Blog Post by Coach JulieNCI Certified Nutrition Coach L1 and Certified Mindset Coach Most people I talk to are so focused on giving and caring for others. Nobility is admirable. But there is a lot of value in loving yourself. Believe it or not, this can be one of the best ways to give and care for others.
What many, including myself, don’t often understand is this. When we don’t love ourselves, we inadvertently outsource that to those around us. It means it can be difficult for others to be truly transparent and vulnerable with us because they also want to care for us. The people around us need us to be ok when it’s time to have tough conversations. Hard conversations are a part of life, but they are difficult to have with a person that doesn’t have enough love for themselves that they can truly hear what the other person is saying. Often these conversations are opportunities for us to grow and learn to be better FOR the other person in our lives, no matter the relationship. When we struggle to love ourselves, we view this as criticism and we often grow defensive and shut down. This isn’t helping us become the best versions of ourselves and grow the relationship. It keeps us stuck. There will be times that it makes sense to put ourselves second and another first, but if you have grace and love for yourself, it is so much easier to step into that role without eventually feeling resentful. Resentment is a relationship killer. When you constantly put other people’s needs before your own, you will grow resentful. You will. Many think that putting their needs aside makes them a good partner and it saves their relationship but it actually suffocates it. Both parties may stay in the relationship but are they happy? Usually no. You have to love yourself enough to know that your needs matter and are important. You have to love yourself enough to have that conversation with the other party. Tell them what you need and how they can help you achieve this. There are ALWAYS ways to meet the other person’s needs. Sometimes compromise is necessary but there’s always a road to fulfillment. Avoiding this is not loving yourself and it’s not loving your partner. Be straightforward with your needs and give your partner the gift of being able to love you the way you need to be loved. (This counts for friendship and other dynamics as well.) This makes you happy and more fulfilled and the other person in the relationship as well. There is value in loving yourself. Not just for you, but for those around you too.
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 Like it or not, a number of changes happen to our bodies as we age. They are a natural part of living life and include a combination of age-related structural, biochemical and physiological changes. Some of these changes are inevitable, however how we live our lives, including how much activity and exercise we do, has a huge influence on the speed and extent of these changes.
We all know exercise is good for us and has lots of benefits to our health. Perhaps less well known are the benefits of strength training (resistance training), which are fortunately now becoming more widely researched and promoted. Perhaps even less well known are the benefits of strength training specifically for older adults. Strength training has multiple health and lifestyle benefits for older adults. So much so that in our opinion, it should be a mandatory prescription from your doctor. Let’s explore why… What happens to our bodies when we age?
All of the changes above can have huge consequences. Some are inevitable with aging, others have environmental and genetic risk factors which also play a role. The changes in our muscles and bones cause slowing down, aches and pains, making performing our normal daily activities such as walking, climbing stairs and household tasks more difficult. It also puts you at an increased risk of falling over, and of serious injury such as fractures if you do. Ultimately, older adults with low muscle mass and bone density are at a higher risk of a poor quality of life, loss of independence and even an earlier death. The levels of muscle mass and strength loss varies in different people. Generally we are at our peak maximum physical capacity between 20-30 years old. Our muscle mass then starts to gradually decline until we are about 50 years old, after which the decline starts to happen more rapidly. Studies have shown that strength loss can occur as fast as 15% per decade after our 50s. Though, the level of loss and rate of decline varies in different people because of a variety of factors including lifestyle, genetics and the presence of other conditions or diseases. Hearing all of this can sound very scary. It can make the changes happening to our bodies in aging seem beyond our control. But that’s far from the truth. The power of strength training Not all of the changes listed above are inevitable with aging. There is evidence to show that a large amount of the decline in muscle strength seen in aging is due to inactivity and disuse. A number of other studies now show that these changes can actually be reversed too. We can slow these changes down, we can reduce the loss of muscle and bone density and even improve it as we age. We therefore can take ownership and control of our bodies in aging. Unfortunately, there is no magic medication, but there is something you can do in exercise and, more specifically, strength training. It just involves a little more effort than taking a pill every morning. That being said, strength training can also actually be more enjoyable and has many more benefits than just improving your muscle mass or bone density. What are the benefits of strength training for older adults?There is very clear evidence for the benefits of strength training in older adults to improve muscle strength, mass and functioning, as well as increase bone density. Strength training induces muscle growth, improves muscle mass and increases muscle strength. It makes your muscles stronger, more powerful and keeps them doing their very important job in allowing you to do all the functional things you want to do in your life. Whether that be walking around pain free to go to the shops and see friends, looking after your children and grandchildren, going on long bike rides and country walks, playing sports or even running marathons. There is a growing body of evidence demonstrating the significant benefits of strength training for all age groups (improved muscle and bone health, improved body composition and fat loss, prevention of a huge number of chronic and preventable diseases, improved energy levels and mood). These benefits are increasingly important as we age. Performed regularly, 2 or 3 times a week, strength training specifically in older adults has been shown to:
The list goes on and on… so the real question is, when are you going to get started? Starting strength training as an older adult can sound like a scary prospect, but it doesn’t have to be. You don’t need to do it at the gym with heavy weights (though you absolutely can do), it can be something carried out in your home with little or no equipment. Browse our website to learn more, or get in touch for personalized 1:1 coaching. - Coach Kayli |
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