Fit Strong Women Over 50

The Power of Pushing Limits at Any Age with Gwendolyn Bounds

Gwendolyn Bounds is an award-winning journalist and author of NOT TOO LATE: The Power of Pushing Limits at Any Age.

A few months shy of her 47th birthday, author and journalist Gwendolyn Bounds asked herself, “How is it possible to become good at something when you are already far behind and time isn’t on your side?”

Her intimate story takes us from playgrounds and gyms, where Bounds trains among children and athletes half her age, to far-flung Spartan Race courses – including the vast desert of the Middle East.

As she moves from the back of the pack to eventually become a podium finisher in her age group, Bounds captures the humility, challenge and elation of pursuing something bold and new amid the realities of midlife: caring for elderly parents, a demanding job, and a body no longer in its prime.

More information at our website: Becoming Elli.

How Nancy Jasperse lost over 150 pounds and has kept it off for 2 Years

“Love Yourself more. Love yourself more to take care of yourself before others.”

“My mother’s death scared me into weight loss research.”

“Forgive yourself when you make mistakes and start over. Every day is a new day. Move past it.”

In Episode # 10 of the Becoming Elli Podcast, Jill and Chris interviewed Nancy Jasperse about:

• Her struggles with weight
• Yo Yo dieting a teen, into college and gaining weight through 3 pregnancies
• How she cleaned up her lifestyle
• What she eats now to maintain the weight loss
• Where she gets her exercise inspiration
• How she navigates restaurant meals
• Her Sunday meal prep routine

In the tips sections, Jill and Chris share their thoughts about restaurant eating to maintain a weight loss.

Nancy said she has always struggled with her weight. This is her story:

“As far back as elementary school, I was always the biggest and sometimes tallest kid in the class. I think my love of food started around 4th grade or so. My father was in the Navy and was out to sea often. When he was gone my mother used food as both a reward and a coping mechanism when things didn't go as planned for me. I don't fault her for this, she was raised the same way.”

By high school, I was maxed out on clothing options. Lane Bryant was the only clothing store I could buy pants. So I decided to diet! I didn't know one thing about nutrition, so I basically starved myself, eating handfuls of raw vegetables and spoonfuls of peanut butter. The weight came off, but of course that wasn't manageable long term.

College brought on more yo-yo dieting. With each year, I'd go up and down in weight. Right around my senior year of college, I found myself engaged and excited to plan a wedding. So dieting kicked into high gear.

Shortly after getting married, I got pregnant with my first child. It was during this extremely stressful first year of motherhood, my weight gain exploded! Instead of bouncing back, I gained 100lbs. It was the first time I'd see the 300lb number on the scale.

As scary as seeing that number was, it didn't stop me from getting pregnant two addition times -- High risk from start to finish each time. Just as before, with each baby brought on a stressful year. I gained 72 more pounds. My highest weight was a whopping 372lbs. When I saw this number, I was terrified.

I didn't know where to start. I knew nothing about weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight. But I decided the best thing I could do was try and reduce what I was eating and take a small walk each day with my children. Within the first few days, I'd lost 20lbs. Looking back, I know this was a lot of water weight and my body telling me it was so happy to have some water and a walk!

Sadly, what happened next in my life changed everything. My mother died unexpected. One day I was playing Scrabble at my dining room table with her and the next day she had a massive stroke. She was 54. I was 29 with three children.

Her death scared me into weight loss research. I knew I needed to clean up my lifestyle if I intended to watch my children grow up. I wanted to be more active with them, run after them, not be exhausted from simply hauling them out of car seats and walking them into school! Simple tasks at 350+lbs were so very tiring.

I researched Weight Watchers, Atkins, Keto, SlimFast, calorie counting, liquid diets, salad only diets, every fad diet you can imagine. I settled on calorie counting. Added MyFitnessPal to my smartphone and started tracking all the food I ate. I continued walking around my neighborhood. And in just a couple of months, I had lost 50lbs. Then the dreaded plateau hit. I was stuck! The research started again. I decided to add lifting a few weights at home and walking. After a few weeks, I broke the plateau.

The evolution from 372lbs to just under 200lbs took just over three years. here were several rounds of plateaus and calorie adjustments. I changed up my diet a few times, around every 7 or 8 months to shake up my metabolism. I believe long term weight loss is possible if you're willing to branch out and try new things, both nutritionally and physically.

