Making Sense of Midlife Health

Plus: Retirement on Only Social Security

Hello friends, and welcome to Notes from the Road! This is the place for news, advice, tools, and inspiration to thrive in your 50s and beyond. In this issue:

  • Making sense of health and fitness at midlife.

  • Add your voice to the newsletter survey!

  • A view of retirement on only Social Security.

  • The midlife chrysalis instead of crisis.

  • Signs you’re aging well in your 50s.

Let’s get started!

Making Sense of Health and Fitness

Do you leap out of bed like you did in your thirties?

Or do you pause to take inventory of your aches and pains?

Or is it something in-between?

I reflected a lot on this last week as I stood under my piping hot morning shower, stretching and bending to work out the kinks. I guess I now fall in the “aches and pains” category of waking.

Feeling this way in the morning always surprises me, and then very soon thereafter alarms me. I’ve realized this year that my mobility, my sleep, and my overall well-being are things I need to consciously work to maintain. That’s quite a shift. And a daunting one.

Health and fitness seem to be on your mind as well. Here are the results of a recent poll from our YouTube channel:

Which made me start thinking about how to tackle this subject, for you and for me.

My first question: what does it mean to be “healthy and physically fit” at midlife, anyway? To run a triathlon? To lower your A1C? To fulfill the trope of “playing with my grandkids?”

And then, as if by magic, this Wall Street Journal article Your Healthspan Is as Important as Your Lifespan—and It’s Declining appeared in my feed. (Weird, right?)

So I started reading. And I was reminded that, really, this is all about healthspan.

What is healthspan? There are a few definitions, but simply put: it’s the number of years we live in good health. And increasingly, it’s what we talk about when we talk about aging successfully.

Don’t just take it from me. Some pretty brilliant and educated people are in this camp. Take Dr. Peter Attia, a Stanford/Johns Hopkins/NIH-trained physician, whose entire practice is about lifespan and healthspan. Here he is on a recent episode of his podcast, called The Drive:

…and if there’s anything that I hope people take away from the stuff that we’ve been talking about, it’s that you must focus on healthspan at least as much as you focus on lifespan. And if there’s an enormous failure of Medicine 2.0, it’s the myopic focus on lifespan at the complete exclusion of healthspan [emphasis mine].

Dr. Peter Attia: The Drive Podcast #285

And so, the question we really need to ask is How do I achieve a long healthspan?

That’s actually something we can work with. Forging a path based upon the question How do I get healthy and fit? feels like a research project. But How can I increase the number of years I live in good health? That seems clearer, easier, lighter. Dare I say it, more fun?

Your health and fitness plan should center around your healthspan. Rather than take a generic approach to eat your vegetables and walk 10K steps a day, think about yourself in 10, 20, or even 30 years. What’s going to get in the way of you being able to live independently, actively, and connected to others? Is it that knee that’s always bugged you but you haven’t addressed? Is it your slightly higher than normal blood sugar number? Is it a higher-than normal risk of cancer? Start there, and work backwards. That’s how you build your health and fitness plan.

How are you thinking about your healthspan? If you’ve got a great plan that you’d like to share, let me know.

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The Weekly Roundup

Worth your time to watch, read, and listen.

📰 Here’s What It’s Like to Retire on Almost Nothing But Social Security. One in seven seniors aged 65+ are making it work with their benefits, says AARP. Meet Eric, the chef who swapped his knives for budgeting sheets, and Kathy, the polio survivor living life to the fullest on a $1,040 monthly check. (10 min. read)

📺 Is the Best Yet to Come? This Author Offers Tips to Grow After Midlife. It’s not a midlife crisis, it’s a midlife chrysalis! Chip Conley talks to Hoda and Jenna about his journey to becoming a “Modern Elder” and the joys of the “midlife edit.” (9.5 min watch)

📰 8 Signs That You Are Aging Well In Your 50s. Discover the secrets to living a vibrant life after 50 with these practical tips from experts. No surprises here, but a good checklist to make sure you’re staying on track. (And not forgetting any of the important ones!) (12.5 min. read)

💡Have an idea for the newsletter? Let us know. 💡

Essential Products for Travel in 2024

If you’re planning a big trip this spring or summer, here are some suggestions for you, straight from the school of hard knocks! 😂 (Please don't ask me how many times I used the travel yoga mat).

Why are people afraid of getting older? You feel wiser. You feel more mature. You feel like you know yourself better. You would trade that for softer skin? Not me!

Anna Kournikova

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