Has anyone out there noticed that our bodies change over time? I was thinking about this yesterday after I did my morning elliptical workout and downed about 30 ounces of zero sugar Gatorade afterwards. For some reason, I started thinking about my “post workout” fluid ingestion after playing basketball when I was 18, and that rehydration consisted of quickly ingesting 4 cans of cold Pepsi (sugar containing of course as “diet sodas” did not exist back then). My thoughts broadened to more aspects of my eating/drinking decades ago and if at age 66, followed the same blueprint as I did years ago, I would weigh 100 more pounds than I do now.
There are a number of reasons why most of us, as our ages advance, must adjust what we eat and drink if we would like our weight to be “healthy”. The slowing of metabolism with age is the major culprit as to why these adjustments must be made. In our 20’s, most of us could basically eat/consume alcohol at much higher levels and either simply did not gain weight or it was “easy” to work this weight off with heightened exercise the following week(s). However, as the years advance most/all of us find a much higher difficulty factor of shedding the extra weight brought on by excessive eating and drinking.
Additionally, we also need to adjust “expectations” for weight as we age. Our general “look” may not be as great as we would like if our weight was the same now as it was 30 years ago. Unfortunately, due to skin changes and other issues, returning to the weight we were 30-50 years ago may give us a “sick” look, like there is something very wrong, such as a cancer related illness.
Carbohydrate, fruit and alcohol intake must be adjusted as we age if our goal is to be at a healthy weight. Exercise cannot be relied on as a 100% “fix” of a weight situation if we continue to eat/drink like we did years ago.
There is a line from an old Neil Diamond/Barbara Streisand song, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore”: What “Used To Be’s” Don’t Count Anymore…They Just Lay On The Floor Till You Sweep The Away…” In the weight control arena, “what used to be’s” also don’t count much anymore and reality is such that we need to adjust our dietary intake for age if we want to keep aging in a healthy and happy way.
And here are two fellow Brooklyn-ites singing their famous duet:
