The Flipping 50 Show

Have you wondered why can’t you stick with exercise or diet changes? Could emotional obstacles be holding you back?  In the pursuit weight loss or fitness at any time, but particularly in midlife, we bump into obstacles. It becomes pretty clear there are more obstacles that diet, exercise, and sleep. It may first be a matter of what to do, or what’s realistic to do that is required. When you do know what to do and you resist or default to prior behavior, even though you want to change, frustration sets in. You can’t stick with exercise or diet and then there’s another layer of frustration. The answer may be somewhere you hadn’t thought to look. Dr. Joan Rosenberg shares insight about emotional obstacles that have nothing to do with the Girl Scout cookies in the freezer or the sore hips and knees bugging you. Dr. Rosenberg has theory about strength - expressive strength - that could help you stick with exercise, diet, or lifestyle habits in your Flipping 50 future. Listen as we dive into emotional obstacles, how they show up, and what to do about them. Quickly. Best-selling author, consultant, media host and master clinician, Dr. Joan Rosenberg is a cutting-edge psychologist known as an innovative thinker, acclaimed speaker and trainer. She has been seen on CNN’s American Morning, the OWN network and PBS, as well as appearances and radio interviews in major metropolitan media markets. She hosts The MindStream Podcast, an influential and thought-provoking iTunes podcast. Dr. Rosenberg is the author of the #1 Amazon bestseller 'Ease Your Anxiety' and of a forthcoming book describing her 90 Seconds approach to emotional strength and self-confidence.  Talking points we cover in this emotional obstacles episode: Why Dr. Rosenberg doesn’t call it self-sabotage. Some of the common reasons people – women - are afraid to speak up. What is really going on behind “fear” of change. Joan’s unique approach for working with difficult feelings. The Fitness/wellness and speaking up connection. Action tips you can take to change a cycle of start and stop or get unstuck.  Flips and Quotes from this episode (Joan-isms): “Think the way you feel” “Not negative, but unpleasant, feelings.” “We get accustomed to being ourselves”   Get more of Joan at: DrJoanRosenberg.com    For more support with emotional obstacles so you can stick with exercise and health changes, listen to her Tedx Talks: Emotional Mastery: The Gifted Wisdom of Unpleasant Feelings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKy19WzkPxE Greif: A Pathway to Forgiveness https://youtu.be/UacbvBcbP34 (Pst: this one on grief applies to any of us at any time not only to loss of a loved one)

What Is Your Body Composition and Why Does It Matter More Now? Typical measures for fitness or diet programs include: Weight Inches BMI Body fat What about Fat Matters: Where it’s stored Belly fat – visceral fat Hips-thighs-butt-arms Clues Your Risk Clues how to Lose it Diet Effect Carbohydrates: Every 1 part carb store 3 parts water. Reduce carbs… lose water weight Do you keep it off? Do you suffer with effort in movement activity? You can switch your body’s preference for burning carbs for fuel to burning fat Low level of exercise with low intake of carb Gradually increasing intensity of exercise as comfort at higher intensity for longer periods becomes possible Signs you’re not crossed over to fat burning … or you’re exercising too hard… you have to stop when you should be doing an endurance day… and it feels like an interval. Fat Hormones Intel Adiponectin >< Insulin With a loss of muscle tissue you have a loss of metabolism. Body composition changes for the worse even while you're celebrating the scale.  So if you burn 800 calories a day for your resting metabolism before a diet, and you lose muscle mass you may only burn 600 calories a day after the diet. You have to eat less and less to maintain a loss in weight. And every signal in your body works to tell you you’re hungry or simply slows in i’s fuel burning so you don’t lose weight – and usually both – though some lose their appetite. Unfortunately, loss of appetite is not a good sign, nor is being hungry and ignoring it.  That is what shuts hormone signaling off. Exercise On average you can lose 4 pounds fat gain 3 pounds muscle in 4 weeks with traditional strength training. That's not a big change in the scale but it is a positive change in body composition. That happens only with: high quality protein intake at the right time and frequency during the day quality and quantity of sleep that improves hormones responsible for lean mass and decreases hormones that prevent fat loss while you’re doing strength training with adequate overload getting adequate rest and recovery between sessions Without tracking body composition (fat weight and lean weight) you simply don’t know if your diet or exercise or both are hurting or helping your long term fitness and health. After 50 you have a lot less time to be guessing. Gaining lean muscle requires a more focused program. You have less of the hormones that help you so you’ve got to optimize them. You have more opportunities for stress hormones that interfere. Body Composition Optimization Summary: Make the most of your exercise time. Give it purpose. Make your exercise nutrition help you burn more not store more. Put simple daily habits to work for you. Test, don’t guess your muscles mass and fat mass. Stop the crazy online “research” when you get advice from a voice you trust: follow it.  