Growing young gracefully!? Is this possible today? What does old or young mean anymore? I believe growing young ties back to how you feel. How much energy do you have? How do you feel when you look in the mirror? It all adds up.
Full disclosure: I love when someone tells me I haven’t aged a bit or that I look young. But lets face it, I know I have and what’s different now is that I’ve finally accepted the look of me, lines and all.
Its funny to walk down the street now with one of my four beautiful daughters and be purely an observer. Ironically, when I turned 40 an interesting thing happened to me while I was running past two college aged guys. They thought I was out of earshot apparently, but I wasn’t. One said to the other “…you can tell she used to be a fox…” Ha! At the time, I laughed and told the story at dinner that night with friends, but it was a turning point for me. I knew I was much more than my look and in that moment I realized how I felt on the inside, energy and all, was what is important.
Raise your hand if this sounds familiar…for the first part of your life you were desperate for a sun tan (a real one), you spent a fair share of time drinking more than just one glass, maybe you smoked, etc. During all this time not really worried about the ramifications that may come after 40. The second part of your existence may have involved having kids, losing "the weight," and in my case, having kids, again. and repeating the cycle only to find the second and third round of childbirth and the weight that went along with it was not as easy to lose as the first time around. The bottom line for me was getting to a pint where the number on the scale and the reflection in the mirror didn't reflect my worth but reflected my health!
Over the past twenty years I have tried every eating plan, ran triathlons and ultra-trail races, tried every hair-cut known to womankind, and searched for the fountain of youth all to find that moderation, smiling and having positive relationships and doing what you love is truly the key to aging backwards.
I will admit that I am always open to trying new things that claim will help me feel more energized, improve my health and even my skin tone but this feels more like an experiment each time but I do have my limits. I don’t want to be the older woman with no laugh lines. Sure I will and do dye my hair and recently I could be seen running around at a health convention trying every skin care serum, supplement or red-light therapy bed that promised me great results. It was fun! Truly my main concerns are that I have a sharp, sound mind and a healthy body.
So full disclosure on how I keep this gig up- Great sleep, slow-cooked healthy food, low sugar diet, good fats, moderate/outdoor exercise, good skin-care/hair care, some Latisse, meditation, great friends, a happy marriage, four daughters that keep the drama level high and letting go of the noise in life.