Can someone spell out to me exactly what I need to do to fend off old age?

[Feckinlego]

As in loss of bone density, muscle mass etc. I've faffed around with exercise for a few years but don't really stick at anything ..I make attempts at a healthy diet but I'm not exactly sure the difference between healthy and low calorie/low fat etc.
I've stopped drinking now and I want to put my new found energy to good use.
I just want to stay supple and fit as I age. I'm only 49 but want to set good habits now.
Any advice would be so appreciated.
Thanks.

https://youtube.com/@fabulous50s?feature=shared

See what you think of these videos ^

Yoga or something similar (to stay supple), resistance exercise (e.g., weights) to maintain muscle (we lose muscle as we age) and healthy food. Maybe ask your GP for a blood test to make sure you don't have any vitamin or iron deficiencies. Sleep on a regular schedule (there are certain processes that happen in our bodies on a schedule and it goes haywire when we miss out on sleep).

Get on YouTube and check out Joe Wicks's workouts. They don't require expensive equipment and are well-organized so that you'll be targeting important muscles. You can do things like squats while waiting for the kettle to boil, for example.

Also get regular dental check-ups. It'll be worth it. I need to take my own advice there.

I think it's because people in wealthier areas in the US do all this that they look so healthy.

Good luck.

No or low alcohol consumption is good, get a good BMI, beware fat around the belly. Don’t worry about low fat, worry about eating too much sugar and also look at what oils you eat. I have a condition which means I get chronic pain, it’s a congenital issue that worsens with age and there is not much I can do about it. But in my mid fifties I can still hike for 10 miles and DH still runs a good time for 5k, I can’t run anymore due to my congenital spinal defect. We have never been overweight. Eat as little ultra processed food as possible. I still walk for a full hour most days even when in pain and do stretches, though I have an ear infection currently which is being treated and am a bit whoozy and off balance so can’t.

Take vitamin D 10mcg daily.
Wear SPF 50 on face and neck daily. I like Eucerin oil control, it doesn't feel anything like sticky sunscreen.
Many areas offer 12 week free gym memberships and training with a GP referral, could you try that? In my area you need the slimmest of reasons to be eligible eg back pain, who doesn't get that sometimes. My surgery has a health and wellbeing team who offer coaching for exactly the kind of thing you're asking about, might be worth asking yours if they have this service.

Weights
Cardio
Yoga / pilates
Floss
Drink water

I would say eat well, everything in moderation, including plenty of fresh veg. I eat a low-carb diet and avoid low-fat anything.
Keep the weight off and stay with a healthy BMI.
Keep going with the exercise, the things that work for me are yoga, brisk walking including hills and lots of gardening.
Try to retain the suppleness that you already have.
I am 74 and can still do the splits. 😊

Nothing! It is impossible to "fend off old age". It happens to all of us, despite Western society's ever increasing hysteria about the inevitability of old age, infirmity and death.

Regular cardio exercise (jogging or speed walking) and resistance training (this is a lot more than just weights or pilates which are the current big consumer fads) will help you stay relatively strong and supple as you age, although loss of muscle and bone density is inevitable since you're no longer 23 (and nor am I)!

Enjoy :-)

Weights and cardio. Definitely weights though.

You need to be able to get up off the floor from a sitting position without using your hands. If you can do that at your age, it’s a good indicator of later life health.

So need core chain/muscle strength, balance and body weight to achieve this. However you get there is up to you, but a mix of weights, cardio and balance is a good start. Make it fun, make it routine.

Lol, I've got more muscle, strength and fitness now than I did in my 20s.

Thanks all. Some really interesting points there. So walking and weights I can do as I'm in a gym( just haven't been in 6 months. ). Just need to find a programme I can stick to. I can do the fresh veg part I just have a very strong bacon addiction 🙈

@gamerchick that’s so good to hear. I’m mid thirties and have had problems with diet and exercise for a decade due to mental health issues. I’m finally in a position where I’m not binge eating and I’m going to the gym as well as building in everyday exercise like walking and stairs. I’m so ashamed I’ve let myself be so unfit but hopefully I’ll be like you with time and be better than my 20s!

