“Where did you find the fountain of youth?”
I’ve heard that exact phrase twice recently, and, just a few years ago, that’s two times more than I ever believed I’d hear it at all. “What’s your secret?”, and “Wow, I barely recognized you!” Have been frequent greetings as well.
So - what IS my secret? I’ll tell you, because it’s no secret at all. It’s FREEDOM.
Freedom from thinking about every piece of food I put in my mouth.
Freedom from trying out every “next big thing” to lose weight.
Freedom from denying myself the things I love.
Freedom from chasing every “age-defying” tip, trick, and potion.
Just plain freedom.
Here are the things I did (and continue to do) to be significantly lighter, physically and mentally healthier, maybe a bit younger-looking, and - for the first time in my entire life - heartburn-free over the last 3 years.
I started this journey on September 15, 2022, and it’s important to note that I focused only on things I knew that I could do for the rest of my life. I’ve spent too much time on extremes to know that, in the end, for me, they have only led to certain failure.
First, I fasted. Still do, and always will. I read a book called “Fast, Feast, Repeat” that basically changed my life. There’s no cheating, failing, and starting over, because it’s not a diet, it’s a way of life that I will continue for the rest of my life. There’s no monetary investment - no drugs, shots, pills, meal plans, or calorie counting. I eat what I want, when I want, within a certain window 90% of the time. The other 10% (vacations, holidays, special occasions, etc., that call for meal times outside of my window), I do whatever, whenever, however. And I love it that way.
On any given day, I try to give my body at least 16 to 18 consecutive hours of rest from processing food. (Research “autophogy” and you’ll see why this is a very good thing.) Fasting is not about weight loss, but it does tend to be a natural side effect over time. Even if it weren’t, it wouldn’t matter - I would still do this for the rest of my life. The mental clarity, better sleep, and - for me - the lack of relentless, painful heartburn which has plagued me since I was old enough to have memories - is more than enough.
The only adjustment I’ve made in what I eat is a bigger focus on protein. I haven’t cut out sugar, carbs, fat, or happiness - at all. I still have my daily Diet Coke(s), drink whole milk, and never skip dessert. In fact, I pretty much stopped thinking about food at all, and, as someone who has been plagued by food obsession, yo-yo dieting, fads, and endless cycles of failure for the last 50+ years, there are almost no words to describe the freedom in that statement. (I also take a liquid multi-vitamin and a calcium, magnesium, and zinc vitamin daily. Is it helping? I don’t know. But it’s probably not hurting.)
Am I 100% consistent with my 16-18 hour window? Nope. Do I care? Also nope. I am consistent MOST of the time, and that’s what matters to me.
Second, I started walking. Just simply walking, as many times a week as I can. No gym membership, no crazy routines, no money spent - just a lot of steps throughout my neighborhood and on the local Bear Hollow Trail through the woods. In the process, I found that I’m basically addicted to fresh air, and the hills I used to skip from exhaustion now take very little effort to scale.
I bought walking shoes a size too big and some thick, thermal socks (OK, a little money spent!) so I could still layer up and get outside to walk in the wintertime, and I do, as long as the temperature is above freezing. When the weather is uncooperative, I resort to an exercise machine and some free weights we keep in our mud room. (Also, yard work around here is a fabulous workout and one of my favorite ways to sweat it out and work some muscles I didn’t even know I had!)
The many benefits of fresh air have been scientifically documented, and we all know that there are an untold number of benefits to walking, too, but for me, one of the best is how many neighborhood dogs I’ve befriended! In fact, I look at my daily walks and excited, tail-wagging visits with my four-legged friends like free therapy, really. To boost my mental health even further, I decided to take my walks (or do whatever exercise) while my husband watches the nightly news. That way, I can avoid being told every day what I should be outraged about and what I should be afraid of—a move I highly recommend to everyone. And one final benefit I’ve experienced as a result of walking—books. I’ve listened to many audiobooks on my walks, including some classics that have definitely enriched and expanded my world.
The main thing for me - and I don’t really care how I do it - is to break a sweat each day. If I’ve done that, I inevitably feel better all around. Do I do it EVERY day? Nope. Do I fret about it when I don’t do it? Nope. Do I stay mostly consistent, though? Yep. And just like with fasting, that’s the name of the game.
Finally, I downloaded an app called Yuka, which rates health, beauty, and food products on a scale of 0-100, or red for bad, yellow for OK, and green for good. I scanned every health and beauty product I own, and if it didn’t rate somewhere in the green, I tossed it. The food - forget it—hardly anything rates in the green, unless you’re willing to do an extreme diet of only meat, or vegetables, etc., which I’m not. Yes, I understand that food is a massive piece of the healthcare puzzle, and I do make an effort to find healthier options, but as I said in the beginning, I focused only on the things I knew I could do for the rest of my life, and an extreme, completely “clean” diet isn’t one of them. Some change is better than no change at all!
I replaced all my body lotions, creams, cleaners, etc. with natural products that rate high on the green scale; no more hormone-disrupting chemicals absorbed through my skin. Liquid castile soap, which rates 100 on the app, is a fantastic body wash, and I make my own laundry detergent with it, too. A simple, very inexpensive “green” cleanser and castor oil mixed with a highly rated moisturizer are my only skin care routine now. No more outrageously expensive 12-step systems filled with questionable ingredients, and (for my age), my skin has never looked better.
Of course, I would love to have fewer wrinkles and lose some more weight (I’m still far from where I was in my younger years). But I’m old enough to collect Social Security now, and although I plan to continue aging as gracefully as possible, I can’t hold back the inevitable telltale signs—turkey neck, crepey skin, age spots, thinning hair, etc.—I can only take steps to minimize them. And, from what people are telling me, it’s working.
I realize that the things I’m doing can be picked apart, and there are plenty of “experts” out there who will have opinions about my methods. But I respectfully decline to be deterred. I have “a body of proof” that it’s working for me.
So, if you want to be “Younger Next Year” (another good book), pick a few things you can change now, and stick with them. Just remember to run each change through the “Can I do this for the rest of my life?” filter first.
Be determined. Be patient. Be consistent. And you just may find your own fountain of youth.