• "When a sick fourteen month-old baby needs her mum….or dad. No it’s not. There’s no contest. Sick baby wins!" "If sick baby wins", why was it ok for sick baby to wait 5 days? Mum requested on Monday... for leave on Thursday. And then when granted leave, mum spends the afternoon doing radio and television interviews. Seems more like sick baby wins when it's politically convenient. We've moved from misogyny and onto sick babies, this Parliament's new football. - Joe
  • Hey KF, more power to you and me and anyone who has to FIGHT for our loved ones who can't fight for themselves. One day at a time. Sometimes one hour at a time. Metoo- here's hoping you never have to walk a mile in our shoes- for a multitude of reasons, and my last word- I don't see it as "locking up" my aunt I see it as an honor to make sure she is safe, looked after and comfortable for the rest of her life Good luck to everyone, Robyn - Roby
  • Tara, this article is brilliant. Agree with every word. - Nicole Madigan
  • Santorini..... - Katherine Basher
  • Very moving. Everyone I know who had done this has been touched by it. - Jo
  • I have to disagree with a few things in this article. Mothers have never been better supported than they are now. 12 years ago I didn't get a baby bonus and I only got 16% childcare rebate. Now families get 50% rebate on childcare. 12 years ago there was no paid maternity leave option from the government and the paid maternity leave from my work was 6 weeks, now it's increased to 8 weeks. A colleague told me last year she took 8 weeks at half pay (over 16 weeks) and then got 18 weeks paid maternity leave from the government so she could take over 8 months off with pay. There is also paternity leave available now where I work which wasn't available 12 years ago. However I do agree with Tara Moss about Newstart. Giving single parents the Newstart allowance is pathetic and I challenge any politician to try and live on it for 6 months and pay a mortgage or rent and see how they survive. We also still have a long way to go on gender equality when it comes to pay scales but hopefully with more women in the workforce it will help the cause. - Not That Bad
  • Wonderful. I always ask myself will someone die if I fuck up? Will it matter in 3 months? And who fucking cares? Works for me. The swearing part is important apparently. ;-) x - Michaela C
  • Our focus on women and children and their difficulties ignores the elephant in the room. Where is the father/partner in this equation? Where is the support, financial responsibilty, active participation and general parental sharing by partners/fathers? Where are they all? Why has the focus on women and children left them invisible and unaccountable? Is it because we don't expect men to take care of their responsibilities, or is it too hard any issue to deal with? I fully acknowledge that there are many exceptions, including death of a partner, abuse and violence, and other diverse reasons, but is there no way we can broaden the debate to include the responsibilities of partners/fathers? Just a thought. - Nel Matheson
  • Can we please clarify that not all single parent families were moved from PPS to Newstart - only those who were grandfathered by the Howard government when they brought in the changes many moons ago. It was Howard and his cronies that singled out and privileged a group of single parents, allowing them to recevie more than anyone in similar circumstances who didn't benefit from the grandfathering, or never received PPS in the first place (Not everyone's marriage ends before their youngest child turns eight). While I don't believe that Newstart is sufficient to live on and raise children easily I am very much against this focus that has been placed and what is in reality a small group of people. How about fighting to put everyone on PPS or to increase Newstart rather than just a few. - Carz
  • Well spoken, Vanessay. I cringe when I hear people go on about single mothers. As if it's only the mothers who deserve the social stigmatization and the husbands, boyfriends, partners don't. And as if the two parent family is so perfect. As if no two parent family lives off the taxpayer or eats junk food. But more important than the social stigma that attaches itself to their children is the poverty that disadvantages them and how it can be transmitted to the next generation. Many single mothers are close to the bread line and that's not good enough. Do we want them on the street? How would that look? It's no better than kicking someone when they're down. Un-Australian. - Rhoda
 
6
Categories:  grfw, Lifestyle, Wellbeing, Your Community, Your Stories

I WANT TO BE FIT AT 50

By The Hoopla
May 29, 2012

Heart disease is the number one killer of Australian women.

Four times as many women die of heart disease as they do of breast cancer.

Here at The Hoopla, we don’t want to lose any of our precious readers to a disease that is largely preventable. That’s why we have joined the with the Heart Foundation’s GO RED FOR WOMEN campaign.

Jan Dachs took a pre-emptive strike against heart disease – and lost 12 kilos in the process.

 “Your cholesterol is too high.” That’s what my doctor was telling me every time I saw her and every time I promised I would make lifestyle changes so I didn’t  have to start taking tablets.

That’s why I joined the Heart Foundation Healthy Heart Challenge last year. Having high cholesterol meant I was at higher risk of heart disease, which I was surprised to learn is actually the number one killer of Australian women.

The Challenge gave me the incentive I needed to keep me focussed on my goal.

I started to keep a food diary and realised how often ‘naughty’ foods were slipping into my diet without me realising it.

By October my cholesterol had come down from 6.3 to 5.3 and, as an added bonus, I had also lost 12kg!

What I learned is that it’s never too late to start making changes – just start off small and work up to it slowly. I now manage to do some sort of physical activity – even if it’s a short walk – seven days a week and I feel great!

I’ll be signing up for the Healthy Heart Challenge again this year, because I want to be fit at 50! I hope thousands of other Australian women will join me.

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6 Responses to this article

  1. Susie May 29, 2012 Reply
     
     

    A high cholesterol reading was the impetus for me to get fit as well! In the process of getting the reading down, I managed to lose just over 10 kgs.
    I’m 49 years old and my goal is reach my 50th birthday the fittest and healthiest I’ve ever been. I’m on track! I work out every day and I do a range of activities from Body Pump to Kick Boxing. I haven’t felt this strong and fit in years.
    Aside from the obvious health benefits and the improvement in my self esteem (being physically strong is a great thing) I believe I’m setting a good example for my child that keeping active, fit and caring for your body is worthwhile and important.
    In the words of Lisa Woodward, 50 and invisible? I don’t think so!

     
  2. Allison May 29, 2012 Reply
     
     

    I started getting fit last September – now, 13 kg down, fitter and stronger than I was when I was 25, I’m now 51 and feel great. The other benefit is the increase in mental agility. My motivation is to have a healthy heart, strong bones and to enjoy life.

     
  3. Rachel @ The Kids Are All Right May 30, 2012 Reply
     
     

    I was hoping that motivation would kick in at 40. Looks like I’ll have to wait till 50 :) Very inspiring!

     
  4. Fat and healthy June 3, 2012 Reply
     
     

    You know what, I have the best cholesterol my doctor had seen in 20 years, my BP is (and always has been) excellent and all my other numbers are wonderful. And I am “morbidly obese”. Getting healthy doesn’t always mean you need to lose weight. If it happens when you change other bad habits, then all fine and good but losing weight alone isn’t guaranteed to improve your health in general.

     
  5. Nicole Murphy June 7, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Sorry fat and healthy but you are kidding yourself. It will eventually catch up with you. I am not thin myself and I too know that I have to do something about it. What an inspiration these women are!

    Inspired

     

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Comments

  • Joe: "When a sick fourteen month-old baby needs her mum….or dad. No it’s not. There’s no contest. Sick baby wins!" "...

    Reply|Read all

  • Roby: Hey KF, more power to you and me and anyone who has to FIGHT for our loved ones who can't fight for themselves. One day...

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  • Nicole Madigan: Tara, this article is brilliant. Agree with every word.

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  • Katherine Basher: Santorini.....

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