By John R. Berry, CFP®
Reaching the peak of your career or transitioning to retirement is an exciting time! All too often, though, we see clients 50+ starting to suffer health wise.
While illness and injury are sometimes unavoidable, we should do our best to prevent lifestyle illnesses from afflicting us. Lifestyle illnesses are non-communicable conditions that result from inactivity, unhealthy diet, and bad habits like smoking.
Personally, I enjoy geeking out on health and fitness information. There is plenty of great stuff out there—mostly common sense—from respected authorities like Texas A&M Extension Service and the medical schools of Johns Hopkins and Harvard.
Yes, the government spends a lot of money producing reports that tell people to exercise and eat more vegetables.
Everybody’s different, but for most people, light cardio exercise like walking is a great antidote to the middle-age paunch. I prefer walking outdoors over the treadmill for the convenience and mental health benefits.
A former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director called walking “the closest thing we have to a wonder drug.”
Harvard Medical School has produced a special report called Walking for Health. In addition to the regularly touted benefits of walking like helping control both blood pressure and depression, Harvard says this everyday activity can help calm your sweet tooth and shorten the duration of seasonal illnesses.
A lot of us need an accountability partner as we work toward fitness goals. While a human one is best, try MyFitnessPal if you prefer an app.
In the nutrition department, which is at least as important as exercise, there are a million diets out there. Food diets are just as bad as financial diets, though. They are restrictive and unsustainable.
Rather than cutting out things you really enjoy—I have a sweet tooth myself!—allow those indulgences, but only after meeting a health goal, such as drinking more water or consuming enough protein.
Formula for “enough water”: Half your body weight in oz. (If you weigh 200 pounds, drink 100 oz. of water daily.)
Formula for “enough protein”: 0.6 gram per pound of body weight. (If you weigh 200 pounds, eat 120 grams of protein.)
The aggregate of common-sense nutrition advice seems to be: Eat whole foods, mostly at home, and don’t drink too many of your calories.
Acknowledging that many people are going to eat out a lot, Johns Hopkins also offers these tips:
- Eat a small salad or broth-based soup first.
- Choose veggie-based entrees or those with baked, broiled, or grilled fish or skinless chicken.
- Substitute veggies or salad for heavy, fatty sides.
- Choose half portions or half your meal to go.
· Enjoy fresh fruit or sorbet if you want dessert.
The Chronometer app can help you track your nutrition, including reading the UPC labels on packaging so you don’t have to guess what’s in your food.
Mike Dolce, a fitness and nutrition expert who advises mixed-martial arts athletes, says it best about junk food and alcohol:
“We have been taught to overindulge in poison. Our parents were taught to reward us with poison for accomplishments as children. Every major holiday is positioned as a cultural norm to poison the population….No more can we blur the woes of despondent adults with alcohol, nicotine, and synthetic, toxic chemicals parading as food-like-substances.”
Most of us are past our prime “beach body” days, but we can still be as active and healthy as possible.
What role does or will health play in your retirement plans?
John R. Berry is the owner of Corner Post Financial Planning in Mineral Wells, Texas.