These weekly messages are Short “Bites” of information, advice or commentary, usually somewhere between 400 and 800 words, that usually take two to three minutes to read. I try to keep the reading time under three minutes, usually two minutes. You can read it quickly, absorb what’s in it, and get on with other things. I hope you choose to read it.
Occasionally, it is wise to provide a refresher as to why I write and why you should read these weekly articles. I wrote about this four years ago and I thought it might be a good time to have that refresher during this period of disruption to many of our normal daily activities.
There’s not a lot out there for Active Seniors, so I attempt to provide useful, inspiring, and sometimes entertaining information about Health, Fitness and Personal Energy for Active Adults approaching age 55, 65, 75 or even older. I cover the physical, mental, and sometimes the spiritual aspects of becoming Seniors and how we can be prepared to get the most from our Senior Years. It’s all about how to discover and tap into your own Fountain of Youth. Sometimes I include stories about interesting people and situations.
The information I offer comes from research, experience and opinion (mine and others). Sometimes I have strong opinions. Sometimes you will agree with me, sometimes you will disagree. I try to cover all sides.
Often there is so much conflicting information (Nutrition for example), that I use my own experience as the example. At 80 years old, I am reasonably healthy and fit and try to live what I speak and write about. Most of the time it works, occasionally it doesn’t. There are so many opposing theories on nutrition that there are likely to be two new theories published by the time you finish reading this article.
Cutting back on meat, upping the vegetables and cutting out a lot of sugar and processed foods seems to be a workable common denominator for weight loss and healthy eating. I lost nearly 40 pounds in 6 months. But that might not work for you. Remember your goal should not be just to lose weight; there are a lot of unhealthy skinny people. Your goal should be overall health and fitness.
Exercise, too, is a matter of what works for you and what your goals are. Seniors have different abilities than younger people. It takes a little longer to build muscle and a little longer to recover from exercise. Fall prevention is a major consideration. So is injury prevention. Is cardio best? Is weight lifting? Stretching? Running or walking? The real answer depends on your goals. For most of us, our goal is not to be a performance athlete, but rather to have a balanced, healthy and fit body that looks good, feels good and will do the things we want it to do so that we will live a long, functional, happy and independent life.
I don’t offer medical advice. I don’t always believe what doctors tell me. Sometimes I’m right. Mostly they’re right.
I’ll always be transparent about what is real, what is opinion and what is nonsense. But don’t forget that today’s nonsense is tomorrow’s science. Science is now getting serious about the whole “mind over matter” thing. Does your body really respond to your thoughts? What role does your attitude play in your overall health. Can you modify your genes, or do your thoughts just influence the way they act? “Epi-genetics” is a new buzzword. The possibilities of new discoveries that are being made about our genes can have powerful effects on medical treatment in the future.
So, I’ll continue to write these “bites” of information about Health, Fitness and Personal Energy for Active Seniors. In a few months, I may be adding some video into the mix so look for that. Stay tuned, you should find it interesting, useful, and even entertaining.
Thank you for reading.