Health issue and weight problems

[devonwoody]

Last weekend I walked down to one of our local beauty spots and got into difficulties on the return, The hill was 1 in 4 in places and around 400 ft up.
A local man who lives on the beach came to my rescue and kindly drove me to my car at the top. (today I posted him my favourite box as a thank you)
The problem is weight, I reckon I have got to loose 8 kgs.

So surfed into this,

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advic ... weight.htm

what do you think?

 

[wizer]

No, loosing weight won't help you walk up a hill. You need lots of gentle exercise. Do lots of short walks and build it up. Watching what you eat will improve your health and help. But you won't be able to do it on just loosing body mass.

 

[devonwoody]

Sound good advice wizer, but does health ever improve in your 70's?

 

[milkman]

Funnily enough I have a recipe for Lardy Cake open in the tab next to this one.

Not really qualified in any way (I'm as thin as a rake and can eat for England) but it seems like a sensible plan.
Dieting often verges on an almost bi-polar cycle of ludicrously unachievable goals followed by a crash and self-castigation so what this seems to be saying – take it easy and make small changes – sounds good to me.

One thing I do know is that most of us thin or fat will burn carbs before fat because there's too much sugar in our diet. Your body will tell you its hungry and that your exhausted because its run out of sugar, it kind of ignores the fat reserves because its used to not having to use them.

The upshot of which is you will be having a bit of a battle with your body no matter how many changes you make. I virtually live off glucose and crash out completley if I don't keep grazing so I guess you could say I'm very carb addicted.

I have no idea what your lifestyle and diet is but I'd say cut the sugary rubbish down (by this I mean potatoes, rice and pasta as well as the mars bars and beer) and up the exercise at the same time.

Doctors and health professionals, I await your derision!

Good luck with them thar hills

 

[OLD]

I think you should be telling this to your doctor and then following his advice. Heart attacks and strokes are not good.

 

[CHJ]

John, do you have a gym locally, if so see if your doctor or health nurse will sign you up for the GP Referral Scheme, gives you access to the gym for 12 weeks at a nominal fee (£1 a session at ours) and with our local gym a further 12 weeks low cost if you show an intent to sign on as a full member.

You get an assessment of your needs/capability and full use of all the facilities to improve general fitness, that program and more care with diet has achieved 10KG+ losses and a considerable improvement in fitness in this household.

Our gym runs a once a week 1 hour session to aid referral patients of all abilities to ease them into gentle exercise, ages range from teens to 90's, great fun.

 

[StevieB]

I think most people would struggle on a 1 in 4 hill to be honest. If you can walk for 20 mins on the flat without getting too out of breath at your age then you are doing OK. For those of a more elderly persuasion exercise should be about keeping the circulation going and being moderately active (gardening, stroll to the shops, bowles etc) not jumping on a bike and becoming Lance Armstrong or strapping on the Nike's to match Usain Bolt's latest record.

Rule of thumb - anything is better than nothing, but doing something will not give instant results - 3 months is a realistic timeframe to see noticeable benefits from a regular moderate exercise regieme.

Steve.

 

[andrewm]

Sound good advice wizer, but does health ever improve in your 70's?

Don't know about improve but I am reminded of the time when I was doing InterRail around Scandinavia.

I had a stop-over in a place called Andelsnes between Bergen and Narvik in Norway. Since I had some time to kill I decided to climb the mountain that rises behind the town. Not exactly mountaineering but high enough for there to be snow at the top even in June.

As I neared the top I heard someone coming up behind me and looking behind was surprised to see a Norwegian gentleman who must have been at least in his 70s. We chatted briefly. 'Do you come up here often' I asked. 'Every Sunday before lunch' was the reply before he overtook me and continued up to the top.

So, you can be in your 70s and fit. Hope I will be when I reach that age.

Andrew

 

[Jenx]

Just don't you be "overdoing it" now D/W ....
As a gentleman of seniority, you've more than earned the right to 'take things easy'. Don't go doing any damage or hurting yourself.

Stay safe & healthy
All the best Sir..

Alun

 

[John. B]

Devonwoody,
perhaps you should have your cholesterol checked, might explain your difficultys. ie shortage of breath, chest pain, etc.
best of luck.

John. B

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks for your comments, chols are 3.1.
Went out and washed the car this morning and even that made me puff.

So spoke to the doc. on the phone and he is as given me an excercise telephone number to call before 11.15am in the mornings to start the cure :wink:

 

[Grinding One]

Dang Cigarettes :!:

 

[devonwoody]

Last one 26 years ago.

I am ducking already, I could wash the car every morning and not go for excercise, couldn't I?

 

[virtu]

Get one of these http://www.concept2.co.uk/ or go regular to gym having one. Very efficient, no impact (like in running), very easily adjustable loading.

Got one to my dad last year (he's in his 70s) and has already made a big difference, regularity is the key.

 

[MikeG.]

Get one of these http://www.concept2.co.uk/

No don't John!!!

At the very least, get a check-up from your doctor before you do. If you are a little overweight and unfit, then don't attempt strenuous excercise before getting the all clear. I would suggest a good walk every day...............(get a dog!!)...........for a month or two before you attempt anything else. When you cna do a 5 mile walk regularly without too much trouble, then, and only then, can you think of buying fancy bits of torture equipment.

Mike

 

[devonwoody]

BH. whats that Finn upto, doesn't he like the English.

5 mile walk, :roll:

Unless that is over 2 hours on the flat, thats OK.

Let you know how I get on with the telephone number, what age are the girls that go. :wink: thats more my line.

 

[Maia28]

Most of my work nowadays is concerned with physical activity and obesity and it's obviously an area of increasing interest. The evidence seems to indicate that you can be fat, but also fit. Indeed, weight-bearing exercise is possibly one of the most useful forms so being larger could be seen as an advantage

Men are at a significant disadvantage in that we increase our fat/lean ratio around the waist which has all sorts of negative health implications. From a recent clinical trial, we can show that excess weight and lack of activity contributes to vascular dysfunction (read CVD) as strongly as the cholesterol link by raising blood sugars (probably through increased insulin resistance). This results in a lower transport of nutrients to skeletal muscle and poorer filtration of blood. Doing more exercise, even without weight loss can be shown to make your body function more efficiently and lower the risk factors. But you have to match the exercise to what you can actually realistically do and that is very much an open question as to which is the most effective option.

As to the question of age, I have looked at some data for people in the 55 - 68 year old age group and *it appears* that you can still improve health through exercise *for the measures that I have seen* (VO2max, filtration, and biomarkers). Just be gentle and realistic with what you do and you should be fine. StevieB makes this point well.

There is one study that shows that people who fidget can burn 1000 Kcal a day - have you ever seen a very large person with Parkinson's disease. You could even do exercise that is beneficial while watching the TV if you got some weight bands for wrists and ankles that may be effective.

Andy

 

[Jenx]

=D> Great post, Andy.
Very interesting read.

8)

 

[Ironballs]

Obviously do what the GP advises (do they prescribe antibiotics for weight loss :twisted: ) but I would suggest a reduction in calorie/fat intake combined with some mild cardio. Walking a good start, bit of a swim is easy on the limbs and an exercise bike on easy setting are all ways to get the blood flowing without going mad

 

[Digit]

Is it possible to improve your health in your seventies?
If it's bad enough then the obvious answer is yes!
When I was prepped for my cancer surgery the preparation was halted as my blood pressure was too high. The consultant took steps and the surgery went ahead.
Now with a change in diet my health has improved, my weight reduced and my BP is 130 over 80!
I'm 68 by the way.

Roy.