Transition into a Healthy Retirement
Retirement Can Be A Renaissance
-- By Rebecca Pratt, Staff Writer
Once upon a time there was a distinguished
politician who went into retirement after a long career of hectic
schedules, important tasks, and continual limelight. After hanging
around the house for the first week of his new-found freedom,
he was gently chastised by his wife, who informed him that she
had married him for better or worse, but not for lunch.
Do you also need some help making
the transition from busy worker bee to busy retiree? The journey
from working to retiring is one of life’s great transitions--
even if you’ve planned for it and are already looking forward
to it. A time of delicate decisions and scary new possibilities,
retirement can feel both exhilarating and confusing. Choices
made now will reverberate through the rest of your life. Choices
about fitness and nutrition may be the most important of all.
How will you spend your time, and
what do you want to do on a typical day? What do you want to
learn, and what do you want to teach? Where and how will you
live? Is it possible now to resurrect some of the dreams and
goals you’ve deferred? As you plan the rest of your life, incorporating
your beliefs, values, and commitments, be sure to give proper
attention to your physical well-being. If you’re in good shape,
great! You’ll want to maintain that valuable condition. If not,
there’s no better time to make healthy changes. Here are some
things to keep in mind:
Physical activity is more
important than ever.
• If you’re not interested in joining a formal fitness program,
you can stay physically active in other ways: bowling, fishing,
gardening, biking, or community projects that require elbow
grease.
• If you are interested in a formal fitness program, find out
if local churches, recreation centers, or civic associations
offer classes and activities for seniors, especially since they
may also offer discounts.
• To limber your limbs—and to maintain at least one activity
that’s free, low-risk, and convenient almost anywhere—try to
walk or jog 20-30 minutes, three to five times a week.
• Partner up with a fitness buddy—someone who’s as serious as
you about fitness. Make your exercise regimen a good excuse
to maintain friendships, or renew old ties that you missed when
you were tethered to the workday world.
• Consider making strength training a priority—it offers numerous
benefits for seniors, such as increasing energy levels throughout
the day, reducing stress and anxiety, delaying or preventing
age-related disorders, and enhancing sleep, balance, endurance,
and flexibility.
Eat, drink, and be merry—
and healthy.
• Eat a variety of foods.
• Avoid high-cholesterol foods and limit your total fat and
saturated fat.
• Increase fiber intake and, especially if you’re a woman, calcium.
• Limit your use of sugar, salt, and sodium compounds.
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water every day.
• Make sure prescribed medications don’t clash with your food
choices.
• Get a good night’s sleep on a regular basis.
Set out on new adventures!
• Schedule at least part of your time according to the goals
you set for yourself—it’s a perverse axiom of human nature that
the more time you have, the more you waste. (It’s the converse
of the old adage that "if you want something done, you
should ask a busy person.")
• Learn something new-- experts say intellectual stimulation
is one of the basic needs of human beings. Make a list of all
the things you’ve always wanted to learn or try, then pick out
something that’s feasible now.
• Help around the house—your spouse will be thrilled! If your
partner has always been the one to cook, turn the tables. Take
a gardening or healthy cooking class, then show off what you’ve
learned. Experiment with new food that you’ve never tried.
• Take up a fitness activity that you can do with your better
half—tennis, ballroom dancing, mini-marathons. Focus on fun.
• Volunteer for worthwhile activities, particularly those closest
to your heart. When you have purpose in your life, getting and
staying fit becomes easier.
• Make a conscious effort to build both exercise and healthy
eating into any travels you indulge in.
When planning an itinerary, look
for ways to be active, like swimming, walking, or boating. Limit
rich or calorie-laden meals to once or twice a week. Make balanced,
healthful foods the bulk of your fare.
Clearly, it doesn’t take a lot
of money or major planning to make the most of your golden years.
You too can turn your retirement into a renaissance!
