KEEP MOVING

Jacky put on her new M² on November 10, 2009.  She remembers the date exactly because that is the day she committed to walking the talk.  She is a Curves club owner and she knew that if she was going to teach women at her club about weight management, she better set the example.  To date, Jacky has lost 32 lbs. and she’s not finished yet.  Her goal is to lose another 10 lbs. and she is very determined to get there. 

“If I don’t do it myself, I can’t very well expect them to do it.  I use my M² everyday and I make that wheel turn green,” Jacky says.  She does her Curves circuit four to five times a week and when she leaves her club, she does more.  Living in the Columbia River Gorge area in Oregon helps Jacky get moving.  She and her husband love the outdoors.  “We’re outdoors fishing people.”  They go to the river to fish and hike with their yellow lab, Remington.  “He’s a hunting dog,” she explains.  They have two boats they use on the river.  The drift boat requires them to row themselves.

When Jacky isn’t camping, hiking or riding her bike, she meets her sister Becky at a local park and they walk three to four miles.  If Becky isn’t available, Jacky walks to the track near her home.  “I’ll walk the straights and jog and corners. Plus our town is very hilly so I’ll walk the hills.

When Jacky was in her 20s and very active in sports, her weight was never an issue. “I could eat anything I wanted.  But as we age, I’m almost 56 now, we don’t continue that same activity level.”  Jacky says it all comes back to our metabolism.  She teaches her weight management group that crash diets and skipping meals to lose weight do not work.  She is convinced we can re-program our metabolism with improved eating and activity habits over time.  It is possible to get back on track.  “You have to get moving and the M² helps guide you.  My M² tells me how much more I have to do each day to get green,” she says.

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WEIGHT GAIN AS WE AGE

Jacky’s commitment to her own health and fitness is inspiring.  She’s right when she says we can’t eat the same as we did when we were younger.  Starting in our 30s, our lifestyle often changes as we commit to career and family.  Usually our activity level decreases but unfortunately our appetites rarely do. This weight gain is due largely to the natural slowing down of our metabolism (the rate we burn calories) as we age. As our metabolism slows down over time, we can no longer burn off all of the energy (calories) we consume, even if our eating hasn’t increased. This creates a calorie surplus, which results in weight gain. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as “creeping obesity.” 

As we age, we also lose muscle.  Muscle burns calories more efficiently than fat so the more muscle you have in relation to body fat, the faster our metabolism will be.  If we’re losing muscle mass, it stands to reason that we need fewer calories to maintain the weight we have.  In order to lose weight, it is helpful to build more muscle mass through strength training exercises.¹ 

Weight training, even twice a week, will help you maintain and even replace that lost muscle mass. Weight training also has another bonus. It helps combat osteoporosis. As muscles strengthen, so do the underlying bones.  Decreased stress levels and better overall health are additional benefits of exercise. 

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