Most of us make certain goals throughout our lives and in order to achieve them we have to plan ahead and follow through. You plan to save up for a house, vacation or a special luxury item. Whatever that might be, if you don’t plan for it, it probably won’t happen. The same is true with your health. If you just wing it, don’t be surprised if years down the road you find yourself overweight and in poor health. Planning for your health early in life will save you from dealing with chronic illnesses, expensive training sessions and the mental difficulty of an uphill battle.
As we age, we experience the natural progression of muscle atrophy and weight gain due to less activity and a slowdown in metabolism. At the same time our bones become thinner making them susceptible to breakage. If we don’t plan ahead for this unfortunate downward cycle, we will end up with extra weight, loss of joint mobility, overall aches and pains, and in many cases depression. Just because this process is natural doesn’t mean that it has to happen to you. It also doesn’t mean that there’s nothing you can do about it.
To combat muscle loss you have to continuously weight train and consume enough protein to help build new muscle as well as maintain the ones you already have. Precious muscle is easily lost if you don’t regularly work it or if you attempt to restrict your calories to the point where in order to survive your body starts burning protein for energy.
Your food intake has to be a big priority item as you get older. In order to hold on to your svelte figure, you have to constantly adjust how you eat. Listen to your body and if you notice that something is making it feel uncomfortable, stop eating it! I used to eat
a bagel every single day for years and get away with. But I can’t do that anymore since it makes me gain weight so I switched to oatmeal which works much better. You need to consume more fresh produce that gives you optimal nutrition without empty calories and harmful ingredients. Look at everything you consume through the lens of good nutrition. Ask yourself if it’s good for you, what will it do for you, will it give you energy or will it leave you feeling worse after you are done eating it.
And don’t forget your bones since brittle bones are a sure sign of poor health. Make sure you eat foods rich in calcium. I am not a fan of calcium supplements since it’s easy to overdo it and end up with kidney stones. Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli have a ton of calcium and should be eaten regularly by everyone especially pregnant women. To help maximize calcium absorption, make sure you get your vitamin D from at least 15 minute daily sun exposure.
Consuming enough calcium, however, is only half the battle. In order to save your bones from becoming brittle, you need to expose them to some major pounding. Walking, jogging, hiking, playing tennis, basketball or any other sport where your feet are constantly hitting the pavement is what you need to create strong and dense bones. Perform weight bearing exercises and calisthenics to keep the rest of your bones engaged.
We all age but we don’t all age the same. Some of us age healthy and vibrantly. But it takes a plan, so plan for your health and stick to it. The quality of your life is at stake. Don’t wing it.