How to test: Your bathroom scale (should include fat percent if it doesn’t!) A fitness center or gym Any private personal trainer Your doctor or health clinic  Need support? The 28 Day Kickstart includes 4 live group coaching sessions. Fit U program is for fat loss when you have over 20 pounds to lose.  Flippingfifty.com/28-day-kickstart Flippingfifty.com/fit-u For either program, body composition prior is going to help you get the most out of it by setting the best goals.  Please leave a rating in iTunes. Send me your screenshot of your rating and comment for a special coupon code for $10 off any to use in the Flipping 50 store.

Wealth and health in midlife aren't mutually exclusive and it's not too late.  Ann Sanfelippo wasn’t born with money, didn’t marry for money, and didn’t divorce for money. From her humble beginnings and second starts, she’s created both wealth and health in her life, and she shares how you can too. International best-selling author, speaker, and mentor Ann Sanfelippo is the creator of the Wealth Attraction™ Academy. She helps individuals to attract wealth into their lives while keeping work - life balance using her proven formula and process created through her own experience and over 25 years of studying with or training for the most powerful influencers in the world.  Ann Sanfelippo wasn’t born with money, didn’t marry for money, and didn’t divorce for money. From her humble beginnings and second starts, she’s created both wealth and health in her life, and she shares how you can too. Questions we answer in today’s episode:  What was the turning point in Ann’s life when she realized that she needed to take back control?  What is the #1 key to building wealth?  With the goal being work - life balance...How do you help your clients with making healthy choices?  How do you believe wealth & health correlate as woman Flip 50?  What are some action steps that woman can take to bring building wealth and health into balance?  Ann’s final words of wisdom about building wealth and health.  Tips Ann shares about building wealth and health: How to delegate How to afford it How to make the right choices Ann dropped several truth bombs about building wealth and health simultaneously in this episode: You make excuses or create success. You can’t do both. You eventually get sick and tired of getting sick and tired. You’re not seeking to make money, you’re seeking assets.  Learn why Ann said “I wasn’t coachable.” Get a free copy of Ann’s #1 International Best selling Book - Wealth Attraction Formula: Manifest the life of your dreams! Right here: http://www.wealthattractionacademy.com/book-flipping50/

Fat loss after 50, or at any age, is perplexing. The loss of fat signals the body to do everything it can to regain fat. The very thing you do to lose fat causes the body to readily store more. Syliva Tara discovered this in her personal journey of fat loss. Her biochemistry background led her to research the science and wrap it up in a book. In her best-selling book, The Secret Life of Fat, she reveals the complex biology of fat, how it resists loss, and what it means for each of us. Dr. Tara holds a PhD in biochemistry from the University of California at San Diego and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was a consultant with McKinsey & Company and has worked at the world's largest biotechnology companies. Questions we answer on this episode: Why did you decide to write this book? What was the most surprising thing you found out about fat? Why is fat so hard to lose? Why do some people have more difficulty losing weight than others?  What is the role of bacteria and viruses in obesity? Why do women gain weight easier than men? What is the future of obesity treatment?    Sylvia shares discoveries she made through her personal journey that she included in her book on the show: The bad side of fat loss Ghrelin goes up and leptin goes down [two hormones that “piggy back” off of cortisol] Adiponectin[a hormone often addressed in Flipping 50 programs] removes fat from the belly, stores fat more optimally in butt and thighs can be boosted with fasting Brown fat burns calories and is stimulated with exercise and cold Women have dichotomy thinking making it harder to get back on track when they fall off Women need more support and coaching to recover and get back on track (coaching ladies!) Fat loss makes your body do everything it can to encourage weight regain Fat storage and fat loss tendencies can be due to bacteria and viral causes, as well as genetics Reach Sylvia: www.sylviatara.com www.thesecretlifeoffat.com The book is available on Amazon. Follow Sylvia on Facebook and Twitter: @SylviaTaraPhD

