Don't Blame Being Fat on Aging

 

If you're over the age of 50 and weigh at least 20 pounds more than you did 20 years ago, you can blame  it on the pandemic.  Being stuck in a house, day after day for over a year, with nothing much to do but eat surely packed on some pounds.  

Okay-----You can stick to that story if you like but there's an even bigger reason as to why some of us are carrying around a thicker waist, thighs, and butt.  As we age many of us tend to be less active, which slows down our metabolism and we all know metabolism determines how many calories we burn daily.  The older we get the more likely we are to scale back on all of those strenuous, but fun, activities we used to do like biking for 5 miles, hiking, being a gym rat while showing off how much you can lift. or those one-hour Zumba classes three days a week.

But here's the REAL truth:  SUGAR is the guilty culprit.  Most packaged foods, snacks, and drinks are sweetened with fructose, a simple sugar from fruits or veggies like corn. Your liver turns it into fat. If you regularly pump fructose into your body, tiny drops of fat build up in your liver. This is called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of added sugar a day for women and 9 teaspoons (36 grams) for men. But the average American intake is more than double that:  22 teaspoons a day (88 grams). For example, just one 12-ounce can of regular soda has 10 teaspoons of sugar -- and no nutritional benefit.  So if you drink a can of soda every day and don’t cut calories elsewhere in your diet, in three years you’ll be 15 pounds heavier. Putting on too much weight can lead to problems like diabetes and some cancers. The more ut over time, swelling and scarring can damage your liver. 

Too much sugar during the day can also mess with your blood glucose levels and cause energy spikes and crashes. You may struggle to stay awake at work or doze off  for that "afternoon nap."  In the evening, a bowl of ice cream, cookies or a couple of glasses of sweet wine can pump you with sugar and keep you up at night. It also can cut short the time you’re in deep sleep so you may not wake up feeling refreshed.

Several studies have linked sugar and mental health problems. One of the latest showed that men who ate more than 66 grams of sugar a day -- almost double what’s recommended -- were 23 percent more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression than men who ate 40 grams or less. Too much sugar could fuel depression through swelling, or inflammation, in your brain, which is more common in people with depression.

Here's the KILLER:   Sugary drinks may add years to your biological age. DNA called telomeres cap the end of your chromosomes to protect them from damage. Longer is better. Shortened telomeres may go hand in hand with age-related diseases like diabetes. One study found that people who drink 20 ounces of soda a day have shorter telomeres. Researchers figure that’s like adding more than 4 years to the age of your cells.

I'm not writing to tell you to cut all sugar out of your diet but what I am saying is you may want to cut back if you've also cut back on your active lifestyle.  Right now, everyone is using the pandemic as an excuse for those extra pounds but the pandemic will soon be behind us so what will your excuse be then?

Socializing with Younger Generations Isn't So Bad After All

This past weekend I did something that totally goes against what I wrote in my latest book, The Baby Boomer Millennial Divide/Making it Work at Work. In the book, I talk about the do's and don'ts for Baby Boomers in the workplace. Here's what I said:

Don't hang out with them: It's one thing to sit with them at lunch and engage in harmless chit-chat or even go out after work every now and then for a drink, but it's an entirely different ballgame if you are choosing to socialize with them at their favorite hang-out on the weekends and challenging them to beer chugging contests.  You may be considered the "cool boomer" but not much respect will be attached to it especially if they happen to capture a video of you passed out in a drunken stupor and post it on Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook.

I did not follow my own advice (LOL!) when I decided to take a road trip to Atlanta with three younger, former co-workers to celebrate the wedding of someone we all worked with. Surprisingly, I never hesitated when I knew who would be going because I always enjoyed being around them at work and, to be honest, I probably would not have gone on my own. Although we have stayed connected via social media, we hadn't seen each other in about two years so it was exciting to have a reunion of sorts.

When I tell you I had a great time, that would be an understatement.  I had even MORE fun than I thought I would from start to finish!  Here's what I learned about socializing with younger people:

You share more in common than you think:  We all have a "back in the day" or "when I was growing up" story.  Some of the experiences they shared were also my own as far as how our parents and guardians raised us.  Even though I was 20-30 years older than them I could still relate to many of the things we talked about.  Children---boyfriends---husbands---losing weight---jobs and people we don't like, etc.  Life happens no matter how old you are.  We all still have bills to pay and challenges to overcome.

