Happy 2024 to You!

2023 was a pretty good year for me- I picked up two new and fun exercise hobbies- pickleball and rucking. (Rucking is walking with a loaded backpack- I did 500 miles of it on the Camino Santiago) Even after the holiday food orgy, I ended up weighing less than I did this time last year, and healthier I think. The Camino de Santiago was a bucket list item for me, and I got so much more out of it than I expected. So what is in the plan for this year?

Some years I don’t do New Years resolutions, but this year I am. They are mostly a continuation of what I did last year, with a few upgrades. I have been on a healthy aging binge, and I’ve read two books so far (Outlive, by Peter Attia, and Lifespan, by David Sinclair). Ageless by Andrew Steele is up next. I’ll stop after that one. Probably. Its not that I want to live forever, I just want to reduce health problems so I can enjoy my later years. I won’t use all of the information in the books, and of course, they agree on some things, but not everything. I am a little extreme about some things, but delighted to report that I’m not nearly as extreme as some of the authors. I will be exercising more. I will NOT be taking VO2 max tests on a regular basis to chart my progress.

So what are my goals for this year? I want to exercise more- 6 days a week is my goal. My minimum is 5 days per week. A bunch of steps on my watch doesn’t count. But I’m pretty liberal about what does count- a brisk walk counts (like my volunteer job) and so does cleaning the house and strenuous yard work. Pickleball for at least an hour counts too. I want to do something really strenuous at least once a week, and strength training 2-3x per week. Its my retirement job to stay active. Aging well requires muscle. There are so many studies about optimal levels and kinds of exercise, and they contradict each other. Generally it seems that more exercise is better, so that is the goal. I’m also going to look into exercises that improve balance. I think most exercises do this to some extent, but I’m sure some exercises are better than others. Until I read the books on aging, I wasn’t aware how catastrophic a late in life fall could be.

To accomplish my fitness goal, I purchased a set of workout cards and a book on home workouts. I loathe going to the gym, and I’m happy to work out with weights in my house. I have several pairs of dumbbells and I’m thinking of getting some resistance bands. Often the hardest part of working out (for me) is figuring out WHAT to do. Hopefully the cards and book will help with that. I know there are a lot of helpful apps for your phone, but I think its harder to ignore the book on my chair than an app on my phone, especially if I can check a workout off. I love checking things off of a list. I’m going to track my activities too. Or try to. I’m really bad at that.

I have new health insurance this year and a lot more preventative tests are covered. I will have some of those done to see if I need to make any other changes in my diet or lifestyle. I always get an annual mammogram, but heart attacks cause 3 times more deaths than breast cancer in American women, and I have never had a test to see how my heart looks. I think the shingles vaccine will also be covered under my new insurance, so I’ll be getting one of those too.

I’m going to be eating more protein and less sugar and bread, and spending more time with family and friends. I plan on doing more outside activities, and less time on my phone. I have been learning new creative hobbies, and I want to continue that this year. I’m awful at meditation, but have discovered a few things that seem to have a similar effect- I will continue my efforts at meditation, but also knitting, etc.

Finances. I have’t been able to make myself track my finances the last couple of years but I suspect I will this year. My income from my former job ends in only two months. We have more than enough money, but this year I’ll have to start drawing from my securities accounts to fund our spending. I had a really detailed plan for how exactly I was going to do all this 4 years ago, but a lot has changed since then and it probably need to be re-figured. So track spending and re-figure withdrawal strategy are my financial goals for this year.

I did pretty well with travel and adventures last year. I plan on more of the same. I need another physical adventure goal, though. Training for the Camino de Santiago really kept me disciplined with my daily exercise. I need another fitness/trip goal. So far I have thought of another route of the Camino or a trek through Ireland or somewhere else in the UK. I would love to get my husband to do this with me too. He isn’t as focused on exercise and health as I am, but he loves Ireland, so maybe that would induce him to come along. I am open to suggestions if anyone has them. My only requirement is that I don’t really want to carry camping stuff or all food and supplies. So there has to be somewhere to stay along the way.

There is a tradition around here, that whatever you do on New Year’s day will be what your year will be filled with. I have several friends who do all of their household chores the day before so that there is no laundry or dishes to do on the first day of the new year. I don’t usually pay attention to this at all. There is no possibility that my household chores will be less this year if I skip this one day unless I hire a housekeeper. I am going to make sure I get some exercise in though, and to work on my knitting, this blog, and maybe even make some soap. Happy New Year to you!

Favorite retirement activity of the week- the day after Christmas my husband went fishing with my youngest son. I threw a bag in my car and met my friend (who moved 5 hours away in June) for a few days in a small beach town a little over an hour away. Our getaway is an artsy little beach town with lots of shops, art galleries and cute restaurants. We talked and walked (24,000 steps one day!) and laughed and shopped and caught up on each others lives. It was a wonderful getaway, and I think we’re doing it again next year!