Self-care expert and Flipping 50 guest Suzanne Choplin is a certified personal trainer, Pilates instructor, dancer, and yoga instructor with over 13 years experience in the field of movement and fitness. Her business is called C.A.K.E. What does C.A.K.E. Lifestyle and Personal Training stand for? Care and kindness every day.   Suzanne's upcoming summit starts soon! It all launches April 6 through April 26! Register now: http://liveyourlayeredlife.com/debra-atkinson I started my career as a dancer and performer, the pressure to perform can do a lot to a young woman, mentally and physically, I battled with body image, injuries, and mental health. I suffered a few bouts of “rock bottom” I worked really hard to find health and happiness within my own body, I learned exercises to strengthen my body where injury had weakened me, and I learned mindfulness to strengthen where self-doubt and fear had stopped me. Once I was in the field of fitness I saw the body image problem was just as bad as the dance world, intensity was the name of the game, workouts were getting tougher, and extremes were becoming the status quo. I began to take a softer gentler approach, incorporating breathing, yoga, and mindfulness into my clients routines. Around this time, my beautiful mother Lynn who battles Fibromyalgia, became part of the “squeeze” generation, caring for both for her ailing mother and becoming the primary childcare for my niece. She was stressed and spiraling, her own health and fitness suffered, I encouraged her to seek out a personal trainer and set aside “me time” while she was able to make some strides, the “traditional fitness” model was not serving her. Intense workouts left her more exhausted and without the energy to serve the ones she loved.  I saw the opportunity to help her and I began passing on the mindset and fitness tools I had learned, used on myself, and was beginning to employ with my stressed, overstretched clients. I began teaching mindset, safe and gentle fitness, and environmental shifting as the keys to self-care. My brand CAKE (Care and Kindness Everyday) was born.  Questions we answer in this episode: How do you define self-care? Why is our environment so integral to self-care? How do we begin to create a space for self-care? What can we focus on in our bodies to create a sense of self-care? Why is mindset and self-talk so important? What else is inside:  Hear what Suzanne calls the tea cup process. Learn how to increase your awareness of negative self. Hear how to remind yourself of your purpose. Learn to stop getting “scattered” and start getting more focus. Learn a 99cent investment that may help you be more successful. Suzanne's summit creates a conversation around the many ways to approach self-care, and encourage women to find their own personal self-care strategies. I am hoping to reach women who find themselves in constant service of others (spouses, children, parents, clients, bosses) and feel like they never take care of themselves. A few of the guests on this self-care event: Debra Atkinson – yours truly! Aeruvedic practitioners – the foods for your specific body type Interior decorator – the impact of color It all launches April 6 through April 26! Register now: http://liveyourlayeredlife.com/debra-atkinson  

How can you stay young and be the wisdom and the fun for your kids?  Fatigue, bloating, or stress getting to you? Women who do so much for so many often don’t do enough for themselves or listen to the messages the body is constantly sending.  Dr. Michelle Sands is a licensed Functional Medicine Physician and Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine passionate about helping moms harness the power of nature so they impact their genetic expression and live vibrantly, not just by optimizing health physically, but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually. She's got the secrets to stay young. Questions we answer on today’s episode: Why are so many women suffering from unfavorable symptoms even through their doctors say their blood work is fine? Why do you call the conventional system of medicine a sick care system? What is the difference between normal ranges and optimal ranges?  When are the top three root causes of chronic conditions? What are the most common nutrient deficiencies Dr. Sands sees? What are 3 types of stress we need to distinguish? Why is Vitamin D so crucial? What is Michelle’s GLOW Protocol? And she shares her upcoming Naturally Ageless Mom summit with us! If you're looking for realistic ways to stay young naturally, be sure to listen. She’s got experts focusing on women over 35. With a guest list that includes so many of my favorite experts and many friends, and the dish on meditation, cell phone use, longevity, sex & your libido and more. All of the talks are specifically for women over the age of 35, with a focus on optimal aging.  All sessions have action steps that can be implemented right away.  We cover the sensitive topics that women really want to learn about and do it in a simply way. My favorite nuggets from this episode: "Hormones are chemical messengers" “Feed it, train it, and believe in it” Traditional medicine asks if you can be treated with a med or surgery Functional asks Are you at optimal or somewhere between that and dead? Get access to the Naturally Ageless Mom summit now right here It all starts on March 28! Please leave a rating in iTunes if this episode was helpful!

