Yes, we’re getting older.  Yes, there may be a few more aches and pains or pops and creaks in our joints than there were 10 years ago.  Our joints are going to age as the years march on.  But, do we have to settle for getting pudgy and out of shape as we get older?  A lot of us in the boomer generation are doing just that, thinking it’s a natural part of aging,  but I submit to you it doesn’t have to be that way.

At this time in our lives, our hormones will come and go  (okay, admittedly, they’re pretty much “going” at our age!), and this will affect our metabolism, but we can’t blame it all on hormones.  Let’s be honest.  As you sit at your computer reading this, you’re living in the body you’ve EARNED. Good or bad—-you created it.

Although I am a fitness coach for people of all ages, I do have a contingent of Baby Boomer women in a my San Jose personal training practice, and I teach a boot camp for baby boomer women in San Jose as well. While helping Baby Boomer women lose weight, I find it interesting that our generation holds a number of weight loss myths near and dear to our hearts.

Here are my top three weight loss mistakes/myths held by the Baby Boomer generation:

1)    Do more cardio to lose more weight

Now, please don’t get me wrong.  There are a lot of benefits to cardiovascular exercise such as brisk walking, running, cycling, etc.    However, doing MORE cardio to lose more weight may be counterproductive, and there’s a more time efficient way to burn more calories:   Interval training. Interval training gives your body a metabolic boost that lasts hours after your workout is over.  Plus, an interval workout can be shorter than a long, drawn out lower intensity cardio workout, and it will yield better fat loss results for you.

2)    Eat a REALLY LOW calorie diet to lose more weight

Decreasing calorie intake to some obscene level  (it makes me hungry just thinking about it!) is a surefire way to mess up your metabolism and make your body shed muscle in order to survive.  Yes, you need to have a negative energy balance in order to shed body fat—but if you drop your calories too low for too long, your body will compensate by slowing down the rate at which it burns calories.

3)    Avoid strength training for fear of “bulking up”

This one really bugs me.  Most women just don’t have enough testosterone to get big, bulky muscles.  Women who don’t strength train will begin to lose muscle mass as they age and get fatter every year.  Women who DO strength train will have better posture, a higher resting metabolic rate, a leaner physique  as they age.

Are YOU holding on to one or more of the above false beliefs about what it takes to get slim and stay slim in middle age??

If you’re hosting a “spare tire” around your waist right now, and you see yourself in one or more of my “weight loss mistakes”, here’s your chance to bust that myth and start working on creating the “boomer” body you want!

Committed to your success,

Becky

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Perhaps it’s the colder Fall weather, but I’ve been hearing a lot lately about “achey” knees.  We boomer gals can have sore knees for a variety of reasons.  Unfortunately, sore knees can sometimes affect our ability to exercise, or make us feel that we’re limited in what we can do for exercise. Not a good situation for those of us trying to manage our weight! Strangely enough, though, exercise is sometimes just what we need to improve the comfort level of our joints! There are a lot of situations that can cause knee pain, so it’s always best to see a doctor to check your particular situation.

I put a short video together to show you my top 4 exercises for strengthening the thighs and the hips.  I incorporate a number of these exercises into my personal training programs and my boot camp for boomers in San Jose. Strong thigh and hip muscles can help support arthritic knees by better stabilizing the joint.  Many of us boomer gals tend to be weak in our deep hip muscles, so one of the exercises targets just that area.

So, if you suffer from “boomeritis” of the knees, check with your doctor first to see if these exercises are safe for you, and then give them a try!

Click here to see the video:  Knee strengthening exercises for boomers

Committed to your success,

Becky

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