Looking after yourself

B said:

Do you find it hard to physically care for yourself?

I'm lucky that I was "trained" by my first girlfriend on what was acceptable and why - I'm sure it must have been odd for her at the time but there were certainly rewards as a result of being fresh and clean which I won't go into here but were a strong motivator to adapt.

Now I am in my late 50s I took time to stop and take stock of how the effects of aging (grey hair, balding, takes more effort to do things etc)  are working against my long term health. Some are trivial (the hair for example) but others like fitness and strength play a huge part in later life health.

I do annual health checks with my doctor so any illnesses or issues are caught early and changes in things like my prostate (a common issue in males my age) are monitored carefully. Luckily all good so far in spite of many prodding fingers over the years.

I see a dermatologist annually as the strong sun out here in Brazil is a common cause of skin cancer. It is odd having my yoda-like lady doctor going over my skin slowly and methodically with a magnifying glass to spot anything that look out of place.

I get my teeth checked every 6 months and cleaned. I've had all my old fillings removed and replaced or crowns installed instead to keep oral heath and ability matching everything else.

I've even had an endoscopy and colonoscopy to check me internally end to end - it did catch an issue with the valve at the top of my stomach which I've been able to deal with.

I now have a nutritionist who measured in detail my body composition each year so my fat levels are kept down and muscle levels up. The last visit I was told to drop 9Kg of fat and build as much muscle as I could which is a challenge but in 2 months I'm 75% of the way there. 

Having a lot of muscle and lowish fat levels are all great for skeletal strenght in later years apparently - and I now have a very balanced and easily controlled diet that makes it easy since my meals are pre planned and I don't need to think about much more than a scheduled shopping list.

I guess taking the time to do all this now while I have the opportunity to correct the situations before age starts to play more of a part is sensible. It isn't cheap but if I can have 10 more years of healthy, active retirement then it is all worth it.

I see so many people in their 50s who look like they are 70 - hobbling about, pot bellied and wheezing away. I don't want to be one of them.

B said:

Do you find it hard to physically care for yourself?

I'm lucky that I was "trained" by my first girlfriend on what was acceptable and why - I'm sure it must have been odd for her at the time but there were certainly rewards as a result of being fresh and clean which I won't go into here but were a strong motivator to adapt.

Now I am in my late 50s I took time to stop and take stock of how the effects of aging (grey hair, balding, takes more effort to do things etc)  are working against my long term health. Some are trivial (the hair for example) but others like fitness and strength play a huge part in later life health.

I do annual health checks with my doctor so any illnesses or issues are caught early and changes in things like my prostate (a common issue in males my age) are monitored carefully. Luckily all good so far in spite of many prodding fingers over the years.

I see a dermatologist annually as the strong sun out here in Brazil is a common cause of skin cancer. It is odd having my yoda-like lady doctor going over my skin slowly and methodically with a magnifying glass to spot anything that look out of place.

I get my teeth checked every 6 months and cleaned. I've had all my old fillings removed and replaced or crowns installed instead to keep oral heath and ability matching everything else.

I've even had an endoscopy and colonoscopy to check me internally end to end - it did catch an issue with the valve at the top of my stomach which I've been able to deal with.

I now have a nutritionist who measured in detail my body composition each year so my fat levels are kept down and muscle levels up. The last visit I was told to drop 9Kg of fat and build as much muscle as I could which is a challenge but in 2 months I'm 75% of the way there. 

Having a lot of muscle and lowish fat levels are all great for skeletal strenght in later years apparently - and I now have a very balanced and easily controlled diet that makes it easy since my meals are pre planned and I don't need to think about much more than a scheduled shopping list.

I guess taking the time to do all this now while I have the opportunity to correct the situations before age starts to play more of a part is sensible. It isn't cheap but if I can have 10 more years of healthy, active retirement then it is all worth it.

I see so many people in their 50s who look like they are 70 - hobbling about, pot bellied and wheezing away. I don't want to be one of them.