If you are a Wellspringer, you'll know that I've been discussing what elements can lead to a long and healthy life. Ever since my lovely 94 year old client started Pilates last year, I've been captivated by why some people are fit, healthy and mobile at this age and others don't even come close. Maybe this is also the fact that I've turned 40 last year and I've realised I want my future years to be healthy. I don't just want to live to 100. I want to be mobile, active, in good health and feel good about myself. And to get there, maybe that means making some minor lifestyle changes now that will pay dividends in decades to come.
My fascination with living a long and healthy life has been helped by Netflix documentaries that I watched over the Christmas break such as "You are what you eat: the twin experiment" and "Live to 100".
The "Live to 100" series is interesting (says the person who NEVER likes documentaries) because it's identified certain geographic areas, called "blue zones", where the population is more likely to live to 100. Now some of these factors I will never lean into to - such as getting 66% of my calories from purple sweet potates like the people of Okinawa, Japan. But some of the points did ring true such as -
Community and connection. Those that live longest have a strong connection to those around them including their family, friends and/or religious community.
Laughter. Laughing releases stress and stress can have negative impacts on the body. So find a way to smile and laugh yourself to a longer life!
Movement. Incidental exercise can be incredible. The people in their 90s in Sardinia are walking up steep hills every day. And I think, sometimes I drive 250m to the coffee shop and that's a flat walk! Gardening can also be helpful - the people of Okinawa garden for hours every day. How can you not have strong legs and core if you need to get up off the ground all the time.
The "You are what you eat: twin experiment" was another docuseries that I enjoyed. Whilst this show is quite biased towards a vegan lifestyle (no thanks from me, but to each their own), there was one key point that I found worthy of further investigation.
I learned about visceral fat. What's that, you ask? It's the fat that sits around our organs. It can be a hidden danger as it's not a fat that you can see. So what did I do about it? I booked Mr Jones and I in for a hot date for a DEXA scan last weekend*** (this man has the patience of a saint to be married to me and all my ideas!). And the results were pretty interesting.
my bone density is excellent. This means I am currently not at risk for osteoporosis. If I can track on the same trajectory, my bones will be just as strong in my 80s as they are in my 40s. Great news! Keep up the Pilates, walking and weights training.
My visceral fat is under 100 - that's the tipping point for illnesses such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiac diseases, cancer etc. So another tick in the "doing well" column.
Body fat percentage. I'm sitting at the upper range of "normal" - your score needs to be between 5-9 and I'm 9.01. That said when I go to the explanatory notes I am "carrying an excess accumulation of fat". Joy. But honestly, I knew that already. I know I'm not at the healthiest I could be. And this data motivates me to do better. By dropping 2% of my body fat, I could get into the next category which is "moderately lean and generally acceptable for good health". That seems like a goal I can reach.
I'm going out on a limb here and putting my image up (a little confronting for me but I want to show you the information you can get from a DEXA scan). Pink/red is lean muscle mass (which I'm doing well at), blue are my bones and yellow is excess fat. Clearly I've got a booty and thighs and I'm mostly ok with that but I can certainly see the opportunity to drop some fat based on this image. For me, I'm keen on building lean muscle and losing fat so a DEXA scan is far more accurate than scales at tracking this goal.
I'm going to make a few minor lifestyles changes over the next 3-6 months and get another scan to compare to my results. Another blog for later in the year! Watch this space.
The other book I am currently tackling is "Outlive" by Dr Peter Attia. And why I say tackling is that it's DEEP. It's hard to read at times as I'm not a person with a strong science background. And I know a few Wellspringers are also reading it as we've talked about it in the studio. What I have read so far talks about the vast majority of people in society will die from four factors - heart disease, cancer, neurogenerative disease and type 2 diabetes. He calls these the "Four Horseman".
I don't have the magic answer on how to avoid being taken by the Four Horseman. All I know is that if I want to live a long and healthy life, I need to eat well, laugh, be a part of a community and move my body. So that's what I plan on doing.
My 29 minutes of movement for 29 days was a reminder in February that it's not that hard to move. Some days I didn't make it. But I would say I made it around 22 of 29 days. Even if it was just walking to the supermarket to grab something I forgot, gardening outside a bit more often or making catch ups with a friend walking rather than eating. Every little bit counts, don't underestimate how much small habits can have meaningful change (thanks James Clear, if you haven't read it already, check out "Atomic Habits").
And in wrapping up this blog - wow it's got some heavy stuff this time - I'm going to be squatting my way through March to recognise those who are diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a scare last year after my first breast scan and luckily it wasn't anything to be concerned about. But it rattled me. Cancer has hit my family harder than most with losing my brother to brain cancer before he turned 2 and my father to stomach cancer in his mid 50s. Both my grandmother and aunty have had breast cancer (although both thankfully survived). I also know some of my clients have experienced breast cancer in their lives but have fortunately beaten this awful disease. So this month, I'll be thinking about all of you.
During March, I'll be doing 57 squats every day to fundraise $250 for breast cancer. The Wellspringer community is a generous bunch and I've already reach $509 by day 1 of fundraising. So let's see how much we can fundraise from here!
Want to help out? Then turn up to a class from now until 31 March. I will be donating $1 from every person who attends a class in March. If this cause is close to your heart and you want to donate a bit extra? Then my fundraising page is here National Breast Cancer Foundation - Holly Kluver-Jones (nbcf.org.au)
Enjoy squatting along with me - it will be a great month!
Till next time Wellspringers, stay healthy,
Love Holly
xx
*** For those wanting a DEXA scan, I'd recommend Physique Science at Stafford. There's plenty of free parking, it took 15 minutes and I got the results immediately. Physique Science | DEXA | Body Composition | Brisbane It cost $90 for one person or $70pp if you go with a friend. It might even be claimable if you have dietician services included in your health insurance.
Love this post! Thanks for sharing.