Page 7 - Senior Times South Central Michigan May 2023 - 30-05

I know why you’ve been reluctant to jump on the health and fitness band- wagon, and I’m not blaming you for it. Because it is hard. Want to know just how hard?
Get Comfortable – Your goal is
to be comfy. This means use as little muscular strength as you can on a daily basis. When you don’t use your muscles they begin to atrophy (shrink!), leaving you with less lean tissue. Since lean tissue raises your metabolism, a drop
in lean tissue means you’ll be burning fewer calories at rest than ever before.
Here’s a glimpse into Healthy Life truths...
Exercise Counts – Lace up your shoes and get moving instead of binge-watching TV, or doing whatev- er else it is that you’d rather be doing. Challenge your muscles to get stronger and be more flexible. Do this 3-5 times each for 30-60 minutes.
More Is Better – There’s no limit
on how much you eat – in fact more is better. As a result you often feel sluggish from your overloaded digestive system. And your motivation to exercise and turn your NOT-Fit Life into a Fit Life gets dimmer and dimmer.
Nutrition Counts – Choose your meals based on nutritional makeup rath- er than following your taste buds. Limit your intake of simple carbohydrates and get lots of protein and fiber in each meal. No Room For Junk – Turn down your favorite junk foods – even when you really, really want it. Cut simple sugars and harmful, processed fats out of your diet completely.
So which life is harder? The healthy life? Or the NOT-healthy life?
That’s just the basics on what it takes to enjoy a fit and healthy body. Pretty hard, right?
The healthy life’s hard has to do with discipline, motivation, and determina- tion. It’s about doing the right thing rath- er than the easy thing. Most of all, the healthy life is about constantly striving forward.
* Free parking in parking garage
* Free coffee & donuts
* Free lunch
* Free Vaccinations & Health Checks
* Demonstrations
* Interactive displays
* Wheelchairs available * Give-a-ways & raffle
Now let’s take a look at with the NOT-Fit life looks like...
The NOT-healthy life’s hard has to do with excess fat, aches, pains, and physical limitations. It’s about avoiding doing the hard thing now and ending up with a body that’s just plain hard to live in. Most of all, the NOT-healthy Life is about NOT taking action.
Be Sedentary – Spend your spare time being as sedentary as possible. The less that you use your muscles, the more aches, pains, and mobility limitations you’ll experience. Oh, and if you’re con- suming more calories than your natural metabolism burns then you’ll steadily gain weight.
However, before you turn to chocolate and skip the gym, remember the end result of each and choose which one will help you reduce stress in the long run. (Hint: It’s not the chocolate!)
Generously sponsored by:
For details call 269-781-0846
Eat For Taste – Eat whatever sounds and tastes good. The human palate is naturally drawn to items that are high
in sugar, salt, and fat. Your eat-whatev- er-diet will be filled with these fattening foods and will be lacking in protein and fiber. You’ll find your weight increases, and your energy levels plummet, accord- ingly.
Fitness
Senior Times - May 2023
Page 7
AFTER 50
2023 Calhoun County Senior Expo
May 18, 2023 9:00am to 1:00pm
Kellogg Arena
40 W. Hamblin Ave, Downtown Battle Creek
A Free event featuring local businesses and services of special interest to older adults, age 60 and over, their families and caregivers.
Free Rides within Calhoun County provided by
Community Action: Call 1-800-994-9876
Troy Huggett, Special to Senior Times
HEALTHY LIFE IS CALLING
Exercise is a simple solution to get you feeling good fast. This is because every time you exercise your body increases its production of endorphins, which are responsible for that feel- good euphoria you get after a great workout or while chomping down on a piece of chocolate.
Which hard do you choose?
Troy Huggett can be reached at (269) 967-6300. For more information visit fitnessprosbattlecreek.com.
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Just Say Yes – To your favorite junk food, that is. As I mentioned above, your favorite foods are likely high in sugar, salt, and fat. Or, more likely, your faves are high in all three! Your indulgent eating is going to raise the number on your scale higher, and higher, and higher.
CELEBRATING
The truth is that both of these life- styles are hard. Just depends on which hard you’d rather deal with.
your