The Plank

​​I created this blog to help others like myself. I’m a wife and mom, over the age of 50.   I have struggled with weight gain and loss, sleep problems and nutritional issues off and on since my tween years.  When my daughter started struggling with her health, and the age of 50 was looming for me;  I decided I was going to gain control.  I decided the my age  was not going to define or shape me.

I started talking with my friends and learned so many were going through very similar stages in life.  I learned so many have no idea of where to begin with making a positive change, and most do not believe they have the time.  Over the years I have worked with nutritionists and personal trainers, joined gyms and had workout buddies.  Things have come and gone.  Starting this journey, I quickly learned with a little determination, drive, and focus that fitness and overall health is more easily attainable than we often think. Even if doing it by oneself.  This time I really wanted to do this on my own.  If I were to succeed or fail, I wanted it to be the only judge.  (I have been consistent now since 2019).  I started everything, quite literally, with a plank.

 I was reading about the plank challenge and thought, “How hard could it be?”  Well, I quickly learned it was very hard.  I started by struggling with a 30 second plank and made up my mind -that day- I was seeing this journey through.  I did a single 30 second plank every day for a week and each day it became a little easier.  By the time I built my way up to a full minute of planking I had created a new habit.  Not just the plank but the habit of consciously thinking about my health and fitness every day - if even only for a minute.  This is a huge step in the right direction for anyone embarking on a fitness journey, no matter your age or physical condition.  Just do something and stick with it every day.  Experts say that if an individual creates a habit and manages to do it for 30 days, this habit is very easy to maintain.  The plank worked for me and it worked for my daughter too.

 Our next step was adding a few sit-ups/crunches and squats ( We started with 10 of each, and gradually added on) to get more of a full body boost.  We were able to do all of this in less than 5 minutes each day in the beginning.  This short time made it very doable and an encouraging,  in the beginning especially.  There were no excuse. We all have 5 minutes a day.  After a few weeks and seeing some results, just from the minor change, we decided to start focusing on our nutrition.  We downloaded the My Fitness Pal App on our smartphones and started tracking everything.  I really like this app because you can scan labels and input simple things, then all of the nutritional information populates. When setting up the app you answer some questions about your health and your goals.    The app populates everything you need to do:  How many calories to consume daily, as well as the proper proportion of carbs, fiber, sugar, fat and protein.  We started  mainly focused on our caloric intake and then moved to balancing it all..More about this topic to follow in my future posts.  .  

So…my suggestion since you are here reading my blog, is start with a plank.  Do it for 30 seconds every day and when you’re ready go for a minute.  Once you get there, and can do a minute for a few days, add on 10 sit-ups/ crunches and 10 ballet style plea squats.  We will dive deeper in future posts, but this is a very doable start if you’re just beginning.  If you can’t do a plank on the ground, do it against a wall in the beginning.  Stand about 2 feet back and lean forward pressing your weight forward, try to tighten your core.  I am not a healthcare provider or expert.  Everyone has different bodies and thus different result may occur.  As an individual, I am simply sharing my journey, I can not be accountable for  your results.  You must seek advice from your healthcare provider when starting any new health and fitness habits.  Additionally, health conditions and nutrition all factor in.  That being said, I am happy to help and encourage where I may.  Please share comments and questions.  I love chatting with others on a similar journey.  Keep following me for more of what I,  and my family have done  and where we are now in our journey.  You can find me on Instagram at SheDo50Too.  I plan to post helpful videos, and recipes as well.  Good luck on your quest for good health!  
(Photo notes: This is me doing a plank recently, I had no intention of sharing any of my journey and did not document all of my before and after). Keep following and I will find some before pictures to share so that viewers can see my progress.  I am over twenty pounds lighter than where I once was, and my physique is lean and muscular at this point.  I have helped friends and family get there too and I am hoping to help even more.  

*I am not paid at this time or sponsored for anything contained in this post.  I am simply sharing what I actually do.    All Posts and media are property of SheDo50Too.