Getting Older Isn’t Supposed to Hurt: Steps to Stay Healthier and Stronger

Aging doesn’t have to mean declining health. Around age 40 or 50, it often feels like the wheels start falling off as doctors prescribe medications for cholesterol, blood pressure, or other concerns. You may hear, “It’s just part of getting older.” But what if it isn’t? What if your choices could determine whether your health declines—or thrives—as you age?

We’ve all met those vibrant 70- or 80-year-olds who inspire us and make us say, “I want to be like them when I grow up.” Their health isn’t just luck; their choices and lifestyle play a massive role in keeping them younger in body and spirit.

Change What You Can

You’ve probably heard the serenity prayer:
“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Let’s start with the things we cannot change. Growing older is a necessary part of life, so we can all agree that’s out of our control. What else? Genetics? Maybe. But even when dealt a less-than-optimal genetic hand, in most cases, our choices still influence whether—and possibly when—the “bad genes” get their way.

This brings us to the “courage to change the things I can” part. Health is cumulative, plain and simple. Taking care of yourself consistently over time increases the likelihood you’ll remain in good health for the long haul—which is healthcare in its purest form.

“But I knew this guy who was a total health nut and dropped dead one day while out on a run. What good did it do him if I’m still here sipping my coffee and eating my donut?” Fair point, but not well informed. Who knows why that guy dropped dead? I’m sorry for his family and friends, but chances are something was missed or overlooked—something he didn’t know about his body or choices that likely could have prevented what happened.

The American Heart Association tells us that 80% of heart disease and stroke events may be prevented. Add in the connection between Alzheimer’s, dementia, and heart health (the brain receives 15% of cardiac output, meaning compromised cardiovascular health puts you at risk for more than a heart attack), and skipping the donut and taking the dog for a brisk walk instead starts to sound like a pretty good idea.

Genetics vs. Epigenetics in Aging

“But high blood pressure runs in your family…” and cancer runs in mine. Neither is an excuse to neglect your health.

I mentioned earlier that the “bad hombres” of genes aren’t always allowed across the border. If you have a known or suspected genetic predisposition to a scary disease, there are often things you can do to decrease the likelihood those genes will be expressed—this is epigenetics.

For example, cancer runs in my family—my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer at 36, I was diagnosed at 29, and we both tested positive for the BRCA mutation. Mainstream media would have us believe that surgical removal of at-risk body parts is the only option. While this dramatically reduces risk, there’s more we can do to hedge the odds in our favor.

There are no guarantees that we can prevent our genetics from stirring up trouble—but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth changing the things we can to keep them at bay.

Health Hierarchy for Health and Longevity

So, what can you do? The goal is to live long and drop dead—no slow decline, no wheels coming off the bus.

There are many voices claiming the secret to health, and many people want to do right by their bodies but get overwhelmed trying to figure out what to do.

FiT’s health hierarchy identifies five domains of health optimization, ranked by priority:

1. Eating Strategy
   Your habits and choices around fueling your body have the greatest impact on your health profile, body composition, and energy. Establishing a healthy nutrition strategy provides a foundation that supports all other domains.
2. Sleep Hygiene
   Being well rested supports good decision-making, which impacts choices around food and exercise. Sleep also helps the body cleanse and detoxify from stress—this is why sleep is referred to as restorative.
3. Stress Management
   Stress impacts and is impacted by sleep and nutrition. Poor stress management harms sleep; poor sleep and nutrition increase distress. Learning to recognize stress and balance it with recovery is essential for optimizing health and wellbeing.
4. Exercise Prescription
   This refers to the intensity, frequency, and duration of your exercise activities. Adjusting these variables based on your goals and status in the other domains is key. More isn’t always better—finding a balance that lets you progress physically and supports health is the essence of exercise prescription.
5. Self Care
   This final domain includes the other four and goes beyond them. Staying true to your mission and purpose, maintaining meaningful relationships, and learning or practicing new skills or hobbies are examples. Often seen as indulgent or selfish, self care is actually a key component of health and longevity.

I Am Ready to Look AND Feel Healthier

If you’ve read this far, you likely have the courage to start living a healthier, more vibrant life. The first step is to assess what you are currently doing to take care of yourself and how well your efforts are working on a scale of 1 to 10:

• Does the food you eat leave you feeling energized and comfortable?
• How often do you sleep well and wake up rested?
• How “healthy” do you feel—do you experience sustained, high energy throughout the day?
• How clear-headed, bright, and vibrant are you most of the time?
• Do you carve out time for yourself daily?

Next, look at your scores and ask:
What would I need to do to double my wellbeing this year?

Consider which strategies you’ve already tried that worked and didn’t, and make intentional choices about what to do more of and what you can stop doing.

Think about what holds you back the most and what simple strategies you can use to move beyond those obstacles.

Leave Behind the Unhealthy Mindset of Inevitability

FiT’s approach to significant, measurable, and sustainable shifts in health is simple: assess, experiment, analyze, then adjust.

Once you’ve assessed the area(s) requiring attention, experiment with changes, analyze results over a defined period, and adjust accordingly.

Here’s the thing: we are all better versions of ourselves when we feel good, so why not keep trying? None of us knows when our ticket will be punched—but the best we can hope for is that it isn’t until the distant future—and that when it is, we’ve done what’s needed to make the ticket puncher have a hell of a time catching up with us!