In the exercise for hormone balance scheme of things you are not a textbook exercise prescription. Progesterone is a trick to figure out sometimes. The signs can be similar to adrenal fatigue, premenstrual syndrome, or just the chronic fatigue you’ve learned to tolerate. This episode I dive into exercise for hormone balance and how it relates to progesterone. What it is and what it does: Anti-inflammaty hormone Calming, soothing effect Raises serotonin levels in the brain Helps cope with depression and insomnia Poor progesterone could be the forgotten hormone. Estrogen and testosterone and cortisol steal the attention. Because of that, this may be news to you. During menopause low progesterone levels can occur. Estrogen dominance occurs when progesterone is low – since these two need to be on a balanced relationship. Symptoms of low progesterone: Tiredness Irritation Anxiety Weight gain Bloating Depression Headaches Body not functioning well, more seriously, cancer Spotting before your period should start. That can be caused by other things so you may want to check with a physician about the reason.  Therapeutic solutions: Progesterone therapy, pills or oil compounds Taking your temperature daily can help if you’re still ovulating. Progesterone rises after ovulation, and stays up until your next period (about 11-14 days). If your temperature doesn’t rise or stay up (a short phase), then you could have a progesterone deficiency. In You Still Got It, Girl and the After 50 Fitness Formula for Women course you will chart your temperature (along with half a dozen other measures) for 30 days to check hormone fluctuations and thyroid function. You can test using progesterone strips. Reasons for low progesterone: High estrogen Lack of physical activity and unhealthy nutrition Insulin resistance Chronic stress Medications - hormone therapies and steroids, oral contraceptives, and some other medications block production of progesterone. Age – between 35 and 50 estrogen levels drop by 35 percent but progesterone levels plummet by as much as 75 percent. Estrogen dominance can cause: Stomach pains Hot flashes Mood swings Weight gain  Progesterone oils can be massaged into the skin, injected into muscle, or taken in pill form. Like most things, more is not better. Work with a doctor if you’re at the point lifestyle modifications haven’t helped to you have medical supervision. Natural progesterone boosts Eat more foods with zinc, selenium (brazil nuts), magnesium (details below) Herbal remedies Vitamin supplements – especially B and C Rest to deal with stress - focus on yoga, restorative exercise to replace all or most of your high intensity training. Shorter and fewer bouts of HIIT and short but effective weight training along with nurturing walks, restorative yoga, and rest is best. No foods contain progesterone but you can eat foods that help your body increase progesterone levels. Eat foods that help reduce excess estrogen. Reduce your stress levels and you naturally increase progesterone. Body fat produces excess estrogen, so losing fat is a focus, but avoiding high stress means of doing it is key. Potentially, the intuitive option of cutting calories, trying to exercise more may contribute to worsening symptoms as you increase cortisol and chronic stress on your body. It’s a collective measure of your mental, physical, and emotional stress that matters. What I find works well for women who love to exercise is having a plan. When you’re sick and tired of being sick and tired, or putting on belly fat and bloating, it is easier to accept that what you’re doing isn’t working. Surrender to a plan that supports you feeling better – filling that hole that’s been dug – so you can get your energy back by balancing your hormones. Be sure your diet is rich in foods containing these micronutrients: Magnesium: dark leafy greens, pumpkin seeds, fish (mackerel), brown rice, dark chocolate Vitamin C: kiwi, dark green leafy veggies, yellow peppers, broccoli B6: sunflower seeds, pistachio nuts, fish, turkey Zinc: cooked oysters, lean beef, pumpkin seeds, cashews L-Arginine: turkey, chicken, pumpkin seeds, chickpeas Vitamin E: almonds, sunflower seeds, shrimp, olive oil Other things to consider: The herb Chasteberry: Avoid if you’re taking hormonal birth control or trying to get pregnant Progesterone cream: natural with no plant estrogens, Mexican yam cream or wild yam, and look for something enriched with vitamin E Foods that increase estrogen dominance: (avoid these) Sugars Sweeteners Preservatives Artificial colorings Plastics – including bottled