Welcome to Health & Wellness at Active After 55!

At Active After 55 we place a lot of emphasis on Health & Wellness.  The reason for this is simple – you can’t live your best life if you are unhealthy. This is especially true once we get older. It is easy to stay in shape in your teens and early twenties. But, once you get into your 50’s and 60’s it becomes more and more difficult. And getting back in shape after years of inactivity seems almost impossible.

Active After 55 is all about examining what makes us unhealthy and the steps needed to regain our physical fitness. And hopefully our happiness. So, what makes us unhealthy?

The Body’s Antagonists – What makes us Unhealthy?

One thing we really need to change is our lifestyle. A sedentary lifestyle is bad. The couch is not your friend, unless you are injured or sick. Get off the couch and go outside. Processed foods are not good either. And a ton of stress is not going to do you any good. Yet most of us ignore these facts until it is too late. 

Feeble at 65?

At my 65th year physical exam, the nurse asked me routine questions about my ability to move around. I was puzzled because I am still riding a mountain bike at 65. Furthermore, getting up and down the stairs is easy, although sometimes life threatening. In fact, the stairs leading down to my basement have tried several times to inflict great bodily harm. But that aside, I asked if they saw many people my age that couldn’t get around and they said yes, a lot actually.  

How depressing is that? To be in the “golden years” and not be able to get into or out of the car without trouble or not be able to climb stairs.  Very sad. The nurse said people my age have trouble getting dressed and going to the bathroom.

Wants versus Needs

Part of the problem is that we are constantly fighting our bodies over what we want versus what the body needs. Yes, fast food is easy, tasty and convenient, but it is terrible for fitness. You want pizza, but the body needs chicken rice and broccoli. Another scenario is alcohol versus water. After a long day it seems very natural to want a strong drink to smooth things out. That is what you want but what does your body need? Most experts agree that what your body most likely needs is water. Not only do we sometimes favor alcohol over water but most of the time this is the wrong choice. Alcohol further dehydrates the body and leaves us in a constant cycle of dehydration. Alcohol may even cause certain types of cancer.  Learn More About the Ill Effects of Alcohol Here

And don’t even get me started on processed sugar. All sorts of bad things are linked to an overabundance of processed sugar in our diets. We want cookies and cake and ice cream but our body needs fruits and vegetables. And according to Johns Hopkins Medicine: “too much added sugar can lead to health problems including high blood sugar, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, dental issues such as cavities, increased triglycerides, obesity and type 2 diabetes.” Learn More About the Ill Effects of Sugar Here

Et Tu Stress?

Next we have a real killer – stress. Sometimes it feels like you are being pulled in a million directions. You’re too stressed to eat properly or get any exercise. Stress affects both your mental and physical health. According to The American Society of Landscape Architects (more on these guys later): “High levels of long-term chronic stress can lead to reduced cognitive function, anxiety disorders and depression. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults, or 18 percent of the U.S. population.”

No Purpose?

Add age to the lack of exercise, bad food and stress and you have the perfect storm. And with all this to worry about, there is another element – no sense of purpose. You are out of shape, your heart and blood pressure are worrisome, you don’t eat properly and you are losing your sense of purpose. Whether you are winding down at work or the kids are at Uni, you are feeling a little lost, searching for a purpose. Research suggests that purpose is tied to having better health, longevity, and even economic success. In fact, It feels good to have a sense of purpose.

In conclusion, the couch, fast food, stress and no purpose just might kill you in the long term. If you are an aging adult, you are running out of time to change your lifestyle for the better. If I have just described your lifestyle there is still hope. What we are proposing is not a radical lifestyle change, but simple common sense lifestyle changes. Studies show over and over that diets don’t work and gym memberships don’t work either. So, what does work? We believe that lifestyle changes that you can maintain throughout the rest of your life are key.

