I’ve been exercising since I was 21. Boy those were the days. My metabolism was jumping! I could eat a whole pizza, chicken wings, a quart of ice cream, chips, dessert and not gain a pound. Then to add insult to injury I worked out and wore a size four; I had beautifully sculptured thighs, arms and I even had a butt (non-existent now)…sighhhh the memories.
Fast-forward to now, I look at a slice of pizza and gain a pound. Meals consist of a vegetable, a protein and a carb (if I’m feeling particularly adventurous)! Am I still working out? Yes, but it is so much easier to stay at home, on the couch, with TiVo than go to the gym. I know, no pain, no gain…and I know I’m staving off nasty little diseases like diabetes, but I still don’t enjoy it as much as I did when I was 22. I think it is just the repetitive nature of the gym that I don’t enjoy which is why I am going to start going to some other activities, but the real reason I workout is to protect my vanity (just keeping it real). Exercising slows the aging clock!
Yup! Get off that couch. Dump your kids at the Kids Club and start working out. Did I hear you say you don’t believe me? Read what I found out in More magazine below:
Researchers at King’s College London recruited over 2,400 British twins, quizzed them about their fitness habits, and examined their white blood cells to find the length of the telomere, the branches at the tip of each chromosome that allow cell replication. Telomere length is a telltale sign of a cell’s age. Each time a cell divides, its telomeres get shorter, so the longer you’ve lived, the shorter your telomere- and the more likely you are to develop wrinkles, sagging skin, and increased vulnerability to disease.
Additional proof that it’s all down hill, BUT what researchers also found out was you can hasten or delay the process simply by your lifestyle. Smoking, drugs, and eating a whole pizza in a sitting = hasten. Exercise = delay.
Those from the sample group that exercised the most (only 3 hrs. a week) had longer telomeres than those who exercised the least (only 16 minutes a week). Sidebar: who exercises for 16 minutes a week? Isn’t that just cleaning the house, walking the dog or going out to lunch? Now, here’s the kicker…those who were the most active had telomeres the same length as those of sedentary people 10 years younger! Ohhhhhhhh that’s where 40 is the new 30 or 20 comes from! So, this doesn’t really apply to everyone. It only works if you are active. I wonder if I can get my telomeres down to like age 10. D%$! I guess that means I have to go to the gym now! No pain, no gain! So, if you aren’t active stop saying your 10 years younger because you have old telomeres!
Are you exercising to save your telomeres? Don’t lie! Find an activity and get working! Aim for at least 3 hours a week! Let me know how you are doing.
I spent this weekend being nurse to a pair of new breasts. Umm…I mean taking care of a friend who had a breast augmentation. She is as happy as a clam going from less than an A cup to a C cup, she looks fabulous at 41. She said she never fully felt like a woman and now that she is finished having kids her 40s are about her. I’m not mad at her for finally doing something she has wanted to do after so many years. Next she is getting braces. Wow…go girl!
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