Today I want to give you a glimpse of my home gym and talk a little about how I stay in shape over 60. My gym is where you’ll find me on any given morning stretching, flexing, pumping iron, and/or hopping on my Peloton for a spin class. I’m committed to continuing my health journey for the new year. And I hope you’ll join me. Whether I work out at home or head off to a Pilates class or Orange Theory, I like to wear the proper gear that helps me strike a yoga pose with the ease of movement needed.
Today, I’m partnering with Nordstrom and their in-house brand Zella which carries an A-MA-ZING selection of athletic wear that’s functional and stylish. At its heart, Zella athletic wear is designed with ultimate comfort innovation and peak performance technology that’s certain to enhance my workout and yours. That’s a win/win in my book.
Peloton
When I was in my 40s, I was introduced to spinning and immediately fell in love. Well, it’s more like a love/hate relationship because any spin class will kick your butt to the door and back again. If you have never taken a spin class, let me assure you it is one of the best forms of high-intensity exercise out there. Spin works your heart, quadriceps, hamstrings, lower legs, glutes, back, and upper body. And it’s easy on your joints.
Most spin classes add a section of weight training where you work your arms while seated on the bike. No doubt it’s crazy-hard because you’re exhausted from the high-intensity intervals doled out throughout the class, and then you work your arms. But you will leave class feeling as if you’ve accomplished something. It goes without saying you’ll be dripping in sweat, so stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
As for my Peloton specifically, I am impressed with:
their instructors;
and the variety of classes offered.
The Peloton app has floor exercise sessions, cool-down stretches. Spin classes can be selected by length, music genre, and instructor. You can take them live, but there is also an on-demand option if your schedule conflicts. The choices are endless.
Exercise is important at any age but especially as we age. Who doesn’t want to feel their best each and every day? But many of us give up on exercising altogether at a certain age. So let’s go over the benefits of keeping fit even at sixty-three. Exercise is key to keeping me in tip-top health. Remember, exercise is how we will age with grace, strength, and beauty. Besides riding into 2022 with Peloton and Zella, these are the workouts I incorporate into my daily routine:
Strength trainingtargets multiple muscle groups increases strength, and builds lean muscle.
Yoga or Pilates improves flexibility, perfects posture, betters bone health, builds muscle, and on and on.
Cardioimproves blood flow, increases stamina, and boosts your mood.
Curbside pick-up. No muss, no fuss. Nordstrom brings your merchandise to you while you wait in your car.
The Nordy Club, where you earn 1 point per dollar. Your status is based on your spend. Enjoy perks to beauty and style workshops, curbside pickup, and the first to shop select brands.
Finally, my long-time followers know I’m careful about what I eat. Last week, we talked a lot about healthy cooking & eating and its impact on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I shared some healthy recipes from my daughter-in-law Kelly’s food blog Djalali Cooks. She was kind enough to share another recipe for us today:
If you’re looking for even more advice on healthy cooking & eating, make sure to check out one of my many posts about FASTer Way to Fat Loss, and be sure to tune in every Friday over here on the blog for Friday’s with Oscar, where I regularly share easy to cook healthy recipes.
A big thank you to Nordstrom for this sponsored post. And thank you, lovely readers, for supporting the brands that allow me to bring you fresh ideas.
In case you missed it
Yesterday, we had a lively discussion about whether or not women of a certain age can wear these pants. Weigh in on the debate, and make sure to let us know what you think in the comments!
It’s January, ladies. This is by far the most popular month to head back to the gym or start a diet: New Year’s resolutions and all. There’s something about the promise of a new year that helps us get in the fresh start mindset. And the theme of this month is reset, refresh, and renew. Many readers have written sharing that COVID weight gain is real, and they ask how can I lose weight fast? In reality, there are no shortcuts to a healthy lifestyle. It’s one step at a time, one day at a time. But knowing is half the battle, as they say, and today, I wanted to share 5 ways to lose weight over 50 that I employ in my day-to-day.
