How to stay fit at 76 years of age

I am 76 years of age and my last child was born when I was 50. I want to assure you that your worries about memory will be one of the minor things that you have to keep in shape in the next 25 years. Just like a car, age tends to show up on the body if it is not constantly maintained. Writing and computereze tends to keep the mind functioning well but it really seems to impede the physical side because of the lack of exercise. Right now I would take stock of what you have going for you now as follows:

1. Make sure your waist is not more than half of your height in inches.
2. Make sure your blood pressure is not over 120/80.
3. Make sure that your blood sugar stays below 100.
4. Make sure that you exercise 60 minutes every day and that 30 minutes of that is sweat producing.
5. Make sure that your BMI stays below 25.
6. Drink a minimum of a half ounce of clean water for every pound of body weight daily.
7. Make sure that you are getting 8 hours of sleep each night which should include 2 to 4 hours of deep REM sleep.
8. Eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies that are not cooked at temps above 145 degrees and include a lot of deep green leafy veggies that are raw.
9, Reduce your red meat intake to a max of 4 oz per day and increase your mercury free fish intake.
10. When you rise each morning, think positive and feel like this is going to be the greatest day of your life.

Even with these aids as you approach 70 you will continually wish that you had taken better care of your body when you were in your 20's and 30's and not drank so much soda pop and liquor and did more exercise. Each year will compound the aches and pains of aging but barring a fatal accident you will maximize your ability to live longer in more comfort.

Allen