rechelle's lifelyrics

In May, I had my first physical with my new primary care physician. Even though I wasn’t sure about some of his assessments (about me being overweight, including the old adage, “harder workouts, eat less”), I decided to pursue more understanding about the things he suggested. 

I started with very small weights during my daily Pilates routine. It turned out my new doctor tickled my brain and I kept taking more steps to dive deeper into what I didn’t know about aging with a good fitness plan.

I listened to several episodes of the podcast, “Fit After 40,” where the energetic host taught me about the lack of scientific research on women until very recently, women start losing bone density at about age 35, most women have eating habits that severely undercut our daily need for whole food protein, and the huge importance of building muscle and increasing bone density as we age. Kinsey starts each episode with this fundamental truth: “The best time to get started may have been 20 years ago, but the second best time is today.”

This was all hugely encouraging to me, because I realized I could start proving the things I was learning right away. One of the first big steps was to bolster our breakfasts. I aimed for 30-40 grams of protein at breakfast and found remarkable results! Ray stopped running into the kitchen mid-morning, “I’m starving!” and I found I wasn’t hungry until just before dinner time. I have since dialed back on my portion size and zeal for a gram number while still focusing on a protein-rich start to each day, including fruits & vegetables, and a tortilla or piece of toast. We’ve switched to ensure our largest meal is in the morning when we will be using the fuel we consume throughout the day, followed by an appropriate mid-day meal according to the day’s activities, and the lightest meal at the end of the day. We’re seeing the results of thinking about food as fuel, and protein as necessary for building muscle, repairing cells & tissues, and restoring bone density with the right activities alongside the increased protein intake.

I was doing almost daily exercise, but most of my workouts – besides bicycle rides with Ray – were 20-30 minutes. I found out it is really important to do sustained activity in Zone 2 for 45-60 minutes in order to use the current food fuel and pass the threshold into converting stored fat into fuel. Also, higher intensity cardio work is good, but it may have the adverse effect of “burning” muscle for energy if carb stores are low. Apparently, it takes the body longer to convert stored fat into fuel than it does to borrow from our muscles.

So, I started paying more attention to what zone I’m in when I do my exercise. I found out that the default zones on my Apple Watch do not take into account my age or gender! I learned about the Gulati Formula which was published in 2010 after studying 5,000 women for almost 2 decades to determine appropriate maximum heart rate calculations for women, which were much lower than the non-gender specific norms. I was able to manually override my Apple Watch zone numbers for my workouts, and I am so happy it finally represents what I’m feeling in my body during my physical activities! It’s a huge relief to know my numbers are different because I’m a woman, and not because I lack fitness!

Ray and I have started attending a strength training class to learn how to build muscle and bone density in our 60’s. But I’ve been worried about how we might translate what we learn into real life, so we are not bound to expensive equipment or hours a week at a gym. Fortunately, we listened to a podcast, “The Way I Heard It,” where Mike Rowe interviews Michael Easter, the author of “Walk With Weight.” The concepts in his book are very practical. For us, it is the solution to round out our physical fitness everyday life. It’s sort of like riding the tandem together, because we are doing an activity together, but balancing our own level of intensity based on our individual physicality.

Ultimately, in a little over a month, my first physical with my new doctor turned out to be the springboard to a whole new approach to our health lifestyle. Instead of the traditional “harder workouts, eat less,” I’m convinced the answer is consistently working in a sustainable way while eating enough of the essential Whole Foods to fuel our bodies and build muscle for the rest of our lives.