Tips and Tricks to Live Forever… Or At Least Close
If I were to ask everyone reading this article whether they wanted to live to 100 plus, they probably would say an emphatic yes! But you may be wondering what you can do to get there along the way.
Get Exercise
Yeah, I know, coming from a fitness company it may seem like nagging. A metadata analysis of 13 studies shows that regular exercise as compared to those who don’t exercise can increase your life span up to 6.9 years!
Our oldest client at 105, still working out!
That is nearly 7 extra years for life even after they take into account other risk factors such as unhealthy diets and other chronic conditions such as diabetes. “The relative risk of death is approximately 20% to 35% lower in physically active and fit persons compared to that in inactive and unfit persons.” [1]
So what can we do to keep active as we age? Walking is consistently one of the best options, because it is low impact and can be lightly to moderately cardio intensive. This can help with weight loss, strength, and prevention of cardiac disease. Those that are 65+ that walked daily, lowered their mortality risk by 14.1%. [2]
Resistance training is great, because as we age we lose a lot of our strength and muscle mass. We can lose so much muscle that we can find daily tasks such as getting out of a chair, a very real struggle. We have clients who are in their 80’s who are dealing with these exact problems. To prevent this we recommend moderate resistance training twice a week. [3]
Once again, coming from a fitness company this may feel like we are trying to sell you something. However the problem with a lot of the fad diets, is that these diets often lack in specific nutrients and may not be healthy for you in the long term.
Eat Moderately and Eat Healthy
Diets like keto, paleo, and whole30 tell you to remove entire food groups or easy sources of certain vitamins and minerals. This can be very damaging to your health. For example diets high in fats and low in carbohydrates increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases. [4] The current recommendation by most health professionals is to balance your diet around 50% carbohydrates, 25% fats, and 25% proteins. You should eat mostly vegetables, with some healthy non-saturated fats, and lean proteins.
Eating leafy greens regularly can delay symptoms of dementia. “[T]hose who consumed 1–2 servings per day was the equivalent of being 11 years younger in age compared with those who rarely or never consumed green leafy vegetables. ” [5]
So eat moderately and eat healthy. It’s okay to enjoy a handful of candy or a soda every now and then. Just eat good quality food and it’ll boost the quality of your life!
Be Social
Surprisingly being social is one of the best ways to help increase your lifespan. Humans are social creatures by nature, we crave social interaction. Loneliness and isolation can be deadly. Lonely individuals are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease. [6]
We need friends and family as a support system. Those who have close friends and family are 50% more likely to survive all-cause mortality. But surprising to most, we also need the ancillary relationships with our cashiers, mailmen, and waiters. Having these acquaintances are also important to keep the mind sharp and help improve memory.
Conclusion
We may not have given you all of the secrets to live forever, but we have given you 3 secrets to help you live longer and a healthier life. By combining regular exercise, eating well, and being social you can vastly improve your quality of life.
6 Science Backed Health Benefits of Walking for Seniors
It all begins with an idea.
Walking is a great way to get exercise and it offers a wide variety of health benefits. It’s easy to do, costs nothing other than time, and is guaranteed to improve your health.
1) Walking Improves Cardiovascular Health
Walking can be as effective as running. Walking is a great way for men and women to lower blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, risk of stroke, and more. Exercise is a great way to take care of your health. [1]
2) Lower Risk of Elderly Disability
Regular exercise can stave off elderly disability due to muscle loss and mobility issues. This can keep seniors in their home for longer and stave off the need for round the clock care. A study in 2008 from the University of Georgia found that regular walking reduced risk of developing a physical disability by 41% in those 65 plus. [2]
3) Prevent or Lower Risk of Arthritis
Walking can help lubricate knee and hip joints and reduce the inflammation caused by arthritis. Walking also strengthening surrounding musculature which can stabilize the knee. This reduces the risk of injury. [3]
4) Improve Brain Health
Walking can increase your proprioception. Proprioception is our awareness of where our body is in space. So regular walking helps you know where your body is, whether or not you are upright, and can prevent falls.
Studies are also showing that exercise such as walking can boost your memory! When we exercise our body releases endorphins and growth factor. This allows our brain to make new connections and even increase brain volume over time. [4]
Walking can also reduce stress, boost our mood, and help us get a better nights sleep.
