Exercise Your Health Rights

Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites

Exercise can improve any body at any age - and that's the good news.

The bad news is that most of the time it's hard to get motivated for exercise. We literally 'have to be in the mood'. After all, what is appealing about sweating, sore achy muscles, breathlessness and a racing heart? Your good health, that's what!

Incorporating activity that gets the heart rate up strengthens our body, our bones, our metabolism - and our moods. It improves balance so that we're less likely to fall and break our little bones.

About those muscles that we mentioned - our heart is the largest of the group, and who doesn't want a stronger heart?

But even in knowing all the good things that exercise brings that you find you still can't get in the mood, we have some excellent suggestions that might just do the trick to get you motivated.

Think about your favorite sport.

If you like indoor sports, consider bowling, dancing or swimming in an indoor pool. If you like outdoor sports, consider canoeing, playing croquet, pitching horseshoes or shooting hoops.

Walking is perhaps the most popular exercise for seniors.

A safe place for walking is your local mall. And you might find the bargain of the day while you're there. Shopping also keeps us moving.

Exercise with friends, neighbors or family members a couple of times per week. Meet at a local park for a short hike. Meet at the mall for a shopping excursion - or at the nearest miniature golfing park.

Though getting started with any exercise routine is a challenge, once we get to moving - the more we move, the easier it is to move.

Bake some bread by hand rather than using a bread machine to do the kneading.

The kneading works the arm muscles and you'll have something nice to show for your efforts. Just watch the butter on that hot bread and opt for light, reduced fat margarine instead.

While you're at it, cut off two thin slices of the bread once it cools. That's right. Next, spread on a little sunshine; it's a lot healthier for you than the white stuff - and contains a tiny amount of calories. The white stuff can contain up to 100 calories per serving while the yellow stuff contains about 5 per serving. It's like comparing a mouse to an elephant - and in this situation, that mouse looks 'mighty' good.

Now that we have our bread spread with a healthy smear of yellow sunshine, let's build something healthy - something delicious - something that will keep our stomach happy for a good spell. Let's add some fruit of the vine - slices of beautiful red tomato. I like mine sliced really thin - but you can slice them as thick as you wish. Just as long as you can still fit the sandwich into your mouth.

Next, it's time to add a splash of green to compliment the yellow, red and white - or the yellow, red and brown if you prepared whole wheat bread. So add your favorite leaves of green or a large stack of spring greens. I absolutely adore spring mix - particularly the endive and dandelion greens. Yum!

But we're not quite finished yet. What about slices of cucumber? Raw onion? Sliced mushrooms? Sliced black olives? I prefer to leave these healthy food selections off of my sandwich - but you may enjoy these additions. All are super low in caloric and dietary fat values.

We need a bit of dairy on our sandwich - so let's add a slice of reduced fat cheese. It comes in all different flavors of the rainbow these days at the local market. I remember a time when only the regular cheeses were available; dieters didn't have an option. But now, we can choose from so many different varieties - from reduced fat Colby to Cheddar to Muenster; the selections are grand, that's for certain.

Protein - we need protein. In its leanest form it assists in supporting muscle health and can satisfy the appetite for quite a spell. We might say that protein is 'spellbinding'. Now isn't that alluring? So let's add a few thin slices of our favorite lean protein. By the way, you can make your own rather than purchasing deli meat at the local market. Or, if you don't want to cook, consider purchasing a small roasted chicken at the market. If you can't eat it within three days, then share with people you know and love.

Finally, let's add a serving of reduced fat milk to our entree as well as a fresh fruit selection. Now is this living, or what? It's certainly eating healthy - and that's a good thing for all of us.

Senior Health Articles | Seniors Recommended Weight

Diet Bites | Disclaimers

Diet Bites is a Trademark