Author: Bob McMillan

I go to the gym to exercise nearly every day. Some call it a health club. It’s not necessary to go to the gym, but it’s become a habit – simply a part of my everyday routine.  I can easily exercise at home instead, and sometimes I do.

At the gym, there is an atmosphere of health and fitness. There are real people there (at the gym) — all kinds of people — young, old, muscular, fat, tall, short and every conceivable color, ethnic group, sex , physical condition and so forth. There are also lots of older adults who just want to get fit, stay fit, and remain independent.  Everyone there has a common purpose:  To move their bodies.  Some are on the treadmill, some use weights, some use machines, some go to a class, and others are just moving. Some, like Edie, my wife, do a little of each.

I can stay home and exercise.  I can exercise for as little as ten minutes at a time, or for as long as I want.  All I need is a space on the floor where I can stretch out (you should see me in hotel rooms).

There are plenty of places beside the gym to exercise.  Why you can even do it outside. Imagine that!

In the community where I live, there is an outdoor exercise course called a PAR course.  Very few people use it, or even know it is there. It consists of a series of “stations” set up on a path through the woods and is part of a community park. There is a kids playground next to part of the PAR Course which adults can use if they want and are not embarrassed. I even made a video there which I linked to in a recent post and won’t bore you with again.  Yes I will.

The point is that the world is your gym.  You can walk almost anywhere.  You can stretch everywhere.  You can move your body anywhere you can stand up, sit down, or lie down.  You can move against resistance on the floor, using a doorframe or using your own body.  There is never  an excuse like: “Yes, but I don’t have any place to exercise”.

Just some thoughts I had today.

Thanks for reading.

Sometimes it is reassuring to have something that works for me confirmed (or at least acknowledged) by science, or at least “some science” as suggested in an article by the Consumers Union, published in the Washington Post this morning. The headline reads: A Semi-vegetarian Diet is a Health Plus”,  and that “ …flexitarians — those who make plant foods the star of their diets, with meat, fish, dairy and eggs playing a supporting role — are healthier than frequent meat eaters …”. It seems that you can get the benefits of a vegetarian diet and still eat meat, as long as you cut back on the meat and ramp up the veggies (sound familiar). I wrote a while back about how I lost thirty pounds over a six month period by cutting back a little bit on the meat, and ramping up the veggies and fruits.

I’m a big fan of vegetables. I just don’t like a lot of them. I sometimes cringe when we have broccoli or asparagus. Brussels sprouts are a once every two years “treat”. I eat them because my wife tells me to. But I find beans, peas, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes (don’t get technical here please), even greens, much more palatable than before. And fruits have become a twice a day treat.

I never knew I liked squash. But forty years ago my wife Edie seduced me with acorn squash roasted with brown sugar and butter, and that’s become almost a craving ever since. Now I enjoy butternut squash roasted with olive oil, garlic and rosemary. I even tolerate zucchini. Yellow squash is edible when dressed up with olive oil, herbs and Trader Joe’s Lemon Pepper. Who’d have thought?

When I was growing up, my mother used to boil the green beans, peas, carrots and other veggies, until they were totally tasteless and mushy. I never got over that. But it’s amazing what olive oil and herbs can do to spice up the basic taste of tasteless vegetables, particularly when they are steamed or roasted. I’m still working on it. I know, a lot of you love the taste of vegetables.

Too old to change? The Consumer’s Union article in the Washington Post suggests that changing your overall diet after age 50 can really make a difference. “It’s never too early or too late to embrace a healthier lifestyle” says a medical professional quoted in the article. He goes on to say, “The benefits come quickly and continue to accrue with time.”

As for you and me, I still like my steaks, just not as large and not as often. I eat more chicken. Some of you may not eat meat at all. Some embrace the “Paleo Diet” and include bacon and other animal fats. The “science” is still all over the place as to what is really best.

The point is that cutting back on meat and upping the veggies has been a real boon to my own health, weight, and certainly my Personal Energy. There’s no guarantee that it will result in a longer life, but I’m feeling better physically and mentally too. I sleep better knowing that I’m eating far more healthfully than ever before.

Having thirty pounds less to drag around helps too. Try it, you might like it.

Thank you for reading.

I have a bone to pick with Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO of the AARP, regarding an article in the Bulletin, the tabloid publication put out by the AARP, along with their AARP Magazine. The March 2016 issue of the “AARP Bulletin”,  contains an “article”, in interview format, promoting her new book which is scheduled to come out in April.

The article started out in a positive vein but as I got into the piece, I discovered that she seems to equate those of us who are “aging” with all the other special interest  and social groups who feel they need special recognition and treatment from the Government and others. She does suggest that we need to “take some personal responsibility for ourselves (my emphasis). Some? How about most, or all of the personal responsibility for ourselves.

She proposes a new “movement” proclaiming the self worth of seniors. She suggests that we are demeaning one another when we give “Over the Hill” cards to our friends at their 50th birthday parties. Personally, I enjoyed mine. What a crock of nonsense. I will turn 76 in just two weeks and I hope someone gives me a birthday card asking when I will be “… officially over the hill”. That certainly won’t insult me.

I’m also reminded that I started The Come Alive Project and this blog with the purpose of starting a movement for seniors to take full responsibility for our own health, fitness and personal energy, and that we are Our Own Fountain of Youth! But I came to realize that you, my audience, didn’t need a movement, that you were already pretty much in control of your own aging process, and that most of you had a generally positive “self image”.

I don’t know many seniors who are being treated with disrespect, individually or as a group just because they are aging. I imagine that there are individual seniors who sincerely believe they have been treated poorly because they are aging. But I certainly haven’t seen much of it. And if we are, it is because we have allowed ourselves, as individuals, to perceive it that way.

I do believe that we, as seniors, deserve dignity and respect, as much as anyone else. But I certainly don’t think we, as a group, need special treatment. That doesn’t speak very well for our own self-esteem.

There are people who will always take advantage of those who they perceive as weaker. Some equate aging with weakness. But we are not weaker unless we allow ourselves to be. I don’t necessarily mean physically weaker; weaker includes our attitude and demeanor.

If the CEO of the AARP truly believes that we seniors need special recognition by the Government, or by others, and that we should be treated like other special interest groups, then perhaps she doesn’t know her audience well, and should not be speaking for seniors in general. Of course there are pockets of seniors who fit into the category she describes in her article but most of us won’t allow ourselves to think about ourselves in that way. As seniors, we don’t need patronizing, nor do we need condescension.

If Ms. Jenkins wants the world to look at seniors as another “social” interest, then let her think that way. But most of us will continue to hold our own heads high, taking responsibility for our own self-esteem, and not needing others to think or act for us. We only demean our own image when we allow ourselves to demand special treatment from the rest of society.

Do seniors have special needs? Of course. But what we don’t need is another social activist declaring her way as “the best way” in order to promote a book or to justify a cause.

I have no quarrel with the AARP. They are a useful organization. I enjoy reading both the magazine and the Bulletin and I invite you to read the article in the March Bulletin. But I believe their market is younger at heart than their CEO thinks. Some of the points that Ms. Jenkins makes in the article are great. But most of us don’t need a “movement” to feel good about ourselves as we get older. We’ll take more than just some responsibility for the way we deal with our aging.

Thank you for reading.