Over 50 with huge amounts of energy?

[Serendo]

Musing about a friend in her mid 50's. Not a close friend, we see each other at a social event regularly. She works full time as a surgeon, has 2 children she is very hands on with and she entertains or hosts guests or travels to somewhere new almost every single week end.

She is always 'on', never misses a beat and always the first to respond to texts, organise things, etc. I'm a similar age and have nowhere near those energy levels. Do you know anyone like this and wonder how they do it?

I drink alcohol. I prefer late nights and late mornings.
You don't have to have an ultra healthy lifestyle to be busy.
You have to decide what matters to you though. Our house is reasonable, but we don't spend the hours cleaning it every day some people do. DP pulls his weight. And we don't treat our teenagers like babies. We deliberately live somewhere with good public transport so we don't have to spend our life giving them lifts.
We prioritise going out and having fun. And we do it on the cheap. I am always amazed at people on here who say an hours drive is too far. We will do a five hour round trip to something amazing as we can't afford a hotel.
You decide what you prioritise in life. Unless you are unwell you could be this busy, you just don't want to. And that is fine too.

I know a lady who is now 70. She swims in the Early Bird 7am session 3 times a week. Does aquarobics the other 2 days. She walks every day for about 7 miles with various friends. She cooks meals from scratch every day, gardens and indeed won awards for her gardens, lunches out 3 times a week with friends and is often going on those late holiday breaks with either her DH or a friend. She is also excellent at baking cakes and cookies. When I see her she always asks me what did I do at the weekend and it's embarrassing as I often have a quiet weekend taking a child to play in a cricket match and watching/scoring.

Yes I fit the bill but I am not an extrovert nor have outside help.

I am a positive minded person though, and try and see the positive even out of negative situations, have a like minded supportive husband and a sense of humour and don't tend to dwell on the negatives without seeing what I can learn from the situation so I am very reflective and adaptable.

I have had several career changes and make good mental and physical health a priority.

Anyone looking at my situation would think all the stars are aligned in my favour but they don't know the hard work that has gone into this.

For example, I lost the use of my legs after pregnancy and I had to battle to learn to walk again. Now I do half marathons counting my lucky stars each time that I can do so, never taking anything or anyone for granted and being grateful for every day I can walk with pain.

My husband and I went through a rocky patch and considered splitting up but we went on the Alpha marriage course without being religious and it got us actively listening, having date nights, and appreciating and understanding each others perspectives.

I didn't have family help bringing up DC so we made housework team work even when DC were young so that everyone knew how to be helpful and thoughtful around the home and it wasn't 'women's work' .

This has made it possible for me to work full time in a demanding job knowing the laundry/ shopping/ cleaning and tidying will be shared by everyone, especially as my DC are all older now.

My family love horse riding and we are lucky enough to have horses each and all the families I know where there are horses in the mix are similarly energetic and fit and enjoy life. And no, we don't have expensive livery bills to pay because we don't live in an expensive part of the country and have them and lots of dogs at home, so I would say we have a good work life balance.

We go abroad regularly on holiday skiing etc and to the tropics and long standing friends ask to stay so they can ride and house sit so that makes it easier.

As for energy levels, I have an auto immune disease including osteoarthritis so it's important for me to follow an anti inflammatory diet during the week but I let my hair down at the weekend as we do enjoy a lot of socialising.

I have discovered matcha ceremonial grade tea which I find is better than coffee as it's full of anti oxidants and lutein which is good for aging eyesight and slower release caffeine; I love seafood over a burger and chips and really enjoy a good steak and lots of home grown fruit and veg.

I do feel it's an attitude for life, keep learning and having fun, and being kind to ourselves and others.It wouldn't be possible without putting our mental and physical well being at the top of the agenda in every little or big decision we make.

I forgot to add I am 62 and have no plan to retire as I have my own consultancy business, and I find my work in mental health extremely rewarding.

People like that always make me think of a very old ER episode where a “superwoman” was actually just taking speed. That is my default bitchy thought whenever I meet this rare breed of wonder woman.

Yeah I’m jealous as I’m pretty much knackered all the time as I muddle through life with a bad attitude, avoiding physical exercise where possible.

My SILs are 62, 58 and 55 and have insatiable energy!! They do not stop! So active, always dashing about everywhere - literally running (not walking) wherever they go. I have never seen them rest. I'm 48 and so, so tired!

