Muscle Up, Ladies!

Hopefully, by now, you know that the numbers in your age don't have to limit you, confine you, identify you or boss you around!

But we do need to be realistic about practical issues that can result in limitations if we are not purposeful and active in preventing them. I'd like to throw out one of those practical, need-to-be-aware-of issues that affects women - especially after the age of 50! It's both concerning - and quite frankly - a little creepy!

First, the concerning part. Did you know that you lose an average of 5% of your muscle mass every ten years after the age of 35? Unless you do something about it, that is. This muscle loss is called sarcopenia, and by age 55, you've lost about 10% of the muscle you once had. By 65...20%.

It gets worse...sigh...

Couple the demise of your muscle mass with a sedentary lifestyle - too much eating, not enough moving - and you'll have more than "bat wing" triceps to deal with!

Here's a major problem with muscle loss. Muscles protect joints and bones. So when muscles go, joints and bones are more vulnerable. It's a perfect storm for pain and debilitating conditions that make you want to stay either inactive or sedated! And this is why so many women in our age group try this line: "I just want to age gracefully." Basically, that's like saying, "I'm not going to do anything about it because muscle wasting is a natural part of aging." And then women resign themselves to pain, medication, and inactivity. Problem is...there's nothing graceful about muscle loss.

And here's the kinda creepy part. You have more muscle to deal with than you probably know. You may think bulky biceps are for weight lifters. And you may have given up on toned quadriceps since you don't plan to wear a swimsuit again in like...ever. But have you considered that the inside of your intestines are lined with muscle tissue? That's kinda how they get their job done - muscle contractions. I know! Creepy, right? I hate to tell you but when all the obviously visible muscles sag and lose their tone? So do all the ones you cannot see. And I refuse to describe what that could mean for your future. But I'm pretty sure you'll get it if you think on it! And let me also throw this out: the heart is a muscle.

So...muscle wasting becomes a bit more serious than looking decent in a tank top this summer - although that's an awesome goal!  What to do?

Well, muscles need two things
1. They need to be fed complete protein
2. They need to be exercised

That's pretty much it. But both require work. Because let's face it, to stay healthy, dynamic, and irritatingly energetic after 50 requires more effort than when we were 30. It just does.

BUT...the benefits of digging into this and maintaining and building healthy muscle mass are huge!

1. Protection for your bones and joints, heart and intestines
2. Increased mobility and strength
3. Increased metabolism
4. You simply look better and healthier, feel better and healthier, and have more confidence

What to Feed Muscles? Complete protein is what feeds muscle tissue. This means protein that includes all 9 essential amino acids that your body cannot make on its own. Some foods are complete proteins all by themselves. Muscles can use these proteins as they are: meat/fish/poultry, milk, yogurt, eggs

Other foods are considered "incomplete" proteins, in that they have some of the essential amino acids - but not all - and therefore the muscles will not use them as is. These incomplete proteins need to be combined with each other to create complete proteins that the muscles can use. These incomplete proteins are: nuts, beans, grains, seeds, peas/legumes, corn

So - eat some beans wrapped in a tortilla? Complete protein. Slap some almond butter on whole grain bread? Complete protein. But the nuts alone? Not a complete protein, although an excellent source of healthy fat and complex carbohydrates.

It's important to know how much protein your body needs. The requirement increases when you exercise. Once you know how much protein you need, you can figure out the best way to get it, in the leanest healthiest way possible. There's a nifty protein calculator here that you can use:
http://biprousa.com/calculator/

Women often ask me what I do to avoid muscle wasting. Although everyone is different, my best strategy involves lots of exercise and a diet rich in fish, lean meat, beans, whole grains, nut butter, and Greek yogurt. But to truly supplement in a way that meets the demands of my age (62) and my exercise level - I must supplement with whey protein that I put in my oatmeal, my yogurt - or make yummy smoothies. Here's the one I use.  It's a complete protein, gluten free, no taste, no added anything:

http://www.biprousa.com/bipro.html#

Using Our Muscles... Well, it's whey easier (sorry!) to discuss eating than working out...But here's the deal. There is simply no way to build, maintain, and preserve muscle mass without exercise. Sorry - but I can't sugar coat it... You just won't be able to sip a protein smoothie from the recliner every night and call it good. You gotta USE those muscles you're feeding if you want to keep them!

