Take Care of Yourself-How To Age Gracefully and Healthfully

We are living at a time of longevity. We can live longer and live better today than at any time in recorded history. It is possible with good health to live to 80,90, or even 100 years of age.

Start with setting a goal to live as long as you would like. Ask yourself, are you practicing habits today that will get you to that goal of your desired age.

The three areas that you need to keep in mind to achieve your goal.

1. Achieve an ideal weight. You need to get your weight under control. When you reach your ideal weight, make a commitment to remain at that level for the rest of your life. There should be no yo-yo of your weight but you must remain at the ideal weight for the rest of your life.

The best advice I have is to eat less and exercise more. The law of thermodynamics applies to weight loss. The law simply states the net heat supplied to the system equals the net work done by the system. Therefore, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn from exercise or you need to exercise harder and longer in order to burn more calories than you consume. There is no short cut. There are numerous websites that can help you with your diet and give you a ballpark on the caloric burning that takes place with every day exercises. (http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm, http://calorielab.com/burned/, and http://www.myfitnesspal.com/exercise/lookup

2. Proper diet
Eat better quality foods and fewer of them. Eat more fruits, vegetables and good proteins such as lean meat, chicken, and fish. Eliminate soft drinks, deserts, candies and any other foods containing mostly sugar. Stop consuming extra salt. Eliminate any white flower products. Eat smaller portions and eat 4-6 times a day rather than 3 large meals. By taking control of your eating habits, you can take control of other areas of your life.

3. Exercise
A suggested exercise regimen is 200 minutes\week or 30 minutes a day. You can get all the exercise you need by going for a vigorous walk for 30-60 minutes 3 times a week.

You can even get exercise if you declare that you won’t take the elevator up the stairs or you can park your car 3-5 blocks further than your normal parking spot every day.

Bottom Line: set goals for your life regarding health and fitness and be disciplined to stick to those goals for the rest of your life. You need to make a daily plan and work your plan every day. This requires self-discipline but this self-discipline will help with the discipline you will need in other areas of your life.