage. I was on pain meds and gabapentin. I was still in unimaginable pain. What worked to stave off the pain you ask? Walking, plain and simple. I started walking small at first, a half hour at least two to three time a week. I built up over time to everyday, and now I walk 90 minutes everyday. The pain lessened to the point now where it is just a painful memory, I know it’s there, it just doesn’t rear its ugly head anymore.

It took a year and a half to get back to some semblance of normalcy. It was a slow process, the side effects of which; I lost weight. Well, I didn’t really lose weight, I lost girth and inches. Those inches mean more than the weight. So when people talk about losing weight, think of losing girth. If you just lose weight, you haven’t really changed. Putting those pounds back on is easier. If you lose girth, you’ve got something there. I weigh in the 160 lb. range. I am a size twelve. So my girth has changed.

Now when I say walking I don’t just mean meandering down the street all namby-pamby like. I mean moving. I walk between 3.4 and 4.2 miles per hour. At home I walk to fast paced music between 134 beats per minute to 151 beats per minute. It gets your heart rate up, and when I walk on the treadmill at the gym I am getting between 40 and 45 minutes of fat burning in. Why is fat burning so important? Well that’s what changes your girth. That is what drives the changes. Without fat burning, there is no change.

Now I also do other things besides walk. I see a personal trainer two times a week. And I go to the gym three times a week with the personal trainer on two of those days Monday and Friday. I have also recently joined a dance class. I also continue to do Tai massage, and I also get regular massages. This is also important to keep you healthy.

I take care of my feet as well. I roll them at least two to three times per week. Walking as much as I do, you really do need to take time to take care of your feet. What you wear on your feet is important too. I have to have tie shoes because my feet are extremely narrow. You also need to replace your shoes often, because from shear wear and tear you beat them up pretty bad. I put miles on my shoes.

I also like to use sesame oil to keep my skin from feeling like sandpaper. This keeps your skin soft and supple, especially at fifty. Your skin is the one thing that people see first about you, so take care of it. As they say you only live once, and you are only given one birthday suit, wear it well!

I don’t feel fifty, and some people say I don’t even look fifty. But that’s the fun part. I am, and I am proud of the fact that I am fifty. So when I say that I feel good, I mean it. I wouldn’t have necessarily picked the way I did it as an option, but feeling good and being able to move is important, especially now that I am going into my better years of life. I have learned a lot over the years, and now I am ready to not only feel good, but to look as good as I feel.

So, if asked if I would want to do this all over again with the sciatic nerve pain, I would have to say no thank you. But it has helped me to change the way I think of weight and how I feel about myself.