Gluten or no gluten? Soy or no soy? Dairy or no dairy?
"I can't eat dessert because of the sugar"...
Real Doc vs. Holistic Doc.
Spin vs. Walking vs. Running vs. Pilates vs. Yoga vs. Swimming.
This can not be correct. No way.
I am in a business where I meet people from all walks of life, either competitive athletes or those over 40 seeking a better, healthier, and longer life.
The mental tennis match shown above does not work. Never has and never will.
All of those that I have met living at 100 or close to it are very balanced, low stress people. They have a great love for life.. living life. Enjoying life. Socializing in life. All this while taking time each day to eat in moderation and exercise in moderation.
Now it may be fair to say that 100 years ago, there was no spin or crossfit or bootcamps, but there was definitely training going on, as well as gluten, dairy, soy, and sugar.
So how did these people do it? Most of them eat and ate lower calorie diets. They did not over-indulge outside of the "Special Holidays", and they were extremely consistent with their routines.
My grandmother lived to be 100 years old and this was her list of essentials:
1. 8 Glasses of Water Per Day
2. Oatmeal, Cranberry & Prune Juice to Start Each Day
4. Exercise in Bed to Start Her Day
5. Exercise Before Going to Bed to Finish Her Day
6. Outdoor Yard Work and Outdoor Walks Daily
8. A Piece of Chocolate Every Night
10.Keep Your Life Simple- Focus on the Essentials
11. Keep Your Mind Sharp via Reading
12.Eat Your Pasta Every Sunday
13. Eat Dinner by 5:30- always including a lot of vegetables
14. Have an APPLE Every Night After Dinner
15. Everything in Moderation without Restriction
16. 7 Hours of Sleep Every Nights
17. A Multi Vitamin, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Calcium
These 17 rules speak nothing about "cutting", restriction, or adding mental stress to "achieve" an ideal physical outcome. This routine was DAILY.
Once again, consistency is what yielded the positive result. I always say the best athletes never get to high and they never get to low. They never live at the extremes. They show tremendous discipline, but they are not extremists.
The extremists always go down.
What sparked me writing this was my mother reading me an article about how to live until 100 by taking 8 vitamin supplements.
Amazingly enough, out of the 8 listed, my grandmother only took 1- a multi vitamin. Living to be 100 goes way beyond 8 Vitamins. Your daily habits dictate the life you live. Your genetics are in play.
But... the key ingredient may just be your self-talk, mindset, and daily mental attitude. Positivity, belief, hope, conviction, and faith are the backbones of life.
I write this to provoke thought and for you to take a look at your life.
Are you spending more time stressing over the right mix of food, exercise, and detox programs- rather than just enjoying your ride and staying consistent with some habits that truly make you feel good and that you don't have to stress about?
Stress is the killer. Extreme behavior is a killer. Play the game.#likeapro