water, plastic wrap on food, never microwave food in them or leave water bottles in the car exposed to sunlight and redrink, Just sitting for a long time plastics start to break down and the chemicals leech into foods. Store your foods in glass rather than plastic. Hormone-laden meat Buy hormone-free meat and organic foods whenever you can. When something is “huge in size but very cheap and potentially if you’ve tried it, has very little flavor, it’s been treated with hormones and pesticides. Another reason for fiber. The amount of time food has to pass through your body can influence how much excess estrogen you have. The longer food sits in your bowel the more estrogen is re-absorbed into your body. Your liver filters all the chemicals you might have eaten or are still eating. Help it by reducing chemicals and increasing foods that help the liver function: Onions Garlic Egg yolk Spinach Brussels sprouts Lemons Limes Another reason to whine about wine Alcohol impacts your estrogen metabolism. If you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, here is: So does coffee. Stress Get into flow. Lose your sense of time. (Wouldn’t that be nice?) Stressors and stressful events are not going to go away. If however, you’re good at making them worse through worrying or making them all your business though they’re not, then this is where you need to spend time. You don’t have to sit and meditate. You don’t have to do yoga. You do have to identify what makes you truly lose your sense of time and do more of it. For some it is a hobby like knitting or scrapbooking. Fat cells convert testosterone into excess estrogen So yes, exercise, and eat right. Crash dieting or missing the valuable nutrients above though will worsen not help. Over exercising will also cause a downward spiral.  Reducing cortisol and stress overall is part of a hormone balancing exercise reset. That means temporarily less – a lot less – is going to be your best friend. What you may also realize is to get back to the kind of shape you were once in you can’t do the kind of exercise you once did.   SAMPLE Week 1 of exercise for hormone balance: Walk /hike Yoga Garden Spring Clean your house (oddly- the act of doing this is exercise AND organizing your environment helps you reduce clutter mentally too)   Avoid & reduce: Screens Processed food, sugars, artificial sweeteners Plastics  Improve: Your bedtime routine Take responsibility and plan your actions. Small weekly changes can make a big difference in your energy.  Resources mentioned: You Still Got It, Girl book After 50 Fitness Formula for Women course Progesterone test strips RIGHT NOW... FIT U is 50% off   

Are you flipping 50 looking for a new or a renewed relationship? Nicole DiRocco shares steps to optimize relationships after 50. We’re skipping the dating do’s and don’ts and going for the real readiness tests today. This dimension of wellness is a crucial part of total health and it’s much more tied to your fitness than you might think at first glance. Historically, data show that men or women in a relationship are healthier overall and have better self care habits. Which comes first? We dive into it today. Nicole DiRocco, founder of DatingWithGrace.me, is devoted to helping executive women have the confidence and skills to attract a healthy, extraordinary loving relationship. Questions we answer in today’s episode: It’s a challenge for midlife women looking for a relationship today while juggling work and family obligations. Eliminating obstacles is really important.   Aside from logistic issues of time and limited opportunity to bump into someone there are other obstacles like self-confidence. It’s been potentially a long time since the dating game. How does a woman get herself back into the game? We can get a lot of self- identity from our work- and we all know how much time we spend there. How can a woman define herself beyond work? What are some of the challenges your clients (smart, successful executive and professional women) face in their love life and relationships? More importantly, how do they overcome them? How does a woman create more balance or better yet, prioritize caring for herself? How do you define extreme self-care and how does it relate to relationships? What do you mean by attracting love from the inside out?   Tips Nicole shares in this episode: Keep your word to yourself Ask yourself, Are you hiding behind work, or travel, or the kitchen remodel … Act “As If” The “great things about me” exercise Paint the picture  Reach Nicole at: DatingWithGrace.me Where you can get her book: Up Close and Personal  Leave a question at: Flippingfifty.com/podcast Please leave a rating at: iTunes 

