It's clear that "aging gracefully" means different things to different people. To some it's "surrender to old age." To others aging gracefully is going with the flow: "You only live so long, you are going to die anyway, so live however it makes you happy."
To me, aging gracefully means letting go, just letting life happen. It suggests giving up goals, dreams, productivity, and challenge. It's placidly waiting for death. A hallmark of graceful aging is subtle but rapid onset of typical signs of "oldness" that manifest in attitude, behavior, and appearance.
For example, I'll describe how I imagine Rhett Butler and Scarlet O'Hara might have aged gracefully, genteel characters that they were.
Picture Scarlett and Rhett in rocking chairs on the veranda of the McMansion they acquired after Tara burned to the ground. The war is over, and she's living on royalties from her best selling book, "Gone With the Wind and Gentility: The Lost Art of Aging Gracefully."
Scarlett's famed 16-inch waist has ballooned into what looks like the broad side of a barn. After all, would any gracefully aging woman lift weights, or even bend and touch her toes?
Anyway, she's rocking away in her chair, a fan in one hand, stirring the humid afternoon air, and she's clutching a mint julep in the other. She's heard that a couple of drinks a day is good for older women, so she's enjoying her quota, and then some. "Aaah," she sighs, followed by a hiccup. "Aging gracefuly -- that's living."
Rhett Butler has also aged gracefully. He's round as an apple around the middle, with love handles on top of love handles. He's bald as a billiard ball, and, he's sporting a long, white "father time" beard. Bald older men often try to compensate for a shiny pate by growing vegetation on their face. They think it makes them look younger and more virile. Yuck.
Rhett is also enjoying a mint julep, and he's using his fan to shoo flies off his beard that houses vestiges of last year's possum soup and barbequed chicken gizzards. Typical senile old geezer that he is, in his head he's still a stud.
During a semi-surge of the last of his testosterone, he takes a swig of his mint julep, burps, wipes his mouth on the sleeve of the remains of a moldy confederate uniform, and whispers to Scarlet, "You know, Miz Scarlet, you are not the bodacious babe you used to be."
Taking another sip of her mint julep, tossing back her matted salt and pepper curls, and shifting to more attractively rearrange the avoirdupois that once was a tiny waist, Scarlet rocks with a bit more determination and responds, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."
Get the "aging gracefully" picture? You no longer care. You just let life happen. You just don't give a damn.
------
Barbara Morris, R.Ph. is a pharmacist and author of Put Old on Hold. Visit her website at http://www.PutOldonHold.com and sign up for her newsletter and receive a special report, "Twelve Diva Tested Tips for Fabulous Skin."
15 Serious Health Consequences of Being Overweight or Obese
An estimated 97 million adults in the United States are overweight or obese. The distinction between overweight and obese is a matter of quantity. Obese individuals simply have more body fat. Both these physical conditions significantly increase morbidity from many well known chronic health conditions. Following are a variety of common conditions found in overweight and obese indiviuals:
1) Metabolic Syndrome X. A cluster of cardiac symptoms which increase the risk for a heart attack or stroke.
2) Angina Pectoris. An often severe, constricting chest pain.
3) Pre-Diabetes. Reversible, but if left unchecked could lead to diabetes type 2. Diabetes type 2 has risk factors such as kidney disease, heart failure, amputation and blindness.
4) Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. PCOS is a hormonal disorder which leads to infertility in women. It can also cause excess facial hair, male pattern baldness and certain skin conditions.
5) Loss of muscle tone and bone density due to inability or refusal to exercise. As time goes by, there is muscle loss and the mineral content of the bones decreases. Loss of muscle tone leads to loss of strength to do simple daily activities. Loss of bone density could lead to dangerous falls and fractures.
6) High Blood Pressure (HBP). Normal Blood Pressure is 120/80 (mm hg) and represents the pressure within your arterial system. Overweight and obese individuals often have readings above 140/90 which is high. HBP is known as the "silent killer" because it has no symptoms.
7) High Cholesterol Levels. Cholesterol profiles tend to be suboptimal. This can lead to other forms of heart and circulatory disease.
8) Coronary Artery Disease. This is caused when plaque builds up inside the arteries that supply the heart. Restricting the blood supply could cause a heart attack.
9) Arteriosclerosis. This involves a hardening of the arteries, making them hard and brittle often leading to a stroke.
10) High blood insulin levels. This is a risk factor for diabetes and heart disease.
11) Gallstones and other gall bladder related problems.
12) Psychological imbalances such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders and low self esteem.
13)Sleep apnea. This can lead to a heart attack by restricting oxygen to the brain and cause other respiratory difficulties.
14)Urinary control problems such as incontinence.
15)Cancer. Some types of cancer including colon, prostrate, and breast have been linked to obesity.
The number of both adults and children falling into the subgroups of overweight and obese grows each year. New research is linking overfat with more and more chronic health conditions. The above list is by no means inclusive. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of ailments where an individual's percentage body fat may have an influence. A word to the wise is to maintain a normal percentage body fat for optimal health and living.
--
Dr. Lanny Schaffer is an Exercise Physiologist and the President of The International Fitness Academy. For more cutting edge nutrition and weight loss news go to http://www.aerobic-exercise-coach.com
No Time to Exercise? Do Intervals
Working out can be, well, so much work. Nowadays our lives are so filled up with work and family and responsibilities - we’re lucky we have time to eat. We’re active in so many ways except in ways that keep us healthy. Many people work long hours then head immediately to their children’s sporting events, music or dance lessons, volunteer placements or appointments. When is anyone supposed to find time for exercise?
It is believed that adults should get approximately one hour of exercise each day to maintain a healthy body, but oft times there isn’t an hour available in the day to devote to fitness. But for fitness wannabes with tight schedules there may be a remedy. McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario recently conducted a study to determine whether short bursts of intense exercise were as beneficial as one or two hours of moderate exercise. The results proved that individuals could do intensive 30-second workouts over 20 minutes just three times each week and reap the same benefits as someone who did regular workouts for as much as two hours each day.
Make no mistake, this doesn’t mean 20 minutes of walking on the treadmill. This mean setting the treadmill at its highest setting and running as fast as you can for 30 seconds at a time or set the exercise bike to a level where you can barely move the peddles, and pump your legs as hard as you can. This type of workout is extremely intensive, but is not just for individuals who are in peak condition. Researchers say that interval training can be done by even the most inactive individuals. They do, however, recommend that interval training be combined with a regular workout regime. Those with medical conditions are encouraged to consult a doctor before starting interval training.
Here are a few pointers for interval training.
• Warm up before starting the workout.
• Know your limits. When the burn becomes too much, stop.
• Don’t try to do too much too soon.
• Take breaks between bursts to let you heart rate to slow down.
• Stretch your muscles for several minutes following the workout.
Anna Fleet is a certified personal trainer. When she is not working out or helping others achieve optimal health, she is the face and voice behind fitnessgear101.com – an excellent online resource for information about fitness equipment brands, weight benches and more. She also has an informative fitness blog.
