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Thoughts on getting old vs aging

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  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
    edited February 2019
    Linda21353 wrote: »
    I turned 67 two weeks ago. I just got a call from my doctor and my blood work came back as normal. My BP was 112/62. When I was in my 50s I was obese, drinking every day and not careful with my diet. My kidneys were failing after being on blood pressure meds for over 5 years. I’ve had issues with my weight since I was 16. I’ve learned that you are what you eat and exercise is the fountain of youth. While my hair is white and my laugh lines are deep, I’m in the best health ever. I’ve lost 45 lbs but still have 30 to go. I will say this to you youngsters, it’s harder to take off when you get older. It’s a lifestyle change. Do it while you’re young. I consider myself very blessed and want to travel while I’m still able. Add me as a friend if you wish. I just got back on MFP after being absent for a while. I’ll be happy to help in any way I can.

    @Linda21353 ...very inspiring. I agree with you too. I never really let my health go, but I could have taken it more seriously too. I have a great bunch of friends on my feed, and sending you a request as well. 🙂

    Edit: it won't let me add you...sent a message instead...
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    rosiorama wrote: »
    I am currently reading “Older Faster Stronger” by Margaret Webb. I found out about the book from the link below, which was sent around by a friend whose husband, nearing 50, was concerned about facing physical decline as he aged. Although the book was written by a woman for female runners, it has a lot of interesting information about how much fitness slows a significant amount of the decline that comes with getting older and being less active.

    https://www.outsideonline.com/2010156/age-irrelevant-when-it-comes-fitness

    Great video. Between that and the book, I feel I should take up running again.

    Turning 45 this year. Being active is so beneficial to my psyche. My dad spent his whole adult life practising being old. I plan to fight it every step of the way. I don’t want to end up a doddering lump in an old age home, and I’m gonna do whatever I can to mitigate that horror.

    I'm your age and I just recently (weeks ago) achieved my fastest ever running pace. I highly recommend weight training to supplement your running. I haven't had an injury in several years, since I started lifting heavy. I think it's made me both less prone to injury and more powerful (which is translating into speed.) You can do this! B)

    P.S. I don't see it as "fighting" old age. It's not a struggle to me. I just see it as adapting to and growing with the changes. :)
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    try2again wrote: »
    Saw this tonight and it made me think of this thread:

    https://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/video/meet-the-86-year-old-soaring-to-great-heights-as-the-world-s-oldest-trapeze-artist-1447580739682

    I kept telling my hubby, "There is no way that woman is 86 years old!" Aside from staying active and a great attitude towards life, those have to be some award-winning genes!

    That's so me at 86! Woo-hoo! I love it when I see fit older people. I look at them as role models. It makes me excited for my future. <3
  • rosiorama
    rosiorama Posts: 300 Member
    edited February 2019
    jenilla1 wrote: »
    rosiorama wrote: »
    I am currently reading “Older Faster Stronger” by Margaret Webb. I found out about the book from the link below, which was sent around by a friend whose husband, nearing 50, was concerned about facing physical decline as he aged. Although the book was written by a woman for female runners, it has a lot of interesting information about how much fitness slows a significant amount of the decline that comes with getting older and being less active.

    https://www.outsideonline.com/2010156/age-irrelevant-when-it-comes-fitness

    Great video. Between that and the book, I feel I should take up running again.

    Turning 45 this year. Being active is so beneficial to my psyche. My dad spent his whole adult life practising being old. I plan to fight it every step of the way. I don’t want to end up a doddering lump in an old age home, and I’m gonna do whatever I can to mitigate that horror.

    I'm your age and I just recently (weeks ago) achieved my fastest ever running pace. I highly recommend weight training to supplement your running. I haven't had an injury in several years, since I started lifting heavy. I think it's made me both less prone to injury and more powerful (which is translating into speed.) You can do this! B)

    P.S. I don't see it as "fighting" old age. It's not a struggle to me. I just see it as adapting to and growing with the changes. :)

    I’ve been lifting weights for about four years now, more or less consistently. I started lifting (I was more into cardio and running then) over fifteen years ago.

