How I Have Stayed at 19% Body Fat Since Turning 65
It’s Easy To Do Now That I Stopped Trying
Just after my 65th birthday, I wrote an article titled “How I Dropped to 19% Body Fat at 65”.
The response I received from that piece has been so overwhelming that I decided an update was in order. I’m sure the doubters who read that story wondered if following my own advice had been a fluke. Some may have secretly hoped I had woken up one morning, and the 19% had turned to 91%.
But it hasn’t happened. Three months after my original article was published, I’m mostly where I was. I say mostly because there are weeks when my body fat measurement creeps above 20%. But when I go back to relaxing and just letting things be, homeostasis kicks in, and I dip below 20% again. Apparently, that’s where my body feels comfortable right now.
Is It Me? Or Are People in the Gym Getting Older?
More strength training and less cardio are still my secret sauce to keeping my body fat percentage where it is.
“You inspire me,” I say to the lean, muscular, handsome 30-something man at the gym.
“You inspire me!” he responds.
Those of us who were gym rats before it was cool are coming out of the closet to inspire future generations. As I look around the gym, I see people in their 50s and 60s lifting weights as if they’re expecting a call from the casting director for “Pumping Iron II: The Seniors.
I love walking over to the teen doing leg presses with weights that are far too heavy for him and showing him how 10 pounds less and a slight bend in his knees at the end of each rep will add years to his body and his time in the gym.
I love it when the woman who just finished a set of 10 pullups looks over at me and says, “Wow, that’s impressive,” when I finish a set of 70-pound pulldowns.
I won’t lie to you; my ego is still intact. Hey, I’m human. And for that, I will never apologize. And neither should you.
Stretching Is The New Everything
Since my 19% body fat article was published, I’ve added another little secret to my fit-for-life routine: stretching.
I have always avoided stretching. I ran marathons for years and didn’t stretch to save my life. Maybe I could have extended my running career had I stretched back then, but why look back? I can’t undo now what I didn’t do back then.
This year, for my birthday, my partner gave me a gift certificate for one of those stretching studios where you pay someone a lot of money to stretch your body into positions that would make a tantric master blush.
These stretch studios are popping up everywhere, and they’re all pretty much the same. A stretch therapist straps you to a table and performs assisted stretches while you try to keep up with the conversation without yelling “Uncle!” every five seconds.
But it hurts so good!
Since I started stretching, I feel lighter, have more flexibility, and can move a lot better than I did before. Best of all, the ten sessions at the stretching studio encouraged me to stretch at home. I don’t need to be strapped to a table and have someone else stretch me. I learned how to stretch correctly using nothing but a floor mat. That way, I can use the money I save on more important things … you know, like protein powder and … chocolate chip cookies! (More about cookies later.)
Do I stretch every day? Nope. It still hasn’t made my Top 10 favorite things to do list. But knowing how good I’ll feel afterward motivates me to do it, even if it’s just a little bit, at least every other day.
Will stretching drop body fat? Nope again. But it will help you follow through with the movement plan (notice I didn’t say exercise plan because exercise is evil) you choose to get you to whatever body fat percentage is best for you.
Homeostasis Is Your Roadmap To Health
The Encyclopedia Britannica defines homeostasis as:
“Any self-regulating process by which biological systems tend to maintain stability while adjusting to conditions that are optimal for survival. If homeostasis is successful, life continues; if unsuccessful, disaster or death ensues. The stability attained is actually a dynamic equilibrium, in which continuous change occurs, yet relatively uniform conditions prevail.”
In other words, your body knows what is best for its survival. It will give you constant feedback on what it wants and doesn’t want. It will get you where you should be if you listen to it and do what it tells you. It will also let you know when death is about to ensue.
Eat too many cookies, and you will get a sugar high and crash on the couch an hour later. Deny yourself a cookie, and you will be an unhappy, deprived weight-loser. You may get to your ideal weight by depriving yourself of the things you like, but eventually, you will go back to eating what your body doesn’t want, and the fat pounds you lost—and more—will pile back on.
I’m not a psychologist, nor do I play one on TV. But occasionally, you must argue with your body and give it what you want. Too much deprivation isn’t good for you. So, relax and let loose every once in a while. Your mind will eventually make peace with your body’s feedback, and you will realize its wisdom is worth following.
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, moderation in everything. Yes, even with cookies.
I take that back. Moderation in some things. Five years ago, my body told me drinking alcohol would kill me, even if I tried moderation. I listened to what my body had to say, and I haven’t had a drink since.
The Only Diet Advice You Should Ever Follow
Listen to your body. That’s it. Your body. Not anybody else’s body. What works for the CrossFit Games’ gods and goddesses won’t necessarily work for you.
Do you know why people lose weight on diets? Calorie restriction. They lose weight alright, but a lot of it is muscle. That’s bad. Very bad. Muscle is what will get you through life strong and happy.
How do you know you’re building muscle? Your clothes will fit better. You will move gracefully throughout the day. You will smile and say, “I got this,” to the 20-something grocery store bag boy when he asks if you’d like him to help you bring your groceries to your car.
Oh, and you will weigh more than you did before. Yeah, I hate to break it to you, but the more muscle you build, the heavier you will be. ***Note: heavier isn’t fatter. Got that?
Will I Stay at 19% Body Fat For The Rest of My Life?
I don’t know. Bringing a DEXA scan machine to my deathbed is the only way to find out. In the meantime, I still have a lot of living and loving to do—not to mention heavier weights to lift. And I’m dying to try McDonald’s Big Mac Crunchwrap. Well, maybe dying is the wrong word. The ingredients in that burger might kill me if I eat them all the time, but depriving myself isn’t in my best interest. (For a refresher course on deprivation, see the “cookies recipe” above.)
Do I want to stay at 19% body fat for the rest of my life? If that’s what my body wants, then yes. If my body thinks a little more body fat as I age will keep me healthy? Then, I’ll let my body decide.
You see, it’s not about body fat or weight. It’s about health. It’s about how you feel. It’s about what will give you enough energy and passion to get through each day, having lived it to its fullest.
Body fat alone is not a measurement of health. There are a lot of ripped, less-than-10%-body-fat people out there who aren’t healthy. Bone composition, cardiovascular endurance, blood test results, and many other variables must all be considered when deciding what food and movement plan you should follow.
Training For Life
“What are you training for?” people ask me.
Why does everyone automatically assume that if you care for your body, mind, and spirit, you must be training for something?
“I’m training for life,” I respond.
Remember, you’re in this for the long run. Follow a plan that you enjoy, one that you will follow for the rest of your life. Learn to pivot. You planned a leg workout, but you woke up feeling like your right knee is about to give out? Pivot. Take the day off. Stretch. Get a massage. Eat bon bons, and binge-watch Netflix. Tomorrow is another day.
Most of all, enjoy the process. Because if you’re not having fun, it won’t get done.
More on the 65-Year Journey to 19% Body Fat:
Thank you for reading this article. I welcome your comments. If you found this article helpful, please share it and give it a few claps so others can find it. If you’d like to support my work, buy me a coffee!
Barb Besteni is a writer, spiritual seeker, former rock star, and animal lover. After 35 years of writing, copyediting, and producing content for local, national, and international television news, she left the newsroom for the comfort of her home office. Get an email whenever Barb publishes a new story on Medium: https://medium.com/@barbbesteni/subscribe.
