Unfortunately, while I like walking around cities on trips, I don't like walking for exercise. I need to find some way to change that mind set since I believe walking is probably the most useful exercise for fighting back age related decline.
Medical science isn't there yet. I have feeling it will take a couple of decades for them to have figured out definitively how to arrest or reverse the disease. In the meantime I have to learn as much as I can to treat myself.Hooray for medical science... Best wishes!
As we close in on age 80, yup... slowing down.. It happened slowly and is not at all unpleasant. Just a matter of naturally adjusting to the frailities of age, and very aware that almost anything can suddenly change.
One thing to think about is hills. It is quite different to walk around on the flat vs. going up and down good hills.
Yes, this is what I have done -- retired at 41 now age 49. Exercise has been one of several core pursuits since retirement.I am doing whatever I can to stave off this "slowing down".
The day after I walked off the job I have made it priority #1 to become as fit as possible. I am finding the ceiling a bit lower than it was in my 20's and 30's of course...but I am determined to become as fit as my 40-something self can be so that I can enjoy my lengthy retirement to it's fullest extent. I am going to make these early retirement years count...
Shoes matter too.
If you pronate, you need a different shoe than if you don't. A good shoe store, likely a running shoe store that also services walkers, should be able to tell. If they don't watch you walk or look at the wear on the bottom of your shoes, leave the store because they aren't helping you. You can also find resources on the web to help you determine the right shoe based on tread wear.
It's not as Americans, it is as suburban and rural dwellers.I find it interesting that as Americans, we have to make time to do stuff like walk.
Great to see everyone's comments. We would consider ourselves active, but we don't do a ton of aerobic exercise. We ride bikes (some trips as long as 14 miles), walk several miles at a time, kayak often, sometimes row and use the elliptical...We do lots of hard yard work (right now we are setting large natural stones into grass that weigh 75-100lbs each) and such. All of our own DIY.
We just felt more tired and sore at the end of the day of long walking (anywhere from 6-10 miles) than we remember in Italy 2 years ago. We also noticed this when doing these large yard projects - a few years ago we would work for 4-5 hours. Now we will work for 2-3.
Another point is Spain has pretty much all hard surfaces - stone, rocks, cobblestones, etc. I can't remember stepping on a soft surface once. When we walk here it's on softer surfaces like compressed dirt paths. DH has always had a questionable bad lower back and it was sore. We took advil!
Overall I am not really worried, I just sort of feel a little tinge of sadness that we would spend hours out (maybe until 2 or 3) and just be too tired to go back out again. Does that make sense?
Also, I think I will push DH to do these bigger trips earlier. At least the ones that would include hiking - like NZ. Save the cruising for later. ha!
I started not sleeping well at night - something that had gradually worsened over a few years, and when my progesterone was found to be low and out of balance learned poor sleep was a symptom among many others. And I just thought I had "poor sleeping habits" or just spent too much time reading my iPad at night. Take progesterone and suddenly I'm sleeping through the night after years of not doing so.
I was also very low in Vitamin D and a few other essentials which I have been correcting through vitamin supplementation and my health and sense of well being has improved.
I'm speeding up at 56.
How do you get your Dr. to test for female hormones? Mine act like "if you don't have hot flashes, your hormones are obviously OK." I have had several blood tests in recent years, and the only hormones I recognized on the read-out were Vitamin D and thyroid.
Amethyst
I think you need to find a new doctor. Mine is somewhat aggressive about testing for and treating hormone imbalances. He only prescribes bioidentical hormones however.
Mine new immediately that I was likely estrogen dominant because I had suffered from fibroids, and recently my endometrium had started to thicken. These are signs of "estrogen dominance", fairly common in premenopause, and with some long term health risks - same as taking estrogen supplements without progesterone.
I did the blood spot test from ZT Labs and the results showed progestone quite low and estrogen normal. My doctor aims to maintain a certain ratio, thus my progesterone supplementation.
The ZT Labs blood spot (from a finger tip) or saliva tests are best for measuring hormone levels. Drawing blood to send to be tested is apparently not reliable enough.
I think you need to find a new doctor. Mine is somewhat aggressive about testing for and treating hormone imbalances. He only prescribes bioidentical hormones however.
Mine new immediately that I was likely estrogen dominant because I had suffered from fibroids, and recently my endometrium had started to thicken. These are signs of "estrogen dominance", fairly common in premenopause, and with some long term health risks - same as taking estrogen supplements without progesterone.
I did the blood spot test from ZT Labs and the results showed progestone quite low and estrogen normal. My doctor aims to maintain a certain ratio, thus my progesterone supplementation.
The ZT Labs blood spot (from a finger tip) or saliva tests are best for measuring hormone levels. Drawing blood to send to be tested is apparently not reliable enough.
My doctor suggested reading "What your Doctor doesn't tell you about Menopause" by Dr. Lee. Dr. Lee is a proponent of natural progesterone (as opposed to Premarin or progesterone that is not bioidentical) when I asked him about the progestone I am taking. That book may answer some questions for you or at least give you the background you need to find the answers.Thanks, Audrey. I'm looking for someone else, although it is a hit-or-miss ("hello, can you tell me before I make an appointment, what is Dr. X's attitude toward HRT?")
As for the Internet, either it's crack/quack sites hawking dubious supplements, or extremely generic verbiage from MDs (even the NIH papers don't want to commit to anything). Frankly, I think women's hormones, like everything else about the female reproductive system, are ridiculously taboo, considering half the human population is female.
Amethyst
This is so clearly true. Over 20 years ago Sabremetricians pretty well proved that major league ballplayers were mostly over the hill by the time they were 30. What are the chances that some 60 year old retiree is not?We know we're slowing down as we get older......otherwise 50 and 60 year olds would still be playing major league baseball. On the other hand, diet and excercise will keep us healthy and slowing down less than those that don't. People tell me I don't look my age....am in better shape than most my age but I know I can't do today what I could do 10 years ago. I go a little slower on my treadmill, lost a little balance.....don't run up the steps two at a time any longer.....but I feel great.......FOR MY AGE.