Fit to the Core

How to Break Through Negative Self-Talk and Soar

We all talk to ourselves about ourselves.

What kind of things do you say?

That you’re overweight, lazy, and too old to be fit?

A lot of us struggle with an inner voice that repeats nonsense like that.

But you don’t have to let it keep you from exercising, eating right and managing stress so you can keep doing what you want. There’s so much more potential to life well after 50 – like travel, physical independence, playing with the grandkids, enjoying sports and hobbies… just for starters.

You deserve all that and more.

And you can have it if you start by adjusting your thoughts.

Change Your Thoughts

We can’t control which thoughts pop into our minds. But we can choose which to hold and nurture. Those thoughts become actions, which become habits, which lead to new experiences and… yes! New thoughts.

So, let’s replace that negative self-talk with positive statements, attitudes and experiences.

Here are some tactics that help.

Practice an attitude of gratitude. Whenever you feel down, take a pen and paper and write your blessings. They can be big or small, important or whimsical, related to physical health or spirituality or anything else. When you see what you’ve written, your mood will reverse itself. It’s impossible to feel depressed when our hearts are full of thanks.

Instead of saying, “There’s something wrong with me because I don’t have X, Y and Z,” you’ll be saying, “Look at all these wonderful things in my life.”

Set realistic goals. We don’t have to look like fitness models or win Olympic medals. We don’t have to be what we used to be. And accepting that is key to treating yourself right. We’re here to help you see where you want to go – and then enjoy the success of reaching those goals.

Instead of saying, “I’m so stupid to think I could be 25 again,” you’ll be saying, “Hey, I’m feeling better every day.”

Focus on progress, not perfection. We’re always raised to be so results-driven, aren’t we? But physical fitness doesn’t have to be like that! It’s fun and empowering to get stronger, to gain more endurance, and to improve agility. We’ll celebrate every little win with you! Remember: It’s a journey, not a destination.

Instead of saying, “I’m such a loser because I can’t wear those pants,” you’ll be saying, “I’ve lost 10 pounds since I started.”

Excuses Are Easy

If you want to find an excuse to deny yourself health and fitness, then you will always find it.

But please don’t do it because your inner saboteur is telling you that you’re too old, out of shape, or set in your ways.

Because you’re not.

You get to decide the life you want from here on out, no matter your age or physical condition.

We’re here to help you. We believe in you. And you deserve it.

Healthy Recipe, Chickpea-Feta Pie with Moroccan Flavors

We tend to associate phyllo dough with rich Mediterranean delicacies such as baklava and spanakopita that take hours and significant skill to prepare. But these paper-thin sheets of dough are far more versatile and easier to work with than you may realize. And minus the butter, they’re nearly fat-free!

Consider this savory pie, inspired by a recipe from “The Pie Room” (Bloomsbury Absolute, $30. It starts with a quick stove-top vegetarian stew of chickpeas, onions, canned tomatoes, roasted peppers, feta, and a blend of Mediterranean herbs and spices. Then you lay sheets of phyllo that you’ve sprayed with nonstick olive oil spray, scrunching them up to make a freeform crust before baking. It’s a showstopper when it emerges from the oven crispy and golden, yet low-fuss and healthful enough to whip up any night of the week. RECIPE HERE. Serves 4. – Susan Puckett

Ingredients
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons harissa or other spicy red pepper sauce, such as sriracha
• 1 (15-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
• 12 ounces jarred roasted peppers, drained and sliced
• 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh herbs (flat-leaf parsley, mint, cilantro, basil, or any combination)
• 5 sheets phyllo dough
• Olive oil cooking spray

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large skillet with an oven-safe handle over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 125 minutes, or until soft.
3. Add the cumin, paprika, coriander, ginger, and harissa and cook another minute.
4. Stir in the canned tomatoes and cook 10 minutes longer, Add the peppers and chickpeas, season to taste with salt and pepper, and remove from the heat to cool slightly.
5. Gently fold in the feta and herbs. If you prefer, you can spoon the then spoon the mixture into an ovenproof dish. Or simply leave it in the skillet for serving.
6. One at a time, lay the phyllo sheets on a cutting board, lightly coat them with olive oil spray, and sprinkle lightly with salt. Arrange on top of the pie filling, scrunching them up to add texture and height.
7. Place the dish in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes, turning the dish around halfway through, until golden-brown.
8. Serve immediately.

Susan Puckett is an Atlanta-based food writer and cookbook author.

Fitness after 50: Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the questions I'm often asked regarding exercise after age 50. Let me know of any other questions you have! I'm happy to answer them.

Question: Will lifting weights make me big and bulky?

Answer: No! Strength training is absolutely essential to healthy living as we get older. We’re not talking about bodybuilding. Trust me: It takes a ton of concentrated effort over a long period of time for healthy young men to get “big and bulky.” It will not happen to you.

But you will be preserving muscle, which is necessary for all movements, including everyday tasks like bringing in the groceries and picking up babies. You’ll also improve your balance, making you less likely to fall, and your bone strength, making you less likely to break something.

Q: Isn’t walking enough exercise for older people?

A: No, it’s not. Walking is a great start, so if you’re already doing it, then keep it up. And if you’re not, then by all means start. But you need cardiovascular exercise that’s more vigorous; strength training; and agility work, like stretching.

Q: What’s the best kind of exercise for me?

A: The kind that’s fun. The kind you will do regularly. The kind that helps you feel, move and look better. That can be just about anything, and I can help you find the right activity for you.

Q: Don’t you have to be in good condition to start exercising?

A: Absolutely not. Everyone is welcome. In fact, it’s out-of-shape people who need it the most.

Q: Won’t I have to spend hours and hours in the gym every day?

