It seemed impossible, especially for a senior who was just thankful to make it out of bed. Surely this overweight senior with arthritis couldn’t possibly begin an exercise program. And strength training? Please! I felt lucky just to have the strength to open my prescription bottles! And walk a mile? That was ridiculous. Do you have any idea just how painful it is to walk out the door and down the steps?

What about all my other ailments? With my asthma, just walking up the stairs with the newspaper made me feel finished for the day! I was on heart medication. I also had barely controlled diabetes, high blood pressure, and fibromyalgia! To tell you the truth, I had no motivation, and I was seriously depressed. I despised myself. I saw myself as too old and too sick to ever have a healthy life. I was a mess. Then one day I stood on my doctor’s scale, and I looked at the numbers. I was just under 200 pounds! That was my motivation, to never see that scale reach the 200 mark!

I bought a motorized treadmill, and I set the pace at a crawl. I walked a full minute-and-a-half. Surely I could make 3 minutes the next time. Certain that I was going to die any minute, I made it up to 5 minutes the next day. I kept at that pace for a week, taking only Sunday off. The following Monday I did nearly 8 minutes. I had discovered the benefits of a healthy rest period. Each week, as I went from huff-and-puff to a third of a mile, I took that beneficial week-end rest. In a month, I was doing half a mile! It took me two months to make it up to a 30 minute mile.

Healthy eating began the same way. Small steps. I cut out sugar, and I switched to Splenda. Then I started substituting high protein flours in my favorite muffin recipes, pan-cakes, and pie crusts. I substituted high nutrition, low-carb vegetables for potatoes and rice. Medium carb veggies, like carrots and peas, pumpkin, and winter squashes along with low-carb summer vegetables, like yellow squash, salad greens, and green beans were introduced one at a time.

Everything I changed was one thing at a time. One vegetable. One step on that treadmill, then another, most days of the week. Two years later, I’m controlling my diabetes, without medication. My "A1c" (a test that measures blood sugar in the blood) has gone from a high of over 7.5 down to 6.3! For a diabetic that’s phenomenal! Normal is a 6.0. Maybe I’ll reach that this year.

Here are the facts: It is never too late to begin. If you can move, there are programs through your local senior center, and there are DVD’s for senior yoga, strength training, and even dance videos. Your local WYCA or wellness center has water programs. You don’t even have to know how to swim. They provide the flotation belts, and the water helps to support arthritic joints. 81 year old Hannah told me all about it. She began her exercise program at a local gym, when she was a veritable baby, at 76. She started water aerobics, and she stayed with it five years, until her heart surgery. She underwent two heart valve replacements, at 81. She sailed through recovery, and now, at a mere 85, she is back to those water aerobics 5 days a week.

Nothing happens over night. It’s been two years for me. I still have diabetes, although it is under control more than ever. An ace inhibitor drug, plus diet and exercise, have brought my blood pressure down to 120/79; my arthritis is under control with medication. In fact, I’m on a lot of medication. Even so I walk every day. I have found my laugh. I look forward to my seventies and my eighties. I’m writing full time. And my husband’s and my relationship has never been more fulfilling.

Never begin any diet or exercise program without the approval of your physician. Start where you are. Whether standing, wheel-chair bound, or bed bound, there is an exercise program for you. Start with one new movement, and slowly increase. Don’t listen to the exercise gurus about "power walking" a mile, the first day. Do what you can, at least five days a week. Increase slowly, only when you are ready. Change one thing in your diet, and you will be so encouraged by small successes, you won’t need applause. Your own eyes and mood will be your evidence.

Some days you may only be able to do 10 minutes at a time. That’s great! 3 times 10 minutes equals 30 minutes. If you have an off-day, or even an off-week, don’t worry about it. As soon as you can move again, get back into the program. Your body will become used to the exercise after awhile, and getting back into the program will be that much easier. It’s been 2 years for me. I never did reach 200 pounds. In fact, I’ve lost more than forty pounds! I seldom weigh myself, however, and I still keep things slow and steady.

I look at it this way, I’m going to be here on this earth, for as long as God allows. Why not live... I mean, LIVE, in the process? Exercise elevates one’s mood. Small steps become miles. In two years I have walked nearly 1,000 miles, that’s nearly to Canada, from where I live. I didn’t do it in leaps and bounds. I did it one step at a time. And Hannah? At 86 she’s still swimming. There is a beauty in growing old well. You’re worth it. It’s never too late to love yourself into a healthy life. And remember, a life well loved is the greatest life of all.

Jason Ladock

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