I think one of the problems with older adults is they tend to frown upon the behavior and lifestyle of young folks while forgetting that they were also young once and sometimes had reckless behavior and did foolish things that they now secretly regret. 

Respect is a two-way street:  Some older adults automatically assume that just because they're "older" they should command respect.  That's where they get it twisted.  While I believe older adults shouldn't be disrespected, I do believe respect is earned based on your character.  If you're over the age of 50 and every other word out of your mouth is a curse word or you show little regard for others around you, it is inconceivable to me that you would be deserving of anyone's adoration.  "It's the way you carry yourself" is what the grown-ups used to say when I was a kid and the same holds true for young adults.  They, too, must demonstrate their worthiness for respect.   To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't have gone on the trip had I not had a level of respect for ALL of them.

You can still act your age and share your wisdom:  The beauty of aging is young people get a chance to see and hear what their lives may be like as they grow older.  My life is nowhere near perfect but I have been blessed to have a career, a home, a wonderful husband, daughter and grandchild. I've also known what it's like to have been fired from more than one job, be unemployed for a period of time and to struggle spiritually and mentally from time to time.  These are stories to share because they make us real and transparent.  Two of the best conversations we had during the trip was about our walk with Christ and what it means when little boys see adults around them show genuine affection for each other.

On the other hand....I did catch myself acting my age just a little too much this past weekend!  I was constantly complaining about my hip and back pain and how far I had to walk to use the bathroom at the rest stop.  In that regard, aging is no joke. LOL!  I fizzled out after the wedding reception so going to the after party AFTER the reception was out of the question.

Music makes the world go round:  Thanks to SiriusXM radio, we all got a good sampling of music dating back to the 70's during the trip.    Although I've never been a fan of hip-hop, I actually forgot many of the songs I actually did like when my daughter was a teenager so we all took a trip down memory lane listening to Dance with Me, Gangsta's Paradise, "Return of the Mack", and "Walk it Out"

You can learn new things: I was so excited to learn that my former co-worker (like a daughter to me) was getting married but I had never been to a Gay wedding before so I didn't know what to expect.  Keeping it real, I believe I would've been a lot more uncomfortable had I not gone with my millennial and GenX travel mates or I probably wouldn't have gone at all.  They helped me overcome any inhibitions I may have felt.  That's another difference between the younger and older generations.  Some of us get "stuck" in our ways and are less receptive to the differences in others while young people are more likely to accept you at face value.  I'm still a work in progress.

The other new thing I learned was:  FIREBALL!

A study conducted by Harvard University some years ago indicated that older people who had active social lives were happier, healthier and more likely to live longer.  I'm not saying you need to hang out with young people every weekend but socializing with them on occasion can be a win-win for everyone.

Death

So far this year I've been to two funerals.  That's more than I've been to in the past 5 years. Death is a reminder that my friends and I are getting older and just like "life happens" so does dying.  Funny thing though, the two people who passed away this year were actually YOUNGER than me.  Sharon, who died in January---just days before her 57th birthday---succumbed to cancer---the same disease that took her sister's life years earlier.  Sharon was my girl.  She was the head of a nonprofit organization called C.A.R.E. She was truly a godsend for the homeless, down-trodden and our veterans.  Her motivation and determination to create a shelter for homeless vets inspired me to help by hosting a Throwback to the 60s Fundraising Party for her cause and yes, we partied like it was 1979!!!  Her sudden death caught me totally off-guard and sent me into a depression for awhile.

This past Thursday, my hairdresser's sister passed away.  She apparently died in the restroom during her lunch break.  They believe it might have been due to an aneurysm.  Her name was Beverly also.  She and I were in the same bowling league for a couple of years and our only daughters also bowled together.  She and I weren't besties or even close friends for that matter but I wanted to pay my respects because of her sister, whose been my hair stylist for more than 20 years.  I know her passing leaves a void in a family that was extremely close.  She was only 53.

Even though I don't like to talk about it or even think about it, I know death will eventually come knocking at my door and if you are reading this, it will come for you as well.  You may prolong it but you'll never escape it.  No amount of technology can stop the process.  That's the power of God.