    I’ve had chronic knee problems since I was a pre-teen, made worse by an injury that required surgery. It has affected my ability to do physical activity for most of my life and I live with varying levels of pain most of the time.

    Every physical activity I do is done with consideration for what it will do to the knee: the extent that I push during lower body workouts, running, winter walking, you name it.

    But thanks for your advice. 😎
  • ecs1516
    ecs1516 Posts: 51 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    @Phirrgus The Blue Zones researchers make it really clear that while the diets of people in the BZs are important, there is a pretty good chance that their healthy longevity comes from their lifestyles - they still work, play, socialize, etc right through their 90s and past 100. In the book they talk to a 100+ man who still herds his animals walking several miles with them every day. Our assumption that being past a certain age means becoming a dependent lump I think really handicaps us in western society.

    My parents are in their 70s and just retired to VA. They had a 2 story house built on a decent sized piece of land, and everyone told them they were nuts to make their retirement home with stairs and a big yard to care for. But their philosophy is use it or lose it. If I have to get up the stairs, I'll prioritize being capable of getting up the stairs.

    I like your parents attitude too! I will be 53 next month.
  • ccrdragon
    ccrdragon Posts: 3,374 Member
    Bry_Fitness70 wrote: »
    The downward spiral happens when the inevitable health problem hits you: if you are of a certain age and fall down, if you have low bone density and weak muscles, you may break your hip – if you’ve been managing your fitness, you may just get a nasty bruise. The person with the broken hip will be sidelined for months, and this is usually step one on the path to gaining weight, losing mobility, and developing associated health problems that you may never fully recover from. Be proactive and build your resilience!

    I can attest to this - my mom (who wasn't in the best physical shape) broke her hip falling in the bathtub when she was 73... we said our last goodbyes less than a year later.

    My father, on the other hand will turn 80 this summer and still goes out for breakfast 5-7 days a week, does all his own shopping and even a fair percentage of his own yard work.
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
    Phirrgus wrote: »
    About 5 minutes long..worth the watch :)
    https://youtu.be/BQr8h7eLA2o

    Great video. The art of selecting the most clickbait-iest image for the video cover (the jacked dude dancing with a fit lady in a very tiny bikini) is on full display here :D !
  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
    Bry_Fitness70 wrote: »
    Phirrgus wrote: »
    About 5 minutes long..worth the watch :)
    https://youtu.be/BQr8h7eLA2o

    Great video. The art of selecting the most clickbait-iest image for the video cover (the jacked dude dancing with a fit lady in a very tiny bikini) is on full display here :D !

    Oh my gosh lol..it's hard to find ones that don't have the click bait.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,085 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »

    So, I guess that's what I'd say as advice for others: Understand your true non-negotiable, unchangeable limitations; try things; start slowly, build gradually, and be persistent; and (maybe most important) suspend dis-belief in yourself. Don't assume what you can't do; experiment and see what you can do.

    Bolded and highlighted. Sometimes it takes longer when we're older (especially if we're learning something new), sometimes the struggle with life balance is real, and sometimes we have very physical "limitations" we need to work around/with, but, I'm a firm believer that sheer stubborness can pay off.

    No, it's not easy. Yes, it can suck. A lot. But the payoff is more than worth it IMO.

    I don't think of myself as old (40), I don't feel old for the most part, but my body does have some, ah, "memories" of the fact that I've lived more life than I had in my 20's LOL! So I have had to learn to work with and around some limitations, but I don't plan on letting them stop me. May have altered the course a bit, but stop? Nope.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    ceiswyn wrote: »
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    So, I guess that's what I'd say as advice for others: Understand your true non-negotiable, unchangeable limitations; try things; start slowly, build gradually, and be persistent; and (maybe most important) suspend dis-belief in yourself. Don't assume what you can't do; experiment and see what you can do.

    QFT.

