Anti-aging, reverse aging, younger next year….is any of it true, or is it mostly just smoke and mirrors? How to reverse aging? Well, let me introduce you to John. He is a hard-working man who retired at 65. He had a checkup with his doctor just before he retired. John was a specimen of physical fitness – bad fitness.
This guy was literally almost one hundred pounds overweight, had terribly high cholesterol, plenty of low energy, and the types of food he was eating off the charts unhealthily. With tons of stress in his life about his retirement, he was carrying a lot of anxiety. John found himself in terrible shape and going through depression.
Sure, we know a lot of people who are actually quite fulfilled at that age in life, but, more than we realize, there are folks out there like John.
How To Reverse Aging? Making a Choice To Think In a Different Way
Although not wealthy by most standards, John and his wife had actually managed to have enough financial resources that they worked out their long-term plan to retire in Florida. However, John’s brand new physician in Florida was worried. However, he happened to be one of “those” doctors who believed in this “reverse aging” thing. So he started talking to John to teach him how to reverse aging in himself.
First, it was about getting him started with SOME exercise. John’s answer to his doctor wasn’t a good one. He told his doc that he had never been an athlete, nor an exercise enthusiast, and had no plans to start now. John’s Dr., in the kindest way possible, told him that if he didn’t do something differently, the chances of him living very long were not good. Well, with that thought in mind, John gave in a bit, but only reluctantly agreed to drive over to the nearby beach and take brisk walks 5 times a week. At least he got started doing something.
How to Reverse Aging Processes – Very slowly – But do it
The first day he pushed it (for John) and walked about a half mile and felt pretty good about himself. The next morning he felt like he had been hit by that proverbial Mack truck. He got up, popped a couple of Advil, and could literally only walk a hundred yards or so that day. His body was immediately rebelling against the small changes from his sedentary lifestyle. But…. he didn’t give up. He got back out there the next day and prodded along. It actually took the big guy a few weeks to where he was walking a mile.
As John progressed, he felt better about himself. The lengths and pace of his walks were ever so gradually increasing. He actually started making better food choices. Also, he began to notice an increase in energy. It seemed that John was on to something. But, was this for real?
Reverse Aging, Really?
After one year, John returned to his Dr and reported walking taking brisk five miles walks almost every day of the week. Due to his simple walking regimen and some simple changes in his eating habits, his weight was down 60 pounds, cholesterol and blood pressure were within normal ranges. His doctor thought that John looked 10 years younger and John felt that way as well.
True story – and it happens over and over again to people who insist on making a change. The previous paragraph is a paraphrase of a story from the book “Younger Next Year: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy – Until You’re 80 and Beyond.”
There are a few ideas in the book that I’m not in agreement with. However, fundamentally, there is a good 85% of the book that I highly recommend. The book was a New York Times bestseller in the mid-2000s and millions of people started considering the idea. The radical idea that, although your numerical age will be one year higher next year, your physical body and mind could actually be in the shape of someone younger? Well, it seems that the science behind that notion is real.
A Silly Fad?
So, is it true? Is reverse aging possible? Or, is the anti-aging lifestyle just a fad? Well, I’m not going to load this post with a ton of statistics. You have Google. However, in general, doctors will tell you that it is definitely true. Now, if you’ve got some age on you, you can’t go off and be jumping into some wide open, crazy kick-your-butt aggressive program (unless your doctor gives you an okay for that). Otherwise, that can be silly and dangerous for your age.
But several key things come into play and we will talk about these issues as individual topics in later posts:
- Proper diet – you can’t just eat what the heck you want anymore (if you want to be healthy).
- Some type of aerobic exercise – oh crap! Hey! It may be walking as John did. You might not have the beach close by, but there is plenty of earth around on which to walk. The intensity of your exercise can greatly vary according to your current health status.
- Strength training – and it can be very mild, but I remember that, as my father-in-law was approaching or arrived at 80, his doctor had him using light dumbbells to help gain and strength in parts of his body.
- Keeping mentally sharp – a key signature of this website – don’t stop learning, don’t stop thinking of new and helpful ideas, and don’t stop leading – even if it’s only by your example to those who are younger.
- Focus spiritually – Even if your worldview is not consistent with mine, still most believe we have a spiritual component that must be nurtured. Even if you’re not sure about this “God Thing,” still seek to find the truth about spirituality.
You can add several other things to that list. But whether you are 50 or 60, you might need to think differently about reverse aging or, at least slowing down the aging process. Nope, you can’t stop the birthdays. I’m getting where I hate those things. I want to be 30. Haha, that ship sailed away from the port a long time ago, so to heck with that! I am where I am and you are where you are. The chronological clock seems to go faster with age, but that doesn’t mean that our health has to decline at the same rapid pace.
What if your health can be 10%, 20%, or 40% better next year if just you put your mind to it and would think differently about this season of your life? Over the long haul, what if some of these concepts bought you 6 or 7 more healthy years with your spouse -your kids, your grandchildren – your friends? It’s worth taking a look. So let’s do it.
I promise that BRIANSLOAN.NET literally couldn’t buy a coke and a smile with the affiliate commission from a copy of “Younger Next Year,” but I encourage you to think about grabbing one because it could be worth years of good health for you. you can grab Younger Next Year HERE. Or, for the Ladies, Younger Next Year for Women. Or, you can click the links in the sidebar.
Talk to you soon.
B Sloan