Taking Steps Towards Longevity and A Healthy Lifestyle

Want to improve your health & wellness in 12 weeks or less? One cornerstone principle that we rely upon is Blue Zones by Dan Buttner. Dan Buttner is a National Geographic Fellow who discovered that some areas of the world had super-agers. These super agers live longer and stay healthier as they approach the age of 100 years or more. Blue Zones Project is effective in increasing Healthy lifestyle habits and longevity. In fact it reduces up to 13% of death from all causes. In particular, studies show a 17% reduction in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

The Four Pillars of Longevity That Support Health And Wellness

• Physical Activity
• Social Interconnectedness
• Inner Sense of Purpose and Joy
• A Whole Food Plant-Based Diet

Active After 55 is based on these four pillars. We believe that a program designed to encourage you to improve your diet, join a community, have a purpose and move your body will benefit you today and for many years to come. While we don’t expect that these four pillars are central to everyone’s life, we believe that anyone can embrace all or most of these pillars. However, because everyone is at a different stage in life or in their quest for the health & wellness, our plan is adaptable. For instance, you may not be the best at physical activity but you do have social interconnectedness and a sense of purpose. In this instance we will help with the physical activity and leave the social stuff to you.

Losing Weight and Managing our “Fuel Intake”

Most of us are not at our ideal weight. Of course one outstanding factor for our inability to lose weight or maintain our ideal weight is an improper diet. Bad eating practices contribute to weight gain and the issues associated with excess weight. If you are not at your ideal weight, we will show you how to drop the extra pounds. This is important for several reasons. First of all, extra fat around the midsection is a precursor to diabetes and other chronic diseases. Additionally, carrying extra weight makes it harder to exercise and move about. Even if losing weight is not an issue, eating the right foods to properly fuel and nourish your body is critical to long term health & wellness.

I Don’t want to Completely Rely on A Whole Food Plant-Based Diet

We could not agree more. With our plan, you will choose your own foods and no foods off limits. This is a lifestyle change, not a diet and it is meant to be something that you can continue after the 12 weeks conclude. As your diet improves, you are less interested in fast food and dining out. The priority is to evaluate our relationship with food. Is it for comfort, boredom or simply enjoying the flavors? Have you seen many thin chefs? When cooking for flavors and richness, we may be hurting our bodies. The Blue Zones diet is considered the best by many holistic doctors. However, you may not be ready for a completely plant based diet. You might prefer the Mediterranean diet and have one day each week that is completely meatless. We will share a recipe for meatless Mondays every week but you can do your meatless day any day you choose.

Food To Eliminate (or Eat Sparingly) on Your Journey to Health and Wellness

We recommend that you eliminate (or use as a special treat) the following foods:

• Deep fried foods
• Fast food
• Red meat
• Processed carbs including pasta and rice
• Extra dairy
• Sugar

You can change your cooking preparations without heavy fried foods with sauces or using premade foods that have lots of chemicals and preservatives. Instead, you will choose fresh foods that are prepared simply by sauteing, grilling, baking, boiling and steaming.

Links to Various Diets that Promote Health And Wellness

Blue Zones diet https://www.bluezones.com/recipes/food-guidelines

The Mediterranean diet – https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/16037-mediterranean-diet

What About Exercise?

Regular exercise is very important to your overall health & wellness. We recommend that you do not depend on treadmills for a senior exercise routine. These are just work rather than fun. Instead, we recommend getting outside and joining friends to exercise. Rather than heading to a happy hour or early bird dinner, find activities that include movement like walking. This is one of the very best exercises and it doesn’t cost much. In fact, the activity most often noted by sites such as Blue Zones is walking. Read Here For More Information And to get going all you need is a pair of walking shoes! Of course, there are other great options such as swimming and cycling.  One advantage of swimming and cycling is their ease on our joints. Furthermore, enjoying time outdoors with friends not only provides exercise but it is great for mental health. This will encourage you to continue on the path to a healthier lifestyle.  It may also help you find a purpose.

Be Patient

Patience is the key to getting in shape and staying fit in the long run. Fitness doesn’t have to happen today or even tomorrow. However, every time you work out, you will feel elevated. And the best part is that you can lessen the suffering by spreading it out over weeks or even months. Our advice is to take the long term approach to get back in shape. Just changing a few habits you have acquired over the years might make all the difference in the world. By taking simple and easy steps, you may find a happy, better adjusted and hopefully thinner and more fit you.

So what are these easy, simple steps?

