Remember - your health is your greatest asset, followed by your time, attention, & energy. If you choose to read further, please know that I appreciate your trust and attention and hope this is my most valuable blog yet. Let's get to it:

Raise your hand if at some point in our relationship, you've said to me "Kel, don't get old." ✋✋✋

Nearly every patient I've had in their 50s, 60s, and 70s (and beyond) has said those words to me.

After hearing that so many times it makes me nauseous, here's some of my responses:

"I'm going to get as old as I can"

"I have too many friends and family members who didn't have the chance to get old"

"getting old is a blessing"

"what you really mean is, 'don't stop moving''

"what you really mean is, 'my lifestyle and habits have finally caught up with me and now I'm paying the price".

There are pockets of the world with the oldest, healthiest, happiest people. They're called Blue Zones. The people who live there have a few things in common.

1) They have a strong sense of PURPOSE.

2) They belong to and participate in some kind of COMMUNITY & live in multi-generational homes.

3) They MOVE NATURALLY (there are no gyms or marathons being run in these communities, but they have lots of stairs, hills, gardens, woodworking hobbies, and time spent in a squatted position because their toilets and tables are close to the ground).

4) They eat mostly PLANTS and real food from God's Garden.

There are more. You can read the full article on them by the guy who did all the research and is the expert on them here.

The point is, getting old is NOT the problem. The accumulation of poor repetitions in our lifestyles and daily habits is. And I've been down a rabbit hole of how to change my own habits and lifestyle (and exemplify that for my daughter), so that we can get as old (and stay as healthy) as we can.

So here are 3 (close to $0) lifestyle hacks to live as long (and as healthy) as you can.

1) Spend 5-10 minutes on the floor every single day. The simple practice of getting up and down will ensure you can beat gravity until the day you die (which hopefully is a long, long time from now).

2) Choose inconvenience. Take the stairs. Park far away. Walk into the bank instead of hitting the drive through. Vacuum your own home instead of letting the Roomba do it. The modern conveniences of living in America in 2025 are the reason we spend $35 billion (yes with a B) on gym memberships a year.

3) Join a community that moves. A fitness class, a walking group, a cooking group, a garden club, a pickleball facility, a church congregation. My accountability group.

These are simple. Simple does NOT mean EASY. In a world filled with drive-thrus, convenience stores, personal screens and devices, La-Z-boys, robot vacuums, 24/7 television on demand, elevators, amazon, back-up-cameras, remote controls for the TV, Alexa to turn on the lights, Door Dash, microwaves, and grocery delivery, we are ALL relying on our willpower to keep ourselves moving and healthy. Our willpower fatigues, just like any muscle in our body. The key is setting up our lifestyle and environment so that the healthy choice is the easy choice.

What I hope you takeaway from today's newsletter, is that GETTING OLD IS A BLESSING. Stop telling the people you love and care about 'don't get old'.

Say what you mean instead (and this is going to be hard to swallow). "I'm tired, achy, & grumpy because my lifestyle and habits are catching up to me."

The good news is, you can change, and you can start today.

If you need some guidance on how to start moving (gently and sustainably), check out my mobility videos here.