If you have experienced loss, here's a website that might help:  http://www.helpguide.org/articles/grief-loss/coping-with-grief-and-loss.htm 

Whatever Happened to Dress to Impress

For those of you who are regular readers of my blog you know that I have been in and out of the workforce for the past 10 years. As much as I love having my own business and calling the shots, I still have to keep a roof over my head and food on the table, without solely passing the buck onto my "I've got your back" husband.

In August of this year, I started training for a position in a Company I prefer not to mention.  From Day One, I was shocked to see how my Millennial co-workers chose to come to work.  Some looked as though they had just gotten out of bed and threw the first thing on they could find.  Others wore clothes so tight I thought for sure they would split something somewhere.

The icing on the cake was a dress down day called Wacky Wednesday, where you were invited to wear the most outlandish outfit you could find.  I decided to participate to show I could be a team player.  I wore a T-shirt with a copy of the cover of my book on the front (shameless advertising), some blue jean capris, mix-match tennis shoes and socks.  For me, it was totally wacky because I would never been seen dressing like that for work or anywhere else for that matter.  

As I looked around to see who else was participating and who wasn't, I had a hard time figuring it out so I didn't dare say anything to anyone for fear of insulting them.  

It's obvious business attire has changed significantly over the years, especially in the last 20 years. Too many people have forgotten why proper business attire is important. It seems as though the younger you are, the less you care about the idea of "dressing to impress" in the workplace. The philosophy could be, "As long as I do my job, what I choose to wear should be no big deal." 

I do believe there are dress codes in place in the workplace for a reason and there should be a difference between the way you dress for work and the way you dress at home or when you go to the club.

But on the other hand, maybe these are Millennials who are just starting out and really don't know what dressing to impress means.  They don't know how their attire brands them.  Maybe they don't have the money to afford what is classified as real business attire or maybe they just can't invest because they have other obligations like "family."

Perhaps being an aging baby boomer has turned me into an old-fashioned, judgmental cynic who is trying to raise everyone else's dress code standards based on my own.  After all, I've been in the workforce more nearly 40 years so I ought to know a thing or two about dressing to impress, right?  

Whatever else we think about dressing for success, we need to be reminded that first impressions are everything, and we only get one chance to make a positive first impression. 

Aging Must Be Politically Correct

It seems as though I won’t be aging gracefully as a “little old lady” like my Big Mama (grandma) did. She, by the way, lived to be 100 years old and in my eyes she was a “sweet, little old lady.”

There appears to be a rallying cry from an ageism campaign group out of California to ban descriptions like “old” “elderly” and even “senior” when making reference to those of us over the age of 50. The International Longevity Center has gone as far as to create a new media guide.

According to Dr. Robert Butler, President and CEO of the Longevity Center, the guide “is an important step in overcoming ageist language and beliefs by providing journalists and others who work in the media with an appropriate body of knowledge…”

Here are some of the words they want eliminated:
• Ancient
• Biddy
• Blubbering idiot
• Dirt ball
• Crotchety old man
• Dirty old man
• Fogy
• Fossil
• Geezer
• Hag
• Little old lady
• Old fart
• Old goat
• One foot in the grave
• Over the hill
• Prune
• Senile old fool
• Sweet old lady

As a working journalist over the age of 50, I know better than to use those words and I would certainly hope that my younger colleagues know better too. Sometimes I even question why we use the word "baby boomer" to describe our generation, although I do understand how the terminology got its name.

The guide also suggests that “attributing physical decline to age erroneously suggests that age itself is the cause of decline when, in fact, illness is often the cause. Further, diseases that manifest themselves later in life are often caused by behavior and environmental exposure early in life.”

So I guess the middle age spread I am now in a battle with must be attributed to all that pizza I ate in my teens and twenties and not the result of the slowing down of my metabolism. But how does one explain arthritis, wrinkles and sagging breasts?

Should You Age Disgracefully?

Special Guest Post by Jane Baskin









Jane Baskin, author of Jane of the Jungle, thinks you should.

“People say there’s something to be said for aging gracefully,” says Baskin. “Baloney. Between the longer lifespan and the economy, it’s time to age with attitude.”

