The Truth about Delaying the Onset of Ageing
Find your individual path to Health, Wellbeing and a Longer and more satisfying life.
Hi fellow Baby Boomers, where getting older, in fact approximately 100,000 of us will reach retiring age this year and this escalating trend will continue for many years into the future.
Hopefully you’ve gained some wisdom and wealth on the journey along with that inevitable wear and tear that comes with a full life. While we can’t halt the ageing process, we can improve the quality of our lives and possibly our life span no matter how old you are, simply by modifying our habits and activities proven to be beneficial to the human body.
Looking around it saddens me to see my peers “Baby Boomers” overweight and becoming sick, losing their mobility motivation and relevance and I decided that I had to tell as many people as I could
“It doesn’t need to be this way.
Who has heard the saying “We are what we Eat”, well we all have, the secret is, it’s true.
Good nutrition remains critical throughout life to get the necessary nutrients that keep you strong and enable you to fight diseases.
Ideally, you’ve been practicing healthy eating habits throughout your life, but as the years pass and you lose lean body mass (muscle), your metabolic rate slows down and you burn calories more slowly. This means that you need nutrient-dense foods to provide vitamins and minerals without too many calories. But, exactly how much and when you should eat still depends on how active you are. And we need be a little more careful when exercising as injury can occur if we are not exercising within our capability.
In our more mature years for some there is the possibility that diseases such as arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer and memory loss. Even if you are no longer in the workforce or bringing up children it’s vital that you keep yourself occupied with plenty of time to catch up with friends and family: social interaction is so important.
So what we can do about it Baby Boomers?
First you need a plan.
Your plan needs to include:
- Nutrition
- Exercise – Let’s get moving and,
- Improved Lifestyle choices
A well devised plan that identifies where you are at the moment and what you are looking to achieve. We need realistic and achievable goals with realistic time lines for achieving those goals.
The most important lesson I’ve learnt in my quest for a fit and healthy life is that my nutritional need is where it all starts. It’s not only where its starts, good nutrition is the foundation of the whole health & wellness journey.
I have a metabolism that will ensure that if I’m not eating good clean meals in the right proportion I will put on weight irrespective how much exercise I do. Let me advise everybody you can’t out train a bad diet. This I can guarantee.
However, a sustainable level of health, wellness & fitness can not only be maintained it can be improved substantially at any age when your nutritional requirements are in balance with what your body needs. In fact, obtaining fitness in my estimation is dictated by what you are eating to the degree of 75 – 80%. Even if you are fit, very fit or an elite athlete your nutritional intake is critical to overall performance.
So Baby Boomers:
- How much do you weigh, get on the scales?
- How much body fat do you have?
- Calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI) – Google BMI and you’ll see some calculator options that will enable you to calculate your own BMI, all you need to know is your height and weight. These sites will also explain what your BMI is all about.
- What is your waist measurement? Are you in the healthy range?
- What and how much are you currently eating? Keep in mind that energy in (food) minus energy out (exercise) will dictate whether you lose weight, maintain or increase weight. It stands to reason that understanding your current diet and eating habits are critical to good health.
- How do you feel, tired and sluggish?
Now complete an honest self-assessment!!
- Am I overweight or is my weight in the healthy range?
- Do I have any excess body fat?
- What did I learn from understanding my BMI? Am I OK, overweight a little or bordering on obese?
- How’s your waist measurement? Under or over?
- Do I want to look and feel better?
- Do I need some assistance from a wellness coach or personal trainer to get me started?
- Do I need to seek the advice of a dietician?
- Do I need to seek advice or a medical clearance from my doctor before I start exercising?
Once you have completed this assessment you will understand where you are now compared to where you should be in terms of accepted standards. The question now is what are you going to do about it?
There really are only a couple of options:
- You can do nothing – continue doing what you are currently doing or
- Delay the Onset of Ageing by formulating a plan to close the gap between your current position and a predetermined and measurable improved position.
For those that wish to improve the quality of their life and get fit or even very fit:
- Join a gym and get started on your journey
- Consider an exercise buddy. Most activities are improved by the addition of a friend, and exercise is no different. An exercise buddy is someone who shares your mobility and your will to get in shape. Your friend may be there to run (or walk) along beside you as well as providing moral support to encourage and keep you going.
