Friday, April 25, 2014

Staying Healthy into your Golden Years

Keeping your health up and staying in shape is always a little complex. Diet, exercise, and good living habits all make up what it means to staying healthy. If you are reaching your later years and are worried about staying in shape and maintaining good health, there are some proactive things you can do on a daily basis to keep up with your well being. Setting up a good exercise routine after consulting with your doctor & eating healthy foods, while watching your intake of unhealthy substances like alcohol and tobacco, are good places to start. If you follow these simple guidelines for your health, you will be able to enjoy many full and happy years to come.
First, set up an effective exercise program. This should involve a trip to your doctor for some constructive advice. If you aren’t sure about where to start when it comes to planning an exercise program that works for you, ask your doctor to recommend a good resource, like a physical therapy book or a website where you can go to do a little research. Plan your exercise routine carefully and take into account stamina, energy levels, and other health concerns.

Exercise can be fun. Even if you have physical limitation or health problems, there are plenty of options for activity. When I worked as an activity director at a rest home, we would get very creative when planning aerobic activities for our elderly residents. One very popular exercise routine was chair aerobics. Once a week an instructor would come and work the residents through a series of exercises they could do from their chairs. If you are chair bound or don’t have the ability to move around actively, chair aerobics may be just the thing for you. Another low impact solution may be swimming. Water activities are good for building stamina and growing muscle strength.
Choosing a good diet is just as important as choosing an effective exercise program. You need to talk your doctor and see what ares you may need to focus on when choosing a good diet. Eat lots of variety, and get lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. Many elderly people are deficient in certain areas like iron intake and protein substance. If you don’t eat certain types of foods like red meat or fish, buy a good supplement or vitamin. Eat balanced foods and try to cut out as much sugar and fats as possible. A little treat here or there is fine but don’t indulge too often.
Staying healthy in your later years isn’t as complicated as you may think. If you are on a Medicare Supplement plan, take advantage of the resources available through those programs. Most health insurance companies have great information available to their customers regarding health care plans and diet programs. Set a daily exercise program and stick to it as much as possible. Establish a firm dietary routine and don’t let a little backslide get you down. Its never too late to start a healthy lifestyle.

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