I work out daily to Pahla B's videos on YouTube. She has whole series of exercises for women who are aged 50 & over (I'm 58). She mixes up cardio and strength training, and has lots of info about nutrition and what to eat for health.

I also like Lucy Wyndham Read's exercises. She has lots of shorter videos for targeting specific areas too.

Being consistently active is more important than finding the perfect thing. So find something you enjoy and will stick to, ideally something is social as this helps you enjoy it and keep going.

Having a good social life in itself is increasingly being seen as vital for longevity - if you're one of the many people whose networks have collapsed a bit, volunteering can be a great thing to do.

Built to move (by Kelly and Juliet Starrett) is a really interesting book on mobility with ten tests (including the sit to stand test a pp mentioned) and recommendations for getting on track if needed.

Finally I listen to lots of wellbeing podcasts while our running and cycling and this gives me lots of ideas to try while also making me feel motivated. Some of my favourites are Hit play not pause, feel better live more, just one thing and the ready state.

I try and do
Lifting stuff
Something cardio
Something for flexibility

I use the peloton app for all of it

Strength training

Flexibility. ( it’s a thing that quite a few old people become immobile after they stop being able to walk, as the can’t get their shoes on, as their nails are too long, as they can’t bend well enough to cut their nails).

For your cognitive maintenance read ‘ 10 steps to a smarter you’. It summarizes the research on how to keep up cognition as you age.

Weights, weights, weights! And core strength exercises.
The best thing you can do for bone density

Now my seventies, I am very glad that I started gardening at a young age with a young family. I worked full time, but still made time to work in the garden or the allotment. Digging, hoeing, strimming, sawing and mowing are all really good exercise and ultimately, in my opinion, much more entertaining and useful than working out in a gym.
In old age, being out in the fresh air and maintaining the cycle of sowing, growing and harvesting gives a rhythm to life and as someone once said, "gardening is the triumph of hope over experience".

As with all things there is a balance. Genetics plays a huge role. The longest lived generation the current 90 year olds, didn't do any organized excercise, but they did walk a lot, didote physical work, even just housework, and generally ate well. They also got more fresh air and sunshine without SPF anything!

I was thinking about this the other day and realised that something is going ta have to go. They say ‘use it or lose it’ - muscles, fitness, memory, talents, passions. It’s literally impossible to keep all those plates spinning amongst all the other plates we have, so something is going to have to go honestly.
Howwww do people find time amongst the rest of life to use their strength, flexibility, cardio fitness, mobility etc… (this all came about actually in reference to my singing voice - ‘use it or lose it’ is so true)… I think I’m gonna have to pick which things I don’t mind losing 😭 I want them all!

Can't agree there. My mother, born in 1910, was a member of The Women's League of Heath and Beauty in the 1930s, which later generations would have called Keep Fit. She also went dancing three times a week, which was a hugely popular form of exercise for much of the population.

@PerspiringElizabeth its hard fitting it all in! I weight lift 4 days a week and run once. I get at least 10k steps a day. I do mobility stretches before and after my weights- stretching etc… for flexibility.

Watch the short series Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones on Netflix.

I don't think you have to do much of either

Do whatever cardio you enjoy
Lift weights a few times a week, even 20 mins
Leave time for hobbies and passions, if that crosses over into exercise it's a bonus!

I have chronic health conditions so my week is a bit like

Work - then do either 20 min cardio/20 min weights or 30 min cardio/10 min stretch. Play a couple of brain games on my phone or read or do some puzzles
Weekends are for passions/hobbies so I do wild swimming or a much longer cardio session

Michael Moseley can spell it out for you! He presents a podcast called Just One Thing for the BBC and the recent series of it is all about ageing well. It's brilliant.