weight

[pat2936]

Does anyone have any answers for me. I need to lose weight, but nothing I have tried has been very successful. Any ideas for me? I am 70 years old, so strenous exercise is out of the question, as for walking, I have a problem with my legs. I am desperate for help.

[Danni79]

Have you tried swimming? its very good excercise and is not tough on the joints x

[Drusilla]

Swimming is the only sport I've ever really enjoyed and fortunately it's not one you feel obliged to give up at a certain age.

The simplest way to diet without changing your food intake too much is to eat your main meal at lunch time. Apparently, it gives you more time to burn off calories.

[Clanad]

Unless you suffer from a disability, why is strenous exercise out of the question? The gym I frequent has several 70+ members and they're always yelling at me to get out of the way on the weight machines. I'm certainly not going to argue with them! A very recent article concludes that vigourous exercise significantly helps in the prevention of Alzheimer's...

[snook]

Hi Pat, I think it's admirable that you're trying to control your weight at your age (I'm assuming you're actually overweight?).

Here's a couple of links to threads I contributed to over the last week or so:

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Body-and-Soul/Question187950.html

http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Body-and-Soul/Question190138.html

I hope there's something in there that you can use. As for exercise, if you're limited in mobility, one thing to pay attention to is your breathing - very deep, slow, exaggerated breathing really helps in many ways. It regulates your body's processes, fills you with energy, eases your mind, and relaxes you in so many ways. Don't underestimate it! If you're doing any exercises, no matter how light, use deep breathing and focus your mind on what you're doing.

Also, holding your breath (only for a few moments) and flexing your abdominal muscles for all you're worth is great for making you feel strong and energetic. Because it's not a showy exercise, it gets overlooked, but it's really effective.

Best of luck with your training!

[bill barlow]

Simple really. Dont eat so much, or should I say eat less.

[WendyS]

Hi Pat, Losing weight seems to be a really big problem for a lot of us. If you're able to swim, I'm sure the regular exercise will help you as it's not weight bearing, but in itself that might not cause you to lose a lot of weight. Water aerobics might also help give you some exercise without putting too much strain on your legs. The only practical thing I can suggest is eating less by serving up smaller portions on smaller plates (and not heaping the food to compensate !). Try to eat high fibre and chewy, crunchy fruit and vegetables which make you feel full so you need to don't need to eat so much. When I'm trying to lose weight I eat lots of raw carrots and shredded red & white cabbage in home-made coleslaw which is not smothered in high calorie sauces but I realise this wouldn't suit anybody. Home made vegetable soups are also very filling and generally low calorie if you don't add cream or starch to thicken them. Good luck and hope somebody comes up with some suggestions which work for you.