My road to the Geriatric Olympics

Or reflections on diet, exercise and lifestyle change

I have always exercised considerably but the benefits of my exertions have been overshadowed by overeating and a poor diet. My Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in the latter part of 2025 was a wakeup call, and my response has been as follows.

Food   Following the professional advice of a dietician, Emma Nassif, I proceeded with a low GI and high protein diet and lost 3.4 Kilos in 28 days. And I’ve lost a further 3+ kilos in the 2 months since. I feel a lot better, although I’ve had to get a new wardrobe, and especially as my vital medical numbers have vastly improved: my blood sugar numbers in particular have been trending down. The way I’m going according to my endocrinologist I may be off Insulin injections by mid-2026. Best of all I enjoy the food on offer and don’t miss I overindulged in. Portion control is also ok and I’ve reduced coffee to smaller cups. Plan is to continue losing weight and then indulge in certain food, eg pizza, perhaps once a week.

But food is only half of the story.

Exercise I have pulled out all the stops and increased my daily steps from about 14000+ steps a day to 22000+ steps a day, all this when other commitments permit. I also do upper body exercises and stretches. This adds up to well over 6 hours daily in the gym but leaves me time for other valued activities from reading, FB time and movies. 

This is all recorded on my Veryfit app including down days when exercise opportunity is reduced. My three days in Perth for Carmel’s funeral made exercise inappropriate and looking after Lachie means less steps and exercise: and it lowers the average but that’s ok.

Lifestyle change is all. 

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