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Want to Live Longer?

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Recently I read an article from TIME Magazine with this exact title and it listed 5 habits that if adhered to, can add about 10 years to your lifespan. Here is a summary of what the article said in regards to the 5 habits and what research says about living your fullest, longest life.

Eat a Healthy Diet

Diet is strongly linked to longevity. The article explains that research shows the best diet is one that includes lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and healthy fats and does not include much sugar or processed food, naming the Mediterranean diet as the diet that fits this best. To keep it simple, just eat real food and control your portion sizes. Eat Smart, Eat Often and Eat Small. Have you heard that before?

Exercise Regularly

“Working out regularly is a boon for both your physical and mental health, boosting everything from cardiovascular fitness to mood and energy – so it’s no surprise that it can also extend your life” the article says.
Current activity guidelines recommend aiming for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week plus 2 weekly strength training sessions for best health and longevity benefits. It also says that even if you don’t exercise now, its not too late and that research shows that there are longevity benefits to both long term exercisers and later in life exercisers.

Maintain a Healthy Body Weight

If you follow the first two recommendations, this one will take care of itself. Being overweight is linked to many chronic conditions which all have the potential to shorten your lifespan. Eat well and exercise regularly. That is the secret sauce of weight management.

Drink in Moderation

More and more the research is coming out on alcohol consumption that is in support of limiting alcohol as much as possible. It used to say that moderate consumption was ok, healthy even. Now researchers are starting to sway in the opposite direction. Last year a meta-analysis of prior alcohol studies concluded that there is no safe amount of drinking, because the net risks outweigh any potential benefits.

No Smoking

Smoking is associated with serious health problems making it a serious threat to your life longevity. If you do smoke, experts recommend quitting as soon as possible to minimize any threats to your long-term health.

And there you have it, straight from the latest research. We do have a lot of control over increasing the odds of living a long, healthy life if we follow these 5 recommendations. None of this is new either, we have all heard this before and we have been helping people take back control of their health with these exact habits for over 33 years.

Are We Making Things Too Complicated?

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Over the weekend I attended the Can Fit Pro 2019 Conference in Toronto. Here are a few of the takeaways:

  • Over 70% of our population is considered overweight or obese
  • 19% of the population has a gym membership
  • The average person consumes about 66lbs of added sugar per year
  • Sugar sweetened beverages are the main culprit when it comes to added sugar consumption, making up 47% of sugar intake. Next is sweets and snacks at 31% of sugar intake.
  • People who consume 2 or more sugar sweetened beverages per day have a 31% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease and each additional sugar sweetened beverage increased risk another 10%

None of these statistics is really that surprising. We all know that as a population our health is declining and just by looking at this data we can attribute it to not being active enough and consuming too much sugar.

Look at how much of an impact just switching out sugar sweetened beverages for water can have on your health. For the average person that would cut sugar consumption in half!

Another observation I had while walking around the expo was that it seemed to me like everything new coming out in fitness is mostly made towards the already fit. For someone who was new to fitness, most of these gadgets are completely intimidating. It was intimidating for me and I have been around fitness my whole life! Maybe 80% of the population doesn’t exercise regularly because we have scared them off making health and fitness seem complicated with all of these machines, gadgets and electronics.

Let’s keep it simple.

  1. Get your heart rate up with some movement daily. Go for a walk, bike ride or some chores around the house. Make it a goal to move more then you sit.
  2. Eat well. Eat real food that is not processed as much as possible and keep portion sizes in check.
  3. Lift heavy weights 2 or 3 days a week.

Do those 3 things consistently and you have all the tools you need to be healthy.

No need to make it complicated!

It’s Just Human Nature

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Human nature can serve us very well in most cases, but truth be told, if you are not paying attention, human nature can also work against us, at least in regards to health and fitness. Let’s face it, most people automatically, without thinking, choose to do things the easiest way.

Last week I was at City Hall for a meeting. I entered the lobby and headed for the stairs. On the way, I encountered a City staff member who was headed for the same meeting which was to take place on the third floor. The stairs and the elevator are no more than fifteen feet apart, stairs on the left, elevator on the right. This staff member was half my age and knowing her position, this person likely was sitting most of the day. We walked together until I went left (towards the stairwell) and she headed right (towards the elevator). I said “I’ll see you up there, I’m taking the stairs.” I guess I guilted her into taking the stairs because she followed me up the stairs and mentioned something about her shoes as an excuse for heading for the elevator.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to judge or make fun of anyone for making the decisions they make all day long, that’s not my intent. My intent with this example is to show you how, if you are not thinking, you are being a detriment to your own health, in my humble opinion. I see things like this go on all the time.

Easier is better. Well, not so. I’ve seen grown men cutting their grass on a riding lawn mower that they could cut in 10 minutes flat with a push mower. I see people drive around shopping mall parking lots forever just to try to find a closer parking spot to the entrance. I see people all the time leaving their shopping carts in a parking spot next to their cars just so they don’t have to walk to the cart return to put it away like they should, just to save a 20 second walk. We think we are so smart finding these short cuts but in reality, we’re not so smart.

Why am I writing about this? Well, coming from a health enthusiast, and a professional trainer, most people don’t realize what a difference it would make in their lives if they just incorporate a few simple things into their lifestyles. Here are a few examples. Sure, one of these may not make a difference, but a combination of these things consistently will change the way you feel.

1. If you are headed to the second floor or even the third floor of a building, take the stairs, both up and down!

2. Stop looking for the closest parking spot to the entrance of wherever you are going, especially grocery shopping, It’s not like you have to carry your groceries. You have a cart to do that.

3. Speaking of shopping, take your shopping cart back to the cart return like you’re supposed to.

4. Depending on how large a yard you have, cut at least some, if not all of the lawn with a push mower and don’t buy the ones that drive themselves! Push it.

5. Get outside in the winter and shovel your sidewalks.

6. If you’ve been doing your cardio workout on the treadmill for ages, try an elliptical or even better a stair climber for a change.

7. Walk faster.

8. If you work, don’t sit around during your lunch break, especially if you sit at your job all day. Have a good healthy lunch and as soon as you are done, get outside and go for a brisk walk.

9. Again, unless you have a substantial amount of property, get outside in the fall and rake up the leaves using a rake, not a leaf blower.

These are some of the examples of how easy it is to make a difference in the way you feel and how your body stays fit. Stop looking for the easiest way to do things. We need to challenge ourselves physically more often than we are or Mother Nature will inevitably take over and before you know it, you will have no choice but to find the easiest way to do things or someone else to do them for you because you no longer can do them. Sad but true.

Gino