Do the Hard Stuff—Feel Better! My 60s Health Overhaul

Why wait for tomorrow when you can start improving your health today? Every age is the right age to feel vital.

“I’m too young to feel like a wet mop. What the heck is going on?” I was in my early 60s and felt exhausted all the time. I was walking around in a fog, feeling sleepy and tired. Press a button and pop—jack-in-the-box anxiety?

“Okay, Cindy, time for a doctor’s visit. It’s been a long time.” My lab results, surprisingly, were normal, except for “high cholesterol,” or so was the diagnosis. Instruction from the doctor was to eat more fiber and get a colonoscopy and mammogram—sigh! I felt like a piece of pork in a production line.

Besides high cholesterol, I had a clean bill of health, but what about the exhaustion and fatigue?

Determined to take control of my own health, I began my research. I immersed myself in functional medicine books, became a podcast and webinar addict, and a TED talk junkie.

To this moment, I remember exactly what I was doing when I found the article that would change the direction of my life. I was in my home office, sitting at my desk, trying to listen and concentrate on what was dictated by the current doctor in my queue.

As a medical records editor, I was used to listening to the same health problems and diagnoses and the same pharmaceutical fixes day in and day out. My mind was all over the place, so I began clicking through Google links to alleviate the monotony.

That’s when I stumbled upon Dr. Michael R. Eades’ article, author of many books, including Protein Power. He mentioned Dr. Terry Wahls and her incredible journey with multiple sclerosis. She went from being confined to a reclining wheelchair to riding a bike for 12 miles.

Dr. Wahls’ story was my introduction to functional medicine. If Dr. Wahls could triumph over such a devastating disease, imagine what someone without MS could do.

This was the wake-up call in my life, leading me to better health and well-being. Here’s how I did the hard stuff and feel livelier now than a decade ago.

Revamping My Diet: The First Step Towards Better Health

I spent hours daily searching the internet for information on a different approach to health. I started by reading books and listening to podcasts. I ran across nutritionist Trudy Scott, her blog, and her book, The Antianxiety Food Solution. Back then, I had no idea that food had such an impact on health and mood. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t felt so out of sorts myself.

Trudy Scott’s emphasis was on food and mood, how what you ate affected your mood. She is so right!

Terry Wahl’s program was focused on eliminating grains, especially wheat, dairy, corn, and soy.

I first eliminated all breads. It was hard. I flip-flopped on and off for quite some time. Aside from sugar, it was one of the most problematic foods to give up. I had no idea I was addicted to bread and sugar until I gave them up. I discovered carbs and sugar were bloating me up and making me miserable. I hated my belly!

The next to go was dairy. That was the hardest and longest food divorce of my life. After eating a bowl of milk-covered cereal, I needed a nap. I could barely concentrate if I ate cereal for a few breakfasts in a row. I hadn’t heard the word ‘brain fog’ yet, but I was experiencing that. It was a triple whammy if I ate an ice cream cone or a bowl of ice cream. I had a sugar high along with brain fog.

Then, I divorced Coke but didn’t find it as difficult. I ended up giving up all soda/pop.

Processed foods are everywhere, so they were also extremely hard to eliminate. Supermarkets are filled with processed foods, front to back, side to side! The store’s perimeter is the only place to shop for whole foods.

I fell off the wagon here and there with sugar and dairy, but I jumped back on. I’m glad I did because, at age 74, I feel better than I did at 34, 44, and 54.

Yes, it had to do with lifestyle! However, the only questions asked of me in the doctor’s office were how much alcohol I drank and did I smoke. I was never asked about food except to add more fiber, which I’m sure meant eating more whole grains.

I used to be a weekend smoker. The moment I started feeling bad, I abruptly quit smoking before I attempted any nutritional changes. Quitting smoking was non-negotiable!

The last to go was beer. I loved the cold golden bubbly on the weekends. I started by cutting it down to once a month, then every couple of months, and so on. But nowadays, I indulge in a beer or a couple of glasses of wine two 2-3 times yearly. I’m not perfect, and I love the tiny buzz I get from it.

When I finally accomplished eliminating all the wrong things, I started to see results within weeks. My fatigue and brain fog lessened. I felt a spark of vitality and life more than I had in years. This dietary overhaul was the first step towards reclaiming my health and feeling better than I had in decades.

So, What Did I Eat

Pretty simple! I don’t need to inundate you with a long list of what to eat and what not to eat. Eat whole foods: vegetables, pasture-raised eggs, meat (grass-fed), free-range chicken, berries, nuts, and seeds.

I bought a NutriBullet and started blending green juice. That was a game-changer. I felt so clear-headed after a few days of green juice. I used a mix of kale, red and green chard, arugula, baby bok choy, spinach, and mizuna.

I stayed away from starches. I love potatoes and do eat them but rarely. I will eat a baked potato skin with butter. Butter is dairy, but it doesn’t bother me because it’s not a daily habit.

