Health and Aging

I have been thinking about getting older A LOT lately. First, our parents are getting older - my mother is 80 and had a TIA last year (she is doing great now!) and my father just turned 90. My husband's parents are in their 70's and have their health issues, particularly with mobility. I think a lot of aging issues have to do with health and health has to do with diet and exercise. Since I hit 40, things have gone downhill. I have gained weight despite exercising and watching what I eat. I have also noticed joint pain, back pain, stiffness that is not constant but bothersome. Because both of my parents have had joint replacements, I feel that any high impact activity is not in my best interest. I have done running and pretty much hate it. I like how I feel afterwards but one time a few years ago when I tried to start training for a long run, I had a hard time walking one day and I don't want to damage my joints. I love swimming and need to get back to it. I have struggled with just finding time to exercise. Yesterday I walked to work and walked home, about 5.5 miles total. My knee bothered me the whole time. But I told myself if I lost the extra weight, there would be less pain on my joints. So I am going to continue that. I also started PureBarre in January (www.purebarre.com/lexington) and I love it. I think any middle aged woman has to be intentional about doing weight bearing exercises and core strength exercises - to keep muscle mass, etc. PureBarre is less cardio and more strength exercises for all of those areas women need to work on - thighs, seat, abs. It is expensive but completely worth it in my opinion. My plan is to do PB 3x a week, and be active the rest of the time - walking, swimming, housework (I have an almost 6000 sq. ft. home so cleaning it is a workout for sure!). I have been reading voraciously about diet and trying to figure out what is the best diet for me. I think every body is different. You have to keep in mind what your health issues are. EVERYBODY should be eating more vegetables. I think for some people a vegan diet is ideal. Have you seen President Clinton? He is doing great since converting to vegan diet. If I didn't have boys in the house, I probably would be vegan. But I do have boys in the house and I want to fix homemade food for them that they will eat rather than eat fast food which they do, particularly my 19 year old since he can drive himself to places and has his own money to buy those things. So meat is on the menu. I try to only buy meat that has been humanely raised - I get my pork from the farmer's market and they raise their pigs in open pastures, using no antibiotics or hormones (http://www.hillsideheritagefarm.com/index.htm). I have just partnered with Good Life Ranch to get chickens and I have a cow on reserve for 2015 tentatively (http://www.goodliferanch.com/). We have a cow share to get raw milk. I pretty much cook all homemade food and whole foods. I have been reading Make Shift Happen (http://www.makeshifthappen.org/) and it makes a lot of sense - this particular author went from a vegetarian diet to a paleo diet and it worked for him. I am trying to eat a lot less grains/carbs because I do think for me that they contribute to weight issues for me. I have watched a lot of people around me lose weight and gain weight back and I have always believed that they way to permanent weight loss is not a diet but a food plan and that is what I am trying to work on. My family has a history of obesity so I do think that being thin is probably not in the cards, but I just want to get to a comfortable weight and I am not there right now. I want me to be healthy and happy AND I want my family to be there as well. I don't want my children to struggle with weight issues, I don't want my husband to have heart issues, I want my mother, who lives with us, to be around until she is 100 or more. That is a tall order, but I am working on it. How about you, how have you managed to stay healthy as you get older and keep your family healthy? And by the way, if you are in your 20's or 30's, and you are thin and healthy, umm, sorry, that doesn't really help me. I think this whole post is not about diet and exercise - I understand that and when I was in my 20's and 30's - it wasn't a struggle! It is now, with a declining metabolism and many more responsibilities than I had then, that is the struggle. IF you aren't 40 yet, I don't think you get that. You can disagree with me but I don't know many women my age that aren't struggling. I see Marie Osmond for example, that was able to lose weight, but I personally don't think it was healthy food, and I don't think she made it a family affair. So that is not what I am looking for. Anyway, I obviously have thought a lot about this and I have a lot of opinions, but I am really open to ideas. Hope you are too!