Staying Fit

Leading a healthy lifestyle involves a number of things.  Eight hours of sleep every night, regular exercise, good nutrition, avoiding stress, and on and on.  So many books and stories have been written on the subject it's comical.  Why?  Because, in essence, they all come down to the same truths.  Hell, every month in Men's Health they pretty much repeat the articles with different titles.

The bottom line is it takes a good amount of discipline.  And I'm no expert on that.  I fall off the wagon and get back on just like most everyone else.  Still, people have been asking me what I'm doing to stay in shape at 50.  Well, I'll tell ya'...

I started a few years back by reading The Abs Diet  by Men's Health editor, David Zinczenko.  It's pretty much the same drill as all the others...lots of fruit and vegetables, avoid processed foods, little fat, no high fructose corn syrup. 

There were some simple lessons I took away and have incorporated into my daily lifestyle.  Please don't call it a diet.

One, I work out daily. 

Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays I weight train early in the morning. About 45 minutes.

All I use are dumbbells and a bench. I concentrate on legs on Mondays while Wednesday and Friday is for upper body. Workouts last about 45 minutes.

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays I do aerobics. Mostly that means riding my stationary bike for 45 minutes. Once in awhile I’ll take to the great outdoors for a longer real bike ride.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, when time permits, after I get home from work I’ll do some routines with an exercise ball.

 

The main point to take away here is that I do this with minimal equipment and produce fine results. I do these workouts at about 5:15am. For me, it’s the perfect way to start the day.

Two, I eat small meals six times a day to keep my metabolism working at a steady rate.  Three, I eat the Power 12 foods Zinczenko has come up with.  He makes them easy to remember with an acronym. They are:

A - almonds and other nuts
B - beans and other legumes
S - spinach and other green vegetables

D - dairy (low fat)
I - instant oatmeal
E - eggs
T - turkey and other lean meats

P - peanut butter (natural)
O - olive oil
W - whole grains
E - extra protein (whey powder)
R - raspberries and other berries

My meals are rather dull and very consistent. Of course, this makes for very easy shopping. I think I could make it through the supermarket blindfolded at this point.

Boring though they are, I take solace in the fact that I do get out to eat a few times a week and that breaks up the routine meals.

Breakfast:

Before the workout I blend a cup of skim milk, a banana, a scoop of vanilla flavored whey powder and 4 ice cubes and drink that down.

After the workout I heat up a cup of skim milk and a tablespoon of flaxseed. Then I add a handful of blueberries (keep them in the freezer to last), a tablespoon of reduced fat natural peanut butter and instant oatmeal. Heat again and stir it up. It’s quite tasty indeed.

Lunch:

In the morning I prep these things for my day. I down 1 low fat cup of yogurt (make sure it has no high fructose and is under 100 calories) around 10am.

At about 12:30pm I’ll have a sandwich consisting of two slices of whole grain bread, two thin slices of low fat turkey and a slice of low fat swiss cheese. Then about a cup of mini carrots and a grapefruit.

Around 3:30pm I eat a whole green pepper and another piece of in season fruit.

On the drive home from work I’ll eat an apple.

Dinner consists of a salad made of spinach leaves, broccoli florets, a handful of raw almond slivers and a garlic vinegarette dressing.

One Sundays I may cook up a large piece of beef either on the grill or in the oven. I’ll replace the almonds with a bit of that in the salad through the week.

In the evening I may have a handful of raw whole almonds or some reduced fat Triscuits and some baba ghanouch.

Other staples I may eat in place of others include sardines or some baked fish, lentils,

There you have it. Maybe it’s not for everyone but you might want to give it a try. It’s doing wonders for me.