Yes it does. It's so good!

I agree with you, @Tarne - it's partly attitude, partly determination, and also having to go to work. I'm 63 and still a secondary school teacher. I have friends of similar age who retired 10 years ago, and seem to always be tired and not wanting to go out. I think if you retire you need to have some sort of project to keep you sharp and engaged, you have to maintain energy levels.

I am in peri, btw. The less I do the less I want to do.
Also don't understand why posters are jealous of ppl who exercise. This is surely available to all.
I got rid of my car and walk everywhere as am in London. Not possible for everyone but some amount of exercise is.

HRT is your friend alongside good friends, good food, good work life balance and the ability to be able to make positive changes when things get toxic!

Totally agree about friends who retire early and within a few years complain about being tired at a low level or normal level of activity.
There is no secret to all of this. The more you do the more you can do.
It's not about a healthy lifestyle or anything except making yourself do it.
I often feel tired after work. But when you go out and have fun you feel fine again.
Feeling tired is not a reason to veg.

I know someone who is always on the go

She doesn't drink and I imagine that means she sleeps better, therefore more energy

I dont drink either except v occasionally and I don't eat much UPF. The second is mostly because I was raised in a different culture where UPG wasn't widely available.

UPF.

I drink alcohol. But I do sleep well.
But plenty of people party who live an unhealthy lifestyle.
If you wait until you feel energetic before doing things you will never get there.
If you do more, you sleep better, and that gives you more energy.
If I stay at home and do little I feel much more tired.

Yes, agree on surgeons and female surgeons in particular.

The job stress they are under is incredible. They have to be incredibly intelligent, but also incredibly focused, motivated and switched on, for long, long periods of time.

I think of them as a different breed tbh. She sounds like an amazing woman.

My mum is 60 and seems to have boundless energy, always on her feet and doing countless unnecessary trips to shops. She runs a B&B but has quite a lot of free time once the morning rush is over. She can't sit and relax when she visits, she'll busy herself emptying the dishwasher or watering the plants. She likes to randomly drop in and take my toddler off to the park for a play session most days, the park is 2km away and she doesn't drive. I'm a fast walker and I struggle to keep up with her.

@GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing no not a wind up. My younger two children are just like me and up at about 5/5:30am. They both have ADD and shouldn’t be left at all unattended. They are ages 10 and 7 so should just turn the TV on according to their father. The 10 year started cooking pancakes last weekend and accidentally left the stove on. He then left a plastic chopping board on the stove and it melted into the stovetop.

Having conversations, it’s frustrating because either you need to be awake yourself or hire someone to be awake and making sure they are safe. Personally, I’m awake but I make the children stay in bed until 6:30am.

My mum's like this. She recently turned 55 and is always on the go. She took up Karate and is now brown belt, slowly working her way up the ranks, does Tai Chi and when she's not doing that she's weaving on the loom she built. She also works full time, does woodworking, gardening and regularly redecorates rooms of her house - anywhere from doing a fresh coat of paint to rehanging doors and replacing all the handles. Gave up drinking and smoking when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at 45 and is just smashing it. In contrast I'm nearly 33 and pour myself in to my PJs as soon as I get home from work 😅

I’m like this but you don’t know what you don’t see! My house certainly isn’t the cleanest and I’m run ragged with children, dogs, elderly parents and full time work. I’m certainly not putting on a show to impress others but outwardly I probably look like I’m handling it all. Inside I’m a nervous wreck.

I don't waste my post-50 energy on cleaning the house! Though I do cook a lot.

I'm 50, work ft two teens, busy life, but I go out every weekend to gigs, club nights, and feel like I have good energy levels to dance from 9pm to 2am. I have not gone through the menopause.

My mother is 77 and came to watch a band with me, she also goes out regularly. My older brother is the same and I wonder if it's hereditary?

My life has changed lots recently.
When I hit 47 and my teens could be left, I started going out as we had stayed in for so long with no energy, eating, drinking too much.

I have lost 2.5 stone since Dec and generally started focusing more on me (as it was all work and family before). I have also started jogging of an evening.

I don't know if it's sustainable.
I have, however, let the house slip, work slip, motherhood slip and feel guilty sometimes, so I am most definitely not on top of everything!