Female. Working in a one-person office part time. Retiring next June? Presently 5’3.5".
From my 60th birthday, at the weight of 237, until 62nd birthday, I lost 100 pounds. I only exercised once during that time, except for a couple times of walking around the facility where I work. Now, I weigh 120, having lost 17 more pounds without trying during the next 3 years. I am now age 65.
I have lived several years longer than the docs told me (in @ 1995) I would, having two very serious untreated illnesses, one of which causes extreme itching in the night. I also have untreatable sleep apnea, which wakes me about every 45 minutes while trying to sleep. I take Centrum Silver for women once a day and one or two B Complex vitamins daily.
I am weak. I am sometimes shaky. My manual dexterity has suffered a lot. My balance is off. I did have a fairly complete physical exam last week and am waiting for the results.
My husband is in great health in spite of Vietnam injuries (including a broken back) and is still working but is retiring at the end of this month.
My concern: I believe that my lack of exercise has made me weaker than I should be. I am not interested in winning competitions for strength: I just want to gain strength. Considering all the info above, how would you suggest I begin, and how far should I go in trying to gain strength?
Stay away from the free weights. Start out on machines that use cables whenever possible. This allows you to work through the motion that your joints/limbs like and not a manufacturers idea of the path they should follow.
Don’t worry on how far you can go, just focus on making progress.
I would not rule out free weights; the key is that whatever you do start off light and learn how to do it right. The how far is as far as you can go so long as you progress gradually. When one level becomes easy move up some. Let your progress be your guide but never do more than you can do safely and perfectly.
That said it is probable that working on balance is at least as important for your future health and function as is working on strength in isolation. Falls are a major risk for you in the future given how you describe yourself. You may want to consider a Tai Chi class as your entry into exercise and a major component going forward.
Thank you! I am taking seriously every recommendation mentioned. I need to wait until we are sure what we are receiving for retirement before I can consider getting a membership for exercising (money issues), so in the meantime, I guess I can start with a chair, stairs, and lifting lighter milk jugs?
Regarding the untreatable sleep apnea, I tried using CPAP therapy and ended up in the emergency room several times in the month of use, with nose bleeds that would not stop.
There is lots of discussion about nosebleeds on CPAPtalk forum. People who needed different masks, people who needed nose vessels cauterized, people with small noses, people with clotting disorders.
Amazing – the help on the Internet! Thank you, Fishtar.
Years ago, when I tried CPAP treatment, Apria made an appt with me and I waited and waited. They didn’t show up. I made another appt, and waited. I had other things I needed to do that day and gave up, walking out of the house an hour, exactly, after the appt. As I walked down my stairs, they pulled up. I told them I had other things to do and they would need to make an appt with me that they could actually show up for. Not a good start. I hope I can use another company, should I try this again – which I am thinking of doing, having read a bit on the site you suggested.
However, I did have a nose vein cauterized when I tried the CPAP that month. Unfortunately, with just a fan blowing across from behind my head on hot nights, I still get nose bleeds – I had several this summer. I have to keep a Vaseline coating in that nostril if I use a fan, and that usually helps. This makes me nervous re CPAP treatment.
Congrats on your weight loss! Check with your insurance to see if it offers a discount for an exercise program. There is a program here called Silver Slippers and it’s about half what the gym charges the kiddies. Forget crunches and sit-ups; do planks instead. Lots of videos on-line for it. I find milk jugs are awkward; pop bottles are more hand friendly. Remember to stretch. You can do a lot with just a pack of stretchy bands.
May I ask how you lost all that weight without any exercise? Was it a matter of changing your diet, a side effect of your illness(es?) or possibly a combination (illness -> appetite decrease -> consuming fewer calories) or something else entirely?
Do you have a sedentary job? There are a surprising amount of gentle exercises you can discreetly do while sitting in front of a computer in an office environment. For example, sitting on the edge of your chair, raising your knees & feet up a few inches, and then moving your legs in a bicycle-pedaling motion works your core (abs, back muscles) and quads (thighs) without anyone being the wiser, and (crucial for me) without having to carve out time, change clothes, drive to the gym, etc.
Look for “gentle yoga” classes at your local community/recreation/senior center, or google the term to find a zillion illustrations of poses that can help strengthen your muscles and improve your posture and balance. Concur that Tai Chi can also be immensely helpful. If there’s a public pool nearby, that can be good, too – the water supports you so you don’t stress your joints but also provides resistance, increasing the work your muscles have to do to move around.
