When I think of anti-aging it's not youth and beauty that comes to my mind, but rather preventing my body from prematurely aging by keeping in the best of health. The way to do that is by eating an anti-aging anti-inflammatory diet, exercising smartly and practicing some form of relaxation for stress release. With those things in place you will feel you best, and look you best (which usually translates to a more youthful appearance, too!). My personal anti-aging plan is following the Zone diet using whole unadulterated foods with a concentration on those which are known to promote longevity and optimal health, doing both aerobic and strength training, and practicing yoga.

What's everyone else doing? It would be great to share some tips here!

I wanted to start an anti-aging diet and lifestyle before I actually started aging! I first started the Zone back in 2001, when I was 21 years old and have been eating this way off an on since then. When I first started, I was so young and lost weight fast. I lost over 30lbs. It was awesome. I've gone up and down since then. Met my food-aholic ex-husband and then divorced him. During all that I regained the weight and then some, but now I'm back on track. And I have lost 25lbs, but got in a rut and gained 10 of that back! But at the same time, I've never forgotten the core Zone principles of exercise, good foods, and fish oil. I have the majority of blocks memorized! Now I just have to incorporate some meditation to help it all along. And lots and lots of patience. Because even though its only been 8 years, it makes a difference in how fast I can lose the weight between when I was 21, versus almost 30. And I want to beat those bad genes into submission. I've got Type II on all sides of my family, and I don't want it too. Right now, I've got a laundry list of relatives with it. My dad, my paternal grandmother, my aunt, my maternal grandfather. I want to beat it!

Go for it Becky! Sticking with the Zone will be great for you, especially with your family history of diabetes. I practice yoga for stress reduction. Love it! I do 2 one hour classes a week and also do 20 min at home a few days a week. I love it, and you feel great afterwards.

BTW, just wondering, are you Becky from FB?

Have a great weekend!

Hi Sue, yep, that's me on Facebook. I was just checking out the Zone-related stuff that Facebook has and when I saw you, I just HAD to add you as a friend. You're a valuable asset to the Zone, no nonsense or drama. Thanks for all your help.

Thanks so much Becky! I'm happy to help! :-)

say, how can I connect to a zone site on FB? I tried a search....nothing.

There are some there, keep looking. Try "The Zone Diet", "The Zone Diet For Life..." (no more words after Life, just those 3 dots), and "zone support group".

You'd have to be on FB to join them.

Here's an excerpt from a posting in an Anti-Aging thread on another posting board. As I read down this list I realized that these are all a part of my lifestyle, too, right down to the hat and sunglasses. :-)


<<1. Always wear a hat outdoors. Hats are practical and fun. Wear sunglasses.

2. Say nice things to people daily. What comes out of your mouth is just as important as what you put in your mouth.
(and do nice things for others daily)

3. Get enough sleep

4. Stay hydrated

5. Connect with people who give off positive energy. Stay away from people who drain your energy. Laugh and play daily.

6. Have a spiritual connection that is an important part of your life. Inner peace is essential to outer beauty.>>

My mother's advice has always been this: take good care of your teeth, so you don't need dentures. And protect your senses, sight, hearing, smell, taste, as much as possible. Without those things, life loses some of its gusto.

Faith

Excellent advice.

Unfortunately my crystal ball broke years ago, so I did not know that I would age so quickly with my prior lifestyle. I can't say enough times how much I regret not doing this years ago, but past is past.

Anyway, I can already notice an improvement in my arthritis with Dr. Sear's fish oil and the zone diet. My fingers are no longer stiff in the morning. My toes are about 50% better and my knees are about 50% better. Shooting for 100%.

I was on the brink of seeing a rheumatologist about my fingers and toes. I know the knees are osteo, but the fingers and toes really resemble rheumatoid. My sed rate was up and my CRP was up. Since I'm feeling better, Im going to bide my time on that and get another sed rate and CRP in a couple of months. I'll let you guys know the results.

You've made a lot of progress in such a short time. :-) Keep up the good work Lilly!

Wow...this is a very powerful thread! I could go on & on about how important it is to be as healthy on the inside, as on the outside and most important..."Don't take for granted your health or your youth".

I grew up eating well and having lots of physical actiity...I knew of no boundries when it came to being healthy/physically fit. I began my decline when I was approaching 40 years old; still very fit, trim and healthy, I thought going to back off and do what I want and eat what I want...well, I'm know paying for it 9 years later, but it didn't take 9 years to start, it took me that long to get back in the saddle. I will not go into all of my health issue's, but if you are interested, go to the "health threads" and look for "Zone" w/fibromyalgia and back pain" it will explain most of it.

I'm an avid dog show person and I have a saying this in all the articles I have written about grooming a Chinese Crested (Powderpuf); "Crap in...Crap out". This goes for us humans too!

Anyway...I'm now trying to get back on track with the "Zone". I'm six weeks in and doing 100% better. My energy is back up, I fell better all over and I'm not so short with the ones I love! :-)

I will get off my "soap box" now, but one last piece of parting advice...it is never to late to start taking care of yourself and if you ahve alrady started, don't fall off and if you do...get right back on!

Leslie

Yes, this is a powerful thread. I don't know how I missed it, but I had a lot of things going on during that time period when the thread was more active.

Just a tip (an obvious one), you can click on the link to the right, and that will take you to the Zone Diet on Facebook. I don't know if anyone else is on there, but I did sign up. Haven't posted anything on the wall, yet!

Has anyone ever done the "Your Age" quiz? I did it and had good results. I think that a lot of responses are tied to what I have been doing with the Zone lifestyle, and it appears that the results are favorable!

I just found a new web site dedicated to anti-aging. It has nothing to sell (!!) and provides forums where everyone can contribute what has and has not worked for them. I learned more about anti-aging in fifteen minutes on this site than i have, to date, from other sources

Live-Longer-and-Better.com