Move It Or Lose It At 65
It’s been about six months since I took pictures for a fitness post. I remember thinking I was overweight at the time. Ha! Isn’t that the thing? We always look back and then realize things were fine. One of my favorite quotes is, “these are the good old days.” Moral of the story? Every day counts and if it isn’t a bad day, it’s a good day!
Move it
Evidence still supports that when we quit doing things as we age, we lose the ability to do them.
So here we are in September of 2025 and I am still moving it. I have spent the summer, doing zone 2 walks, yoga and sporadic traditional strength training. And you know what? I feel awful. I ache, my knees and elbows hurt and I am tired. I had all my annual checkups and everything points to a, and I quote, “very healthy woman.” So why do I feel so bad?
I have checked with all the experts and I am doing all the things recommended. I am taking the supplements, eating the protein, the fiber, getting the sleep and blah, blah, blah.
Add it all up, and I feel worse than ever. Is this it? Is this what getting old is? Yes, many women my age look great and say they feel great and what they do is working for them. But for me, I have not found the secret sauce.
But all is not lost, because I am not one to give up. I will sit on the pity pot for a bit but then I make a decision. It’s either live like this or pick myself up and try something else.
I am reading about women and exercise/diet as we age. No matter what we think, we can’t continue to do everything we did when we were young. We have to be smarter about how we treat our bodies.
So here is my new plan based on research. Since all my health metrics are good, I think I can take a break from all the exercise and miracle solutions. Even though every inch and ounce of my being says, move, diet, supplement, do something, I am going to stop it all. I will start out with a week, then a month and if I need to, hold off for the rest of the year. I want to let my body recover completely from any stress that is causing high cortisol and see if my pain and anxiety subsides.
Guys this is a big deal to me. I am not even sure I can do it. I will eat a balanced diet and do my normal daily things, like housework, errands, etc. But all the rest is going to be set to the side. For however long I can do it.
My hope is that I will start feeling better and heal. Then I will slowly work back in reasonable exercise and supplements, etc.
Share your stories with me and the rest of the gang. Has anyone else experienced this type of thing? I didn’t even go into the mental health side of this. The lingering on the edge of depression. The feeling nothing for anything.
Argh.