5) Boost Your Immune System
Regular walking can enhance vaccination response, boost different types of white blood cell production, and can decrease inflammation response. All of this combined can then lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and Alzheimer’s. [5]
6) Add Years to Your Life
Because of the many benefits that walking has, it can increase your life span by 7 years! Also those who walked more had less medical expenses over their lifetime than their counterparts that didn’t walk at all. [6]
Conclusion
Walking is a great exercise for seniors because it is low impact and can improve their health. If you are out of practice or afraid to walk, we offer supervised 30 min walks and you can reach out to us here. Otherwise we recommend you start off slow and for only 10 minutes at a time. Slowly build up your pace and the amount of time walking, and reap the benefits.
Do You Have Cardiovascular Disease? 1 in 2 Americans Do!
It all begins with an idea.
According to the American Heart Association 46-48% of Americans have some form of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular diseases are a class of diseases that deal with the heart or the blood vessels. This includes hypertension, increased risk of stroke, coronary artery diseases, and increased risk of heart attacks. [1] So how do you know if you have a cardiovascular disease and what can you do about it?
Source: https://www.heart.org/en/news/2019/01/31/cardiovascular-diseases-affect-nearly-half-of-american-adults-statistics-show
Signs of Cardiovascular Disease in Men
Whether you are in your mid life or are a senior, the risks of cardiovascular disease can increase, and the consequences can be devastating. There are plenty of signs that you should be looking out for, and if you experience any of these signs and symptoms you should consult with your doctor immediately.
Signs of cardiovascular disease [2]:
Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms and a good indicator of health. If you feel you don’t have the energy or the motivation, you may need to talk to a doctor.
Chest pain or discomfort
High blood pressure
Dizziness or light-headedness
Swelling of extremities
Fatigue
Shortness of breath
Pain in neck, back, arms, or shoulders
Headaches
Signs of Cardiovascular Disease in Women
Due to differences in physiology, symptoms of cardiovascular diseases can show up differently in women as compared to men. For instance men when showing signs of a heart attack may experience pain in the arms and back, while most women may experience pain in their neck and jaw. So it is important to be aware of the differences. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms listed below, please consult your physician.
Here are some of the symptoms you may be experiencing [3]:
Neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back or abdominal discomfort
Shortness of breath
Pain in one or both arms
Nausea or vomiting
Sweating
Light-headedness or dizziness
Unusual fatigue
Severe headache
Blood in Urine
A lot of times, for women, the symptoms of these kinds of disease may be more subtle than it is for men. Unfortunately this is why women may be more often dismissed by doctors. Know your signs, know your health, and get more than one opinion.
What Can You Do About It?
Luckily cardiovascular disease is a condition often caused by lifestyle. This means that we can make changes in our life that can combat this disease. Most doctors will recommend methods to lower blood pressure such as
fitness and diet changes, and possibly relaxation techniques. Physical activity can improve cardiovascular health drastically. Unfortunately a lot of the cardiovascular problems we experience are due to poor diet and lack of exercise.
If you haven’t exercised in a while, start small. Even a 20 minute walk is a great place to start. Once this becomes easy, you can increase the duration or intensity of exercise. It is important that you build your way up. Hiring a trainer may be the best way to make sure that you are doing exercises in a productive way and without injury.
Improvements in diet also go a long way in lowering blood pressure, lowering high cholesterol, and decreasing the risk of stroke and heart attacks. A well balanced diet of lean proteins, vegetables, and fruit can aid in weight loss and vastly improve overall health.
Do I Really Need to Diet to Lose Weight and Body Fat?
It all begins with an idea.
If you’re the average man or woman, you may have many questions on nutrition, fitness and your personal body image. As a society we’re flooded with images of the so-called perfect body on TV, in magazines and pretty much anywhere you look. These images often show that if you have a certain type of body, you’ll be much happier and more popular than everyone around you. Often we’re told that in order to achieve the “perfect body” that we should diet or do something crazy and possibly harmful things to our bodies in order to achieve those goals!
We are inundated with images like this, which is causing eating disorders, lowered self esteem, and body dysmorphia.
