BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Geriatrics Aging Well

Hi there, I just went to a weight clinic to see what I can do about losing some weight. I have tried dieting of course, exercise (not often enough), and now I'm getting frustrated because my calorie/fat intake isn't much but I can't get results. The doc said my diet was fine for some but not for me and I am now trying a totally different approach.

Our weight is so important to good health, and that is the key to longevity as we age. As difficult as it is to pass up our comfort foods at this point, we've got to tackle staying healthy, and excess weight is one of those issues that can effect so many other health and disease factors. I will keep you posted on how well I do with my new eating and exercise regimen based on a physician's feedback. And best of all, the visit was paid for by medicare.

I think we should all be serious about our health as we age since it affects all aspects of our quality of life!

It is amazing how many kinds of issues lead to an improved quality of life. Sometimes we forget about improved oral health, hair and skin care, stress issues, feeling safe in our homes, removing clutter, feeling good about ourselves by volunteering and helping others, eating foods we love that are good for us, laughing until we hurt, listening to the birds, and planting flowers.

Quality of life is so important as we age and many of the things we can do to improve it are easy and inexpensive but require action. Buying a flower pot at a thrift store and planting our favorite flower(s) in it for the balcony or planting them in our yard and watching them grow is a real treat.

Getting a cup of coffee or tea in the morning and just sitting for awhile listening to the birds sing bring more joyful moments and put us back in touch with nature.

Spending a few hours "lightening up" our favorite room in the house by getting rid of junk and clutter can be a delight once we are finished.

Treating ourselves to a home facial and a total skin moisturizing application using a nice body lotion is also a great treat. Our skin will dry and sometimes itch as we get older and regular moisturizing feels great.

Doing one or two good things for others each week also brings a great deal of satisfaction, whether through volunteering or helping a neighbor, or visiting someone in the hospital or nursing home. These are terrific ways to feel great and make others feel special as well.

As I view all of the issues that make us happier as we get older. Many of us didn't have the role models in our parents and grandparents. They would talk about "if you have good health you have everything" but would smoke, drink, not exercise, not eat well, etc. etc. Of course they didn't have the knowledge we now have, and didn't really understand the full picture of what quality of life was all about. Many didn't have the funds or the education or leisure time to ponder what would make them happy and healthy.

Our generation has had the opportunity to study aging and put into place the results of these studies that lead us to a happier, healthier lifestyle. But alas so many of us don't heed the information and ignore the obvious. I'm interested in your opinions as to why this is so. It is painful to see our friends or loved ones with the means to improve their lives on many levels and are stuck in an unproductive, unhealthy pattern. Is there a solution?

Many articles on my site have to do with enhancing quality of life. Take a look. Some are under various topics that you can scan for articles of interest. There are so many areas that as a whole comprise a good quality of life and they may vary for each of us. The ones that cross-cut are the most important: health, mental and physical; socialization; interests; comfortable environment; and more. Take an interest in each for yourself and learn what you can do to make each area better for you personally. I know that I am taking more of an interest in my health as I age and in my environment.

I am amazed at the fact that so many of my friends and acquaintances have kept themselves in stressful situations that they can easily escape if they thought through their problem and took action. I think feeling stuck and unhappy is a much worse consequence than getting through the steps that are required to take action. As we age, it is very important that we minimize the stress in our lives, as we all know that stress has a negative impact on our health.

I'm going to put this note in here because it seems to fit. I really don't like to exercise at the gym and have been trying to find something to do regularly besides just walking to get in some movement. Most of my hobbies are sedentary. I love to read, write, watch movies at night, so I have to make myself move to get my heart rate up. It just happens that I like to dance. So I put on my favorite oldies, and if I dance by myself for half an hour each day (I try for 5 times a week, but more is good) I am getting all of the exercise I need. I make myself do it and have a lot of fun singing along and trying all of the old dance steps I did way back when. How about the twist, the stroll, the bop, etc.?? Believe me you don't need a partner. It's a hoot.

I was thinking that almost anything we do as we age that is uplifting and helps us focus on good memories and making plans for the future that are interesting and fun has to be where it's at..

I am in the process of joining a program that helps seniors get along better in their homes. Just thinking about doing this gives me a lot of pleasure and I haven't even started doing it! There are so many things that we can plan for ourselves that are uplifting and will make us feel good about ourselves. Working with others is one way, but planning a fun trip, learning a new skill, reading that self help book we have put off (or any book we think we would enjoy), are all ways to build in satisfying thoughts and events that are lasting and enhance our quality of life.

I discovered that there are numerous places that are hiring seniors to take care of other seniors who need help. In fact, I have a friend who was thinking of volunteering to do this and she found out that she could get a small salary for being a senior companion/caregiver, work her own hours and not necessarily weekends. So she is working two days during a week, three hours a day. She says she loves it and is earning some "pin money" for the holiday season.

This is a way of improving another senior's quality of life as well as our own. How cool is that?

I just posted an article on being healthy and "green" at the same time. I placed it under the News You Can Use category but it also could go under Quality of Life. As we age, I feel our health is priority one, but we also need to consider what kind of world we will eventually leave behind and do what we can to protect it. In fact, there are many ways to support the environment each day, which is a "feel good" thing to do. One friend of mine has adopted a road and gets great exercise while keeping it free from trash. Another volunteers at a park and helps to keep the paths free from falling branches, and also gets in some great exercise while doing that. The combinations of seeking out healthy habits while simultaneously benefiting the environment are endless. Share some of them with others here!!