Mary Heard works as a marketing and lifestyle expert at Lucky Assignments and GumEssays. She specializes in digital communications. In her spare time, she reads and writes about interesting topics such as entrepreneuership, business, marketing, public relations and lifestyle.

 Disclaimer: Before starting any diet, exercise or health program, please consult with your doctor and primary care provider.

Everyone knows that being young doesn’t last forever. You may think that our energy is endless, but we don’t think about what will happen to us thirty years from now. Therefore, it is essential for us to think about our health now, rather than wait until we’re in our seventies to think about it. One must consider the facts, when thinking about eating habits and exercising. Eating and staying active can make a huge difference on your life, even when you hit the seventies.

Having a Healthy Body

It’s essential to make sure that you’re eating and drinking. Unfortunately, people lose interest in those activities without thinking about the consequences. To better understand these consequences, look at this simple break down of what the body needs, and what can happen without those needs.

Eating

Metabolism helps us stay energized, and keep the body running, during the day. But as we age, we experience a metabolic decline, having us receive less energy from the food we eat. It’s best to get all the nutrition you need. Don’t focus too much on taking in fewer calories, since energy needs all the metabolism it can get.

Along with the decline of metabolism, comes declining bone strength with age. Weak bones lead to an increased risk of fractures and breaks. Calcium and vitamin D help to strengthen bones; so be sure to add foods like milk (fortified), juices, cereals and fish (sardines/salmon) to your diet every day.

Protein intake is also important to add to the diet to keep the muscles intact. As we age, we loss the muscle tissue that’s essential to functioning, especially if you’re wanting to keep exercising for the rest of your life. Look to plant- and animal-based foods for this much-needed protein.

“Plus, keep in mind that our appetites and thirst sensations change as we age. If food starts to taste flavorless, you’ll at risk of missing out on much-needed nutrition. Instead of eating by desire, eat as needed. Even go for foods with bold flavors, to keep you interested,” explains Kathy Smith, a blog editor at Last Minute Writing and Researchpapersuk.

Thirst

The same is true for thirst: If you lose the sensation of thirst—if you don’t feel thirsty in a frequent and normal way—then you’ll miss out on your fluid intake such as water. Don’t want to stick with water? Mix things up by adding juice, milk, or even smoothies.

But don’t just rely on food and drink. Consider taking a multivitamin along with a well-balanced diet, so that your body isn’t missing out on any nutrition deficiencies.

Exercising

As you eat the right foods, and keep at it every day, that’ll improve your chances of reaping the rewards of exercising. It’s not set in stone on how people 70 or over can stay active. Whether you’re active all the time, or succumbing to immobility, you may want to consider what you do on a typical day. Simple exercises can suffice, if you’re not as mobile.

Concerns?

Now, it’s understandable that some people have disorders that prevent them from being 100% active. Even as we age, exercising can be more and more challenging, because of how our bodies change. In fact, you may feel that health problems and concerns will be in the way of exercising.

“But what if you’ve never exercised before? Or maybe it’s the thought of being too old to exercise and not having as much energy as years before. Or maybe you’re not interested? All of these concerns are understandable. But rest assured that there are alternatives,” says Julia Daniel, a sport writer at Draftbeyond and Writinity.

The best thing you can do is that while you’re still young and active is to take care of your body, and prepare yourself once you hit seventy.

Conclusion

As you think about these reasons to start living an active, healthy lifestyle, you’ll be happy to know that these will serve you well in the future. Eating and exercising work hand-in-hand, since they help keep you in a good mood, minimize stress, help you be more aware of illness/pain symptoms, and, more importantly, improve your overall sense of well-being. One thing to think about though, is to not overdo these practices. Just work at your own pace, while practicing consistency, and you’ll see improvements with your body and health, no matter how old you are.