In the media today being “thin” is the only way to be considered attractive, successful, popular and highly sought after and envied. Because this is so prevalent in the media, studies have shown that young girls as young as 9 years old have tried some form of dieting to lose weight. But….did you know that more often than not these media images have been manipulated to have thinner thighs, tight/toned abs, absolutely flawless skins and making these people look so different from what they really do look like, you probably wouldn’t recognize them if they were standing right in front of you!
Now if you have a goal to lose weight, decrease your body/belly fat or to improve/increase your energy levels, I’m here to tell you that as a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutritionist, who has worked and trained hundreds/thousands of both men and women, that although exercise is extremely important, it’s what you put IN your body will make or break your results!
Keep in mind that no one nutrition program works for everyone with the same results, but I’ve personally found that what gets my clients the best results are always going to be based on the following:
Current weight
Goal weight
Current body fat percentage
Goal body fat percentage
Height
Current level of physical activity
Health history
Determination
After getting the above information, a good nutrition program will ALWAYS include the following:
Eating 4 – 6 small meals a day or 3 meals, with 1 – 2 snacks
4 – 5 servings of vegetables (fresh or frozen are best)
2 – 4 servings of fruit (fresh or frozen)
Limiting or eliminating starchy carbs (breads, cereals, pastas, chips, etc.)
Eating lean proteins (chicken, turkey, fish, beef, etc.) 0.5 – 0.8gms per body weight
Drinking plenty of water (not soda, coffee or energy drinks!)
Limiting or eliminating fast food and junk food
If you’re serious about starting and being successful in your nutrition program, and you’re willing to do the above, there’s one other thing that I cannot stress enough to put you in the success category: Journaling! Now what journaling involves is writing down EVERYTHING that you eat whether you made good or not as good choices. This is your moment of truth! By being extremely honest with yourself you’ll be more successful in meeting your goals! There are several awesome apps that you can download onto you cell phone/tablet (one of my favorites are MyFitnessPal, but check around and see what app (if you’re using one), works best for you.
Okay, with all that being said, exercising will only improve upon your results. Getting in at least 30 – 60 minutes of some form of cardio (dance classes, walking, running, workout videos, etc.) 4 – 6 days a week, along with strength training 3 – 4 days a week (trust me…you will not bulk up!), to increase your metabolism, causing you to burn more calories, increasing your lean muscles, which yields great results…yay you!
It’s now time to put all this information together and start on the road to a successful life to become more fit, have more fun and increase your energy level so that you’ll be able to stay focused, motivated and play all day!
Is Your Parent Struggling to get Out of the Chair?
It all begins with an idea.
It’s a fact of life, that as we age we lose muscle mass. A good part of that comes from lack of use, and from lack of adequate diet to help us maintain our strength. So how do we return what was lost? [1]
2 Simple Things You Can Do Right Now to Help
1) Get them moving!
There are plenty of exercise options for seniors that can help them regain their strength. At this stage of life a lot of strength is lost due to inactivity.
Whether they do walking, water aerobics, tai chi, or resistance training, all of these will help build strength. If they are having trouble getting out of their chair, it is because of severe deconditioning. [2]
What you can do with them right now:
You can help them enroll in an exercise program. You can help them walk to regain some strength. Or you can do chair squats with them.
Chair squat procedure:
Help them into a standing position in front of a sturdy chair.
While they are holding on to you, have them slowly (as slow as they can) lower into the chair.
Help them stand again, and repeat this process 5-10 time.
Rest and repeat if they are feeling up to it.
If you can help them do this a couple times a week, it can strengthen their legs again so that they can get out of a chair more easily on their own.
2) Make Sure They Are Eating Well
A large part, probably upward of 70%, of our strength and health comes from our diet. A good general rule of thumb is if we eat well, we feel well.
As we get to our later stages of life, our body doesn’t metabolize as it used to. This means our metabolism slows down, and we are unable to process as much of the food we intake and turn it into something useful within our body. [3]
That is why it is vitally important that people of advanced age eat more protein, and get proper portions of vegetables to get the nutrients their body needs to hold on to the strength they have. [4]
Often times people at this stage of life lose a lot of muscle mass and weight because they aren’t eating as much as their body needs.
Conclusion
It is important for those after the age of 60 to get proper nutrition, and it is vitally important that they keep moving and exercising. Keeping a regular exercise regiment can vastly improve quality of life. It can reduce aches and pains, increase energy levels, increase mobility, and reduce injury.