The first step is to follow a simple but challenging workout three (3) days per week, as religiously as possible. The workout can involve any exercise. However, you should pick an exercise that makes you happy.  Remember that happiness can come in many different forms. For instance, we have a thing about “secondary fun”.  This is when you suffer through a workout and after you finish you realize it wasn’t so bad and maybe even fun. For example, lifting weights may not be your favorite way to spend a couple of hours but when you are done, you feel invigorated, ready to take on the world and you are happy. This is secondary fun.

We always recommend outdoor activities, but for some people this is not always possible. We are truly fortunate that we live in an area like Brevard, NC. The weather here is generally pleasant and there are many outdoor activities to choose from. Regardless, it is very important to have an exercise that you truly like. If you find something that keeps drawing you back in, you have hit the “staying fit” jackpot. Some form of exercise that is more like playing a game and involves the great outdoors is perfect. 

Pick Up the Pace

While getting more active is admirable, taking things at a leisurely pace is not. Studies show that moderate to vigorous walking is much better than walking at a slow pace.  Fast paced walking helps get you into shape quicker and will help you stay in shape. Moderate to vigorous exercise will result (along with a proper diet) in burning calories, getting into shape and losing weight. But how is this fun? And aren’t we looking to make our activity more of a game?

Exercising for Fun

So how can we take a simple activity like walking, super charge it by walking vigorously and still make it a game, not to mention fun? My idea is to turn your exercise into a game. Walking is a great example.  Just going out by yourself will get pretty boring (and no fun) quickly.  Try to find other like minded folks and challenge them to a fast walk around the block.  Make it a friendly competition. If you can’t find anybody nearby, try joining a social exercise group like Strava. You can then compete with others anywhere in the world.  Keep pushing your limits by recording each walk, bike ride or swim and compete against yourself. But above all, we like being outside and playing.

Go Outside and Play

Great, so now all we have to do is get outside and play.  So two questions, why outside and why play? Well, according to this article entitled Outdoor physical activity bears multiple benefits to health and society) there are numerous benefits of going outside and playing. First there is a correlation between outside activity and weight loss.  You lose more weight exercising outside than inside. Secondly, there are a host of benefits from being outside and exercising, including better mental health, promoting a positive mood, better cognitive performance and the chance to meet and interact with like minded individuals. In fact, playing outside promotes mental and physical wellbeing.

As to playing, anytime you turn a chore, like exercising, into playtime it is so much easier to keep doing it. Figure out ways to make what you do enjoyable. Maybe turn training into a game. Ride, hike or walk with a group of friends. Set new destinations to hike or ride. Take local trips to try out different places. But whatever you do, make it a game. And make it fun. 

You need to make going outside and playing a lifelong endeavor.  It needs to be one of the core lifestyle changes you make. And doing it over a lifetime is beneficial as well. It’s what so many experts recommend. The get in shape quick method just doesn’t work in the long run. Most experts emphasize the need for a long term approach to better health and a longer life. 

Finding Purpose

Finding purpose in your life can be something small. Just don’t make the purpose an indoor, sedentary activity. Choose something that takes you away from plates of food on the table and long indoor meetings. Even if you can’t walk regularly, select an activity like gardening, where you can be outdoors and enjoy the beauties in nature. Just watching the growth of your garden can be mood elevating. And, if your sense of purpose includes traveling, you have come to the right site.

Hopefully, your new found purpose will have a social, physical and spiritual side. Being with a group of like minded individuals, having fun hiking, biking, swimming, playing pickleball or tennis is the way to make your new purpose stick.

The Conclusion 

At Active After 55, we would like to be your guide on your way to a fit and happier you.  We would also like to invite you to come to Brevard, NC and hike and bike with us.  As part of our concierge services, we will show you the town and the mountains.

Let’s get started

We recommend using apps such https://www.myfitnesspal.com/ to track your food and exercise intake. This is important to make you mindful of your choices. Another app that is just for exercise is Strava. You might even want to take a week tracking your current food and exercise to evaluate the changes you need to make. If losing weight is not a concern, you are able to track fat, sugar, salt and more for better health & wellness. Personalize your experience by setting up your profile with starting weight, your goal weight and your preferred diet intake (protein, carbs, fat percentage). You will be most successful with planning ahead and focusing on the change you want to make.