Promise Me I'll Look This Good at 64

Do you ever imagine what you will look like ten years from now? 

Well, I found my dream self when I met Maye Musk at Pfizer's Get Old Blogger Conference. She was tall, beautiful, poised, engaging, kind, and a 64 year old woman with quite the reputation: MS, RD, Anti-Aging Expert, Nutrition Spokesperson, Speaker, Counselor, and Registered Dietitian. (WOW!!) She's written a book (Feel Fantastic), has modeled for over 50 years, been featured in magazines and on television, raised three children and is the grandmother of eight. It was her passion--helping people all over the world fight obesity, lose weight, and feel fantastic every day--that brought her to address the conference.

www.mayemusk.com

Maye joined me and the other participants around a round table for a casual conversation on aging gracefully. Maye said that life actually gets easier as you get older, and I wanted to believe her.  She shared that It all begins with a positive attitude. Wake up being positive and carry that positive outlook with you throughout each and every day. Maye's anti-aging advice included eating well, being active, enjoying life, being proud of your age, keep updating yourself, no smoking and working out. If these skills aren't currently part of your lifestyle, she said you need to change your habits and that takes practice every single day. Never give up. 

We got to ask Maye questions regarding our own personal health and aging concerns. Her answers were very enlightening:

What exactly is eating well? It means including lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet as well as dairy and fish.. For me, that takes a lot of effort.  It is so much easier to plop some carbs in my mouth than reach for the fruits and veggies. But if I want to live long and prosper, I need to diligently work on adding more of these items in to meals. 

How do you combat overeating? Maye shared that the most common problems with overeating are portions that are too large and not planning ahead with your meals. Afternoons are prime times to overeat. To avoid this, plan for afternoon snacks. She suggested preparing a sandwich for lunch but only eat half of it along with a piece of fruit at lunch time. Then, later in the day when that snack urge comes, eat the other half of the sandwich along with some yogurt and nuts.  Dinner should be light. When you have finished your evening meal, brush and floss your teeth and then you won't want to eat any more. If there is a trigger food--something you adore that you tend to over indulge in--eat it in front of other people instead of eating it alone.  You'll be more apt to control how much you are eating if someone else is around.

How much water is enough? I was really interested in her answer to this question because I am a lousy water drinker and I feel so guilty when I don't drink the recommended 8-10 glasses a day. Maye said drinking water doesn't really have to be that big of an issue. Five glasses of fluids from any source (water, juice, coffee, tea, etc.) is plenty. What a relief.

What is the best kind of exercise? Cardio is great but strength training is important to help combat muscle loss as you age.

The hour we spent with Maye just flew by. At the end of her "chat," I just had to give her a hug and thank her for such a wonderful visit and for her great example. I hope I can be just like her in ten years.  

Which one of Maye's aging tips are you going to work on?

Pfizer invited me to attend their Live Well. Get Old. Blogger Summit on October 19, 2012. Pfizer paid for my airfare, hotel, meals and transportation during my stay and provided me with a basket of Pfizer consumer health products, a book from one of the speakers and a mat used in our yoga session. I was not asked to write or talk about the event. Opinions are my own.

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