Are you still the fairest of them all?
When you look in the mirror, do you see someone you don’t recognize or someone much older than you feel? Baby boomers want to remain vigorous and healthy, yet many are sinking into a hole of pain and disability with age-related illnesses.
Obesity is a major problem. Research shows that only ½ of boomers between 53-62 years old are getting enough exercise. Include the easy access to high fat, fast, processed foods and the threat of diabetes, arthritis and heart disease is doubled.
The risk of getting some cancers and even dementia increases, all because some choices are made without much forethought or insight. These choices are how you live your life and just as one choice is made, so can a different one be implemented.
What can be done to reverse this trend?
The first thing is to make a commitment to a lifelong contract of behavioral change. Changing habits takes time and effort, but the rewards are limitless. The most difficult part is getting started. Always remember to write down the exact date you will start taking action and set short-term goals for the first thirty days.
The sense of accomplishment you feel when you reach your goals will keep you motivated to continue on your journey. My client, Angela, was a 63-year-old single woman, who was determined to lose the twenty pounds she gained after her divorce. With enthusiasm and a strong commitment, she set weekly goals that motivated her to eat right and exercise. In three months, she reached her goal and now feels ready to venture into the competitive, but exciting dating scene.
What else did she do? She asked herself how willing she was to make the sacrifices necessary for change. Was she willing to stick to a new healthy lifestyle when it’s so easy to fall back into the patterns she used for so many years? She was asked what her life would look like 5, 10, 15 years from now, if she didn’t make these changes? When she let go of old patterns of thinking and behaving, she opened herself up to options that she never thought possible. She reset her focus on the reasons why she needed to revamp her behavior, which made it easier for her to follow through with her commitment to stay on track.
You can do this too even though your lifestyle behaviors are some of the hardest habits to change.
Don’t feel bad if you take two steps forward and one step back. Each step forward brings you closer to a healthier you. Why not be the fairest of them all, by doing what you need to do to maintain your health, vitality and energy of your youth? After all, the mirror doesn’t lie!
Read more posts by Amy Sherman here. Amy blogs for JenningsWire.