Getting and keeping fitness & metabolism after 50 are challenging before you figure out the tools you were given in the last few decades don’t serve you anymore. There are three pillars, or balls you’ve got to juggle in order to make it all work for you. In this episode I share all three and give you examples of each pillar. They each play a big part in your metabolism after 50. The 3 Pillars: Hormone-Balancing exercise Joint-friendly exercise Mindset mastery Hormone balancing exercise can look very different than the exercise you did in your 30s, or even the exercise you think you need to do now. Whether you’re exercising or you’re just wasting energy feeling guilty because you’re not exercising, this pillar is so crucial. No two women going through peri-menopause, menopause, or post menopause need the exact same exercise. We’ve all got different sign and symptoms that leave the clues about what kind of exercise you specifically need and when you need it. You may be one of the women who need to stop exercising for a short hormone reset. Your fitness and energy will respond positively if you’re listening to signs and symptoms. If you’re fighting your way through it instead of responding to your own needs you’ll potentially slow your metabolism. I share the hormones responsible for that inside the episode. Metabolism after 50 isn’t all about more exercise and less food, in fact, it’s the opposite. Joint-friendly exercise is a must for most women (and men) flipping 50. Even if you have no major complaints right now you’re likely very aware that you want to stay active and pain-free. I share a list of joint-friendly favorites in the show that the metabolism after 50 whether you’re starting or an athlete. The thing is you’ve got to go through that list since there’s no one-size fits all. Mindset is last but oh so important and not least! Mindset in fact, is likely the hardest thing you’ll tackle in changing your habits so that you can change your metabolism after 50 for the better.  Resources mentioned: Take the You Still Got It, Girl quiz Watch the Flipping 50 TV episodes for joint-friendly exercise If you’ve got more than 20 lbs to lose watch   Thanks for leaving a rating in iTunes! Click here to leave a rating. Just click “view on iTunes” Then click on “ratings and reviews” Click on “Write a review” and you can add a star rating and a comment in seconds. Thank you so much!

If your digestion is off you're not going to feel like moving your body more. Simple as that. Here's how to get moving if you're constipated, or get more regular if you're unpredictable, or reduce bloating and gas. Digestion can go wrong a lot of ways. The biggest digestive issue for women in midlife is constipation. They aren't talking about it. Not with their doctors, their spouses, friends or trainers, but it's limiting their life. So if that's true for you, there's help.  I'm sharing some popular content from a blog post last week for those of you who have more time to listen on the go than read. In the blog I share links to several products that I love, and those I share with you I receive a small commission if you use my link to try them yourself.  You can find the links in the blog post here.  #1 Magnesium Magnesium is one of the most frequent micronutrient deficiencies for women. It’s a powerhouse for health though! It helps you relax, and improves sleep. It aids a thriving metabolism and prevents headaches. It also helps with constipation. We’ve got an RDA of 400 mg but RDAs were designed to prevent disease, not necessarily to help you thrive in 2018. A number of things can also deplete you of magnesium, meaning you really need more all the way around. Even if you’ve got a multivitamin with magnesium, an evening (with dinner) magnesium supplement can help you sleep and help elimination in the morning. If you start with 200 or 250 mg you can test that for a few days and double that for another three days to find your best spot. It’s a “to tolerance” kind of micronutrient. If a bath in Epsom salt appeals to you more, that may work too. That method is probably best for sleep while getting into your gut will help more with digestion. #2 Fiber Pop Quiz: Do you know how many grams of fiber you should get daily? Do you know how many grams of fiber you get daily? If your digestion isn't optimal, it’s not working. Let’s look at increasing. Start by knowing what your average intake is now. Then add 5 grams to that and stay there for a week. Then add 5 more to that and stay there for a week.  