Ong Kim Hwa, 88 years old, finished a 10 km. marathon in Malaysia in 90 minutes. Not suggesting you can do it, but maybe you can with training? The major point is just to live longer, better and healthier.
Why just for 10 years longer? I’m 79 going on 80, and I’m going to keep going for as long as this body can put up with me. I say “put up with me” because I push it, letting it know who’s in charge. Taking care of your body with exercise and physical activity, watching what you eat, keeping mentally alert, and having a positive attitude are the answers to your question.
Eat Sensibly: That doesn’t mean you have to give up everything you like. Just go easy on the snack foods and sweets. Don’t eat at places like McDonald’s, cook your own hamburgers at home. For that matter, cook as many meals as you can at home so you can control what goes into your food. And practice quantity control. You can eat too much of a good thing. And a habit that is often overlooked is to eat more slowly, you will actually feel full sooner and eat less because your body has time to relay the message to your brain that “I’m full now.” I’m always the last one at the table.
Exercise Regularly: Be it a regular, daily exercise routine or staying physically active, you have to keep your body physically in shape. Make the heart beat a little bit faster, the blood flow a little bit faster, the breathing a little bit faster, the muscles a little bit more tired. Rest a bit and tell your body to get used to it because this is how it’s going to be for those next 10 years – or longer. And remember the food we talked about above? Well, all this physical activity you just did burned off the extra calories you just ate.
Keep The Mind Active: Keep involved with what’s going on in life. Read, do things like crossword puzzles that make you think, anything that needs brain power. And back to the eating and exercise, both of them also affect your brain which is a muscle too. Pumping a little extra blood through it never hurt anyone. Teach it to say things like “Let’s go now, push a little harder, you can do this”. You know you’ll feel better if you just listen and do it. Take control of your body, don’t let it control you.
Have A Positive Attitude: Even more than being out of shape, I think being depressed and letting things get you down wears on you the most. It’s not always easy, but try to be realistic about what’s bothering you, and believe it or not a little exercise and physical activity will help those negative feelings by pumping some extra endorphins into your system. Endorphins are a natural chemical produced by your body that help relieve pain and stressful feelings. I know it works because I turn to physical activity all the time when I feel down, pressured or stressed.
Okay, now you know how to work toward living 10 years longer. But don’t limit yourself to just 10 years. There’s a lot of years left to enjoy after 10 more. I don’t know how old you are now, but if you follow my plan you might just reach my age, and I’m still shooting for at least 10 more just like you.
Tom Spalding
Former therapist to runaway teenage delinquents
Leave a Reply