A daily grapefruit helped cut the cravings for sugary fruits and sugar. Not everyone can tolerate grapefruit, however, and grapefruit can be contraindicated with certain medications. But I’m prescription-free. My medications are natural supplements. I use fish oil and magnesium. Sometimes, I switch to krill oil. That’s it!

Try fasting. Intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating is another practice to incorporate into your lifestyle. Your brain will adore you for it. If you eat your last meal of the day around 6 PM, then you won’t eat again until 6 AM the next morning, giving you a 12-hour fast.

I eat my last meal of the day around 4-5 PM, and I will not eat again until around 9-10 AM, giving me a 17-18 hour fast. This induces autophagy. Autophagy is your body’s cellular recycling system. It allows a cell to disassemble its junk parts and repurpose the salvageable bits and pieces into new, usable cell parts. A cell can discard the parts it doesn’t need.

Mobilizing Towards a Healthier Me

After revamping my diet, the next step in improving my health was incorporating regular exercise daily—start moving! I knew that staying active was a must for improving my overall well-being. I want to stay mobile until I’m 100 and beyond, push a grocery cart without using it as support, and walk my dog.

Starting Slow

I was always a walker, but not consistently. I’d walk for days at a time and then not walk for weeks. So, I started with consistent walking when the weather permitted. I was conditioned, so I began with 10 minutes and gradually was able to walk for 30 or 45 minutes. I could feel my stamina building.

Finding Other Ways to Exercise

In addition to walking, I explored other forms of exercise to avoid boredom. I tried yoga. I fell in love with the dancer pose, tree pose, and the forward fold pose, which I found particularly beneficial for my mind—keeping me in the present. I still do them.

Next, I incorporated squats—another favorite. At first, I only did ten squats, which wasn’t easy. It’s not that I was carrying excessive weight. I was deconditioned. I could barely lift myself back up on my seventh squat. I worked up to 3 sets of 15, then three sets of 15 with a 6-pound weight. My stamina was increasing. I felt invigorated and encouraged to keep it up.

Routine Development

I became comfortable with my new exercise habits and developed a routine. I did squats after supper and the three yoga poses anytime throughout the day. I took my walks mainly in the evenings. Now, I walk 30 minutes in the morning and after supper—unless there’s a downpour. I live in Florida, so buckets pour down at the weather’s whim.

Benefits

I was finally reaping the benefits of regular exercise. My energy levels surged. I felt more alert. I was a medical records editor and auditor working from my home office, so focus was a top priority. I noticed better sleep and a more positive outlook on the future. I felt strong and capable.

Stress Management and Mind-Body Connection

Understanding the connection between my mind and body was pivotal. Exercises like yoga improved my physical health and provided mental clarity and awareness of the present. I began to see how taking control of my mind and thoughts positively impacted my physical well-being.

Continuous Learning, Staying Informed and Inspired

I’m a self-taught woman. I’ve always taken the initiative to learn on my own. I guess I’m an autodidact. (A self-taught person). I added that to my vocabulary because I had no clue what it meant until now, but I’ve learned to love to learn. I thrive on it now. It wasn’t always that way. I had to become sick, tired, and depressed before shedding my old self.

Authors like Dr. Terry Wahls and nutritionist Trudy Scott helped me stay informed about new research. They led me to several other like-minded physicians, like Dr. David Perlmutter, Dr. Christopher Palmer, Dr. Dale Bredesen, Dr. William Davis, Dr. Mark Hyman, Dr. Casey Means, and Dr. Austin Perlmutter—to mention a few—and all the brilliant books they’ve written.

The books, podcasts, and webinars I’ve read and watched from these like-minded individuals are too vast to list because I’ve been learning from them for decades, which has helped me stay on track. If I stumbled off the path, I easily stepped back.

Sharing Knowledge Inspired by My Health Quest

Since I’m about to turn 75 this November, I decided to focus my blog on seniors aged 55 and up. Everyone is welcome, however.

In my early 60s, my lifestyle habits caught up with me. It’s hard to fathom now, but I didn’t know I was slowly killing myself with sugar, wheat flour, and dairy and how simple tweaks could alleviate so much misery. If I hadn’t lived it myself, I might not have bought into this ‘food thing’ and how the wrong ones can devastate your whole-body health, from head to toe. I’m talking about brain health as well. It’s all connected, so don’t let anyone ever tell you that it’s not.

Even though I had eliminated all contributing lifestyle habits, I still didn’t feel well, so I knew it had to do with the ‘food thing.’ So, revamping my diet, exercising, and trying out some yoga helped me reclaim myself (yes, really)!

If you’re feeling miserable, tired, and depressed, your lifestyle habits might be a contributing factor. But you have to do the hard stuff to get to the source. Start by eliminating what you know deep down is one of the culprits. Is it processed foods, added sugar, a few too many spirits, or sneaking a ciggy? It could be all of the above, but you won’t know until you do the hard stuff. I’m telling you, it’s worth it!

So do the hard stuff and stay sassy!