Healthy Aging

TLDR: Aging is inevitable but doesn’t have to be dreaded. We can support our bodies as they age through the right nutrition and by staying active.

Hello to all my friends!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a great week this past week. I am so very grateful for all of you!

I want to talk a minute about one of the main reasons I started my own health journey. Although I was at my heaviest weight in my 20s, I began to feel my body aging a little once I turned 30 (aches and pains in back and joints, morning stiffness, less energy, etc...) but I didn’t do anything about it. Actually, I remember joking about it, saying “once I hit 30, I started falling apart!”. After a few years, right when I turned 34, I thought about how fast time was going by. I knew I needed to lose weight and I knew doing so would help me feel better overall, and I also knew that doing so was only going to get more difficult the older I got, so I started educating myself on basic nutrition and decided to cut my calories to drop some pounds.

What I didn’t expect to happen was not only feel better from the weight loss, but to feel better overall! Yes, I was cutting my calories a bit to stay in a deficit, but I also made sure the calories I did eat came from whole, nutritious foods. Within just a couple weeks, I had energy I hadn’t had in years, I was sleeping better than I possibly ever had, nearly all my inflammation/pain in my joints was gone, I no longer needed the daily heartburn medication I was taking, and yes, I was losing weight.

So, many of the things I had contributed to “getting older” were actually just negative symptoms from the heavily processed foods and saturated fats I was eating before. I had also started daily yoga and the stretches were helping with my back pain tremendously!

It was then that I said to myself “Lacy, ‘getting old’ is inevitable. But you can do it SO much better than this. You know better, so do better. Do it for your future/older self. You will not regret it. And do it now, today, because tomorrow you will be a little bit older than you are right now.” And I haven’t regretted it. I feel better now, at almost 36 years old, than I did in my 20s. I wake up feeling calm and ready to start the day. I still have minor aches and pains from time to time, but I have better mobility (and a lot more strength) now than I ever have. I honestly feel great. I get comments about my weight loss from sweet people, telling me how good I look now, and my only response is “Thank you. I FEEL good. And that’s the important thing.” Because it’s true! Of course everyone wants to looks good, but feeling good and being healthy is really the only thing we can control and take with us into the future.

So, after saying all that (and if you’ve stuck with me so far, you’re the real MVP), this week’s topic is Healthy Aging. Giving your body the right nutrients, vitamins, and minerals along with staying active is exactly what it needs to feel it’s best, function at it’s best, and age with grace.

You know, we plan for our future in a lot of ways. We plan for retirement, kid’s college, career goals… but we often neglect our health and wellness in those plans, when in fact, without our health, none of the other plans even matter. We have to put our health before all else. It’s all we have.

Also, it’s never too late to start supporting your body as it ages. We can’t go back in time and change unhealthy habits we’ve had in the past, but we can start aging healthier today, this very minute.

Let’s eat for Healthy Aging

I know we all *know* this but it's worth repeating... what we put into our bodies literally becomes our bodies. The foods we choose to eat get broken down and are the building blocks for every function in our body. In regard to healthy aging, what we eat now is going to have a huge impact on the future health of our bodies (and minds!).

When making choices on nutritious foods, one of the most important things to focus on is in getting plenty of protein, vitamins, and minerals. A study shows that 50% of all older adults in the US are at risk for malnutrition. Yep, that's HALF of our senior population! This isn't because they are underfed, but because they're not getting adequate nutrition from the foods they eat.

A well-balanced diet is critical ate any age but especially as we get older. Lacking in protein and essential vitamins and minerals leads to muscle loss which cause falls and frailty, a weakened immune system, faster progression of Alzheimer's and dementia, and slower recovery from wounds and infections.

Let’s move for Healthy Aging

It's no surprise that being active is good for your body overall. 150 min a week of moderate activity lowers your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and so much more which all affect both how long we live and our quality of life - which I think is super important!

In my opinion, the best exercises we can do for our bodies to age well are mobility and balance exercises. Poor balance is the number one cause of falls in seniors but balance can be improved with the right exercises. Also, one thing we all notice as we get a bit older is joint stiffness and aches and pains when doing simple movements (who else groans when they stand up from the floor?), all of which can be improved with mobility exercises.

Resistance training helps improve muscle mass but also helps to strengthen our bones which is super important as our bodies age. Weakening bones and conditions like osteoporosis are very common among seniors but improving our strength helps keep our bones strong.

Just keep moving overall! Our bodies are made to move, want to move, and need to move in order to age well.

Wellness for Healthy Aging

Wellness encompasses all-around health and vitality. It's nutrition and exercise but also so much more - it's mental health, it's social health, it's having a good relationship with food. It's managing stress and getting good sleep. It's about everything that gives you the best quality of life.

And quality of life is essential as we age. We need healthy bodies, healthy minds, and healthy relationships to thrive. Setting an intention to work on these things can help us age is healthy and happy as possible.

I wish to thrive in my senior years. It is the main driving force behind my health journey. And I want to see you thriving as well! Let’s grow old (and healthy) together!

Have a healthy and happy weekend, my friends. I love you all.