The Daily Drivel

June from Florida asked, "Can you give me some pointers on how to stay active when I retire, like you? You do a lot for somebody 65 years old." 

Well June, I do have a few rules for myself to follow every day. Just rules for living a healthier lifestyle. I don't belong to a gym because I don't have one in my area, I don't have the time, nor the money, nor the desire, and hey, I work like a dog just about every day on the homestead. I go for a 20 minute brisk walk with my hubby after lunch. I'm a firm believer in "use it or lose it", so I stay active. 

I don't follow a fad diet protocol. No Aikins, The Zone, Paleo, or whatever weird diets that are trendy nowadays. I don't believe in being vegan. Nor do I take every vitamin or trendy diet supplement that comes down the road. And I believe it takes good fuel to have a good body. 

I spend a lot of time outside. When I lived on the mainland I spent almost all my time indoors someplace. Looking back, I never felt great. Being inside buildings doesn't seem healthy to me now. Stuffy air, inside air pollution. So when we were looking for a place to settle down, climate was a major, major consideration. I wanted to be breathing outdoor air most of the day. Plus I wanted that air to be clean. Little did I know that the local volcano would erupt in such a way as to send vog our direction. But by dumb luck we moved to a location where it is seldom an issue. 

Daily attention every day:

...Keep a good attitude. Greet the new day with a positive outlook. Be satisfied with whatever I accomplished by the end of the day. Sure, this can be tough to do every day. But I give it an honest try. Some days I'm better at it than others. 

...Be aware of my physical body. Several times a day I'll do a body check -- How's my posture? Are my muscles relaxed or contracted? How do my feet and knees feel (without these I'd be in sad shape, so I try to not abuse them). Do I need to do a little stretching? Am I hydrated? Do I need a rest or a refueling snack? I practice a little light yoga every day and get a massage when my muscles need it. 

...Eat a healthy diet. This is a tough one for me, because I love to eat! Oh I know what I should and shouldn't eat, but there's a little evil twin living inside my head that likes all the bad foods. Beefaroni. Dr Pepper. Malasadas. Sugar. Keeping my evil twin imprisoned is one tough job. But since creating our homestead style life, my diet has improved tremendously. Lots of local foods -- veggies, fruits, meats, eggs, milk. Almost no commercial foods except one day a week when we routinely eat out. Lots of veggies and fruit, little meat. 

...Sleep. 8 hours every night. Sometimes more but seldom ever less. A short nap occasionally when needed. A 45 minute nap is a super pick me up on a dragging or stressful day. 

I hope some of these hints give you ideas for living a good life. I'm still fine tuning the process for myself. I'd like to lose a bit more weight but that will come with time.