My Best Anti-Aging Advice At 84 | What 8 Decades Of Living Has Taught Me | Life Over 60

It would be such a waste if I had lived 80 plus years and not learned anything. So today this video again is one that I've been asked to do and it's my anti-aging advice from soup to nuts on what I have learned in my 80 plus years. Hello and welcome. It's so great to see you again. I had a little bit of rest. I was off last week and thank you so much for allowing me to do that because I got a little bit R&R that I had needed so desperately. So here I am back and I'm going to get through this video because everything happens at once doesn't it and and just as I started this video the moving company called and said that they're going to be delivering some of the things from New York today so when it rains it pours. But I'm going to talk today about something that people have asked me about. You know what what type of anti-aging advice can you give us? I know that you've learned an awful lot in your years so I'm going to try to do that right now. The first of all don't ever forget your mind-body connection. I have said so often in my channel here that you know you are what you think and that's truly truly it. If you feel healthy and if you think healthy you know odds are if you're living right you will be healthy and if you feel tired you will be tired and if you feel old you certainly are going to feel and look old. So keep that mind-body connection no matter how young or old you are because it does help you in your life because our minds and our bodies are such a wonderful machine and they are all pieces of the puzzle and they work together. Keep a positive mindset. Mindset is everything. Just as I said just a few minutes ago we are what we think and if we have a positive mindset 99% of the time whatever we are struggling through we will get to the end of it in a positive way. But if you always think about the glass being half full your life is going to be half full. You have to think of your life as being full and not and not half empty all the time but think of it as being half full. How many people that I have talked to in my life and it's happened to me I'm a good example of this you try things and you fail. You have different chapters in your life and you fail and you just walk around with your tail between your legs. You certainly are not going to be successful and you're not going to do anything positive with your life. Always try and if you fail get up off of your knees and try again. Those people who have been very successful and the happiest in life have been able to jump those hurdles with a positive outlet that it's going to be okay. That their lives matter and that they are worthy and that they can achieve whatever they want to achieve in life. When you walk around thinking woe is me and doom is gloom the clouds will be over your head for the rest of your life. And I know that because I've lived it and I've been around enough people to know that those who think positively have a wonderful mindset. They are able to walk through life through the ups and downs and come out of it with the sun shining on them. And in that same vein don't sweat the small stuff. I used to my mother was a worrier so I probably just absorbed some of that and I grew up early in life being a worrier. When I was a teenager I worried about everything. When I was in college I worried about everything and I finally realized worry is such a useless emotion. It drains you of all of your energy and and it is such a negative way to think about your life. You know the big things that you have to concentrate on. There are big things that you are really be concerned about and you have to deal with. But those small little things in your life that you'll forget about tomorrow don't sweat the small stuff. Just let it go and when big things happen you have the energy to focus on those. But if you walk around worrying and and dealing with all these little things in your life that come up because life is not perfect and and life is throws us a lot of hooks and jabs. But if you learn how to duck those and if you learn how to be positive in your life and say oh that's really doesn't matter I'm not going to worry about that it'll work out. But the big stuff you focus on and you get through it because you have a positive attitude. So all of these things work together. As we get older it is so important to do muscle work because we start losing muscle when we're about 35 or 40 and by the time we get to be 60 or 70 we have lost a lot of muscle strength. Because when you're 40 or so you lose about 30 percent and the older you get if you don't exercise those muscles you will lose a lot. And our muscles help our bone strength. It is so important because it's important when we have strong muscles it also helps us to look better and to feel better. And when you have more muscle you're able to metabolize well in your body. I personally work out with 10 pound weights. I do it every day. I started out very small doing slow reps and if you're not able to stand up sit in a chair and get those 10 pound weights even if they're jugs filled with water. But you have to do those reps to keep your muscles strong. I know if you have to ask somebody to open up a jar of pickles for you you really need to get those weights and keep your muscle strength up. Balance training. This is extremely extremely important as you get older because if you don't have good balance you are more prone to fall and hurt yourself break a hip or do something or hit your head. So balance is extremely important and what I do I try to do balance training when after I do my muscle weights and I stand and I raise my one foot and put my foot on my knee put out my arms and I try to balance and then I bring my arms in and I really practice balance because I know my husband that really did him in so many times as he got older he would lose his balance and fall. He was really lucky because he never hurt himself drastically. One time he hit his head on the back of the bed but his head never hit the ground and he never broke anything but he was a rare specimen. Balance is extremely important because if we have good balance it helps us to walk a lot better. Another thing when I was younger in my well I wasn't that young it was in my 60s I broke my tibia bone and therefore I have a hard time when I'm walking I feel like I really don't have good balance that's why my balance training is important but I also do tibia exercises. I lean against the wall and put my feet about 12 inches away from the wall then I raise them slowly raise them slowly I count to 10 and I bring them back down and then if you do that and you get a little more strength you can put your feet a little farther away from the wall raise with your heels still on the floor you raise up your toes and bring them back down and I have found that that really helps me to strengthen my tibia and when your tibia is strengthened it also helps you with your balance so keeping your balance is extremely important the older we get and in that same vein exercise oh it is so important to exercise it keeps you young and people who do not exercise usually do not have the longevity that people who do exercise you don't have to run a marathon just walk walk walk your dog walk around the block walk to get your mail walk park your car a little bit further away at the grocery store so that you walk farther at the grocery store when you're shopping go to the mall walk but walking is so important I have an app on my phone that tells me when to get up if I've been sitting too long and I said hey okay it's about time you stretch your legs and you get up so any kind of reminder like that to just get up walk around if you're in the house you're sitting on the couch you're