Exercise
Peloton
Healthy cooking & eating
Meal service deliveries
FASTer Way to Fat Loss
The truth is, after the age of fifty, things begin to change in our bodies. Fifty-one is the average age of menopause. Once we’re postmenopausal (twelve months without menstruating), we produce less estrogen and are at a greater risk of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and depression. This is why it’s more important than ever to take care of our bones, stay active, eat right, train our brains, get enough sleep, have a healthy gut, and treat our skin with kindness.
There’s still so much of life to live: we need strength and endurance to chase after those grandbabies or walk the streets of Europe when our travel plans back are back in action. We’ve worked hard for the confidence and wisdom that comes along with aging. Now it’s time to enjoy every minute of it. Healthy habits will help us live our happiest days. So let’s get to it. Here are 5 ways to lose weight over 50.
Exercise Over 50
Exercise is important at any age, but especially as we age; it’s precisely how we will age with grace, strength, and beauty. Exercise benefits our bones, muscles, and heart. Staying physically active also keeps our brains young. The hippocampus—the part of the brain associated with memory—shrinks as we age, leading to cognitive impairment. But research shows that exercise can lead to an increase in the hippocampus, even if it’s only a forty-minute brisk walk several times a week. But many of us give up on exercising altogether at a certain age. And that’s a shame, because who doesn’t want to feel their best each and every day? So, here are three areas I focus on every week.
Strength training
To develop our muscles and increase our bone density, which is critical for preventing osteoporosis. The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism becomes. Strengthening your muscles surrounding and supporting joints will prevent injuries. Stronger muscles better hold your joints in position. Many of you ask how I can wear heels at sixty-two. It’s simple – weight training, which keeps my legs strong. If you don’t use your muscles, you will lose them. So go pump some weights.
Low-impact workouts
Yoga or pilates help increase our flexibility and posture, which leads to better balance. Both are wonderful exercises to incorporate for toning and strengthening all muscle groups.
Cardio
It gets our hearts pumping and large muscle groups working. Cardio exercises our hearts and can also help lower blood pressure. Regular physical activity can also help lower blood sugar and help regulate insulin levels. And it can help boost your mood. There’s nothing better than a sweaty workout to get those endorphins flowing. ’nuff said.
Peloton
Focusing specifically on cardio, a special callout today to Peloton: it’s how I get in much of my cardio. And before I go any further, let me state up front that I’m not a Peloton brand ambassador, nor is this post a collaboration with the company. It’s because I’m such a believer in the product—so much so that we’ll be highlighting the bike later this month. I picked up my bike a few years ago and have been a believer ever since. In fact, I convinced my son and daughter-in-law to get one, and they’re believers too.
Don’t get me wrong, a Peloton is an investment, even if they did drop the price of their bikes. But I love my Peloton because it’s more than a bike. That may sound cheesy, but it’s true. Peloton’s app brings with it a set of inspiring instructors—Emma Lovewell being my favorite—and a huge collection of on-demand workouts for every fitness level. And truth be told: you don’t actually need Peloton’s bike or treadmill to get use out of their app; their workouts extend far beyond into strength training, yoga, and more.
Healthy cooking & eating
Food is medicine. Food is powerful. And nutrient-rich foods can impact our health and our life in sometimes unimaginably positive ways. When we make the right choices, our pants size will improve and our quality of life too. This blog is dedicated to aging with grace, strength, and beauty. And that all begins with diet. And times are a-changing, ladies. I don’t really need to tell anyone that. With labor shortages and food prices increasing, many of us are thinking twice about going out to eat, choosing to stay at home to cook.
Speaking of my daughter-in-law Kelly, did you know she runs a food blog Djalali Cooks? Every week, she puts together easy-to-follow, healthy recipes. I’ve asked her to share a few of her favorites today that will help inspire you to cook healthy at home.
And if you’re looking for even more inspiration, be sure to check in here on the blog every Friday for Fridays with Oscar—we put together tons of healthy appetizers and meals.
