Aging

If you are under 50 and reading this, pay attention.  Getting old is easy;  staying in a condition to enjoy it is something else entirely.

I know what I’m talking about.  I’m 74;  I live in a ‘senior park’ where the minimum age is 55.   I’ve heard about more illnesses since living here than I even knew existed.   The common thread, however, is that the people who waited until they retired, until they ‘had time’ to start exercising and eating right, are paying dearly now for their earlier laziness (or perhaps just lack of foresight.)

So here’s the deal, you young folks:   every step you take now will pay off for you later.  Walk those 10,000 steps.  Do it now when it doesn’t hurt;  when you don’t get winded after twenty minutes of walking.  Those in our community who didn’t make the effort are now falling;  being hospitalized;  even getting sent off to nursing homes.   Muscles need to be tuned up and kept that way.   Not Olympics ready;   get real.   But tuned and toned enough for you to walk for 30 uninterrupted minutes without dizziness or light-headedness.  No time you say?   Well,  when you’re my age you’ll have all the time you need, but if you haven’t kept toned, you’ll be sitting around bored out of your skull.   I can think of twenty people in that condition in seconds.   It’s real.  This is what happens to neglected bodies.

And now on to food.  Diabetes is the one plastered all over the news.  Certainly you don’t want it; but there are myriad other ailments that spring out of poor nutrition.   You don’t want those either.  So buy that bag of mini carrots every week and eat it.   Don’t bring muffins to work; bring a veggie tray (skip the dip)….most people will eat whatever is put in front of them, so make it easy for them and yourself.  Nutritionists tell us to eat 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day.  Hardly anyone does, of course, so all that’s really produced is guilt.  So stop worrying and shop more sensibly.   Buy not only that bag of carrots, but two or three bananas,  ditto for apples and other fruits.   You know yourself:  if you’ll only eat one whole fruit a day, then just buy seven.   Throwing out food is just something we shouldn’t be doing.  Pick up a variety of veggies at the salad bar.   Four strips of green pepper and a few onions can be popped into an omelet.  Super easy, super nutritious.

And just before I finish this rant, let me say a word about beverages.   Coffee is my choice;  water second.   You probably shouldn’t consume a lot of soda pop.   Alcohol is an entire category of its own.   You would not believe how much the people in this park drink!  I’ve been stunned by it.   I enjoy a glass of wine now and then or a vodka/tonic.   Maybe two-three drinks a week total.     But one of my neighbors has 7-8 drinks a day…and each drink has three shots of vodka in it.  I’m surprised she can stand up.  I shudder to think of what’s going on in her liver.    Protect yours…..start now to develop the habit of moderation.

Live long….and do so in an active, fun manner.