Thursday, August 30, 2007

13 ways ECL stays young - Thursday Thirteen #01

13 ways eastcoastlife stays young

1. Stay the weight I was at age 25
I'm slightly overweight now. Carrying excess fats raises the risk of some cancers. Lean people halve their chances of premature death. From time to time, I have to try to slip into the dress I wore when I was 25. I aim for a body mass index of about 23.5.

2. Skip a meal
People who eat 30% less than normal live 30% longer than usual. Their hearts appeared 10 to 15 years younger than those of regular eaters. Eating less food may reduce tissue wear and tear from excess blood sugar, inflammation, or free radicals. I skip lunch often, fast one day a week and drink plenty of water.

3. Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables
They have cancer-preventing abilities. I have 2 servings of fruits and vegetables each meal.

4. Get more sleep
Not having enough sleep raises the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes — maybe even obesity. I sleep 8 hours a day.

5. Get help for what hurts
I had depression once, it weakens my immune system and push levels of the stress hormone cortisol higher. After consulting a doctor, my mood improves and my immune system perks up, too.

6. Take brisk walks
I walk briskly for an hour everyday to make the walls of my arteries twice as flexible as those of a couch potato. (I hadn't been able to do that for the past month due to my injury.)

With age, blood vessel walls tend to stiffen up — the main reason 2/3 of people older than age 60 have high blood pressure. Exercise keeps vessels pliable. Mild exercise also reduces the risk of diabetes, certain cancers, depression, aging of the skin, maybe even dementia.

7. Keep my waist trim
The tape measure is better than the bathroom scale in determining if my body is staying young. My weight can remain the same while I lose muscle and pack on fat, including visceral fat, the culprit behind a thick waist. It's linked to a higher risk of age-related ills such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. If your waist measures more than 35 inches (for a woman) or 40 inches (for a man), you probably have too much belly fat.

8. Stop and plant the roses
Gardening or being around plants relaxes me.

9. Strength-train a few times a week
Cardio exercise and strength-training are key to slowing the advance of time. After their mid-40s, people lose about 1/4 kg of muscle mass a year, gaining fat in its place. I lift weights 3 days a week, for a minimum of 30 minutes.

The payoff : more endurance, stronger bones, less risk of diabetes — and better sleep and thinking.

10. Drop that hot potato
I don't take sugary drinks and the potato. They can cause blood sugar spikes and crashes, contribute to overeating and diabetes risk — which accelerates aging. I still can't control my love for bread.

11. Sup from the sea
I eat fatty fish, such as salmon, sardines and trout. They contain the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA, which help prevent sudden death from heart attack. Omega-3s also helps ward off depression, Alzheimer's disease, and age-related macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness. I use canola and olive oils for cooking. I avoid unhealthy foods which are loaded with trans fats.

12. Fight fair
Nasty arguments increase the risk of clogged arteries. Women's hearts suffer when they make or hear hostile comments; men's hearts react badly to domineering, controlling words.

I avoid getting nasty, sarcastic, or personal, or using body language like rolling your eyes on my loved ones. hehe... I can still count with my fingers.

13. Keep a positive outlook
People who have a goal in life — a passion, a purpose, a positive outlook, and humor—live longer.

(Portions of info from my doctor's list of 25. ^-^)



Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!



71 comments:

  1. Woot! You are my 'ngau cheong'!

    When I grow up, I wanna stay young like ECL... ;)

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  2. My angel,
    kakaka... you still young girl hor. Start taking care of your body now, so that it would still function well in your old age.

    Waiting for our horniday! Wheeee...

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  3. Wow. That was really informative and educational. I'm not used to reading things that help me on-line....great idea for TT! I try to exercise a lot, and eat fruit often, but I also eat too much junk food. I should work on that! Thanks for commenting on my site!

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  4. Hi Mama Pajama,
    Thanks for visiting and sharing.
    I like your record list. :)

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  5. eastcoastlife,
    You really knows how to stay young huh? I think now, you are only 18 years old. kekeke.

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  6. It's SO HARD to stay young, based on these 13 ways....Sigh.
    Have to stay positive to stay young and after I read this :O

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  7. I seldom use the scale but my favorite jeans tell me how I am doing weightwise!! great tips, welcome to tt!

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  8. Wow, you are so disciplined. I cannot already. Too late, after all many people believe that I am already 70 years old. Wahahaha....

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  9. lol! i don agree with some of the points lor.. but then again, drink GREEN TEA and EAT DARK CHOC! :D Green tea removes radicals and dark choc lowers blood pressure (kind of complicated process)

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  10. Very true. Now I must try to do it. Another way to stay young is to not celebrate any birthdays after your 25th so when people ask you how old you are, you can truthfully say that the last birthday you celebrated you were 25! Muahahaha.

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  11. What a super list. Man I better get with it. Need to lose 25+ kg still.

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  12. Captain Picard,
    Well, I hope my friends will learn to take care of their health so they can have a happy retirement.

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  13. tigerfish,
    It is hard, one has to stay disciplined.

    Ahhh... you are displaying the positive sign. ^-^

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  14. mar,
    Thanks for the welcome. I think my jeans is a good guide too. :)

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  15. Bunny Beth,
    I wonder if you have any secrets to sray young yourself. *wink*

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  16. Judy,
    You can still do it even if you are 70 yrs old! hehehe..... You won't stop growing old after 70 you know.

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  17. ehon,
    Oh yes. I drink green tea too. I prefer milk chocolates. kekeke....

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  18. stay-at-home Mom,
    Yes, that's a good idea. But I still celebrate my birthday every year and look 25. kekeke.....

