Being trim and healthy is a big part of feeling sexy. Keeping extra weight off keeps us sexually on! About age forty I noticed I was gaining weight, and at age fifty I was shocked to see the scales. I took action and now at sixty, I’m back at my forty’s weight and LOVE it. Here’s the 10 steps I took–and feeling sexy is just one reason to do it!
1) Cut food portions. Yes, after menopause, I eat about one-half of what I used to. You loose weight at the table and not on the exercise machine. I take a to-go bag with me to restaurants and bring half my meal home. I also eat less often in restaurants.
2) Chew longer and slower. My acupuncturist told me, “Chew your drink and drink your food.”
3) Get daily exercise, like morning yoga (20 minutes) and or a walk. Try doing some exercise before eating in the morning.
4) Read all labels. I cut down on boxed foods with sugar and preservatives. I cut down on wheat intake because we get too much of it.
5) No bad fats (anything hydrogenated), and eat good fats like flaxseed oil (in your smoothie) and fish oil (liquid spoonful is a better deal than capsules and taste fine–Nordic Naturals.) I grind up Chia and Camelini seeds in my coffee grinder and add to food.
6) Food combining–I eat meat with veggies–cheese with veggies–carbs with veggies–but not meat, carbs and dairy together in the same meal.
7) Cut down on sugar and baked goods. Eat sugar separately–several hours apart–from other foods. Use agave as a sweetener. It’s low on the glycemic index and won’t spike your insulin and wear out your pancreas.
8) Fermented dairy is best, like yogurt or kefir. It’s easy to digest and remember don’t eat dairy with meat or carbs.
9) Drink lots of water. Especially in the morning when we’re naturally dehydrated from the night. I try to drink 6-8 cups a day, in tea kombucha, fresh lime aid (no soda).
10) Lifestyle: I don’t eat much after 7 pm, go to bed early, and get up early. A Chinese proverb says, “One hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after midnight.” Daylight and dark have a strong effect on our healing rhythms: organs rejuvenate on a schedule during the night. Cleanse for a week or two every spring.
With these ten steps to good health, your sexual health will thrive too. We’re all connected. We can’t single out one thing from the other. At sixty, I look and feel great. You can take ten years off your age just by not getting fat. I like being light on my feet, quick to action, flexible, and enthusiastic about life.
Why don’t people talk about how great aging can be? Menopause was the best thing that happened to my sexuality–I’m at the top of my cycle every day–without the dips! Why don’t we tell young people the truth about sex and aging–there’s so many negative myths out there. Sex, like life, just gets better as we get smarter, more compassionate, more truthful and more appreciative.
I LOVE your entire wrap up paragraph…awesomely positive and so needed. Thank you, beautiful Charla.
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