by Matt Worthy

My name is Matt Worthy. I am the founder of ScienceBod.com.

Next month, I turn 47 years old. When I type that out, it doesn’t seem real. I do not feel like what I thought 47 years old was supposed to feel like. Most people tell me I don’t look 47 years old. 47 always struck me as an age well into midlife: a period of nagging and irreversible decline.

For me, 47 years old feels great. I’m stronger than I’ve ever been.

What I want you to know is that the same is possible for you as well. Midlife and beyond does not have to be characterized by a slow dwindling of youthful strength and vitality.

It all has to do with motivation.

When I think about it, what has maintained my vigor is not genetics or luck: more than anything it is motivation. At my day job, I work with plenty of people who are younger than me, but act and look much older. They are sluggish. Their muscles are slack. Their bellies are protruding. Their skin is wrinkled. Their hair has gone almost entirely gray.

What is the difference?

Motivation is the difference. Motivation is why I work out at least five days every week. Motivation is why I eat all organic food. Motivation is why I minimize sugar intake. Motivation is why I rarely ever drink alcohol. Motivation is why I spend the extra money that I could spend on other things to ensure that I’m eating grass-fed beef and pasture-raised chicken. Motivation is why I refuse to repeatedly work overtime at my job just to make some extra cash.

But how and why am I motivated?

I am not motivated because I have a particularly positive attitude. A lot of days I don’t want to go to the gym, but I go anyway. I am not motivated because I have robotic self-discipline. I’m often strongly tempted to buy that muffin at Starbucks or indulge in some pizza, but I don’t.

I am motivated because of what I know.

I know that I watched my dad slip, slip, slip away and die at 79 from Parkinson’s. I know that my dad did not take his health seriously. He never worked out. He never ate well. Yes, genetics. But science has established beyond any doubt that lifestyle plays a critical role in our health outcomes.

I know that I am in a fight for my life. Aging seeks to consume me and reduce me to a shell of what I am now. Yes, aging will eventually win. But I know that science tells me that I can significantly increase my chances of delaying its effects and prolong my period of youthfulness and health if I take the appropriate steps.

I know that regular exercise, especially in my forties and beyond, opposes the ravages of aging. As a 2016 article in Cell Metabolism explained, exercise plays “a major role in the prevention of the most deadly chronic diseases modern humans face, including cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases, cancer, pulmonary diseases, immune dysfunction, musculoskeletal disorders, and neurological disorders.” (Cartee & Hepple, 2016)

I know that regular exercise, as noted in 2014 by The International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, can “prevent prefrontal volume reduction due to aging and impede cognitive decline.” (Tamura & Nemoto, 2014)

I know that “Poor diet quality contributes to morbidity, including poor brain health outcomes such as cognitive decline and dementia.” (Wright & Waldstein, 2017)

I know that consuming sugar breaks down collagen in my skin, causes inflammation throughout my body, can cause cancer, leads to fatty liver disease, and weakens my immune system. (Jarvis, n.d.)

I want to avoid all of the above. I want to give myself the maximum opportunity to stretch out my span of good health as long as feasibly possible. I am motivated to live a healthy lifestyle because science tells me that the choices I make matter. I choose to live and to live well.

And you can too. Your choices matter. Your choices add up. Every time you choose to work out instead of staying home, every time you choose to eat the right foods instead of junky foods, every time you decide to forego a sugary snack tilts the scales more and more in your favor.

Choose to live and to live well.

References

Cartee, G. D., & Hepple, R. T. (2016). Exercise Promotes Healthy Aging of Skeletal Muscle. Cell Metabolism, 1034-1037.

Jarvis, L. (n.d.). 5 Surprising Reasons Why Sugar is Making You Age Faster! Retrieved from FurtherFood.com: https://www.furtherfood.com/5-reasons-sugar-aging-faster-faster-collagen-skin-inflammation-cancer/

Tamura, M., & Nemoto, K. (2014). Long-term mild-intensity exercise regimen preserves. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 686-694.

Wright, R. S., & Waldstein, S. R. (2017). Diet quality and cognitive function in an urban sample: findings from the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study. Public Health Nutrition, 92-101.