Observations

I turned 48 in October. Along with turning 48, I started noticing a few changes in my body. Where PMS used to result in cramps, grouchiness, etc, it now results in a lack of sleep and night sweats. I have difficulty sleeping after drinking too much red wine. Red wine seems to be a much bigger culprit than white wine, beer, or any other form of alcohol. My eyesight is failing and I notice my skin aging some. I won't complain about gray hair, since I've been finding gray hairs since I was 18. This seems to be the extent of my aging process.

I have friends my age and older that are of a normal weight, exercise regularly and maintain an active lifestyle. I also have friends that are of similar age or older that do not exercise, maintain their weight or keep active. The difference between the 2 groups is not slight. In fact, there is a freaking continental divide between the two.

The active group will complain about the symptoms/problems that I do. The symptoms are a pain in the @ss for a few days, or they resort to taking advil PM's or another sleep aid. While they don't loose weight as quickly, they are still within a normal weight range and able to maintain it. Yes, I'd love to be able to lose 7 lbs in a week again, but it's not happening.

What I see in the other group is that they are crippled by pain. Arthritis, fibromyalgia, etc. Walking around the mall results in pain that exceeds what I experience after a marathon. Enough pain to warrant going to taking a pill and going to bed. Oh, I've never experienced pain after a marathon, and I typically go out to eat immediately after. I've experienced extreme soreness, but it's not pain. Never once would I reach for a vicodin. Yet, a trip to the mall can be vicodin worthy for these folks. Hell, I hat breast surgery and that didn't warrant vicodin. I wasn't in pain following surgery, I couldn't sleep. That warranted Nyquil.

Is there a chemical difference between us? My trainer recently quit her job at the gym. This resulted in her having to leave behind her clients. She paired each client up with another trainer that she felt was worthy. Each client declined and quit. These were the same clients that were at the Christmas party where she explained how differently she trained me, because I was an athlete.

I've never considered myself to be an athlete. I will reserve that title for Meb, Brett Favre, and others that have devoted their life to a sport. I do differ from the normal 48 y/o woman in that I feel the need to move my body every day. I need to lift a weight, run a few miles, or do anything to break a sweat. Why am I different from all of the others that don't want to break a sweat? Also, what happens when I break a sweat that causes me to not experience the pain that so many others of my age group experience? Seriously, someone needs to unlock this magic bullet. I may not have found the bullet that keeps you thin, I am far from thin. But I have the ability to move my body in the ways that I would like to each and every day without experiencing pain.

So, what is the difference? Is there something in my body that prevents me from falling to their ways? Whatever the difference is, I thank God that I am on the correct side of the divide.