It has to be done.  It is the new year.  I am a nurse.  Therefore, I feel like I would be negligent not to talk about taking care of our health.   After all, health is a key factor in enjoying a happy and fulfilling retirement lifestyle.

I take a little different approach to health than many people.  Only time will tell if it works or not.  I think that part of the reason people do not take care of their health is that it feels like an “all or nothing” life:

• Either I am a gym rat, or I sit in front of a screen (computer, phone, T.V.) all day. 
• Either I eat a Paleo diet, or I just give up and eat all the carbs I want.
• I messed up today and ate a cinnamon roll for breakfast, so I might as well just eat whatever I want today, and I will be better tomorrow.   

All or nothing does not typically work.  Always being healthy is almost impossible to maintain and eating anything you want and not exercising will eventually catch up with you and you will not have a quality retirement life. Somewhere in the middle lies the key to health and pleasure in retirement.  There are two words in the middle that you can lean on to maintain your health in retirement.

The key word for a healthy diet

I am going to propose a very boring approach to eating healthy.  One that will never make the headlines of Prevention Magazine or be the latest diet/exercise plan floating around Instagram.  It is called, drum roll please… moderation.  Yawn.

Webster defines moderation as the avoidance of excess or extremes.   And we all know that the latest media surge is into extremes.   One day eggs are bad for you and the next week they are a great source of protein.  The high protein, low carb diet is the best for you (oh but is also hard on your kidneys).  And don’t even get me started on moderation in portion sizes.

Moderation does not sell, but it works.  How do I know this?  I have come across hundreds of patients that have exercised moderation and were living long, healthy lives.  I have also observed it personally as I watch my dad. 

Let me introduce my dad

My dad is 95 years old and sharp as a tack.  He still lives independently, drives his own car and he has lived his entire life with healthy moderation.   If he is full, he does not eat.  He can have just one cookie and be satisfied.  He would prefer to eat fresh fruits and vegetables out of his garden instead of fast food or prepackaged plastic that is tried to pass off as food.  He has not stepped foot in a gym since high school but has always been physically active running his own business, swimming in the lake in front of his house, hiking on his property or going backpacking with my brothers.  He has never been overweight a day in his life and he is, did I mention, 95 years old.  His attitude, faith, commitment, kindness, integrity and healthy lifestyle are an inspiration and example to me of how to grow old graciously and healthy.  He is a great role model for me (and I hope I inherited his good genes too).

I should add that the only time you don’t want moderation in food and drink is with water.  Go ahead and overdo it on water (unless you have a disease that fluid overload is a concern).  Our bodies are 55-60% water so we need to keep that replenished.   A cosmetologist once told me that drinking enough water was the best way to have fresh, healthy-looking skin too. 

The key word for a physically active body.

What if I told you that there is a pill that will help you lose weight, decrease your blood pressure, improve your mood, increase your energy and lower your stress, but…it is a hard pill to swallow.  Would you take it?  Well, as you have probably guessed, that pill is exercise and the key word to make it effective is also very boring:  routine.  A daily routine with a time for exercise is particularly important in retirement.  There are just too many other wonderful things to do, and it is all too easy to let those things come first and before you know it, it is 9:00 p.m. and who wants to exercise at that time of day.

While gyms are a great way to get exercise with a motivating group of people around you, it takes high wind or ice to cause me to open the gym doors.  I prefer the outdoor gym.  The time goes faster rolling along on my bike looking at the lake, observing wildlife as my kayak glides through the marsh or walking in the beautiful outdoors than it does sitting on a stationary bike, suffering through a rowing machine or walking on a treadmill.  But let’s face it, even if it is an exercise we enjoy, we have to push ourselves to do it (or is that just me).  A routine time of day when you “just do it” helps keep us on track.

In Summary

If we do not have our health, it is difficult to fully enjoy retirement.   However, to be healthy, I do not want to give up living life well now. None of us know how many days we have on this earth, and I want to enjoy every single one.   For me, eating is one of the great pleasures in life.  Fortunately, I think healthy foods are delicious, but I also want to enjoy the ice cream cone with my grandkids or buy the fresh pumpkin doughnut and coffee at the fall market.  We just can’t indulge in these foods too frequently because that is what drives up our total cholesterol level and causes the chronic high blood sugar that wears our pancreas out.  So go ahead and thoroughly enjoy it without guilt…  in moderation.   I will never be model thin or run a half marathon with this approach, however, so far I have been able to avoid taking any prescription medications and am able to maintain an active lifestyle so I can keep up with the grandkids (well, sort of). 

There is so much information out there on health that it can be overwhelming.  That is why is helps to choose a couple words to live by that guide your daily choices.  Because it is the daily choices that determine our long-term health.  Of course, mental health is also a key factor in maintaining a healthy retirement lifestyle, but that will have to be another post for another day because this one is already too long.  (Glad you made it this far.)

So, there you have it.   Two boring words to maintain your health:  moderation and routine.  What healthy habits work for you?