Repeatedly over the years, I have run across a substantial mental health problem: discontinuing strength training for various BS excuses. Sometimes people stop because they "lose motivation." Sometimes they stop because they get "soooo busy." Sometimes they stop because they worship the scale and fixate on weight-measurement-idolatry to the exclusion of living healthily. Sometimes they get overzealous and tweak something, giving up, because, after all, "what's the point of healthy behaviors if I get some discomfort in the meantime?" Whatever it is, no matter how seemingly sensible, the cost of discontinuing is HIGH.
You can always get leaner if you're strong and functional. However, you cannot always get stronger and functional if you build into your mindset that strength and function aren't worth the persistent continuous investment of time and effort. None of the scary physical and mental degeneration is linked to aging, but rather linked to the fact that we get less active as we age and we accumulate damage from unhealthy living. Every day that ticks by without a concerted effort at improvement is a day which moves you closer to degeneration. Whether it be cognitive decline, osteoporosis, the hormonal imbalance which lends itself to obesity and disease comorbidities, time isn't neutral. As was shown in this study, you think you can "take a break" from taking care of yourself. That very thinking is your undoing.
You can always get leaner if you're strong and functional. However, you cannot always get stronger and functional if you build into your mindset that strength and function aren't worth the persistent continuous investment of time and effort. None of the scary physical and mental degeneration is linked to aging, but rather linked to the fact that we get less active as we age and we accumulate damage from unhealthy living. Every day that ticks by without a concerted effort at improvement is a day which moves you closer to degeneration. Whether it be cognitive decline, osteoporosis, the hormonal imbalance which lends itself to obesity and disease comorbidities, time isn't neutral. As was shown in this study, you think you can "take a break" from taking care of yourself. That very thinking is your undoing.