Marjory loved playing soccer while growing up and was a champion player in college. Her daughter Nancy was a single mom with two little boys, Mark age 7 and Steven 5. Their Dad had moved to another city and was rarely active in their lives. Nancy moved close to her family for help in raising the boys. Marjory’s doctor informed her that her blood sugar test was at the top of normal. He advised losing weight and exercise. Marjory volunteered to coach the boys’ soccer teams. This plan would give the boys support in their sports activity and she’d get exercise and lose weight at the same time.
The boys thought having their grandmother as a coach was cool even though she wasn’t a dad. Marjory worried the dads might not accept her as one of the “boys” but they were supportive. Marjory at 61 took on 4 practices a week plus games on Saturday. She ran up and down the field with the kids teaching and nurturing. The kids loved her, but not as much as she loved them. This exercise plan was a sure winner as she couldn’t make excuses for slacking off and let her boys down.
By the end of the season both of Marjory’s teams won the play-offs. She lost 10 pounds and her blood sugar levels were normal. How’s that for a creative exercise program!
Muscles don’t tone overnight and extra weight doesn’t go easily or quickly. You need to watch your diet. But I’m convinced that if you don’t have an eating disorder (where you binge on quarts of ice cream while watching TV at night or load up on snacks all day) dieting alone won’t take the weight off and keep it off. If you’re a couch potato or an occasional exerciser make your goal to exercise 5 days a week. A great book on exercise for those in our age group is Younger Next Year for Women by Chris Cowley and Henry Lodge, MD., Workman Publishing, 2005. (www.crowcreative.com/default.php) This book convinced me to exercise. I can highly recommend it.
Once you start exercising on a regular basis you’ll feel more alive. You’ll have more energy and you’ll be thrilled with the changes in your body. Toning and tightening will do wonders for your morale too.
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