exercise to lower cholesterol

Don't be afraid to go to the park or a playground. If there are no children around, you can swing or slide. It is a lot of fun even if you are older. It is more fun if you have a friend with you. I suppose there are places with playgrounds for older people, but I don't know where.  I only know that all of us need to exercise and that it can be fun.

exercise helps more than cholesterol
it:

• Gives you energy - give this the test - after a few days of regular exercise 
• helps prevent falls - fit bodies are safer
• might prevent diseases such as cancer, arthritis and heart disease
• improve muscle tone 
• take much needed oxygen to various organs of your body
• Make you feel good - happy, cheerful
• Well, I have to say it, exercise can help lower cholesterol

Exercise can be the hard part of a healthy lifestyle. It takes time away from a busy schedule. You need to exercise every day if you want to lower you cholesterol very much. If you have back pain, there are machines that will not hurt your back. A recumbent cycle is excellent for those of us who can't walk the treadmill without pain.   

Exercise is important.  I feel good when I do it, but can get so busy with everything else that I forget about it.  Now I have an exercise diary. Every evening before I sleep, I check off the amount and type of exercise I did that day.  The diary is right by my bed. It is like writing down what you eat.  If you are recording something, you see it in black and white, and you try to do better.

Gym membership is not as expensive as it once was. Most gyms have various plans to choose from.  Family plans can be economical. If you are a senior you can most likely get a discount. If you like to workout at home, you can choose from inexpensive equipment at most discount stores.  I have a recumbent exercise bicycle from Wal-Mart which was fairly inexpensive. 

Exercise doesn't have to take much time

Try to stretch before hopping out of bed. It gets your blood flowing.  Your body will thank you.

Take time to lift weights daily. Do not lift anything too heavy.  Even five pounds is good for us older folks.  I do my back exercises during the day if I get lower back pain, and sometimes even if I have no pain.

Even though I miss some days of exercise, I have still lowered my cholesterol and lost weight.  I am trying to do better with the exercise though, because my body needs it as I travel through the unknown territory of oldness.  If only Grandma had warned me—but that is another story. She certainly never mentioned exercise to lower cholesterol.  Well, she was still driving when she was in her late eighties.  She loved to walk on the beach She was an avid canasta player into her nineties.  Her mind was sound.

Grandma was a bit chubby and probably had high cholesterol.  Maybe not. She never had it tested.  She didn't eat genetically modified food.  She made her own bread and had a large garden of vegetables and berries. We can learn so much from those who came before us.

Exercises you can do daily 
even if you have a busy life

• When you wake up, stretch before you get up to get your blood moving.
• Lie on the floor for a few minutes and do leg lifts.
• Get some small weights to lift to keep those arms firm.
• If you have access to a pool, go often. Fill 2 liter bottles to use as weights in the pool. Swimming is excellent for the entire body.
• When you go to the store, park farther away from the store so that you can get a little walk time.
• Television is hard on exercise time.  Put your treadmill or recumbent bicycle in front of the television so that when you watch tv you can also exercise.  It is easier to exercise if you are watching your favorite show.  Start out exercising a short time and gradually lengthen that time. Don't overdo it.
• Sweep the floor 
• Work in the garden - mow or pull weeds - get your vitamin D while you exercise

Learn to relax, breathe and have fun while you exercise.

Diet is crucial

The diet plan I am on is the biggest factor in lowering cholesterol but exercise is also necessary.  I am doing my diet alone. One of my grandsons will drink a smoothie.  He doesn’t know it might have kale or spinach in it. Laugh laugh laugh.  My husband will occasionally eat an avocado sandwich, but he has mayonnaise on it and no veggies.  Well, one can only try. 

Go to my home page to begin learning how I lowered my cholesterol and how you can do it too.