Five years ago we were getting ready to move out of our house of 40 years. I was running up and down the stairs, packing up boxes, and taking things to the local Grey Bears organization to give away. Five years later, I have changed. I no longer take stairs without grasping the railing for dear life. I don’t run up and down anything anymore. I take naps every day, whenever I can.
It seems to me that there are significant changes in our health during the 70s. Most of us would say we slow down some. Doing three errands in a row now can seem too much (two I can manage!). When we were working full time we might have had half a dozen appointments in a day, but we rarely forgot any. Now I have to set my iphone calendar and alarm to remind me of one thing I have to do.
Our body definitely changes in our 70s too. In my case, I have become shorter and fatter. I used to say I would go see a doctor if I ever lost 5 pounds for no reason. Now I have gained 5 pounds, and I refuse to blame it on french fries or the desserts I never used to have. Science says we become less of a “pear” and more of an “apple” as fat shifts from our lower body to our middle. Is there such a thing as a pearapp? I think I have fat in both places! It’s a fact that our bones shrink and become less dense, causing us to lose height. I was shocked when I went in for a bone density scan last week and saw that I had lost 2 inches of height. I don’t think I had measured my height for years, so I just assumed I was still was 5’5″. Apparently I am only 5’3″!
What to do about these changes? Nothing more than they have always told us — exercise daily (yeah I knew that all along), eat a healthy diet (does that include french fries?), don’t smoke (thankfully I never did) and get enough sleep (that one is easy to achieve with a lovely afternoon nap). Also, we should get enough calcium, either from food or supplements or both, get enough Vitamin D, either from being outdoors or taking a supplement, and do weight bearing exercises.
It’s the exercise part I find more difficult to do. Because I have a bad back, it’s hard to take long or even short hikes. So that leaves a gym or a pool. This week I thought of a great solution to make exercise more fun. Instead of asking my husband if he would like to go to the gym with me, I came up with “Do you want to go to Costa Rica or Mexico?” Costa Rica is a program on the recumbent bicycle in our gym, that allows you to watch yourself bicycling down a road near Lake Arenal in Costa Rica. Since we love Costa Rica and have been there many times, moving your legs as you drift along a familiar road is not a punishment. As for Mexico, we have a pool next to our apartment. I have not been using it to exercise because I had the excuse it was too cold — or too hot. Now I think of going to the pool as “Going to Mexico.” There are lounge chairs and umbrellas around the pool, and all that is missing is the cocktail with the little paper umbrella after I have finished swimming.
Bottom line is that there is more to my bottom now that I am in my 70s. But didn’t we call this blog “proud aging women”? Yes we did, and I am not complaining.