“Just Do It may be Nike’s slogan, but it rules Kathy’s life.”
Too many people hit their sixties and say “it’s too late for me to:”
- lose weight
- change my eating habits
- get fit
But, not Kathy, at age 65 she is stronger, fitter, and healthier than she has ever been. And, after she discovered Pickleball about 3 years ago, she has ramped up her fitness and dropped even more weight. She has the bling to prove her love of Pickleball; this woman has more hardware than a Home Depot!
A Slow and Steady Journey
Kathy’s journey to health and fitness wasn’t an easy one. She grew up on a dairy farm in rural Georgia and maintained a healthy weight throughout high school. Many young women gain some weight when they go off to college, referred to as the “Freshman Fifteen.” Kathy says, “I didn’t stop at fifteen pounds, not with late night pizza and beer, I kept on going.” She left college about 25 pounds heavier than when she started.
Right out of college she took a job with parks and recreation for a Georgia county that included St. Simon’s Island. “We worked hard and worked odd hours, so we were always eating on the run and mostly unhealthy foods.” Today, seafood is often prepared grilled but back in the day, it was all fried. “Fried oysters, fried shrimp, fried fish, and of course it came with fries” says Kathy. By the time she was approaching her 50th birthday her weight had ballooned to 255 pounds.
A turning point came when Weight Watcher’s at Work was initiated in the county. “All my buddies, like the police and fire chiefs said they would participate so I thought, why not join them?” For two years, every Friday, they weighed in and Kathy was determined that she would not see the number on the scale go up, so she stuck to the plan and lost 50 pounds. The county dropped the program, but Kathy joined a weekly Weight Watcher’s group and never missed a meeting. “I needed the accountability of weekly meetings and I eventually reached my goal of losing a total of 75 pounds.”
Excess Weight Takes a Toll on Joint Health
The years of carrying excess weight took a toll on her knees. It is well known that carrying extra body weight increases the impact of normal wear and tear of joints associated with aging. Added to that, extra body weight is associated with chronic inflammation that can also damage joints. When Kathy retired she couldn’t walk around the block without pain and the weight started to creep up. Her doctor recommended knee replacement and suggested dropping the weight she had regained to ease her recovery. So, she started back on the healthy eating pattern she learned at WW and in early in 2014 she had the first knee replaced. Her friends gave her a unique recovery present: a six-month membership at the local YMCA.
If it Doesn’t’ Kill You…..
Kathy loves to dance so she took her first Zumba class and after 10 minutes she thought she was going to die. “I looked around the exercise room to scout out exit doors to know how the paramedics would get in to resuscitate me when I had a heart attack! I said a prayer and asked God to not let me die and if I lived, I promised not to ever come back to Zumba!” But, of course, she survived and lived to dance another day, returning to Zumba three days a week. She worked with a trainer to rehab her knee and prepped for the other knee to be replaced. “The Y helped me so much and I don’t know if I would be where I am today without it.”
Pickleball Competitor
In the fall of 2016 the retired high school athletic director and football coach wanted to introduce a few people to Pickleball. He thought many of his friends would love the sport, especially those who had been avid tennis players. Kathy never played tennis so she decided to just go watch and thought, “I can do this, knee replacement doesn’t’ stop you for doing anything. You might have to make some modifications, but it should give you back your life, not stop it.”
Three years later, she plays five days a week for 2 to 3 hours a day. On Saturday she practices and in March of 2018 she participated in her first competition. Pickleball has rekindled that competitive spirit she showed when losing weight, “I don’t play for fun, I want to make the podium!” There are other reasons she loves the sport, “pickleball is very active, both physically and mentally. There is no time to think about anything else when playing unless you want to be smacked with the ball by person on the other side of the net.” She also enjoys the social aspect, saying “my circle of friends has greatly increased in my hometown and I enjoy getting to know peeps from other cities and states from playing in tournaments. I have met some great people playing in tournaments as partners and as opponents and that really adds to the enjoyment of tournament season. I have played with unknown partners from Georgia, Florida and South Carolina and now we all try to meet up when playing around the south.”
Tips for Optimal Aging
Today, Kathy and her partner own an art gallery where they can pursue their love of painting, acrylics work, and other creative ventures. “Before we left St. Simon’s Island we did a lot of craft shows and while we enjoyed it, it gets old hauling your work, setting up and tearing down for every show. We always joked we wish we could hang it up and so when we bought our gallery we named it “Hang It Up Gallery.”
Kathy’s tips for optimal aging? Just do it! “Watch what you eat, monitor your weight….(I’m a ‘scaleaholic’), stay active, and have friends. From where I was at age 55 to where I am at age 65 is just amazing; I’m in the best shape of my life and I plan to keep getting better.”
For more information on eating well, moving well, and being well, check out Food & Fitness After 50, available on Amazon and other booksellers.
Copyright © 2019 [Christine Rosenbloom]. All Rights Reserved.