A: I'm not here to sell you endless time inside four walls. I'm here to help you have the strength, stamina, and agility to live your best life for as long as possible. So, no, you don’t have to spend a great deal of time exercising.

Q: Will I hurt myself?

A: You are more likely to hurt yourself if you are inactive. Fitness prevents injuries and chronic conditions; improves balance, bone density, and mental alertness; and helps us manage weight, blood pressure, and stress. The couch is far more dangerous than the gym!

Q: How much time does it take?

A: We all need at least 150 minutes a week of moderate cardio activity, plus at least two sessions of resistance training.

5 Tips to Stop Singing the Sugar Blues

Are you trying to eat better these days?

One of the best things you can do is reduce the amount of sugar you consume.

We eat too much added sugar in our diets– often without even realizing it, and often from processed foods. Sugar adds to a range of health issues common later in life, including Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, cancer and stroke.

If all that weren’t enough, researcher Robert Lustig says, “Sugar turns on the aging programs in your body. The more sugar you eat, the faster you age.”

Here are five tips to put a dent in your sugar intake.

1. Start with breakfast, when we often consume sugary beverages and packaged foods. Stick with whole foods instead.
2. Read food labels. Be skeptical of terms like “high-fructose corn sugar,” “agave” and even “honey,” since they are added sugars, too.
3. Most whole fruit is generally OK, because the sugar comes with fiber, vitamins and other nutrients. It won’t jolt your blood sugar in dangerous ways. Fruit juices are another story.
4. Reconsider dessert. Go for Greek yogurt with fruit, or dark chocolate (the higher the cocoa level, the less sugar).
5. Don’t keep it in the house. Buy natural sweeteners like Stevia, and avoid high-sugar, highly processed junk food that’s packed with added sugar. If it’s not in the cupboard, you can avoid the temptations a lot easier. Instead, keep nuts, jerky and hard-boiled eggs handy for when snacky cravings hit.

And remember, it’s not meant to be torture. Have a treat once a week, but be smart about even that, since sugar can cause us to want more and more of it.

Enjoying the Things You Love the Most

Vince wanted to fulfill a lifelong dream of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

Sheba wanted to participate with her son, a Special Olympian, and inspire other women to exercise.

Ari wanted to lose weight and get healthy enough to play with his grandkids.

What do these 60-somethings have in common? They all relied on exercise to help them enjoy their lives as fully as possible. From reaching “bucket list” goals to living their best lives every day, mature adults are finding more and more that exercise isn’t really about fitness.

Exercise is really about living well, enjoying yourself, and staying healthy, even as you get older.

If your body isn’t functioning at its best, you won’t be able to do much at all.

Make the Most of Your Time

By retirement age, most Americans have spent 90,000 hours working, 2,400 hours in traffic, and up to six months waiting in various lines.

Does that sound like you? And have you also been so busy working and raising kids that you might’ve put off vacations and other forms of fun? Did you pick up some bad habits over the decades that are slowing you down now?

You might be looking at making some changes to enjoy activities that require you to be in better shape. Things like traveling, playing with the grandkids, enjoying hobbies and sports, and managing stress and blood pressure.

Fitness helps with all of that – and lots more. It improves the quality of your life, and it lets you remain independent to live the way you want to live.

It’s All About Functioning

Simply put, you need your body to function well – hence the phrase “functional fitness.”

It means working out to enjoy your life. It means you have strength, flexibility and endurance to enjoy your life. It means not carrying around too much extra weight. It means your sense of balance is good enough to keep you from falling, and your muscles are able to move you around safely.

Functional fitness doesn’t mean you have to live at the gym and become a body builder or aerobics fanatic.

It just means you respect your body enough to take care of it, so you can function the way you want to.

That’s definitely the case for many of our active agers here.

As for the friends we mentioned earlier, Ari lost the weight, retired, and moved closer to his grandchildren. Sheba continues to coach women and accompany her son to events.

“The main thing is movement,” Sheba says. “It’s so important to just do some kind of movement.”

And Vince made it all the way to the top of Africa’s tallest mountain.

“That really pushed my limits,” says Vince, who worked for 35 years in the oil fields of Alaska. “I’ve always been really active and competitive, but after I turned 55 or so, things got harder. But you know, I’m not going to let that stop me from living, man! I’m too young for that.”

Healthy Recipe, Chickpea Tuna Salad

A can of tuna can easily transform into a filling, protein-rich meal full of bright flavors with a few staples from the cupboard and fridge. This version replaces the mayo in favor of a three-ingredient dressing made with prepared pesto, lemon juice and olive oil.

Chickpeas add sustenance, but legumes such as cannellini beans would work just as well. Cherry tomatoes, fresh herbs, and feta cheese stick with the Mediterranean theme. Sun-dried tomatoes, olives, red bell pepper, cucumbers, avocado, capers, and hard-cooked eggs would also find a happy home here. Serves 4. – Susan Puckett

Ingredients

• ½ cup thinly sliced red onion
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 (5-ounce) cans solid pack albacore tuna in olive oil or water, drained
• 1 pint halved cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup thinly sliced celery
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery leaves
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons prepared pesto
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (or more, if desired)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (or more, if desired)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups baby arugula or other tender salad greens

Directions

1. Place the onion slices in a bowl and cover with cold water to mellow the pungent flavor a bit. Set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, tuna, celery, celery leaves, parsley, and feta.
3. In a small bowl, stir together the pesto, lemon juice, and olive oil. Drizzle over the salad and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss again.
4. Place salad greens on plates and top with the tuna salad. Drizzle with a little more lemon juice or olive oil if desired.

Susan Puckett is an Atlanta-based food writer and cookbook author.