    In some ways, I think it's actually helped me to have arrived at my current age without any previous experience of a working body. I'd been obese and unfit for my entire life, since early childhood. I have muscle and bone damage that dates to my late teens. All of which has meant that I have no expectations to fall short of.

    I think that for a lot of people of my sort of age (late 30s, early 40s) the problem is that their past was too rosy. They remember younger, fitter selves who could do all sorts of things 'effortlessly' (actually as the result of a lot of physical effort as they grew up, disguised as having fun). When they gain weight and lose fitness due to parenthood, sedentary jobs etc, all they can see is that they can no longer do things they used to be able to do. Even if they try to commit to losing weight and improving their fitness they're still mentally looking backwards and comparing themselves against a younger, more able and active self, rather than looking at what they can do, right now. And then when it takes actual time and effort to improve they're shocked and appalled, and think that it's age that's making things hard - and when you have an excuse for failure, it's really easy to give up trying.

    For me, there are no things I used to be able to do. I literally have no idea what my body is capable of, and I'm so far beyond what my limits used to be that I had to throw all ideas of limitations away. I have never had physical skills come 'effortlessly', so I expect to have to put in effort; and I expect to have to keep putting in effort for months before I notice any changes.

    People's big problem is their preconceptions, and I don't have any. Which is how I'm currently up to 18 miles in my hiking, on a perma-broken ankle. I just took it slowly. But I don't run, because high-impact is a genuine limitation, and I know that because I keep checking just in case that changes as well ;)

    @ceiswyn I can relate to what you are saying. Years ago I just had to decide I was going to live until I died and just kept moving within my physical limitations. Now I can actually do more than decades ago since having slipped out of my mental cage.
  • Ed_Zilla
    Ed_Zilla Posts: 207 Member
    fh1951 wrote: »
    I’ve not read all the posts so if someone has already mentioned it, sorry to double dip. When I turned 60 my family physician gave me the book “Younger Next Year”. It presents both the current knowledge about aging and the behavior needed to use the knowledge wisely. We each have a choice: allow our quality of life to get progressively more miserable as we age until we die; or maintain a consistently good level of quality of life up to the end and go over the waterfall basically all at once. The latter requires 3 actions - eat right, exercise, and stay engaged with people. That’s it. I’m 67 and the latter behavior is the choice I’ve made.

    @fh1951 Saw your post...bought the book. I am about 1/2 way through the book. I knew many of the things in it intuitively and I do exercise 4-5 times per week (run, swim, cycle)...but the book (so far) is very good nonetheless. I recommend it as well.

    BTW - I am 58 and have just entered my second sprint-tri. For my first one, my goal was to just finish, but not in DFL (dead-f'n-last) - which I accomplished. I did not know what to expect and the first event taught me a lot. This time I am training for time. ALSO - the endurance athletes that I meet while training and in my first event are the most supportive athletes I have ever met.

  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
    I love reading the responses here. Awesome 🙂👍
  • William54321
    William54321 Posts: 652 Member
    Age is only what you let it control, I’m still skipping down the street with my 6 year old grand daughter. Born 1960
  • Djproulx
    Djproulx Posts: 3,084 Member
    Ed_Zilla wrote: »
    fh1951 wrote: »
    I’ve not read all the posts so if someone has already mentioned it, sorry to double dip. When I turned 60 my family physician gave me the book “Younger Next Year”. It presents both the current knowledge about aging and the behavior needed to use the knowledge wisely. We each have a choice: allow our quality of life to get progressively more miserable as we age until we die; or maintain a consistently good level of quality of life up to the end and go over the waterfall basically all at once. The latter requires 3 actions - eat right, exercise, and stay engaged with people. That’s it. I’m 67 and the latter behavior is the choice I’ve made.

    @fh1951 Saw your post...bought the book. I am about 1/2 way through the book. I knew many of the things in it intuitively and I do exercise 4-5 times per week (run, swim, cycle)...but the book (so far) is very good nonetheless. I recommend it as well.