Now, of course, you don't need to be a body builder. You don't even need a gym. Some inexpensive, light, hand held weights and a good video can do the trick and will pay off in the future if you're consistent. Better yet - join a fitness toning class - because it's way more fun exercising in a group, and the time goes super fast! Of course, I'm a little pro-group fitness because I teach Zumba Toning classes - and they are excellent for strengthening, building, and toning those muscles!

Did you know that it's no longer fashionable to be skinny? Skinny looks unhealthy and the whole wasting away, hollowed out thing is never good fashion sense. "Strong is the new skinny" - and it is a principle I firmly believe in. Work at being strong and fit - and you will feel fabulous, look fabulous far past your 50's - and your muscles...ALL of them (creepy!) will thank you! Time to muscle up, ladies, for a healthy, dynamic life after 50!

Cheryl

Seasons Change

Here's an oldie for you. Name that tune. "Seasons change and so did I, you need not wonder why." If you're over 55, you should know that one! "No Time Left for You," by The Guess Who.

In 1970, I played that song over and over and over. On a record player, mind you. If you're too young to be reading this blog, you'll be like... "Record player?" But yeah. Had the album (American Woman). And that one line in the song seemed to resonate with me, even at the age of 20 when life was ridiculously simple.

Perhaps, it was a foreshadowing of one of the most real truths I've learned: life is seasonal. At any given moment, we are walking through the barrenness of winter, or the dying leaves of fall, or the new life of spring or my favorite season summer - when things either heat up or calm down. Life doesn't always coordinate perfectly with the natural seasons, but you get the main idea. Seasons change.

When I merged into college life, my small world of high school friendships expanded into a big world of new acquaintances. Of course, there was no Facebook or Twitter or any other form of faceless technology that would allow me to have a million followers without really knowing any of them. In the 70's, everyone we met - we had to talk to - in person - with eye contact and body language and voice inflections. Many of those encounters were temporary and ended with graduation. A few would get truly joined to you and last a lifetime. But it was a season you expected to end. You knew after graduation, everything would change - and you'd move on.

Another huge seasonal shift happens in the lives of women after 50. But unlike our 20's, we now tend to resist the indicators that speak loudly of impending change. And we hate letting go. What was once a flippant "no time left for you...I'm on my way to better things" is now a grueling internal fight to hold on to whatever has become familiar, whatever has become comfortable, whatever has filled our empty emotional places - even when we know it is time to shift, move on, change directions, venture out, and let go...

We have spent decades building our nest. We have our patterns, our rituals and routines, our friends, our fantasies, our jobs, our families, our homes, our comfort foods, our grudges, our unused exercise equipment, our schedules, our opinions, our obsessions, our fears, and our wounds that filter our reactions to people and life in general...

So when the indicators begin to spring up in our lives - that tell us it's time to let go, time to move on, time to switch it up, time to shift, time to exercise, time to eat healthier, time to extend grace, time to forgive, time to heal, time to be free from the pain of the past - we resist. We fight to ignore the indicators that sometimes hit us in the face, they are so obvious. And we sometimes say, "I'm too old" or "It's too late..." Or, "This is the way I've always done it..."

But your destiny is not tied to your age. Your purpose does not end at 50 or 60 or 65, when the world tells you to "retire." You have a purpose and destiny that was planted in you before you were born - and it will exist as long as you're hanging out on this planet! But to walk in it will require a willingness to pay attention to the indicators - and to shift, move forward, let go, and leave the nest of "comfortable."

I did not plan to be a Zumba Fitness instructor at the age of 60. In fact, it is almost laughable in light of my life's journey, which was mostly a comfortable career in education and public speaking. Certainly, I never wrote "fitness instructor" into a personal mission statement or a ten-year goal plan! But like most women, I'm pretty intuitive, and I began to sense a shift in my life - and the indicators began to point me in that direction.

And although I had a few raised eyebrows (from people who like to limit a woman's ability based on the numbers in her age), I went with my gut. I paid attention to the indicators. And I'm still going strong - and am in the best health of my life. But equally important, I've gained relationships - real ones - that were destined for this particular season of my life. Sometimes, we just gotta say, "No time left for you" to the familiar voices and patterns that are holding us back. And say, "I'm on my way to better things."

Don't be afraid to take flight. The advantage of being over 50 is that you've been groomed for this seasonal shift for decades! Get unstuck. Get motivated for change. Find the joy of a new horizon that you really won't be able to see if you're burrowed too deep in your nest. Hop to the edge of that nest and look out. Seasons change. So did I. You need not wonder why.

Cheryl



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