HERE’S MY STORY

By Ryhaan Shah

I have been writing about the importance of a good diet, regular exercise, and getting medical help when needed, and, in fairness, I should share with you my regimen and what guidelines I follow.
To start with, I have greying hair which I have never dyed, and I have my share of wrinkles and, from time to time, lapses of short-term memory. I have needed reading glasses since I was forty and get my prescriptions renewed every few years.
There is heart disease in my family, and I am hypertensive, so I take medications each day to control my blood pressure. I have a full medical check-up once a year. My doctor prescribes a series of blood tests that check everything from my cholesterol levels to my kidney function and my heart attack risk.
This can be quite expensive, so I am advocating here that the Government should offer a free annual medical check-up for every senior citizen in our country. This would go a long way in helping to catch symptoms of chronic illnesses early when they can be more successfully treated.
Our population would enjoy a longer and healthier life with such preventative health care, which would also favour the national bottom line by reducing health care costs in the long term.
I try to eat as healthily as possible. Once a week, I eat no meat, and once or twice a week, I have fish. I have a good breakfast, then a full lunch and a small meal or just a snack later in the day.
I consciously try to manage my weight. I have done this all of my life, and my regular exercise regimen includes walking, yoga and some tai chi as well. I do gentle exercises so as not to strain and stress any joints or muscles.
While most exercise regimens include advice on walking thirty minutes at least five times a week, those minutes can be broken down into five- or ten-minute stints. I also try to not sit for long periods of time. Being sedentary is not recommended, so I get up and walk about or do a chore if I am watching television or reading a book.
I get my mental exercise from writing this weekly column, which, for each, can take up to six or eight hours of research, writing, editing and rewriting. Most days, I also do some mental arithmetic: simple additions, subtractions, and divisions in my head. I still get the correct answer within seconds; this as I approach 75 this year.
I have always been a bookworm, so I continue to read extensively, whether it’s a novel, magazine or newspaper, and I keep up with what is happening in the news from around the world.
There are days when I feel absolutely lazy and do absolutely nothing. I might binge-watch old movies on TV all day and have KFC for lunch. The occasional laziness and indulgence make me feel relaxed and happy, and I do believe it does more harm than good to feel absolutely pressured into a regimen of exercise and healthy eating.
Give yourself a break if you feel like it. There must be room in our lives for indulging in ice cream and television binge-watching as long as these bouts of indulgence do not become so regular that they undo the good of our healthier habits.
And, if you are ill and have doctor’s orders that require regular medications, therapy, or diet, please follow those guidelines for your health’s sake.
While we try to find the joy in living, not every day is completely joyous. We all have bleak days when we feel sad or down-in-the-dumps. For me, they have not ever become serious bouts of depression, and I move through them knowing – thus far – that the feeling will lift and the next day will be brighter.
Feelings of loneliness, or feeling irrelevant to family and friends, or, perhaps, even being a burden are not uncommon among the elderly. Reaching out to someone close can be of immense help in alleviating feelings of anxiety about losing our independence and control over our lives.
My father died at age 98, and in his final years, he was frustrated with his inability to do simple things without assistance. He could walk but needed a cane to help him with his balance. He refused to use a walking stick for months; he said it made him look like an old man!
Caring for an elderly relative can require much patience and understanding. Remember, one day, we will all be there ourselves.