Meal Service Deliveries
Ok, ok. With all that being said about cooking at home, let me be honest with you: one of the things I hate about being single is cooking for one, which is why I’ve experimented with several meal service deliveries over the past few years. Below, I’ve rounded up some of the better meal services I’ve tried.
Daily Harvest is a favorite – the best smoothies ever!
Sakarahas a wide variety of healthy meals from breakfast to lunch to dinner and even snacks. Sakara has a 30-day reset program for January, and Splendid Spoon offers a 21 day reset. If you’re interested in trying out Sakara, use code XOBETHD for 20% off your first purchase.
Splendid Spoonoffers pre-made smoothies, soups, and bowls. Splendid Spoon is offering $80 off their New Year reset program.
I’ve spoken many times about FASTer Way to Fat Loss on the blog. It’s a totally immersive program, providing meal plans, exercise routines, and an online community to help you achieve your health and fitness goals. The next FWTFL round starts on January 10th! The reason I’m so obsessed with it is simple: this program changed my life. I grew up in an era when there were not 5 ways to lose weight. There was only 1: exercise more and eat less. Weight loss was all about calories in and calories out. No one cared if those calories came from chips or candy? As long as you hit your daily caloric intake, you were just fine. And while you’re at it, go ahead and load up on one-calorie sugar-free diet sodas. Right? Wrong!
January 2018
Like many of you, I adopted this thinking into my meal plans. If I indulged at a birthday celebration or a Christmas party, then I hit the gym—hard. That extra exercise would naturally burn off those extra calories. ugh! When I think back to what I put my body through, it makes me cringe. It wasn’t until I was 59 that I wrapped my head around the fact that you can’t out-exercise a poor diet.
June 2021
And did you know that many of our auto-immune diseases can be traced back to poor nutrition? FASTer Way to Fat Loss taught me the importance of both a healthy diet and an effective workout routine, which is why I am always happy to share this program!
All program materials for $199 to accelerate your success in the FASTer Way.
A low monthly membership fee of $99 after the first six weeks.
LIVE training to set you up for success.
Weekly workout plans that include low impact, home, and gym workouts.
Community group with certified FASTer Way community specialists for daily accountability, training, and support.
Meal plan and recipe guide to assist you in the FASTer Way.
Nutrition recommendations with a focus on whole food nutrition, balanced macros, intermittent fasting, carb cycling, and effective workouts to transform your life.
Options to pause or cancel your membership at any time FASTer Way to Fat Loss app
5 ways to lose weight over 50
A healthy lifestyle is near and dear to my heart because this blog is dedicated to aging with grace, strength, and beauty. I know y’all love the outfits I put together, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that no outfit will look good if the person wearing it isn’t healthy. I hope these 5 ways to lose weight over 50 are helpful as you being your journey this year to reset, refresh, and renew.
with shelter in-place orders in-place, it can be extremely difficult to stay active. not only can we not frequent our gyms nor our normal places of exercise, but often there’s a temptation to stay inside and just watch the news. staying informed is important, but maintaining our fitness and focusing on our health is equally important now more than ever. the good news is, staying healthy and fit by walking is possible while still maintaining social distancing. but today is National Walking Day and we’re pulling together a post and YouTube video to celebrate. walking is great exercise and 48% of us don’t get enough. walking 10,000 steps is a great daily goal we can all work towards and is still doable, even in our environment.
today, we’re focusing on just that: establishing and maintaining a walking routine. for those of us that live in suburban neighborhoods or rural settings, this is extremely doable as population density is low. we can get wake up early and walk; take a mid-afternoon stroll; or head out for a sunset loop around the block. if, however, we live in a large city or an urban area, things can potentially be a bit more challenging. timing and location are key. picking times of the day that are less busy is important and finding routes that avoid, say, grocery stores or other essential business make maintaining social distancing easier.
walk the line
i’ve got a really casual and comfortable OOTD that’s easy to put together for your daily walk. the focus is on a jacket and legging pairing from J.Crew. because we’re still getting cool(er) days here in Athens, I’m layering a chambray shirt with a lightweight boatneck one. comfortable and reliable footwear is essential if you’re going to commit to daily walks. we’re featuring a ton of sneakers in this post, and make sure to check out our newest YouTube video. the list: top 5 sneakers for spring and summer.