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  19. simple american,
    You need to lose 25kg! Wow! That's a lot of extra weight you are carrying. For your health's sake, do it.

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  20. Welcome to TT! I know I need more sleep. I only average about 5.5 a night. Sigh. But that's when I write!

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  21. You forget one : Hug every blogger you meet :P

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  22. I agree with all of your lists. However, what I need most are your Nos. 1, 4,5,7,12 to keep me young and unstressed. Thanks for sharing them.
    My T13 is up too.

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  23. I am so discouraged now! :)

    I am going to eat an apple now!

    www.chelleyoung.com

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  24. All good advice. Not always easy to follow, but good advice nevertheless.

    happy TT!

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  25. Hi Joely,
    5.5 hours of sleep is not enough for a good night's sleep. Hope you can have adequate rest.

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  26. Great tips.

    Thanks for stopping by Colloquium! Don't be a stranger!

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  27. OK...whatever on the list. Especially #1...and do you have kids?? Wow..impressive but dont live your life around your weight, its way too short. Skinny people die too. Happy TT.

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  28. After all that..some friends call you up and say belanja steak..habih..all the effort down the drain..haihss..

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  29. That is an excellent list. It tells me several things I didn't know, and reminds me of some that I already do know but have let slip.

    By the way, you live in a lovely city!

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  30. Hi, there ECL! Thanks for dropping by at my blog! Great list you have here. I wanna be healthy like you too! Happy TT!

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  31. Wow! Great list you have here ECL :) Happy TT! :)

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  32. I love your list, ECL! This is my 2nd time at T13 and I was welcomed last time with open arms... Happy TT'ing! :)

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  33. I cant skip a meal leh...I will have a tendency to eat more the next meal cos I am starving. So I stick to eat lesser at each meal but timely :)

    Janiceng SEO Traffic

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  34. Very good suggestions only the weight when you are 60 you don't have the same weight anymore or it's much less or much more. I can't complain it's just right not to thin and not to thick, lol !

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  35. eastcoastlife,
    18 ah? Huiyooo..but not available to court liao. Too bad. haha!

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  36. Whew! Found a one hot mama here. Like you, I like to eat fish and seafoods rather than pork or chicken meats.

    And that's true -about getting enough rest, sleep. I really advocate 8hr or more sleep. But with a baby in the house, I've been missing a lot of sleep lately.

    But I do the weights. I carry my son a lot so that's more weight exercise there. lol

    www.zamejias.blogspot.com

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  37. So eve next time should belanja me the steak, and you eat salad, ok?

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  38. yay i lov fish and im glad tt its healthy food... cos meats in general seem unhealthy for humans.

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  39. Hmmm, I'm not doing nearly enough things on that list - great reminders! :)

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  40. no8 i failed. sure cannot live long enuff to make me relax....my hub calls me murderer...

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  41. Cool. Eastcoastlife...Now I feel old in comparison. *winks*

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  42. hehhe.. u very rajin and manyak persistence. Keep up the good work ;)

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  43. Hi and thanks for visiting my blog. I really admire your healthy ways and wish that I could do the same. It's just that it's so hard to get motivated.

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  44. hmmmm 4,8, 12 seems to be impossible to me :P
    i dont like flowers. they go bad sooo sooon and attract aweful insects.
    others are very very interesting.
    thank u so much!!

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  45. What a terrific list!!! I especially think the first one is a good one. Extra weight brings on so many other problems.

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  46. Mmmmm... if only ice cream can help us stay young? ;)

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  47. I'm trying to get more sleep...It's not easy!
    Happy TT

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  48. Welcome to the TT-family! Actually it's not a good idea to skip a meal; much better to eat little portions more often. But hey, if it works for you! ;-)
    Thanks for visiting my activities TT.

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  49. Great tips - thanks!
    Ad #13; I know you will live a long and happy life:-)

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  50. My first time at your TT! Love it! =)

    Red

    http://sixdegreesofsexy.blogspot.com/

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  51. Excellent post, I liked the #13 the best...anna:)

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  52. Good for you, truly. Happy TT!

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  53. I've listed you as one of my 5 recommendations for World Blog Day
    Here is my post: http://mayogiathome.blogspot.com/2007/08/blog-day-2007.html

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  54. Good suggestions for a healthy life. Thanks for sharing!

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  55. Thanks for sharing leh. I need exercise, MORE exercise! *quickly run to the dumbbells*

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  56. Thanks for the tips. I'm gald to know that one should stay away from potato as I'm not the big fan of it. However, I heard that to eat 4-5 portion of fruit and veg per day is the best. I realise that I am getting fatter as I can't really wear the clothes I used to wear when I was 23. Need to keep doing excise!

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  57. you look very fit wor, in your pictures... I can't skip meals, but I'll go for those walks!

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  58. wow...we really learn something every day.
    I never know potato is not that good for you.
    Nice to know.

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  59. I like the last tip a lot. Couldn't have agreed more.

    To me, staying young is a state of mind. You are as young as you want to be and as you think you are. That's all I think ...

    Hmmm.

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  60. So, I agree with most of this in your list, but have to add:

    #10: For me, don't ask me why, the potato is doing wonder. I'm never feeling so good as when I eat potato dishes. It's like balsam for the stomach. And my whole family is like that. In Sweden, eating potatoes goes way back, maybe our bodies have adopted the potato that well....

    #11: I've tried eating more fish dishes than I do, butt my body says stop, it want take it, don't want it. It's really strange.

    #13: I think this one is crucial. You can stay alive much longer and more healthy if keeping the positive attitude!!!! A good laugh surely makes the bad things go away :-)

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  61. You forgot Cocka's recipe for youthfulness... ;-)

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