• If it sags, lift it. 13.1 million plastic surgery procedures were performed in 2010. Why not?
• If it’s gray, dye it.
• If it’s baggy, throw it out.
• If it’s stuffy-sedate, avoid it.
• If it’s lonely, check out Meetup.com. (this is not a dating site)
• If it’s still lonely, run as fast as you can to the nearest saloon and talk to strangers. It’ll do in a pinch.

To the many seniors crippled by the recession, she says, “If your choices have been cut back, you may be bent, but you don’t have to be broken. Hit the road. Live cheap. Live in an RV, stay with friends, live in your car. Be like you were when you were young and carefree, and thumb your nose at misfortune.”

Mind you, Baskin is not trying to deny aging. “Of course we’re going to get older. But over the hill has become a very long trek these days,” she says. “We have to do it differently.”

Longer lifespans are becoming the norm. Social Security estimates that most baby boomers will live to an average 93 years of age.

“It used to be, you worked ‘til 65 or so, hit the rocking chair, and waited,” says Baskin. “In most cases, it wasn’t that long of a wait. But now, it could be 25 or 30 years or more. That amounts to 2,912,000 rocks for the duration of your retirement. Are you kidding?

“I believe in a whole second stage of life – ‘Life 2.0.’ Rather than becoming sedate, this is the time to kick up your heels. This is the time to not give a tinker’s damn what people think of you. It’s a second childhood, the last one you’ll ever have. If you really want to bake cookies, do it in between adventures.

So, skip the mumu and the rocking chair. Skip the tea parties unless the company is lively and the tea is spiked. Says Baskin, “Gray is for cars and gun barrels. Dye your hair. Lift your face if you want. Work out, run, dance, use it or lose it. With modern medicine, nutritional and exercise science, you can be healthier than some thirty-year olds when you’re in your sixties and beyond. So I ask you, why not?”

“And if some kid in the saloon where you’re playing trivia for free drinks calls you ‘grandpa,’ tell him, ‘Fasten it, kid. I’m old enough to really know this stuff.’ And then go ahead and win the trivia. You could take a snapshot of his face on your cell phone, but that might be nasty.”

About Jane Baskin
Jane Baskin is a former Boston TAB features writer and clinical social worker. She lives in the mountains outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband and their herd of dogs and cats. For more on the adventures of aging disgracefully, visit Baskin’s blog, Forever Kinda Young, at http://foreverkindayoung.blogspot.com

Family is Good for Your Health

A new survey of 1500 older adults indicates health and well-being may actually depend, in part, on how much time they spend with their extended families.

The survey, commissioned by the National Council on Aging and Humana Inc suggests that family reunions and relationships inspire older adults to stay active and pursue their own well-being. It found that nearly 90 percent of those surveyed say they feel revitalized when they spend time with family and 70 percent say they wish they saw their families more throughout the year.

In addition, one-third of those polled say they see themselves as the "connector" in the family---meaning they believe their role is to encourage communication among other family members and help coordinate family gatherings and reunions.

For more information about this survey, visit www.Humana.com/family

How to Age Successfully

There's a saying that what you do in the dark will eventually come to the light. For some baby boomers who survived the drug crazed 60s, that might be a frightening thought.

Now it appears that what you do before the age of 50 will determine how well you age. Who knew?

According to researchers from the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging, people are more likely to be successful to age successfully if:

1) They are educated,

2) Never been in prison,

3) Married

4) Drink in moderation or not at all

5) Work for pay or do volunteer work.

The lead author of the research study, Dr. Rachel Pruchino, says "Our research shows how aging is a lifelong process. The person you become at a very old age is really a function of how you lived your earlier years."

Funny, there's nothing in the research that talks about exercise or eating healthy.

Women, Aging and Vision Loss

As the baby-boomer generation comes of age, conditions affecting vision seem to be getting more attention in doctor's offices around the country. Roughly 200,000 cases of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) get diagnosed each year, a disease that affects women more frequently than men.

Age-related macular degeneration is the number one cause of vision loss in adults ages 60 and older. It affects the macula, the section of the eye that focuses on fine detail. As a result, AMD causes the loss of sharp, central vision which is necessary for normal, daily tasks such as reading and driving.

“Macular degeneration does affect women more often than men, as shown in many of our large studies,” explains Larry Singerman, M.D., of the Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia.

