Retirement is the one moment in your life when you can finally focus on yourself without worrying about the everyday hustles of your routine. However, retirement also means you need to start paying attention to yourself more. You can no longer put off exercising, watching your diet, or skipping out on sleep. Whether you’re a senior person retiring from a regular nine-to-five job or a war veteran coming home after a long time in active duty, you need to find a new rhythm in life that caters to your health.
Old age brings many problems with it. These include greater susceptibility to cancer, inflamed joints, and difficulty getting rid of weight. Therefore, prevent all these situations from occurring by following a healthy regime. Here’s how:
- Get A Complete Physical Evaluation
Getting looked at from head to toe is different than a routine exam. Instead of checking your blood pressure and blood sugar, you give the doctor permission to carry out scans and screening tests and dive deeper into your medical history. This helps the medical caregiver in comprehensively learning about your health. This is especially true if you’re a veteran struggling with numerous health ailments. As a retired army official, you may be going through symptoms like an aching body, inflamed joints, and muscle pain. If you served back in the 80s, there is a high chance you were heavily exposed to asbestos, which can lead to an accumulation of microscopic fibers that can make you sick.
If you have severe symptoms such as coughing with blood, pain in your chest, and difficulty breathing, you need to get yourself checked; veterans with mesothelioma need all the help they can get, whether financially or in terms of a good doctor. Mesothelioma is expensive and painful, so you shouldn’t delay treatment. At the same time, the older you get, you may struggle with chronic conditions like diabetes and arthritis and have trouble keeping your blood pressure in check. Early consultation can help you start the medication you need and control your ailments.
- Eat A Healthy Diet
A good diet provides the nutrition you need for your body to carry out its necessary metabolic reactions. This is why you must have a well-maintained diet tailored to your needs. There’s also a chance that the older you get, certain food items like gluten and dairy may become hard for you to digest. So monitor what you eat; whenever you feel sick after consuming specific food groups, discard them. It would help if you ate a wide variety of food, including vegetables, legumes, fruits, high fiber, and lean meat. Try incorporating eggs, tofu, seeds, and yogurt into your diet.
Regarding drinking, stick with six to eight cups of water daily and reduce alcohol, limiting yourself to two glasses. While occasionally having sweets is alright, don’t go overboard with cakes, pastries, commercial burgers, or potato chips.
You need more polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, so get more olive oil and fish like salmon into your meals. There are many great recipes online for grilled salmon and a lightly seasoned salad that is easy to digest and enjoyable to eat. Getting used to your new diet may take some time, but when you start replacing your unhealthy habits with more beneficial ones, you will relish the feeling of looking after yourself.
- Develop A Routine For Yourself
A routine helps you plan out your day realistically. This allows you to stay in control and make the most of your day instead of passing each day in a sedentary manner. You don’t have to fill up all the slots in your schedule; make sure you are doing more than lying in bed all day. Try to make time for an early morning walk, have coffee with your partner, and maybe go on a bike ride.
While at home, list chores you need to do and handle them the best way you can. Suppose you cannot do housework on your own, contact cleaning and housekeeping services so they can lend you a hand maintaining your house. You can also help your partner declutter the home and get rid of gadgets you haven’t used in a while.
- Start Moving Around More
You need to do some physical activity daily. Exercising has many benefits. It tones your muscles, encourages your blood to circulate more freely, decreases the risk of heart attack, and increases your lung capacity. You also get a chance to build up your stamina and stay in shape, which is good for you. If you haven’t exercised in a while or are used to only doing intense regimes, you need to speak to your general physician. If you engage in an aggressive routine without adequate preparation or warm-up, you can subject your body to stress, which can injure you.
Generally, you need at least 150 minutes of moderate activity per week or at least 75 minutes of an intense regime in a week. These include riding a bike, playing double tennis, and hiking. Strength training exercises like pilates, yoga, and tai chi should also be part of your exercise routine since they keep your muscles healthy.
- Don’t Forget To Keep Your Mind Busy
When you have all the free time, it is easy to feel bored and disconnected. Likewise, the older you get, your neurons start slowing down, which impacts your memory and makes you prone to forgetfulness. But, if you engage your mind, start doing mind teasers, and spend a good portion of your time reading, it stimulates your brain and fires up your neurons.
There is much you can do to keep your mind active. You can watch youtube videos on DIY crafts and try doing them yourself. If you are interested in learning, there are online courses you can take or solve a puzzle. Helping your grandchildren with their homework is also great brain food since it can help you revisit older concepts as you try to find a solution.
Final Thoughts
There is nothing sweeter than embracing retirement after living a fulfilling life. You finally get the time to slow down and focus on your well-being. However, getting used to retirement takes time. You must eliminate all the habits you cultivated through the years for a more fitting and adequate routine. To begin with, get yourself checked out by a doctor, so you know where your health lies. Follow the tips mentioned above and embrace these twilight years with open arms and a wide smile.
