Tips for Seniors to Keep Motivated and Stay Active

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Written by: Dan Matthews

Staying motivated and active is a cornerstone of long-term health. Bradley University notes statistics from the Centers for Disease Control that point out “a majority of the deaths recorded across the U.S. each year — around seven in 10 — are caused by chronic conditions that are largely preventable.”

By doing things like staying active and eating healthy, you can ensure that you take care of your health for the long term. However, if you’re not already doing these things, it can be difficult to make the initial shift to a new lifestyle and find a new regimen that you can stick to.

Creating Exercising Routines

One of the greatest challenges of shifting from a more sedentary lifestyle to an active one, especially later in life, is overcoming the first month or two of exercising without giving up altogether. You need to give your body an opportunity to adapt to the new schedule and give your mind a chance to adjust and let those new routines sink in.

According to livestrong.com, you’ll typically feel your body begin to get used to the change in the first three to six weeks, although it may take several more months to fully adjust. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions to stay motivated as you go along — as well as some specific ideas for exercises that will help you stay interested and engaged.

Note: it’s always advisable to run any significant lifestyle changes by your doctor before implementing them.

Tips for Staying Motivated

One of the key elements to staying motivated and healthy as you get older is to remember to never stop doing new things. Whether you’re tailoring your diet, learning how to use a new health app for your phone, or studying your mental health, there’s always a way to integrate a new challenge into your life in order to stay motivated.

Tailor Your Diet

Watching what you eat is one of the best ways to stay healthy. This can be done in multiple ways, too. You can always embrace a shocking change of pace, like going Paleo or adopting the keto diet. However, if you’re already set in most of your culinary ways, it may be helpful to simply look for ways to eat healthier every day, such as:

Reading nutrition labels before purchasing food.
Eating slower and savoring each bite.
Drinking more water and avoiding beverages with lots of sugar.
Choosing healthier, whole foods for snacks.

Use Apps

Age isn’t an excuse to avoid technology these days. If you’re feeling the need for a challenge to keep yourself motivated, consider looking into using a cutting-edge app on your smartwatch or even a fitness tracker to help track your new health regimen.

Many apps and trackers can provide ways to monitor your heart rate, report how much you exercised, and even remind you to stick to your routine. There are also apps that allow you to plan your meals out in accordance with whatever health food regimen you’ve decided to follow, or even just to track calories and food intake in general.

Watch Your Mind

Your mental health is a critical part of your overall well-being. As you change your routine and face new challenges, you’ll probably feel stressed, overwhelmed, and frustrated from time to time.

Make sure to regularly check in with your feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Try to pinpoint your stressors and watch out for any negative thought processes like all-or-nothing thinking or jumping to conclusions.

Tips for Staying Active

While good eating and mental health are critical, exercise is where you’re going to build your endurance and keep your body healthy. There are many different exercises that can keep you moving year-round. Here are a few to consider as you formulate your new exercise regimen.

Exercise

Alone or with a friend, rain or shine, it’s good to have an individual exercise routine that you can stick to in order to keep you moving on a regular basis. Some exercise options include:

Walking: Whether it’s outside, at the mall, or on the treadmill, walking 20 minutes per day will burn off an average of 7 pounds of body fat each year.
Working out: Fitness centers aren’t just for college students! Look for a local center that has the kind of equipment or facilities you would typically prefer to use.
Landscaping: Taking care of the yard can be a lot of work. If the weather permits, gardening, raking, and lawn mowing are all great ways to keep up your cardio.
Biking: Whether you’re using a stationary exercise bike or you’re actually bicycling, biking is a great option for regular exercise.
Swimming laps: If you have access to a pool, swimming a few laps is a great way to keep moving without putting any unnecessary wear and tear on your joints!

Look for Social Activities

Along with exercising, look for social activities that will keep you moving. Rubbing shoulders with others as you stay active is a great way to both remain encouraged and be challenged to stay on track. Some suggestions include:

Swimming classes: While swimming laps is helpful, taking a full-blown swimming class is a great way to find a social setting geared towards keeping you active.
Bowling: Bowling is active, social, family-friendly, and full of health benefits.
Dance lessons: If you’ve still got enough spring in that step, you can opt to find a partner and sign up for some dance lessons. Dance isn’t just good for your body, it’s good for your heart, your mind, and your soul.

Remember to Be Wise

As you go about setting up and implementing a new fitness regimen, remember to take it slow. The cost of overambition may be an injury that can slow you down, hold you up, or even derail your endeavor completely.

Remind yourself that you’re not trying to win a race or beat an opponent. You’re simply trying to stay motivated and healthy. If you can accomplish those two things, you’ll be more able to enjoy every minute of your golden years with as few nagging pains and physical ailments bothering you as possible.

Dan Matthews is a writer with a degree in English from Boise State
University. He has extensive experience writing online at the intersection of business, marketing, lifestyle, and health. You can find him on Twitter and LinkedIn.