Even 14 minutes is a good clip. I run at about 10:30 - which is not speedy, but I can walk 14 if I REALLY am moving and don’t have slow down periods. I sometimes feel at that point, with my stride, that I might as well run - it almost feels more natural than walking too speedily!
I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way to get a 14 minute walking mile is to increase my stride. And go without the dog. My beagle mix has to stop and ready every pee-mail and sniff every blade of grass.
I walk a 20 minute mile when I am walking in a semi-relaxed comfortable conversational manner. It would take some serious effort for me to walk a 15 minute mile… like striding rapidly. Hmmm… sounds like something I should try!
Also, my 14 minute walking mile probably includes some jogging across the street between blocks!
I usually walk between 15 and 16 minute miles, but my usual route is quite hilly.
A 14 minute mile is fast! I may have been able to pull that off 20+ years ago when a friend would jog alongside me in Central Park, but I sense that I am slower than I was then and haven’t taken the time to calculate my pace. (The six mile loop inside the park simplified the calculation.)
Today I bought some of the ekeziel bread at Costco! If you love a thin, but crips/coarse bread to toast, this is IT! I just had a piece and it was delicious! Found it in the frozen foods, 2 good sized loaves for $6.99. Needs to be kept refrigerated. Thanks for the suggestion - a nice “sometimes” alternative for those of us who love bread, but try to stay away from it!
So I’ve sinned today. One piece of birthday cake in the morning and one piece of retirement cake in the evening.Oy!
because of all this talk about mile walking, I timed a walk around the neighborhood. It’s about a 2 mile circle, and we walked twice in just over an hour. Yeah us!
H and I hiked 7 miles at 17 minutes a mile with a 1,000++elevation. It our favorite hike as it is up and down and then you see two amazing gorgeous moutain lakes. Breathtaking.
Still, I know that I have slowed down. I turn 65 in a month and really can see how the last few years have made a change. uessing a few years ago that would have been 14 minutes a mile.
Even with 7 miles the only thing that mattered today was how many calories I ate–not how long I hiked. I find this dissapointing. I would have done well except I made an amazing dinner out of the frig leftovers and in 20 minutes.
Sometimes I wish I was a bad cook but the truth is I like my own cooking more than anyones and many restaurants.
Also, just had to have a Vodka Tonic… 
Need to add that H runs underweight and so needs big meals… 
17 minutes a mile on a hike sounds like a good clip to me! Not the same as walking on flat land or paved path, right?
I’m here to report each piece of cake yesterday was a pound worth. Yeap, my weight went up 2 lbs yesterday.
Only one helping of everything at dinner, followed by half an hour in the pool. We wanted to watch a movie on Netflix and chose Chef. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chef_%28film%29 Very good, “feel good” movie, rated R only for language. Of course the whole time, they are cooking this incredible looking food! The torture really wasn’t too bad…I knew that if I pulled out a snack, it would not be incredible chef-prepared food, but only chips or something, so not “worth it.”
I have met my (extraordinarily modest) exercise goals for the week. I only listed them for Monday-Friday morning, because I have no problem being physically active over the weekend.
I’m 52, post-menopause, and haven’t yet started that midlife weight gain, but you guys are scaring me! Other than eating less and doing a daily, strenuous cardio workout, the only thing that seems to work is weight lifting twice a week. It is your lean muscle mass that determines your basal metabolic rate. Muscle mass declines precipitously after menopause, so you have to counteract it not only by running/biking/swimming, etc., but by actively trying to build muscle. Cardio alone just isn’t going to cut it.
But as someone said earlier, don’t neglect the cardio. I can’t stand the thought of being the mom on vacation that can’t walk to the top of the monument or tower or take a short hike because I get out of breath too easily.
So here’s a question: Suppose in your 20s, 30s and 40s, you’re very physically active and careful about what you eat, and as a consequence, you’re very physically fit. Once you reach menopause, do you gain weight around your middle if you don’t increase your activity even more?
I used to joke that it was easy for me to increase my activity post-menopause, since I had never been particularly active before menopause.
I agree with the weight training but I have found a good hot yoga class also works the same muscles. Yoga is a great thing to start or continue in middle age!!!
Now I am in trouble and need to get serious about my diet and exercise routines. I am 5’9 and 160 (20 lbs post menopause). Had my cholesterol checked this week and the results are HORRIBLE. I came in at 265. Last year I was at 216. This morning I said to myself that I either have to make some big diet changes or plan on getting fed through a tube after I have a big stroke.
Total cholesterol tends not to have much meaning without the breakdown between HDL, LDL, and VLDL. You want HDL to be high, but the others to be low.