Week 28

by annemariedemyen, posted in August 2022, Health and Fitness

It has been 28 weeks since I started living my ‘better’ life. I am pretty sure I haven’t peaked yet so I am still working up to my ‘best life’.  ☺️

There isn’t a lot to report this week but I did drop a pound YAY and having added a dumbbell workout in the evening, I think I am ready to move up a size this week.  Three pound weights it is!  My next biggest size are five pounds so that might take a bit.

Since I started getting more active and eating better, I have been feeling progressively better.  I am also trimming down and looking healthier.  All of this is good, and it is nice that others are noticing, BUT…  The most frequent ‘compliment’ I get – and have received often in my life is “You look too young – to be, to have, to do…whatever” or “You don’t look that old”. 

Seriously!  Why are  people so surprised if anyone is healthy or in relatively good shape AT MY AGE.   At any age?  Why is age a factor to be judged by?

How am I supposed to look?

I even did an internet search for “women who are 67 years old”, just to see what a typical 67 year old woman was supposed to look like.  There were dozens of photos of women  and the only thing they had in common was that none of them looked ‘typical‘. 

What’s more, each photo had a headline  and none of those were what many people would consider typical for a sixty seven year old woman – one had just given birth (having conceived naturally), one had just been sentenced for a DUI hit and run, one had a black belt in martial arts and had  taken down an intruder with her bare hands, and one had been found after wandering away from her home.    If the photos and headlines had been separated and I had to guess which woman did what, I never would have guessed any of them.

There are so many memes and posts around about seniors – and so many of them normalize negative aspects of aging.   This is one I  received recently…

I get this is supposed to be funny,  but why? Why do we portray ourselves like this at any age?
 

And this gem…

Apparently 75 is our expiration date 🤣🤣🤣

I don’t know anyone who is  seventy five.   I do  have a sister who is seventy eight.   She is not sitting around worrying about whether she ever “embraced the sun on the beach” (Nor did she ever sit around thinking about whether her thighs jiggled 😂😂😂 –  although  I doubt that her thighs ever jiggled).  At seventy eight, she is still running circles around me, living her life, taking care of her home, taking care of the people she loves,  and no doubt anyone else who needs her.  She is driving herself and her loved ones anywhere they need to be on any given day.   And she is as perfect now as she ever was.  

What’s more – I know any number of people even older than my sister who are happy, healthy, strong, capable, intelligent and perfect who are living life to the fullest. I have met many of them here on WordPress. Age defines nothing.

I have no desire to look or be younger. I have no desire to live indefinitely. I just want to live the best life that I can, regardless of my age. That is why I make health and fitness a priority – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Quality of life matters – at any age. I realized that 28 weeks ago and I am committed to that 28 weeks in.

That’s it for today. Take care and have a great day! 💞🤗

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45 thoughts on “Week 28”

  3. Thank you, Neese! My hair is getting rather long for my liking, but it was my DIL Amanda who cut it for me the last time and she did such an amazing job I don’t want to go back to any of the hairdressers here. I may have to plan another trip up north soon. Or invest in more hair clips.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. This is such a beautifully written post Anne Marie. Thank you so much for sharing this!

    “…You deserve to realize you’re enough and always have been…”
    My goodness, this brought tears to my eyes 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  12. I will watch for it! Everyone is different but for me if I start to struggle, I just keep telling myself that my future self will be grateful for pushing through. And I am grateful for all the times that I did push through. I feel better and I am stronger and happier than I can ever remember being. 👍

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Well said on all accounts! Thank you for keeping that message out there. I hope the 75 expiration date is only in someone’s head or I will be past my “best used by” date before I know it!

    Liked by 1 person

  18. You do look terrific ! And yes, age is a number. I’m 71 ……. but some days my mind thinks I’m 45, and other days my body protests and tells me I’m closer to 95.

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Thank you! I have had times when I felt like I was done – body, mind, and spirit but it wasn’t age, just illness, attitude, and environment. I don’t know anyone who ever feels like they think their age should. At least not all the time. 🙂

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  26. Neese’s comment was such a coincidence because I was going to say I really like your hair. When I was about 30 a cry coming out of the rugby scrum, “get the old bloke” was aimed at greying me; and a young lady asked me if I had highlights put in it.

    Liked by 1 person

  32. Excellent post! I hate the stigmas that are put on aging, so dumb. Do I laugh when I read the silly memes? I do sometimes, but I don’t share them as that’s not how I feel. I think we are slowly changing those stigmas, takes time and dedication. Mostly I love your positive can do attitude and your inspiring posts!! You look beautiful and healthy! 💞

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  33. Thank you, Diana! I hope those stigmas are changing – not just for us but for all the young people growing up who are afraid or reluctant to grow older. Most of the best times in my life happened after I turned forty, fifty, and sixty. 🤗

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  34. I guess I had better do all those things now at 70 or I won’t make it by 75! Frankly, I try hard not to think about “aging” at all. I can’t help the numbers but I can try to live the best life I can while I am able to. Interesting column so thank you for that!

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  35. Thank you, Karla. I don’t think about it either and I am with you – just live the best life I can at any age. Personally, I think you do plenty! Raising all those little ducks and chickens and turkeys and a goose (?) is not for the faint of heart. Plus all of the canning, etc to boot!

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  40. Congratulations on the weight loss, Ms. AnneMarie! That’s awesome! And on increasing your dumbbell weight! Progress of any kind is a strong motivator, for sure.

    I agree with you that age is nothing more than a number. One of my closest friends is 92 and she can run circles around me any day of the week! LOL! Also, people are right when they tell you that you don’t look 67! You look far younger, and are a very beautiful lady. You are an inspiration, and I aspire to be as youthful as you as I continue on own path through the world of increasing experience numbers on this planet. 🥰

    Liked by 1 person

  41. Thank you for all of the kind words. You work so hard at it, that I am sure you will breakthrough to all types of amazing experiences over the coming years. I have to laugh when my granddaughter says “I have to do it now before I am too busy or too tired down by responsibilities or too old”. She is all of eighteen. 😂

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