When I was in my twenties, I could eat just about anything I wanted and still maintain an ideal weight.
- While I made physical activity a priority, I only worked out twenty to thirty minutes per day.
I noticed a change after I turned thirty. I started to have some concerns with putting on weight. I needed to be more conscientious about eating healthier foods and smaller amounts. I quit indulging in fast foods and gave up red meat. I increased my workouts to forty minutes per day and focused more on high-impact aerobics. My forties brought about new problems with my weight, concerns with digestion and issues with dehydration. I stopped eating processed foods and all meat and created a diet of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. I minimized my alcohol intake and started carrying around a water bottle all day. My exercise sessions expanded into an hour per day. I got serious about burning calories, including a great deal of running, cycling and jumping rope into my exercise sessions. I am not in my mid fifties and am once again struggling with a softness in my belly area. I am rather discouraged. I eat a banana for breakfast, a yogurt for lunch and try to be careful about calorie intake for dinner. I rarely indulge in any sweets. I workout for a minimum of sixty minutes and always push myself to elevate my heart rate. I make sure I’m breathing hard and drenched with sweat. I have some issues with leg cramps and swelling in my feet because of the intensity of my exercises. I can’t seem to compensate for my slower metabolism.