Finally: my sympathies on your sleeping difficulties, which are surely contributing to your health issues. (Sleep is important!) As a lifelong off-and-on insomniac whose recent sunburn is STILL itching like a mofo, I can’t imagine waking up every night of my life being all itchy. I do hope you can find a sleep specialist who can assist you further.
ETA (edited to add) WELCOME, 2bee!
100 lb. in two years is extreme. I would wait and see what the doctor says about the cause of your weight loss before considering any exercise program.
Purplehorseshoe, with regard to my weight loss, it was an “on purpose.” Being obese, I considered surgery and declined. Too expensive. I considered pills – for about 2 seconds and solidly declined. Basically, I cut Pepsi out of my life – a habit I’d had since my first job. Then I dropped Sobe. Next, I added both breakfast and fruit. I drank a LOT of water and still do. There were numerous things I did to change my diet, and once I reached what i had thought was a good weight (133), I let myself have some of those things on occasion. That’s basically it.
Yes, my job is sedentary, but it is in a three-floor building with lots of stairs, halls, and some areas with very slight inclines. However, with my present imbalance, I am a little hesitant to do a lot of stairs, because I am usually in the building alone. And yes, the lack of sleep certainly makes things difficult. Fortunately, I have an understanding husband who encourages me to sleep whenever I can.
Really Not All That Bright, Perhaps I am wrong, but I thought 100 pounds in two years was fairly slow – less than a pound a week, while others are urging a 2.5 pound loss a week. ?? I weighed every day and had weeks in which I lost nothing, but it didn’t matter; I just didn’t gain any – that made me very happy.
PastTense, the idea of something I will continue doing is a great concern. I have never stuck with any exercise program. I live in a rainy climate, too.
Whatever4, thank you for the idea of checking with my insurance for a better deal on an exercise program.
Stand between two chairs (to hang onto if needed for support) and do body weight squats and body wweight lunges. Yes, step up and down a few steps. Milk jugs of various weights (put in sand or water even or rice for something less heavy) for curls and lifting overhead. There a complete milk jug work outs. Modified (“girl”) push-ups. Those body weight squats and stair step ups get too easy? Carry the milk jugs while you do it. Try standing on one foot (between those chairs with your hands almost touching) then the other. Gets easy? Then try closing your eyes briefly while you do it. Try laying on your back with an empty milk jug in one hand held directly above you and get your self to standing holding it above you the whole time a few times, repeat the other side. Gets easy then do more then use a jug with some water or sand in it. So on.
2.5 pounds a week is not a great deal in and of itself. The distinction is that maintaining that rate of loss over a sustained period is virtually impossible; that’s the sort of weight loss that bariatric surgery patients experience.
In any event, you are talking about people who are trying to lose weight, where there is a demonstrable decrease in caloric intake or increase in exercise. Significant weight loss with no known cause is a symptom of a number of diseases (some of which are serious). It might be something relatively simple like a thyroid issue.
However, as I type all that, I note that your response to phs says you were trying to lose weight and changed your diet. So it’s not unexplained after all. :smack: Upthread it looked like you were saying you dropped 100 lbs. without really doing anything.
What DSeid said. Another option is a balance or stability ball. Not expensive at all. Check out some videos on YouTube. That’s what I started with and I still use it when I want a soothing routine. But you can build strength with it, too.
[whispering] I also have a hula hoop.:o It was a lot easier when I was 10.
I can relate to the CPAP issue. My issues is I get severe panic attacks if I try using a CPAP mask. The panic is worse than the apnea.
Have you tried a tongue retaining device? It isn’t a 100% cure, but it can reduce AHIs by 50-60%.
TSDs are cheaper on ebay.
Also sleeping on your side or on an incline could help too.
I can only speak from personal experience regarding strength, but for me drop sets always worked best for strength training. I don’t know if your health is good enough for that, but when I did then when I was younger I saw the fastest results.
I’d pick a weight I could only do 6 or so reps and do those 6 reps. Then I’d try cheating or assisting or doing negative reps for 1-3 more. Then drop the weight and do it again. Then drop it and do it again. Then drop it and do it again. I’d end up doing about 50 reps. My gains were fastest doing that. But again, this was in my 20s and I see you are in your 60s and haven’t exercised in a while. You could tear something with that kind of routine.
How’s your upper body strength? If it’s decent to good try doing the stairs while holding onto the handrail. If you do stumble, your hand is already in position to stop you from falling.
Just be careful, ascending is low impact but descending can create stress on the muscles/joints. Make sure to start out slowly & build up.
