Bad News for Middle-Aged Couch Potatoes
Like most women, I struggle with my weight — and the battle has only gotten worse with age.
Having a child at 40 didn't help. I didn't gain all that much with my pregnancy - but I didn't lose a lot of it after the baby was born, and 10 years later, I'd packed on so many additional pounds that I weighed more than I had while pregnant.
So I got serious. Two years ago, I completed a 56-pound weight loss regimen, and vowed that I would never get to the point where I'd have to go through that again.
Since then, I've regained eight pounds and I'm scared, because no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to shake them back off.
Last week, while listening to a report on NPR, I understood why: A new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association concludes that middle aged women must exercise one hour a day just to maintain their current weight.
Regular workouts were part of the regimen that resulted in my weight loss, but after finishing the program, I slacked off. I've always been more of a cerebral type. While I like how I feel after a workout, I simply don't enjoy the actual activity enough to make it a priority... especially when I also need to get my daughter to school and her activities, take care of the house, the pets, the shopping, the meals and earn some income, too.
So it's no surprise that I gained some weight back. What is surprising is that even though I started back up with regular workouts a couple of weeks ago, an hour a day isn't going to be sufficient. I need to bump it up to 90 minutes - or more - per day - if I want to take these extra pounds back off and keep them off.
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