You don’t want harsh fiber supplements that come from one source of fiber. Your body is used to eating a plate or bowl of food, getting fiber from a variety of sources. Flipping 50 Fiber Boost pulls fiber from cranberries, apples, flax and a total of 5 real food sources so it’s just like nature would do it. But if you’re traveling, time crunched, your older parents are not preparing full meals for themselves, Fiber Boost is easy to stir into a smoothie, or a soup, or any drink for a quick fiber boost. A serving is 4 grams, or I’ll add a more generous scoop. My breakfast smoothie has between 15 and 20 grams of fiber alone! The recommended is 21 grams for women over 50. The average American gets 15. Paleo/cavemen ate 135 grams a day. Shoot for 35-50 grams especially if you have significant weight to lose. #3 Water Fiber, Metamucil, laxitives… nothing is going to work without adequate water. So look at your water intake. A family member recently told me she was drinking 4-5 glasses a day. Not enough. Clearly. If you increase fiber you must increase water too! My mom has a hard time drinking more water. I’ve got a few suggestions. Sparkling water with a little stevia or fruit added to make it more appealing. More soups. Then there’s one more secret weapon and that‘s bone broth. Kettle & Fire bone broth has become a new passion of mine! I find myself drinking it because it takes so good! I’m sending my mom a care package! Especially in cooler months it’s a great addition to her afternoon or go-with item for a meal that also adds protein –something I’m sure she’s not getting enough of either! #4 Digestive Enzyme  Significant literature exists about the reduction of digestive enzymes as we age. By 75 there’s a theory that digestive enzymes are reduced to a very low percent of what we had in our 20s.  If you’re eating under stress frequently, you also may not have the digestive enzymes that help you breakdown food beneficially even in your 50s.  You’re probably going to want to target relief and getting regular first, then once you do help yourself avoid issues in the future and start absorbing all the goodness in foods you eat by giving your digestive enzymes a boost.  Another is bone broth. Again, it’s a solution to Kettle & Fire is also more delicious, filling, and stops cravings dead. My favorite is Mushroom & Chicken. #5 Probiotic  Balance your good and bad gut bacteria by taking a probiotic. You can try yogurt with active cultures. I know it was recommended for my mom by her doctor. But we’d found that she did better without gluten, wheat, and dairy. A probiotic is another pill but you can also find it in powder form and it mixes into water easily.  If you (or your parents) take prescription medications or over-the-counter meds regularly they can harm the good/bad bacteria balance in the gut. So a probiotic is probably a good idea. #6 Fat I’m going to take a stab and guess that many older generation adults don’t get adequate healthy fats as they age. Using a high quality oil can be a big help in lubricating from the inside out. Skin, hair, brain health and internal organs all need fat as we age. Since olive oil is not all we think it is, and coconut oil is still a flavor favorite but missing monounsaturated fat, I’ve switched to avocado oil for 90% of my cooking. I love the taste and go through a bottle every couple weeks! I’m a part of the avocado oil club! You can have your wine! #7 Exercise Then shall we address the obvious at this fitness site? I realize you may not feel like moving a lot if you feel “full” inside or bloated. Start one or two of these things already mentioned and start walking. Even that will help. Then target your core. Strong core muscles will help you move things through your system faster. A few simple things to do in case you can’t do more vigorous core training: Sit in a chair away from the back and move your knees as if you’re marching. Go slowly so you have to use your core to maintain your upright position. Use an exercise band around your thighs just above knees. Sitting in the chair with feet together open and close your knees against resistance of the band. Standing and side step with the band just above knees. Go 4 to one side and back the other way. Then try six, then eight. If you can lie on the floor, try starting with stabilization exercises in this video. For a more progressive beginner, intermediate, and advanced set try The Flat Abs Better Back dvd. You'll find all the resources mentioned today in the blog here. I'd be grateful if you left a rating in iTunes!