Staying Fit Over 40

Dacula resident Betsy Weiss, age 49 and mom of two active boys, shares her fitness journey and what keeps her motivated.

INTERVIEW BY ANGELA VEUGELER

Betsy Weiss stays fit with a mixture of weight training, cardio and participating in at least one trail race a month.

Tell us a little bit about your fitness journey.

Almost six years ago I decided I wanted to change. I wanted to get healthier and feel better. I was about to turn 44 and I wanted to get back to a healthier and more active lifestyle. I’ve always been active and would have considered myself a healthy person. Two babies later, and with a busy work schedule, I had gained a lot more weight and been too inactive for where I should be. So, I decided to make some changes. I started off slow. I started with spinning. Being a Physician Assistant in women's health, I always tell my patients it’s a circle. You exercise and you feel better. And when you feel better, you want to do better. You want to eat better, you want to exercise and have more energy. Working in the medical field, I knew I would have to certainly cut my calories and I cut a lot of calories. It’s never easy. Within nine months I lost the majority of my weight, about 60 pounds. Over the rest of the year, I lost a total of 80 pounds.

How do you fit in workouts and what does a typical week look like as far as working out? I have

a full-time job and two young children. I am up every day by 4:15 a.m. to go put in two hours at the gym. I believe (for me) cardio and weight training are equally important. I warm up with light cardio, and either an hour spin or some combination of rowing, biking or running, and then do an hour of weight training.

I do at least one trail race a month and an endurance workout each weekend. I don’t advocate this to everyone, but I rarely take a day off. Not saying that’s a good thing but it’s what I do. Everyone has to find what

works for them. It might be four days a week or two days.

Isn’t it incredibly hard to get up that early every day?

Some mornings I don’t want to get up. Then I think, if you don’t get up today, it will be harder to get up tomorrow. There are going to be hard days, but those hard days I think to myself, “If I get through this, all it does is make me stronger.” The hard days are what make you better. What do you do to stay motivated? Initially my motivation was sort of selfish. I wanted to be better, to be healthier. I wanted to look better and feel more confident. When you feel that way you want to continue to be the person you’ve created. I like the way I feel and I like the way I look. I love working out, running and biking. It also helps me keep my sanity with a super busy life. It gives me my “me time” and helps me get ready for my day. Also, I truly believe and hope that my kids see how hard I work in life to create change and better myself. That it inspires and instills in them to work hard and know they have the power to make change. I like to set goals, so I keep setting goals for myself. At first it was get back into running, do my first race. The goals eventually got bigger and bigger. I was going to Orange Theory 5-6 days a week. I got back into running, added the races. I felt really good about myself. As women, we want to do what makes us feel better, what gives us more confidence. A half marathon was my first big race. Then I started getting into trail running which I really love. Next was the sprint triathlon at Lake Lanier. Now I’ve done two of them and made big improvements. In total I’ve done four half marathons, two triathlons and over one hundred road and trail races plus my first Spartan Race. I always set 3-4 goals from a fitness perspective every year, it helps me stay focused. You have had some injuries and setbacks in your journey to stay fit. How do you handle those? I tore my hamstring a couple of years ago. I was in pain and knew I had to do something different. I took time off from running but really got into biking. Biking is a fabulous way to get in shape without putting a lot of stress on your body. I also had a torn ACL 30 years ago and was always fine until I tore my meniscus in April 2022. When that happened my running really suffered because I was having some pain in the knee and my stability was pretty much gone. I decided to have my ACL repaired this past November. I was scared. I knew I needed to accept I was going to make some changes. I found that it’s not focusing on what I can’t do, it’s focusing on what I can do. I can lift upper body weights, do core strengthening, an AssaultBike (also called an AirBike, you can work out your legs but also get a really good arm workout and cardio). It sucks and it’s hard, but I get some cardio in every day. I’ve had to get creative. I have gotten through four weeks, it will be at three to four months before I can jog and bike. What accomplishment are you most proud of as far as health and fitness? Competing in the Spartan Race was one of my biggest accomplishments. Do you have any advice for readers looking to get fit and make some lifestyle changes? Just get moving. I don’t care if it’s 10 minutes a day today, and 12 minutes tomorrow, just keep building. Start with something

I always set 3-4 goals from a fitness perspective every year, it you like to do. If you like to walk, walk. If you like to dance, do a Zumba class. As far as diet, I believe in moderation. If you deprive yourself and it’s too hard to keep up with, you won’t keep up with it. Life is about sustaining. Know what your triggers are. If you know you are going to have a super busy day and come home exhausted, plan out what you are going to eat helps me stay so you don’t eat the bad things. Health and fitness aren’t accidental, focused.” it takes work and planning. You have to really watch your simple carbs, focus on your lean protein, and more vegetables. Especially for women as we get older, we have to watch what we are eating and drinking. Alcohol can be one of the biggest problems as far as losing weight. You have to watch your portion sizes.

Read more of Betsy's story online at suwaneemagazine.com

Betsy competing in her first Spartan Race.