At this stage of our lives we figured out beauty is subjective. We all have an ideal of what beauty is to you because beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  However, there are a few things that we all can agree on that is beautiful. We can agree that being healthy is beautiful, being able to walk along the beach hand and hand with the person you love at a ripe old age is beautiful.  Having stamina, showing strength and endurance is beautiful especially at an age when so many people are frail, weak and feeble.   Let’s go into our golden age standing tall, walking straight and embracing our age.  It is not too late to embrace living a healthy lifestyle.  According to Dr. OZ there is a simple test you can do to see what is your body’s true age.   If you are in your 30’s you should be able to do 13 push ups, 40’s – 11, 50-7 and 60-5 (girl push-up counts).  If you are able to hit your number great!  Let’s make sure you will always be able to do so.  Living a long beautiful healthy lifestyle in not difficult it is just knowing the formula to fighting father time.  It takes stamina, strength, eating well and resting well to be able to grow old gracefully.  I’ll break it down for you in easy steps that you can start doing today.

In order to increase your stamina you must get physical.  You can start by doing regular exercise 3 times a week for at least 30mins, once you conquered this you can up it to 60min 3 times a week.   You can bike, dance, swim, run or even speed walking.  Chose a activity that you enjoy bring a friend, the more the merrier.   Working out doesn’t have to be a bad thing that you dread.  Have fun with it, if you enjoy it you are more than likely to stick with it and will less likely skip it. Laughter and sweat is good combination.  Doing these types of activities can truly surge your stamina.

Lifting weights can help to prevent being frail and feeble the older you get.   How many of us see that sweet old lady that is hunched over in the grocery store and wonder “Is that going to be me?”  Incorporating  strength training into your world will change more than you think.  Ladies look, I know there is a fear of getting to bulky and looking like a man is out there but let’s put that to bed once and for all.  You are a women period and you can lift till the cows come home (yes I am country) but you will not look like a man unless you start taking supplements that pump up your testosterone levels.  So in oder to avoid lifting weight your gym trip my look something like this.  You go to the gym and do the stair master for 30 minutes then get on the treadmill for another 15/20 minutes and close it out with 20 minutes on the bike.  You are done you leave the gym feeling great.  As you should, cardio will increase your endurance but lifting weights will strengthen those muscles and help you burn more calories through out the day.  Even while you are eating, working or surprisedly while you are  sleeping.  Resistance training is a excellent way to combat loss of bone mass and it decrease the risk of osteoporosis.  Incorporate strength training at least twice a week you will feel stronger, more confident, and stand taller.  You are setting yourself up for stronger bones in your golden age.

When you are thinking of a long term plan of living healthy you must incorporate rest.  Yes, I know I struggle with this because it is difficult for me to sleep more than 6 hours a night.  Studies show that the average person needs to have 6-9 hours of sleep  so that they can be refreshed, energized, and focused.  In order to be successful with this set a certain bed time so you can go to bed each night at the same time.   Set an alarm to wake you up at the same time everyday yes, even on the weekend. You will not only feel more rested and rejuvenated but you will have less puffinesses under your eyes, and we know that, that alone will make you look more youthful.

Healthy Eating is key to living a long beautiful life.  In order to stay on track with your eating it is best to plan out your meals.  Make a menu for the week, prep your food so that it will be easier for you to prepare your meals.  Having a menu will help you in many ways, it will keep you from panicking when you are hungry and foraging for food in all the wrong places.  Even if you are going out to eat with friends you should still plan out your meals in advance.  Most restaurants have their menus  online, so all you have to do is look up the menu and select your meal without the added stress.  It takes so much pressure  out of the choosing your meal without the waiter standing over you with pen in hand patting her foot and your friends staring, waiting on you to make up your mind.  You can order with confidence and clarity because you planed ahead.  Keep in mind,  you don’t have feel deprived when it comes to eating, if there is something you are craving go ahead and eat it in smaller quantities of course.

Stay active well into your golden years and enjoy an active, beautiful, lively life. Living a long healthy life and aging gracefully is something we all agree is beautiful.

Get more info about Elizabeth Colen, Weight-loss Coach on www.MsFitOne.com.  Fit Mind, Fit Body and Fit Spirit.