And it has gotten worse as I have grown older. It is a lament I think most middle age people have to deal with on a daily basis. Along with that loss of energy, we often have aches and pains from arthritis and damaged joints to contend with as well. That makes some types of high-impact exercise a thing to avoid. With me it is knee, shoulder and lower back pains that are of concern. If I ignore them they all have a way of reminding me that they have not gone away! I’ve of course talked to my doctors about this in my yearly exams. There have been some good (and one not so good) remedies that have been prescribed. I’ll talk about the latest shortly.
My blood panels always come back within very good boundaries, so low testosterone levels, which are currently a popular culprit, cannot be looked at; my T levels are normal for my age. One doctor put me on Phentermine a few years back for three months. These pills are “uppers”. They actually work by jacking up your metabolism. Good luck though if you want to sleep at all at night. I really did lose 45 pounds in those ninety days, but it all came right back when I came off the pills because my body’s metabolism normalized. I was very happy to finish the course too, despite the weight gain, because the medicine made me feel like a caged tiger all day long. I felt like I was drinking a cup of coffee every thirty minutes all day long. It also caused mild heart palpitations. The palpitations were harmless in my case, but also very, very scary. Scratch that method of weight loss!
I’ve always been involved in a fitness program or one type or another. When I was younger I lifted weights. I still enjoy working with weights, but have to be mindful of damaging my shoulders again. Rotator cuff surgery recovery is no laughing matter. I have changed over to fitness bands of late. They can work muscles even more effectively. Damage to joints and tendons using weights most often comes not in the lift, but in the recovery after the lift. Using a good set of bands eliminates the recovery move stress.
Knowing all of this, I spoke at my last check up to my doctor again and this time we are taking a different approach. Because soreness in my lower back really bothers me in workouts, she decided to take a proactive approach and prescribed eight sessions of physical therapy. She also endorsed WeightWatchers for Men as a way to change and manage my lifestyle and to get feedback and encouragement from people like me all over the country. I was hesitant at first, because I thought it was about buying all of this bland, tasteless food and having it delivered to my door.
It turned out it wasn’t like that at all; I could follow thousands of their recipes online each week or incorporate my own into the program. That appealed to me, since anyone who follows this blog knows how much we love to cook. The WeightWatchers system assigns points to foods and offers many suggestions for meals throughout the day. It’s also available as a mobile app, so it is easy to make notes of foods you eat throughout the day.
The first road to health for me is taking care of my back pain. The physical therapy sessions have been very good. Stretching and exercises tailored to recruit other back muscles have really helped and of late there have been days in which I have no back pain at all. That I love. It has also inspired me, along with encouragement from WeightWatchers, to return to a daily program of exercise.
I’m back into using my bands, light weights, recumbent bike and treadmill. We have all of that equipment at home already (Linda stays very fit using it daily), so there was nothing for me to buy. The stretching and PT exercises don’t even call for equipment, so there is really no excuse, now that I have a strategy for dealing with my lower back issues.
My first week on the plan has paid off; I lost five pounds without really altering much at all in my dietary regimen. We generally don’t each much fried foods, stay away from fast foods and other fatty foods, and do incorporate fruits and vegetables in our meals. Alcohol we have always kept limited, but the program does not eliminate it completely. I’ll have to keep you updated as I go through the initial 13-week course, but so far it is working and I feel much better already!
