Susan Reynhout

Keeping healthy is a worthwhile goal at any age. As you get older, it can get trickier.

You might not be burning calories like you did when you were younger, but you can still become healthier. The golden rules still apply: Burn more calories than you eat or drink. Eat more veggies, whole grains, fish, beans, and low-fat or fat-free dairy, and keep meat and poultry lean. Limit empty calories, like sugars and goods with little or no nutritional value. Avoid fad diets, because the results don’t last. There are some other things you can do. Stay strong, keep moving. You lose muscle mass as you age. Offset that by doing strength training. Eat more protein. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. As you get older, you may not be as quick to notice when you’re thirsty. You can drink it or get part of it from foods that are naturally rich in water, such as cucumbers and tomatoes. Outsmart your metabolism. Eat more small, healthy snacks – not junk food. You may need fewer calories than you did when you were younger. Make mindful choices in the calories you are getting.

Change is difficult, especially when you are trying to improve your health. So often on a journey we focus on the end goal, assuming when we reach the finish line, everything will be different. Yes, you will likely feel like a different person, but the changes need to become a lifestyle. No matter your goal, the fact that you wake up every morning determined to work toward change is worth celebrating!

You can begin by joining a great group of women who are supporting each other and learning how to improve their health. We are a caring, positive group increasing our health awareness and learning and supporting each other in making lifestyle changes, with lots of fun and laughs in the process. We meet every Wednesday in the Cottonwood Country Club Room A-7. Meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. Cost: One-time fee of $5.00 to sign up. Bring a notebook. For more information, call Sue at 480-250-5308.