    BTW - I am 58 and have just entered my second sprint-tri. For my first one, my goal was to just finish, but not in DFL (dead-f'n-last) - which I accomplished. I did not know what to expect and the first event taught me a lot. This time I am training for time. ALSO - the endurance athletes that I meet while training and in my first event are the most supportive athletes I have ever met.

    Think someone may have been bitten by the tri bug, lol!

    Fair warning: The symptoms get more severe over time......and there is no cure ;)
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited March 2019
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    missmince wrote: »
    I worry more about mental than physical decline as I age, though both are certainly important. I was inspired to exercise more by reading that there was at least a correlation between exercise and holding on to one's mental faculties, though I believe more research is needed there. However, a reduction in the risk of stroke and maybe dementia are enough to encourage me to keep moving, as well as keeping learning new things for brain food. I suppose learning a new sport would do double duty there. Skiing? Tennis? Croquet? Anyone start a completely new sport/activity later in life? I'm too antisocial for team sports, though. Sharing the walking/running trail with others is quite sufficient. (I like the dogs, but pairs of joggers glued at the hip and hogging the trail really annoy me.)

    After a fairly sedentary prior life (especially the preceding decade-ish of it), I started rowing after cancer treatment at age 46, while obese, and with a couple of years started competing as a masters rower (indoor races, local/regional on-water, masters nationals, Head of the Charles).

    One of my teammates (on the breast cancer survivors team where I started) was 70 when she learned to row. Some few years later a couple of years after she was widowed, her new boyfriend took our local community rowing club's learn to row class at age 81, and did fine. She and he aren't much rowing anymore (logistics more than incapability). I just went to her 85th birthday party. They're both still going to the gym daily, and doing great.

    Others I know started rowing in about 2004 in their late 50s/early 60s, and are now still going strong in their early 70s. The one of those who had started seriously weight training in her 30s (and has kept it up for around 40 years!) has a body at 72 that most 40-something women (and many younger) would envy.

    ETA: On-water rowing is usually a group thing to start (multi-person boats are more stable and easier for coaches to wrangle), but single shells are a wonderful thing in the somewhat longer run for anyone who prefers a solo workout.

    When I started indoor rowing, Bob Spenger used to help me out a lot with kind words and advice. Bob didn't like to brag, but at the time, he held nearly every Indoor record on the C2 there was for the over 90 category.

    It kind of became somewhat of an ongoing joke on the C2 boards about what record did Bob break today?

    He was well known both in the indoor and OTW rowing worlds. Really fab guy, fantastic mind and great chemist when young too (he corrected me more than once on assumptions I had being a non tech guy).

    He passed last year (actually it was 2017, lost track of time!). One of his final posts on the C2 forums was about how he was trying to figure out if he could create a device to pull the rowing handle to him to get himself started, because he had had a recent knee replacement and couldn't reach the handle with his limited flexibility.

    http://www.rowingnews.com/robert-spenger-1924-2017/

    The fact that he was sub 30 minutes on a six K at 91 in itself was pretty miraculous.

    He was one of my idols for sure. I'm not the only one.
  • kds10
    kds10 Posts: 452 Member
    walktalkdog wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    @Phirrgus The Blue Zones researchers make it really clear that while the diets of people in the BZs are important, there is a pretty good chance that their healthy longevity comes from their lifestyles - they still work, play, socialize, etc right through their 90s and past 100. In the book they talk to a 100+ man who still herds his animals walking several miles with them every day. Our assumption that being past a certain age means becoming a dependent lump I think really handicaps us in western society.

    My parents are in their 70s and just retired to VA. They had a 2 story house built on a decent sized piece of land, and everyone told them they were nuts to make their retirement home with stairs and a big yard to care for. But their philosophy is use it or lose it. If I have to get up the stairs, I'll prioritize being capable of getting up the stairs.

    I read a report on people who had lived into their 90's and the researchers look at many different criterion - however, the only common one was that all of these people had stairs in their homes.

    Wow interesting for sure...yeah I recall seeing somewhere that if you walk at least 2 flights of stairs per day it can add a certain amount of years to your life.
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