Choose to Move Your Body

If you want to lose weight, you need to eat right, exercise and get enough rest. You need to burn more calories than you take in by moving your body. How you do it is up to you. The key is to move. This is especially important for those of us who are over 60. It helps keep us fit and feeling better.

From my observation, people who are active tend to live longer and to be healthier. Once we start moving, it seems to get easier. So starting today, if you have not been exercising, find some ways to do it that are fun.
It can be as easy as taking an extra step or going the longer way around. Just move!

I love to swim. The Aqua Fit (water aerobics) classes that I am taking fit nicely into that. I love being in the water. I can jump in the water. I cannot jump on dry land yet... With water aerobics, you have the resistance of the water to help you. In a class you also have an instructor and fellow classmates to help you along and encourage you. The good news is that I can see my progress as well when I work with my trainer, Amanda Espinoza, in the gym.

Now, I decided a year ago to get a trainer when I joined the gym. It is a choice. I needed someone to guide me and hold me accountable. It has been great. We work hard on the equipment, and I can feel my body getting stronger. I still have a long way to go. The other nice thing about the gym I attend is the people who encourage me. These are strangers who have watched me work out week after week after week. It does my heart good, and it encourages me to continue working hard.

This Saturday, I upped my exercise program. I started taking line dancing classes at the Jocelyn Center, a Senior Citizen Center in Burbank, Ca. It was great fun. I have always loved to dance. I am left handed and sometimes have a problem with left and right, but I kept on going any way. I loved the music, the movement of the dances and the fellowship of other dancers. Everyone encouraged one another. It was nice.

I am striving to keep my life in balance. I want to add another class at the gym, but feel I need to get this one going first.  Last summer I was at the gym 5 mornings a week. This year, I am there three mornings a week.  I am working a couple of afternoons a week and blogging as often as I can. While I feel I need to add more exercise into my lifestyle, I am trying to do it gradually. The focus is making a life style change, It is not about the exercising and eating better. It is about changing my life to a healthier life style---one step at a time. Remember slow and steady wins the race.

My recommendation to you are
1. Find something that helps you move, that you enjoy, and then to do it.
2. Find an exercise buddy to go with you. Find people who will support you in your endeavor to get fit. If someone does not support you in this endeavor, I suggest you spend less time with them. Now if it is your spouse, keep this in mind. If you start moving, they may just decide to follow you. You do not have to spend a lot of money. You can get a good pair of walking shoes and walk around the neighborhood. Some malls even have groups of people that meet and walk in air conditioned comfort. So do yourself a favor and start to move.
3. Move your body, take more steps and enjoy what you are doing to get into better shape.

Thanks for reading this. I hope it gives you some ideas. Doing what you enjoy, especially if it helps improve your health, is a great way to spend time. What are you doing to move? Let me know. I appreciate your questions and comments.