What will 90 years old look like to you?
By Anne Howie
I’m a pretty motivated person, goal oriented, I get things done in most parts of my life. Yay for me.
BUT when it comes to some parts of my life it’s a different story.
I have health and fitness goals, I feel determined and motivated (on and off) and health is important to me, but at the first small glitch or change in routine (or lets face it, the first excuse I seem to be able to find) it all falls apart.
Am I the only one who tells Lynne I’m going to keep my time at the gym the week when she can’t be there, takes my gear to work, really means to go…… and then doesn’t?
Please tell me that I’m not the only one? Ok maybe I am, but somehow I don’t think so. Anyway, the good news is I think I have finally cracked it!
I read a book on my last holiday that has changed EVERYTHING.
“Outlive” by Peter Attia has turned things upside down for me - in a very good way.
In his book, Peter talks about being active and healthy for as long as possible before the inevitable happens and we leave this Earth. He is interested in increasing our healthspan. That’s like lifespan but instead of the number of years we live, it’s about how healthy we are while we are living them.
Most people experience a fairly miserable last decade of their lives - dementia, diabetes, heart disease and cancer are all pretty common.
Peter teaches us how to think about our life now, so that when we are older we either hold those bad things off as long as possible, or don’t experience them at all.
He talks about reclaiming the last decade of our lives as the Bonus Decade - one that we get to live life to the fullest until we simply run out of gas.
I’m all for that!
As I was reading and getting excited, I could still tell that this was one of these things I was going to get all motivated about and then once the busyness of life kicked back in I would have trouble staying on track for. Being healthy later in life is so important and there won’t be a second chance to have a go if I miss the boat now.
I look back and think about how much I wanted to learn to speak Mandarin fluently and play the guitar and that I didn’t do either of those things, and now I most likely never will. I have some regrets about that.
I’m now at a crossroads where the same thing could well happen with my health.
I can’t risk getting to 90 years old and look back to wish I had done something about my healthspan while I still had a chance.
So while I was pondering this in front of the fire on my holiday I imagined life in my 90s. I got my journal out and wrote a description of my life in my 90s as if I had not done the work to improve my health span when I could have.
My story involved sitting in a chair all day, not being able to do things I used to enjoy, not remembering people or memories and having people need to help me in the bathroom.
That was a pretty sobering and depressing picture!
Then I wrote a story about me in my 90s when I had done the work to improve my health span.
What a difference! I was still going for walks, doing Tai Chi with friends every week, still gardening and cooking - and still running workshops teaching people how to make cheese! Of course I was slower and not as strong, but my mind was sharp and I was loving each day.
If you know what you want to be able to do when you are in your 90s, you can figure out what you need to be able to do in whatever decade you are currently in. Muscle and cardio fitness will decrease at a certain percentage each decade, so if you know what you need to live your best life when you are 90, you can figure out what your goals should be now.
Peter talks about a Centenarian Decathlon - list 10 things you want to be able to do when you are 100 (I found it easier for my brain to work on 90 for some reason) - carry groceries 2 blocks, walk up 3 flights of stairs, lift up a grand (or great grand) child, wear lace up shoes that you do up yourself etc, - and get to work NOW making sure you will make this a reality for yourself in the future.
I can’t tell you the difference this has made to my mindset. I am now so much more active, putting effort into my future self every day.
It’s the sad 90 year old picture that is doing it for me - I’m working to get away from that image and it’s been transformational. I’m being much more active (less lazy), playing the piano more and learning Italian on DuoLingo. I’m not even whinging as much in my sessions with Lynne!
Whatever age you are at right now is the perfect time to start.
If healthspan is something you are interested to start thinking about there’s a great series you can watch on Disney Plus, and a fantastic podcast available on Spotify.
“Limitless” - starring Chris Hemsworth is very much worth watching - I’d say it’s worth getting a free Disney Plus trial just to watch it.
“Just One Thing” by Michael Mosley is a podcast series. Each episode is only 15 minutes long and gives you one easy thing you can do to work towards improving your healthspan. He usually has a scientist explaining the why and also a volunteer giving the idea a try. Totally recommended!
I’m so grateful I came across this concept and now feel I have a project for life. Procrastination about health and fitness seems to have vanished for me.
What could be more important than being able to enjoy a wonderful life for as long as possible?
