<p>We went out to dinner with 3 other couples last weekend. We don’t like to think of ourselves as old even though we’re in our mid-late 40’s with elementary age kids. </p>
<p>Anyway, we were sitting in the back of the restaurant watching couples older than us - 60+ dancing the night away to a live band. We were saying - “when we’re older, we want to be like them!” </p>
<p>BTW, I really did feel old when I watched my old soap, Guiding Light, go off the air. They brought back some former characters - most of whom I remember watching back in college.</p>
<p>Had dinner last night with my MIL who is 85 and my FIL who is 92. Some how we got on the subject of getting older and my MIL said that at 53 I was not old; that the new 50 is the old 30. I guess really felt I had no reason to feel old.</p>
<p>I also have the senior onset ADD. I’m relieved to hear I’m not the only one! I have so many piles of books, notes, projects, etc in the house, it’s getting ridiculous. I may not get anything done, but I make very neat stacks of unfinished things. Sort of like those games where you see how high you can stack blocks.</p>
<p>lilmom- that’s why it will only hit you ten years from now, when you no longer associate with younger parents. We had our only when H was 40- he once saw a 36 year old at his office who was a grandmother already, got him thinking.</p>
<p>I have a question for those of you who exercise & do yoga. A few years ago I began yoga and was thrilled to regain teenage flexibility, I could do the splitz again and all sorts of great things. Since that time I have noticed those very muscles and ligaments which stretched so easily are sore all the time, just standing up from my desk and I can feel my hip sockets feeling sore…shouldn’t the yoga make it all feel better?</p>
<p>somemom - How often do you do yoga? Is it possible that you are over stretching? If the room is very hot, it is easy to overdo it - the stretch feels great at the time, but you feel it later. After a certain age, there will be more soreness and a slower bounce back after exercise. </p>
<p>It is also possible that your positioning isn’t perfect. Does your instructor adjust your position? I try to have one on one sessions occasionally so that I can work on my specific issues and my instructor can look for subtle problems in my movements and positions and help me adjust.</p>
<p>I now do Pilates three times a week. I also found that I hurt for a couple days after a yoga class, but I rarely hurt after Pilates. My Pilates workout is more intense, probably because I work one on one with my instructor and it’s more focused.</p>
<p>somemom…I’ve been doing yoga for about two years. When I first started, I was REALLY sore. Then again, I did not have the same initial experience as you…I am NOT and have never been very flexible. I’ve gotten much better, but I’ll never be a gumby like some of the women in our class. And there are some more advanced poses that I just can’t do…hips are too tight. Now, I am sore if I do yoga less than twice per week. So maybe it’s a matter of increasing your frequency…or perhaps not pushing yourself as much in the actual class. I like that my yoga teacher discourages competition in class…</p>
<p>OMG, Kajon, that just happened to me!! I was sitting in the salon chair, just for a normal hair cut–no big changes. I looked into the hand mirror when the cutter was all done and swore my mom was looking back at me. A very emotional experience for me–I puddled up as she’s been gone nearly 20 years now! </p>
<p>Mafool, I’m so impressed by your weight loss–40 lbs is a great accomplishment!. As this is a thread for those of us who are feeling age creeping up on us, would you share how you did it?</p>
<p>For this, my “Last Ditch Effort” (if this didn’t work, I was going to give up and just accept that I am destined to be built like my grandmother was in her later years), I went kind of drastic. I used the Medifast program, which had worked stupendously for my hairdresser. I don’t recommend it to everyone, but it suits my crazy work schedule and, like most weight loss regimens, it works if you follow it. I had never tried a program where I didn’t make all of my own food, and compressed schedules, lack of planning and restaurant lunches were taking their toll. Yep, medifast is a “meal replacement” program where I eat 5 of the program’s meals each day plus a dinner of lean protein and 3 vegetables. I like that the “meals” are soy based and loaded with nutrients. Eating every 3 hours or so helps a lot. I can’t say that I love the food, much of which is too sweet for my taste. The challenge will be transitioning to normal food without succumbing to old habits. I took a hiatus of sorts over Dec and Jan and didn’t gain, which is encouraging. I don’t really need to lose any more weight, but I am wondering if 5 more pounds will diminish the bit of flab I have on my abdomen. We’ll see! (and yes, I know I should exercise, but, trust me, the flab is on top of the ab muscles!)</p>
<p>Of the many reservations people have about this program, I do want to address one. It is said to be expensive ($11/day plus your own dinner). IF you are already eating very economically, this will be more expensive than your normal food costs. But I found that once I stopped buying the latte that that I was drinking for breakfast during my morning commute and the restaurant lunches several times a week, and the wine and cheese that I enjoyed way too often in the evening, I was definitely money ahead!</p>
<p>53 is very young age. I do not even remember anymore where I worked at 53. It has been soooo long ago. My D. still calls us very often for advice (sometime few times /day). I do not feel that she gets remote from us because of us getting old, she really apprecite our participation in her life. I work full time and started taking classes 2 years ago to learn something entirely new to me, love both job and my new activity. I exersize more with every year, longer distances, heavier weights at the gym. I color my hair - extremely important to prevent feeling old. I still look very old, but I do not feel old at all. In fact mu S. could not keep up walking with us.</p>
<p>I often look at those holiday cards with pictures sent by old friends and recognize their children but not my old friends! Because, obviously their children look like the person I remember.</p>
<p>Even more scary - at my HS reunion I was talking to a woman who I could not remember… until she showed me a picture of her daughter… oh! yes, of course!! LOL</p>
<p>NJres- I went to a funeral for some one who I met about 30 years ago and had not seen much of recently (it was out of town). There were so many ‘kids’ there who are now the age their parents were when I met them. Stunning who looks just like mom or dad!</p>