Getting older, so far, is not quite what I expected.
Don’t get me wrong! There’s lots of great things happening. I think more, worry less, and enjoy day-to-day living a whole lot more than when younger. But I can’t say I’m sold on this aging body thing, though.
Fading Youth
I knew I was getting older when I reached the age where I became completely invisible to women. No longer catching the eye of the ladies was a real blow to the ego. I shrugged it off as something that rightly belongs with younger men and I should really be acting my age. Secretly though, it was scary. The transformation to middle age was starting.
Then things started to change physically. A few wrinkles (I can learn to live with that). A few added pounds (I just need to adjust my exercise routine to fix that). The clinician in me noticed more and more of these body changes, while my emotional self kept finding really cool rationalizations to make it all feel better.
Somewhere along the way, my sensible self finally declared that getting older really had arrived and circumstances called for change.
The New Improved Getting Older Me
Truth. We are not going to get back to that ideal body of a certain age. No amount of exercise, eating better, or plastic surgery will bring back that inner 20 year old Self that we so fondly remember. We can however, improve upon the body we have today.
Midlife crises notwithstanding, the changing our bodies starts with attitude. For someone like me who specialize in competing with my Self, I learned to be selective about the things in which I compete. Not every situation warrants dying in my efforts to win or do better than last time. There are lots of problems that can be easily left alone, especially when they belong to someone else. Everything really does work out just fine by the end of the day. Learning to figure out what is not important is a great skill to cultivate.
Learn to accept slowing physically. It is a gradual process thankfully and can be addressed by adding or refocusing your exercise. I no longer consider myself a one-sport individual because this older body demands more now. For purposes of casual conversation, I call myself a fitness cyclist but there is more to it. There is still a winter of cross training (running, weight training for legs, walking) each year but when the weather warms, I am back on the road bike plus a couple of days of upper body weight training. Resistance training confers wonderful benefits on older bodies that incorporate some sort of gym routine into their workouts.
Calorie Watch As We Age
Fueling the change is equally important. We all need to eat better but we’re really serious this time. Part of the aging process is the nasty surprise of a slowing metabolism. That glass of wine or extra serving of fries that you used to indulge with nary a negative effect (other than perhaps a momentary pang of guilt) now shows up on the scale. And adding a few extra crunches in the gym doesn’t compensate for what the body does with those additional calories.
People still look at me strange when I skip the donuts at work but this is a necessary seriousness. Cleaning up your act is a full-time gig. Cutting yourself some slack on a favorite food occasionally can work but cheating on a healthy diet cannot really be a thing anymore.
Seriously. Regular cheating on a good diet is just a poor diet.
Be Amazed
Learn to appreciate being surprised at what you can do at your age. I amaze myself at my focus these days. I keep thinking, “If I’d only been this disciplined when I was younger…”
Remember, you can’t start improving the quality of your life too late. No, it doesn’t happen overnight and yes, the work is truly worth the effort. The first step just starts with the decision to change some parts of your lifestyle. The rest are just details.
No one’s life ever goes as they planned. That truth alone should bring a sense of relief to everyone.
― Andrena Sawyer
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