you're reading you're doing something get up and walk walking is extremely important for longevity when when I when Arthur was alive we walked a lot more we stopped during COVID I got out of the habit of really taking nice long walks but I have gotten back into that habit and I feel much healthier for doing it and it's easy it really is easy if you're tired but I find that even taking a walk after dinner helps me digest my food a lot better walk if you're young if you're old try to walk instead of riding or in the car or riding a bicycle if you're if you can ride a bicycle ride a bike but just walk get all of those muscles in your legs moving and it raises your endorphins and makes you feel so so good spend more time with your family it is so important to socialize I know if you are isolated somewhere and you don't have friends you can always call someone always connect with someone even it's on the phone even it's it's by texting be sure that you do not become isolated and become a hermit as we get older and our families move away from us our children move away from us it is so easy not to really be as social as you used to be when the kids were in school and when you had a lot of friends keep in touch with your family keep in touch with your friend and socialize people who socialize live a lot longer and if you're able get a pet if you don't have one yeah a bird a cat a dog a hamster it doesn't matter it just have something can have a connection with something that is living and breathing I can't tell you how important that is you know I kind of tend to be a hermit in a way even though you know you think oh wow you know she's really social but I'm not because I am I can be satisfied with my own self and my own creativity and I find things to do but I forced myself and Arthur was so good for me that way because he was extremely social and he got me out so I am trying to remember that and and I'm trying to keep up what he forced me to do is to get out and socialize and to well he doesn't have to he didn't have to remind me to keep in touch with my family but it's extremely extremely important and I know and this is a subject I'm going to talk about later sometime in the future about when you are estranged from your children and that's another thing but friends associates anyone just socialize if you want to volunteer or do something and stay active but it's extremely important to socialize get out of the rut that you're in switch it up a I know that I when I was in this COVID rut that I just you know like my whole life changed I wasn't doing much and I was not used to flying by myself after all these years of being with Arthur but I forced myself to get out of my comfort zone as you know I flew to Dallas to watch my granddaughter win the championship of the division three best women's basketball I went to Lexington to see my grandson graduate and of course I went to New York and that was another thing you know 30 hours it took me to get to New York to our apartment there because of the airline snafu I got caught in that but I did it I did it by myself and I made friends along the way and it was good so I was able to get myself out of that comfort zone so do something whatever it is you know your life and you know what maybe makes you really uncomfortable maybe something that you did when you were younger get out of that comfort zone and and jump in and try to do something that you've always wanted to do that you've been afraid to do it's amazing how young and how energized it will make you feel and I'm leaving in a few days for Lexington Kentucky I mean well Lexington I'm going to Lexington and I'm going to Nashville and then after that I'm flying to Traverse City to see my brother so I am like a buddy a butterfly I've gotten out of my cocoon that has kept me so tight and I'm finally spreading my wings and I want you to think about that and if you can do the same thing you don't have to fly all over the country but just do something that gets you out of your comfort zone one thing also that I have been doing that is extremely important I know I'm giving away now my treasured things to the people that I love and do you know what happens when you do that you see the joy in their faces that they have when you give you something treasured whether it's a book a piece of jewelry a memento something that will mean something to them because it also not only makes them feel good but do you know what it does it raises our endorphins because we can look at them and we see their joy and that joy comes back in and radiates to us so I have started to do that I got a lot of things in New York that I had that I felt were treasures and I am going to be giving them away to my grandchildren and the people that I love now while I am still alive because there are things that I won't use and things that I do treasure but they're a part of my past and I know I would like to share them with those that mean something to me in my life another thing that sometimes we do forget about because we've been so busy our whole lives taking care of everyone else self-care self-care is so extremely extremely important take care of your skin take care of your mind your body do things that make you happy you just soak in the tub give yourself a facial go get a manicure take care of your physical body the outside of your body because when you do all of the things that help you look better you will feel better don't feel guilty about pampering yourself after all how many times I have said you are worthy and you deserve it taking care of your physical health is so important don't negate your physical exams when you're older your bone density exams your breast exams the exams that you have to do your blood work always get regular blood work done because as we get older you know we kind of things change so always take care and be sure that you do have regular annual physicals now people have asked me what I take you know what kind of supplements do you take what do you do well I try to get most of my nourishment and most of my nutrients through food I am a pescatarian I do eat fish once in a while but I try to get most of my things by eating fresh fruits and vegetables all the time but I know if you live in a part of the country or part of the world where you cannot do that all the time I'm going to tell you exactly what I take I take vitamin c coke q10 b-complex I take biotin zinc probiotics an extremely important thing even here in Florida because usually I'm covered by sunscreen from head to toe is d3 and always always if you're out in the sun wear a hat a big hat that covers you from the sun you can wear a ball cap but unless it has a really long bill it's not going to cover this part of your face those are the things that I do that are anti-aging that help keep my mind young help keep my body young and help keep my attitude positive we are a puzzle our body is a machine with all different kind of parts but everything works together and when one part is off it throws everything else off these are simple things that you can do by changing your mindset changing you the way you feel about yourself changing the way maybe you're stuck in a rut life is good and life is can be wonderful to the very end thank you for asking me about this I really felt it was something I needed to talk about please do something wonderful for yourself today and as you know being kind also helps us feel better about ourselves share the love and we've got tons of it I know share the love with your family and give out those treasures to them now while you are alive and let's all pray for world peace and don't ever feel that you are alone because you are never alone and do know that you are always always loved take care and I hope to see you again in my next video be blessed