we’ve been focusing a lot on health & wellness over the past few weeks. this weekend, we put out a blog post focusing on how to boost your immune system. and on Monday, we talked about good skincare and hand washing. for women—or anyone of a certain age—establishing and maintaining exercise routines while still maintaining social distancing will pay dividends. we’re going to continue to share our strategies over here on the blog. let us know yours in the comments below!
we’ve got a really special treat for your today. given all that’s going on in the world, it’s sometimes hard to find moments of joy uninterrupted by world events. a few weeks ago, as the world started to turn upside down, junior style adopted a new puppy. his name is Pax, and he’s a German Shepherd/Husky/Lab mix. he just loves his uncle Oscar, and Oscar loves him.
finally, kelly and i spent the other day putting together a fitness & exercise gear roundup. if you’re looking for a solid pair of sneakers or headphones for your daily walks, we’ve got you covered. below is a list of some of the gear we, or people we know, use and love during their exercise routines.
september has come and gone. can you believe that? i want you all to know that we have big things coming this fall and winter. with junior style and my daughter-in-law Kelly, we’re planning big expansions to both the blog and the YouTube channel. so stay tuned!
but before heading into october, i wanted to give you all a recap of where we’ve been this past month. below, i’ve compiled by top 5 posts of september as chosen by you my readers. as an extra bonus, i’ve also put together a top 10 list of my favorite items from this month.
for the past fifty years, we’ve been told to cut calories and exercise more. right?! wrong. while exercise is key to staying active our diet is the most important factor to aging well.
if you want to lose belly fat over 50 there are a few things to consider. first, balance your macros. many of you might be wondering what macros are. they’re better known as carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
another key ingredient to lose belly fat over 50 is intermittent fasting. FASTer Way to Fat Loss first introduced me to this concept. what is intermittent fasting?
i have been shopping at Banana Republic for all things fall. it’s been a minute since i’ve purchased anything from this iconic retailer that was a favorite of mine all through the nineties and into the twenty-first century. but in recent years Banana has been hit or miss for me. but recently i went on a spree.
this shopping spree proved to be a success with several items landing in my shopping cart. i’m sharing wide-leg jeans that are on-trend for fall. if you are looking to update your wardrobe in a jiff, look no further than an updated pair of blue jeans.
it’s an easy and inexpensive way to look modern and chic because we all know a great pair of denim will take you anywhere in style. personally, i’m loving wide-leg jeans and the high-waist. it’s a refreshing change from the skinny or straight jean.
on my YouTube channel, i introduced a new series where i select five items from a specific brand. this is an easy way to incorporate trends into your existing wardrobe that helps our outfits stay current and fresh. this week i went shopping at Ann Taylor. you can watch the YouTube video or read the entire post here to see what i recommend.
it’s first call for fall with one of my favorite brands – Talbots. and let me be the first to say i wanted “one of everything, please,” from their new catalog.
while checks are on-trend this season and i chose a gorgeous check blazer with a muted color palette. there’s something to be said about a tried and true staple. like a pair of indigo navy pants that will serve me well season after season.
Talbots spoke to thousands of women and discovered that despite a closetful of options, women only wear the same six pairs of pants. again. and again. and i know why!
‘cuz when you find pants that fit you well you will buy them in every color under the sun. nine-in-10 (90%) women said that when buying a pair of pants, they care the most about comfort. and i quite agree! read the entire post here to see why.
it’s full steam ahead into fall which means we’re trading in our flip-flops and sandals for loafers, boots, and booties. today, i’ve put together a list of my top 10 shoes for fall and winter. but if you only owned one pair of shoes, it would have to be black pumps. they go with everything.
don’t forget there are a variety of heel heights to choose from. so pick a height that your tootsies will thank you for.
see my entire top 10 list by reading the post here.
