Hubby took this pic of me six weeks ago in Key West, Florida…I remember when he showed me, I expressed great surprise that my abs looked so toned…”Your hard work all these years has paid off,” he said…but I had been feeling that I wasn’t working hard enough, and that my ‘cheating’ had become too frequent…fortunately, having periods where you slack off is not going to change your body overnight. Healthy habits over time – that’s what matters most. And while my fitness journey has been for about thirteen years now, it is never too late to start…all you need to do is make up your mind and take it one day at a time.

Not that my diet and exercise plan is right for everyone, but since you asked, here’s my current regime:

What I eat:

Breakfast most days consists of 2 egg whites, with spinach and other veggies, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions…sometimes I add a TINY bit of cheese, and sometimes a turkey sausage link…twice a week I will have a piece of toast (yes, with butter), and twice a week I have the egg yolks too! Variety is key to keeping it appetizing. My beverage choices: black coffee and 4oz of grapefruit juice.

Between meal snacks: If anything, a handful of nuts or a small portion of berries.

Lunch is usually a salad with protein, steering clear (most days) of cheese…salad dressing choice is a vinaigrette of some kind, and NEVER on the side…it tastes way better tossed and enjoying every meal is important to me…

Snack: Skinny Pop Popcorn, nuts, watermelon, blueberries, hummus with veggies – these are all my healthy options…on bad days or during the holiday season, I may indulge in cheese and crackers…when I’m really good, a cup of green tea curbs the appetite.

Dinner: Most of the time it’s chicken, fish, or steak with salad, a green veggie, and and a very small portion of carb (sweet potato, brown rice, even mashed potato)…when I’m being bad, after dinner I will have 1/2 cup of ice cream…most of the time I avoid all sweets.

Booze: Five nights per week I enjoy a drink or two – tequila is my poison of choice, but I also love wine; just try to limit it because of the sugar content.

My workout routine:

Five days a week, in the morning, after coffee, I workout with weights in my bedroom for 30 minutes. My warmup consists of 120 jumping jacks followed by a 3-minute plank…at least half of my exercises focus on core and abs: bicycle crunches, Russian twists, and leg lifts; 3 sets of 20 each. I also use 10-12lb weights to do bicep curls, front raises, and other arm exercises…I may also do squats with weights and ‘dancing’ with a black resistance band…my latest routine includes Romanian dead lifts, 3 sets of 10 as I am trying to build the glutes! The warmup and core exercises I ALWAYS do – the other exercises I will vary to keep it interesting as well as challenging.

Other than on vacations, there is never any thinking about whether or not I feel like working out. Whether I feel like it or not, I DO IT ANYWAY. It’s automatic, and I always feel better afterwards.

Here’s a pic from last week during my morning workout…’cheating’ here and there hasn’t done me in yet! I will be 65 in two weeks and I remain determined to stay fit, even to kick things up in 2023…how about YOU? Time will pass whether you start your fitness journey or not…if you take it one day at a time, you too might be surprised at what you can accomplish!

Work hard. Play hard. Enjoy every day.

Candy