Last week I taught a chair exercise class at an Assisted Living home. I am not sure how old these people were, maybe in their 80s. What caught my attention was how sad everyone looked compared to my healthy active agers who come to my classes on a weekly basis.
And then I thought how can I avoid this fate? How can I help the people who come to my classes to avoid this fate? I do realize accidents happen, health issues happen, but for most of us, can we live our life standing until the day we die.
Here are some tips we can incorporate in our lifestyle to stay young:
MOVE – yes move and move often. I would recommend exercising pretty much every day accept one day rest. Find something you enjoy to do: walk, Pilates, Barre, Pickleball, Tennis, Yoga, whatever exercise you enjoy doing, that is what you should do. However, I would recommend weightlifting at least once or twice a week. Lift something heavy, use your legs. Avoid sitting for long periods of time too. You don’t have to train for a marathon, but you do have to move and move often.
EAT WELL – Avoid seed oils, sugar, flour. Eat foods with ingredients you can pronounce. Eat whole foods often, avoid anything that comes in a box or bag. Take care of your gut, eat probiotics and prebiotics. Do you have a big belly? Try giving up all grains.
SLEEP – why is sleeping so hard? Here are some thing you can try: sleeping in a cool (around 67 degrees if you can), dark room (use sun blocking shades or a face mask), no noise (or wear earplugs), eat at least 3 hours before sleeping, try to avoid alcohol, get off all electronics at least an hour before bed, natural supplements – reishi mushroom, valerian root, lemon balm (but don’t get hooked on melotonin or sleeping pills they could disrupt your hormones).
KEEP HYDRATED – they say to drink half your weight in ounces (if you weigh 150 pounds, drink at least 75 ounces of water). Try not to drink too much caffeine or alcohol, they are diuretics (make you pee). AND most importantly, avoid all those sugary drinks. Sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and especially artificial sweetners are so bad for your health. Sugar makes you hungry, avoid it as much as possible.
BE SOCIAL – lets face it, life is better with others. We need each other. Work hard to find and keep friends. Exercise classes or playing a sport together, like tennis, are a great way to meet friends. Churches are also a wonderful way to stay social and feel at peace with your life.