Age is the greatest risk factor for AMD. Because women tend to live longer than men, AMD is more prevalent among women. Aside from age and sex, other risk factors include:
• Smoking
• Obesity
• Family history
• Race

Caucasian adults are more likely to lose vision from AMD than African Americans.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends a comprehensive eye exam every one to two years for seniors over the age of 65, and every two to four years for adults between forty and 65. AMD can be diagnosed at a routine eye exam
There are also warning signs associated with AMD. If you experience any of the following vision symptoms, contact an eye care specialist:

• Lines or edges that appear wavy or distorted;
• Blurry faces or difficulty seeing colors;
• Dark or empty spaces that block the center of your vision;
• Difficulty reading fine print or reading road signs from a moving vehicle; or
• Difficulty seeing at a distance or during twilight hours.

Beauty's Only Skin Deep--yeah, yeah, yeah!

One of my favorite songs of all-time is one sung by the Temptations. It is called Beauty is only Skin Deep. It was a song I loved because I always believed beauty was something that came from the inside and filtered its way outward. Unfortunately society would have us believe that it is only the outward---that physical beauty only matters when you’re young---and when you’re old, it really doesn’t matter at all.

But I’m here to tell you that beauty is important both inside and out no matter how old you are. The beauty I’m talking about is skin care and it becomes more and more important as we age. Every day of our lives our bodies slough off and regenerate new cells. The speed at which that process takes place when we are children is significantly different as we get older.

Every day we are bombarded daily with commercial messages and beauty tips that attempt to lure us into believing that the most recent miracle drug is just what we need to fight off the wrinkles from Mother Nature.

We are living longer as a whole. Singularly, that can be a curse or a blessing, depending on your perspective. The best route to natural beauty and healthy skin is to take care of what you have. Sounds simple, doesn’t it? The truth is that your skin takes a beating from the environment every single day. Here are some of our favorite beauty tips for keeping your skin fresh and healthy:

1: Stay hydrated and do it with plenty of water! That does not mean soda, caffeine or any other type of liquid, even if it is low cal. Soda (even diet soda) has a high concentration of sodium. Sodium retains fluids. You need fluid that will hydrate and flush your body free of toxins. Make sure you are drinking at least 8 glasses a day!

2: Protect your skin from harmful ultra violet (UV) rays. We all love the sun. We love being in it and we love having a beautiful tan. The truth is you can poison yourself with too much sunshine. UV rays cause skin cancer and if that isn’t bad enough it causes your skin to age faster than it should, contributing to unsightly wrinkles. If you must play in the sun, make certain you are using an adequate sun screen. Don’t leave home without it!

3: Keep your skin clean. Use a soft warm cloth. Skin does not require scrubbing. You will do more harm than good if you do.

4: The best cure for wrinkles is to never have them in the first place! If you are like most of us, you didn’t listen to your Mom when she tried to tell you to stay in the shade, stand up straight and stop squinting!

5: Eat healthy. Knowing how and what to eat, can make a huge difference in how you feel. Improper eating habits can cause depression, weight gain, illness and an overall lethargy. Weight gain causes your skin to stretch. As you get older, it loses it’s elasticity and you’re left with sagging skin. The best solution to this is to maintain a proper weight.

A rule of thumb for eating habits is…don’t eat more calories than you consume. Don’t go one single day without doing something extra and physical for at least 30 minutes per day. This can be three ten minute walks. Or 30 minutes of vigorous aerobics, or 12 minutes of weight lifting and 18 minutes of walking.

6: Don’t worry, be happy. A happy outlook appears to trigger the release of endorphins. Endorphins relax the cardiovascular system and cytokines which alert the immune system to pay attention in detecting abnormalities like cancer cells. Listen carefully to yourself. If you have put yourself down since childhood, over a lifetime, negative subliminal messages can take their toll by turning you into a pessimist. Spend one week writing down the phrases you use in your “self talk.” Chances are you will find that you repeat a dozen or so phrases over and over again that reinforce that negative image. If you know about them, you can change them. Outer beauty and inner joy go hand in hand.

Is beauty really skin deep?

The answer is yes and no. True beauty begins from the inside out. Until someone comes up with the true “Fountain of Youth” we are stuck with what we have so it would definitely be in our best interest to maintain it as best we can.