We have been brainwashed into thinking that the pictures and people that we see in the media is the definition of being healthy. Those men that have chiseled abs and bulging biceps are how healthy men are supposed to look. The women with a skinny waist and a perfect bubble butt are how you need to look as a woman. The media does an amazing job of showing making us believe that this is healthy by putting these people at the forefront of “health” magazines and websites. This is ridiculous and one of the many things that is wrong with the health and fitness industry.
What does healthy look like for older adults above 60 years old? Start by going to the doctor and getting bloodwork. The numbers you get there are far more important to your health than your weight. So pay close attention to your blood pressure, resting heart rate, cholesterol, and blood glucose. After that you will need to have a little self reflection of your energy levels as well as how many medications you are taking. Finally, take a look at your independence and your ability to do your activities of daily living. So to be healthy in your older years switch your focus away from the scale and to all the previously mentioned variables that matter.
What happens when our look defines our health?
We constantly see celebrities and models that look like they are in perfect shape. Men look very muscular and lean with big chests, boulders for shoulders, and washboard abs. Women will typically have a skinny waist, nicely toned legs, and nice plump booty. It’s a little demoralizing isn’t it? These people are glamourized for looking a certain way and they are advertised as being “natural” without the use of drugs or photoshop. So what happens to the average person when they look in the mirror and they compare themselves to those models?
Now we set a goal just to try and get that look. However, after months of trying and putting forth your best efforts you are still nowhere close to seeing the results that you want. So, we keep chasing. We take any supplement and we start cutting more calories and spending more time at the gym running our asses off to lose the weight. We keep chasing thinking that everything that we are doing is in the pursuit of being healthy.
There is one thing that normally happens when one becomes this obsessed about trying to become that fit individual. They have pushed away everything that goes against their goals, including their friends and family. The only people you can really associate with now are the people with the same goal. So, what happens when our look defines our health? We develop a bad relationship with food, exercise, loved ones, and worst of all ourselves.
How the scale or how we look can be discouraging
By focusing completely on how we look or the number on the scale we can become very discouraged. After all the sacrifices that we have done to reach our goal, if we don’t reach them then we feel like a failure. The uneducated fitness community will tell you all sorts of things. “You don’t want it enough”, “you have to try harder”, “you have to dedicate more time” or “you obviously didn’t follow the program correctly”. The general fitness community will make you feel like a failure, and you aren’t good enough to look the way you want to look.
By using these metrics we develop a deep connection between these numbers and subjective observations to our self-worth. We feel that since we were unable to achieve our goal within the time period that we have failed. We either begin to blame ourselves for not being motivated enough, or we start to blame outside factors that we believe influence our physiques. The time has come to flip the script and change exactly how we see our health.
Focus on your performance
By changing the aspects that we focus on we can really see the progress that comes from your hard work. You should be able to feel a difference in your body through consistent workouts and a healthier minimally processed diet. Start of by looking at your workouts. Have you gotten stronger? Are once difficult exercises becoming easier? There are lots of questions that you can ask yourself to help promote that fact that you are becoming healthier even though you still look the same.
Check those variables actually matter
There is a plethora of hidden variables of our health that matter a great deal more than how we look or the number on the scale. These are typically things that we see our doctors to see. At more advanced ages these visits matter most to ensure that the things you are doing are keeping you healthy. By checking your numbers for your blood pressure, glucose levels, cholesterol, triglycerides, and many other factors can help determine your longevity. So maybe you don’t look like a model, but if these numbers start moving in the direction of healthy ranges then you are on the right track.
There are many other afflictions that we tend to deal with as we age. Without a doubt you know someone that has some form of arthritis, osteoporosis, or hypertension. Through consistent diet and exercise your risk for these diseases can be slowed or even reversed. For example, resistance training places an outside force on not only your muscles but your bones too. As a result, your bones must get stronger to withstand that load. In other words, resistance training can stop osteoporosis or even reverse it by making your bones stronger1.
Stop looking at the mirror!
There are so many other questions that you can ask yourself to determine if you have become healthier. Energy levels, reversed diabetes, reversed osteoporosis, improved blood pressure, improved balance, reduced fear of falling, and the list just continues. You do not have to look like a supermodel to be considered healthy. In fact, one could probably argue that many supermodels are not healthy. We need to learn to pay more attention to the details that actually matter. It is incredibly easy to get caught up in the trap of seeing yourself in the mirror in order to see the results. Stay consistent and be prepared to see the shocked face of your doctor the next time you see them
Citations
- Ciolac, E.G., Rodrigues-da-Silva, J.M. Resistance Training as a Tool for Preventing and Treating Musculoskeletal Disorders. Sports Med 46, 1239–1248 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0507-z
