I’m in the best shape of my life at 60 – my 1% a day tip will have you shedding pounds in no time
A WOMAN who is in the best shape of her life at 60, has revealed her top tips for getting fit and healthy later in life.
Fashion designer Fiona Lambert, who has worked with George at Asda and Jaeger, was challenged by her personal trainer to become the fittest she has ever been, in time for her 60th birthday.
“I thought that was a great personal goal for myself, so I took it on”, she told Elissa Corrigan, on the Elle Sera podcast.
Fiona completely changed her diet and began exercising more frequently to help her to achieve her goals, as well as walking 10,000 steps a day, taking cold showers, and drinking two litres of water every day.
To keep herself motivated, Fiona arranged for a photoshoot, and took some before and after shots, as she thought the story would be great for a magazine feature.
Fiona started her fitness journey on January 1, 2023, and by the time it was her birthday, at the beginning of March 2023, she had lost 11 pounds, and 5% body fat.
“5% you really notice”, she said.
Fiona’s story eventually got picked up the The Times, and it ended up going viral.
“I couldn’t believe it, it started popping up on Facebook and Instagram sponsored posts and then before I knew it, I had friends texting me to say it was coming up on their Apple News feed”, she said.
Fiona was then contacted by a publisher, who said that they would like her to write a motivational book about her fitness journey.
She agreed, and her book Invincible Not Invisible: Change Your Mindset And Your Body in 90 Days, was published last month.
Fiona said: “60 is just the beginning. I left a job, started a new career, wrote a book and climbed Kilimanjaro last year.”
During Fiona’s intense 90-day fitness regime, she completely gave up sugar and dairy in all forms.
“I could never drink black coffee before but now I only drink black coffee because I just think that by the end of the day you’ve probably taken in an extra 100 calories from sugar and milk.
“All these little things add up.”
Tips to age well
There are a number of habits you can take up to care for your health and wellbeing as you age.
Age UK shared the following tips:
- Do things that you enjoy everyday – whether that’s cooking, seeing friends or enjoying a good book
- Stay hydrated – drink six to eight cups of water a day
- Eat plenty of fruit and veggies to lower your risk of heart disease and certain cancers, have beans, pulses, fish, eggs and meat to repair your body after injury, starchy carbs for energy dairy to help keep bones strong
- Manage long-term health conditions to prevent them progressing or having a greater impact on your health
- Quit smoking and reduce alcohol intake to no more than 14 units a week
- Make mental health a priority and get treatment for it, as it can also impact physical health
- Make sure you’re getting quality sleep
- Keep socialising – and call a friend or loved one if you can’t make it out the house
- Be physically active to lower the risk of depression and dementia, heart disease, stroke, Parkinson’s and some cancers
Fiona added that if she hasn’t done 10,000 steps by the end of the day, she makes sure to get the extra steps in before going to bed.
For those who have put on weight during the menopause, and struggle to get started with a workout routine, Fiona recommended doing “a few push ups against the kitchen work surface until you start to see a difference.”
She added that people think that she must be exercising all of the time to maintain her physique, but said that she just does two one hour sessions a week with a PT, and then four 15 minute HIIT sessions, which is just three hours a week in total.
Fiona explained that getting into shape is just a mindset, and encouraged people to try and be just 1% better every day, to make their goals look less scary.
She said: “Even if it’s just going from 5,000 steps to 6,000 steps or having one less sugar in your tea, those tiny little things will make you 1% better.”
In order to stay in shape, Fiona said that she eats a high protein diet, including lots of fish and prawns, and has worked out exactly how many calories she can burn in a day.
She said that she never eats more than this amount of calories, and explained that you can work this out by using apps such as My Fitness Pal.
The fitness pro also likes to go on long walks in silence, which she said is great for her mental health, and helps her to practice mindfulness.
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