Not graceful, but trying

When I was in college I got an A in weight training. At the time it meant lifting weights. Not training my pounds. Anyway I got an A. Now that I am 65 there are so many options for exercise available that the only thing I am sure of is that I might do well at weight training. The aerobic versus the anaerobic is a discussion of many people as well as many years. Both seem to do good things and have many advocates. So what to do? I went to aarp for an answer.


| For older women, the type of exercise you do may be more important than how often you do it.

That's the message of a surprising new study by Canadian researchers that found that women who started a once-a-week strength-training program were more likely to stick with it — and reap the physical and mental benefits — than those who started a twice-a-week program.


— Charriau Pierre/Getty Images
More importantly, older women who built muscle strength through biceps curls, leg lifts, squats and the like showed much greater improvement in mental focus and ability to make decisions and resolve conflicts than women who did only balance and toning exercises.

Published this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the study is a one-year follow-up of 155 women ages 65 to 75 who participated in an earlier strength-training exercise program in 2007-2008.

I want to lose weight. I want to be smart. I want to be healthy. I think I can do once a week. And I have a membership to a gym(which I don't currently use). For now I have an answer.

But, I know that there are things to do at home to enhance strength and stamina. And I plan on researching and sharing them. I am working with spinal stenosis and a torn miniscus in the left knee. And my right hip talks to me sometimes.(I don't answer) I well attempt to come up with some well rounded exercises for the well rounded like me. And some things to do to maybe make walking fun. And I'll share what I've learned and also include some pics. I am willing at this point to do anything to change my health and looks. I started to monitor my fashions and I have had great fun with that. I have also learned to consider options I had previously ignored without spending any more money. One of the best things for me has been to take pics of myself and post them. I can no longer pretend when looking at the pics that I am not fat.

So this blog will document struggles with weight, aging, injuries, and self knowledge. I hope it will help me and you too.

How to do it.

I find that I am more than ever concerned about fashion. Of course that may be partly because I am more than ever not happy about my body. I am definitely in the morbidly obese range and I am facing a Catch-22 conundrum. I feel bad about the way my body looks without clothing. And I am not pleased with the way it looks with clothing. I feel really depressed when I see the pics of myself. I remind myself that this is what others are seeing when they look at me.

So I want to try to make some changes in those two things. But I said I feel bad, remember? And I feel depresses, remember? Depression is one of the biggest parts of feeling tired all the time for me, and maybe for you. I am on an antidepressant. I am also on thyroid meds and other things. Some may cause the weight to stick like glue. But I am also so in love with the sofa that I don't want to get off of it. Not that it is so comfortable, but the overcoming of inertia is really difficult. I am looking at this problem from the perspective of age now.

Fashion-Age These are two things that I don't put together. But I have discovered that Age does go along very well with style. And since I am not good at style I am using a method to help myself along.

1. I cleaned out the stuff in my closet that doesn't fit well, doesn't feel good, is shabby, is worn out, or I just don't like.

2. I am left with a lot of things that make me feel fat but at least they are presentable. And as time goes by I may figure out what to do with them.

3. I have looked at lots of fashion mags(I love them). And I have lamented that the models are toothpicks. For real. But I finally figured out how to use some of the things I find in there. I just take a pic of something I think is pretty, tear it out of the mag. I post it on a clipboard in my closet. And I start looking for things I have that might help make a copy of the look. Of course, I can't let my expectations get too high.

4. I have discovered that there are some looks that I like a lot which will require a change in my body. I am hoping that will be easier now that I have set goals.

5. I have also discovered that while some of the young things whose blogs I follow can go out and purchase stuff at full price when they want to, I simply can't. I also follow some blogs of girls who are thrifters and that is the way I shall have to go. I love vintage but there must have been no heavy women in the 40's. Of course, since I can sew, I plan to make a couple of vintagy pieces.

So far, this is where I am. Suggestions are very welcome.

I found it

For several years now I have been wearing clothes because they are big enough to get into. I have begun to lose a small amount of weight and I daydream about being thin and gorgeous. And looking 25. Yeah right!

My mom was a garage sale fanatic. But she was not interested in vintage, high dollar fashion. No, my mom wanted 5 cent t shirts and shorts. And stains didn't matter much. Just as long as they fit her ok she was happy with her bargain. However when she needed to she was able to pull out some presentable clothes from the closet that had never been culled--- ever.

We often have no other role models available to us than our own parents. It was that way for me. I live in a very conservative part of the country and fashion, unless you are wealthy, is for those in magazines. Well, that bothers me. I don't mean to say that I want to follow every fashion trend that comes down the pike. The youngsters are already taking care of that for me. But I do, now that I'm retired and have time, want to put some thought and effort into carving out a style or styles that interest and express me. I am a grandmother 4 times over. Sorry, but I don't want to wear what my grandmother wore.

I am pleased to announce to any who don't know that there is a wonderful blog on this blogging site called Advanced Style. I spent 2 hours today devouring the pics and write ups in this blog and I have finally seen the light. I may not live in New York, or Milan, or Paris. But I am an artist and there is no reason I should not use that to add interesting things to my totally boring wardrobe.

How will I do that? I copied the pic of things I liked and put then in a folder on my computer and I can access it when I need help. But basically, I have been hesitant to wear things which might get me noticed in any way. And yet when I am out at a store and see a lady who has put a lot of thought and work into her appearance I am impressed. I don't see it as being self-centered but as being self-confident and self-assured. And don't we all deserve to feel that way? I will also keep reading the wonderful blog as I have for the last couple of months and now be more aware of it as not just eye candy but as a wonderful suggestion in ways to better my life.

What fun the path could turn out to be!

Some People

Some people grow older gracefully. Some don't. We fail to do the right things to take care of ourselves in our youth and expect surgery or medical intervention to fix everything. Obviously it doesn't work. Maybe if we would just work at being a better who we already are, things would end up better.