I've maintained my weight loss for just over two years. Lately, I've used the Keto (ketosis) method to keep myself in check. Every now and then I'll check a keto calculator to make sure I'm eating the correct amount of macros/calories. You can find a keto calculator by simply googling "keto calculator" and entering in a few basic pieces of information such as height, weight and age. Such a helpful free tool to use!

Just recently I've decided to try to get to 185lbs. Let's cross out fingers and hope I can get there!

In episode #5 of Becoming Elli, Jill and Chris talk with personal trainer and business owner,  Brian Kennell about:

• Muscle Mass
• Interval Training
• Strength Building
• Cardio Training

He's got more than 15 years of experience, working at sports performance facilities and a medically-based fitness facility - as both a trainer and manager. With his personal training business, BKennellFit, he trains people at a location of their choice – at a park, on the trails or at their home.

He said he has noticed that women over 50 are asking him different questions.

"Instead of focusing on losing weight to be healthier -- yes, that is part of it, but there is more to it than that -- the things my female clients over 50 are asking me are more performance based, more health based, more fitness based instead of just 'Can you help me lose weight?''

'I want to be able to run a 5K with my kids, and not be in pain during or after.' or 'I want to go skiing with my husband this winter. Can you get me in shape for that?' It's what your podcast is all about."

"If you want to lose weight, it's a different formula. If you want to be healthy, if you want to be fit, if you want to be active, it's a different formula than weight loss."

Education:
He has a Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and a Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology/Adult Fitness, both from The University of Akron.

Brian wrote his Master’s thesis on a popular supplement ingredient and also had a poster presentation at ACSM National Conference.

Certifications:

• ACSM Certified Personal Trainer
• TRX Certified

Background:
While he was not very athletic as a kid, he loved sports but felt that he didn’t really excel at anything. After he began lifting weights in college, it all came together. Since then, he has competed in natural bodybuilding competition, started training for powerlifting, ran a half marathon, and is training for a full marathon.

In podcast episode number 19 of Becoming Elli, Jill and Chris discuss how they ran a half marathon. Today's podcast covers their thoughts and feelings before, during and after the 13.1 challenge.

In this podcast you'll hear:

The preparation:

• Running plan leading up to it
• The expo
• Our cross training plans
• Shoes
• Water stops and fueling
• Food afterward
• KT tape

The actual race on Sept 29, 2018 in Akron:

• What worked
• what didn't
• course
• crowd support
• water stations
• pacing
• the last 3 miles

Immediately following the half marathon:

• Fuel: Chocolate milk and banana
• ice bath
• What didn't work: pizza
• Recovery steps during the week that followed.

Are you training for a run in the near future? Let us know by leaving a message so we can connect with you!

What is Healthy Eating? In today's Becoming Elli Podcast for fit strong women over 50 Jill and Chris talk with nutrition expert Becca DeVenzio.

Becca is extremely passionate about helping people to reach the goals they set for themselves and believes that living a healthy lifestyle can really change a person’s life.

Her love of fitness and nutrition started at a young age when she began dancing in elementary school. Throughout high school her interest for health continued to grow, so when she started college at Kent State University, Nutrition seemed like a perfect match.

Becca received a bachelors degree in Nutrition with a minor in Health Communication, and has recently completed her Masters degree in Nutrition.

In today's podcast we discuss:

* How she defines a healthy diet * Well rounded diet of balanced food groups * How she defines mindful eating:  not watching TV,  watch what you're eating,  paying attention how much you're eating and listening to body cues * Why she is not a huge fan of the BMI calculator * What is the right mix of protein, fats and carbohydrate * Ingredients that people eat when they eat Mediterranean style * The common issue so many of her client's have * How she deals with the small size of a serving of cooked pasta * What about artificial sweeteners? * Foods that may help combat dementia and promote brain health * How words used on packaging can cause confusion about healthy options * Advertising claims that send up red flags * Why reduced fat or reduced sugar causes other concerns * What to look at when you read the label and what to look for * What to carry for fuel on a long bike ride * Thoughts on coconut oil, snacking and bacon

She can be reached directly at [email protected] or by emailing us at [email protected] or [email protected] and we will pass your questions on to her.