- Consider working with an exercise group in which all of you feed off the enthusiasm and energy of each other.
- Engage a Wellness Coach/Personal Trainer to mentor you through an individually tailored improvement program until you achieve your goal, and then work with him/her to achieve new goals.
Note: If you haven’t exercised for some time or perhaps you have never been very active it’s advisable that you speak with your doctor before starting any health regimen change. Let’s not be too enthusiastic to quickly as these changes might cause damage rather than improvement. Your medical professional will advise any physical activity limitation you may need to observe prior to commencing any new program of activity.
The benefits of a well devised plan are numerous – let’s summarize
“Start moving it before you start losing it”
Getting and staying fit is very rewarding with many benefits. From the moment you start you’ll notice positive improvement, you’ll feel better, you’ll start to look better, your skin will look healthier, you’ll notice improvement in your mental agility, any stress you have will reduce, you’ll start to look better in your clothes and your sleep quality will improve. And there is now research that indicates that exercise will even reduce the risk of depression, dementia and Alzheimer’s.
If you make your health and wellness path part of you daily activity you will find it actually starts to become pleasurable. These are the reasons that keep me motivated to keep my weight in a healthy range and exercise at least five out of seven days. I really enjoy being fit and healthy, I’m passionate about it and I tell everybody about it. The additional compelling points below I sincerely hope will motivate you to join with me.
Nutrition and fitness go together.
Nutrition refers to the nourishment of your body and fitness refers to your state of our health and well-being. As stated earlier what we put into our body and in what amount will determine our overall health, our risk of developing diseases and the quality of our lives. Improving our nutrition and fitness will help us control our weight and will reduce our risk of disease. A good diet will help to control our stress levels, moods and improve the quality of our sleep.
Improve your Brainpower & Productivity.
Many studies have revealed that regular exercise doesn’t just improve our physical wellbeing it also improves our mental agility and capacity. Other studies show that regular exercise can help and improve concentration, boost creativity and enthusiasm for life.
Increased strength
Strength training is a great way to increase our metabolic rate, which will help your body burn more calories throughout the day. It also increases our lean muscle mass and overall strength, helping you to workout longer and have more energy. These things combined work to help you maintain your weight goals over a long period of time.
Increase Bone Density
As we age, inactivity (and just getting older) can lead to our bones decreasing in density and becoming more brittle, leading to diseases like osteoporosis (and being at higher risk for injuries). By doing regular strength training, research has proven that you can both increase your bone density and work to prevent osteoporosis.
Prevent Injury
One of the best ways to prevent and heal injuries is to strengthen the muscles around them. A large portion of sport-related, as well as life-related injuries can be prevented by properly strengthening both your muscles and joints. If you do endure an injury, strength training can help heal it faster by strengthening the muscles affected and speeding up recovery time.
Look and feel better
In my view nothing is more satisfying than the feeling after a great workout. Strength training may be painful at times, but the effects that stronger muscles and joints can have on our bodies is very worthwhile. Being stronger can impact your posture and your overall muscle tone. All of these things combined lead to increased confidence and higher self-esteem. Strength training can also help you age more gracefully, as it keeps you alive and vibrant.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Brisk walking, jogging, swimming, bike riding in fact any exercise that elevates your heart rate is cardiovascular exercise. The benefits include improved fitness and toning, weight loss (if your diet is right) and improved overall health. Everyone should do some form of cardio workout every single day, especially for those of us who work in an office or cannot stay active during the day.
Other benefits can include: Weight loss and muscle toning, endurance and stamina. Increased bone density and increased energy levels, stress relief, and reduced risk of heart disease and stroke.
So can you really
“Delay the onset of Ageing?”
I believe you can.
Nutrition and exercise is the miracle cure that we have always had but many of us have ignored. Maybe some of us haven’t been sure of how to get started but if we don’t act Baby Boomers, failing health could be the inevitable consequence.
At Renewed after 50 we believe in a personal approach to developing wellness programs based on your current state of health, preferences, time and personal goals and expectations. A Qualified Wellness Coach/Personal Trainer will provide the support, motivation & guidance that you need, we look forward to meeting you soon and possibly mentoring you to better health & fitness.
Cheers
Graham Elliss
0412 589 185