We all know that regular exercise and a nutritious diet will keep us healthy. But staying active becomes more difficult as we age. As our lives become busier, we have to choose the easy meal plan over the best nutrition meal plan. Chronic conditions like arthritis and diabetes exacerbate the need for exercise while making it harder. 

So, how can we stay healthy as we age? How do you apply nutrition tips for improving your health? How do we create a diet and exercise plan that we stick to and not just discard by next week? 

In this article, we’ll answer all that and more. We’ll explore daily fitness tips, healthy food tips, and the importance of healthy lifestyles. Most importantly, we’ll discuss how to turn physical activities for seniors into a long-lasting habit. 

Benefits to Being Healthy for Seniors 

We all understand the vague importance of healthy lifestyles. We all know that we should exercise, but why? Why should we put ourselves through the pain of exercise? 

Well, physical activities for seniors are vital because they help us stay independent longer. Physical exercise can help us with our mobility and strength. Stretching improves our flexibility and range of motion. Endurance training, like cardio, gives us the energy to enjoy our passions. 

Exercise also gives mental and emotional benefits. As you’ll see, some exercises strengthen our minds, improving memory and processing speed. Working out releases endorphins and serotonin, directly combating depression. Research even shows that exercising in a group setting helps us make friends and support each other. 

That’s all great. But how can seniors exercise while struggling with chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis?

When discussing physical activities for seniors, it’s vital to understand why it’s such a hot topic of conversation.

  • Around 50% of adults over 65 have arthritis. Arthritis is the inflammation of the joints, causing stiffness and pain. Flexibility exercises like stretching and tai chi relieve that stiffness and provide more movement. 
  • Approximately 37% of those over 65 have heart disease. Heart disease is an umbrella term for various conditions (Coronary artery disease (CAD), for example) affecting the circulatory system. Cardio exercises can strengthen the heart, improving blood flow.
  • An estimated 25-33% of seniors have diabetes. Exercise can help manage sugar levels. 

Preparing Meals for the Elderly: Nutrition Tips for Improving Your Health

“Exercise is easy. Once [our residents] get into a routine with an exercise program they like, they have a lot of fun with it. They develop friend groups, they have more energy, and they just feel better. But diet and nutrition is the other half and that’s a little harder. Even professional athletes struggle with dieting. So our goal is to make it easy with the best nutrition meal plan.”

~  Kevin Boos, Director of Culinary

When discussing nutrition, it’s easy to say this one mineral does this one thing. In reality, our bodies are very complex, and nutrients work together like an ecosystem. When coming up with meal planning options, balance essential nutrients like protein, calcium, vitamin D, and fiber. 

  • Protein helps maintain and build muscle mass. Muscle mass naturally declines as we age, and it becomes harder to build. Here are some healthy food tips to incorporate into your next easy meal plan:
    • Lean meats (pork loin, lamb, turkey, chicken)
    • Fish and seafood
    • Poultry and eggs
    • Beans and legumes
  • Calcium and Vitamin D work together to maintain bone health. They also play a role in our muscles, immune system, and nervous system. 
  • Calcium health food tips: 
    • Dairy products (milk, yogurt, cheese)
    • Dark leafy greens (kale, collard greens, broccoli)
    • Nuts, especially almonds
    • Orange juice
    • Some fish, such as salmon and sardines
  • Vitamin D health food tips:
    • Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna)
    • Egg yolks
    • Sunlight exposure (wear sunscreen!)
    • Please note: Very few foods have noticeable amounts of vitamin D, so you might need a vitamin D supplement. 
  • We all know fiber keeps our bowels healthy. But fiber can also lower your risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and colon cancer. 
    • Fruits and vegetables (avocados, broccoli, raspberries)
    • Whole grains (whole-wheat flour, oatmeal, brown rice)
    • Beans and legumes
    • Nuts and seeds (almonds, flax seeds, cashews, pecans, peanuts)

Not all tips to stay healthy will apply to you. Talk to your doctor or a dietitian for personalized advice. 

Everyone’s different. We recommend talking to your doctor before starting any physical activities for seniors. Your doctor will be able to assess how any chronic conditions you have can affect your exercise. They can then provide personalized advice, informing you about exercise and meal planning options. 

Retirement communities provide some of the best nutrition meal plans.

Senior living care communities relieve the burden of household chores like cooking. For example, the chefs at Tribute at One Loudoun present some amazing culinary creativity. However, they use that ingenuity to cater to dietary needs. A resident with type 2 diabetes can receive a low-sugar but delicious meal plan. 

Physical activities for seniors made easy.

“Start with low-impact activities and then gradually increase your intensity. Low and slow, as we like to say! But seriously, starting with just 10-15 minutes per day helps your body adapt to your new activities. Especially if you’ve been inactive for a while. Low and slow prevents you from straining your joints and muscles. We’ve also noticed that this approach to physical activities for seniors builds confidence and a long-lasting routine. Consistency is more important than intensity.” 

~  Holly McMurray, Senior Vice President Care and Compliance

We’ve all had spurs of motivation. We make a healthy family meal plan for the week, workout for a month, then forget about our gym membership. The workouts become too difficult, we’re too sore, or we see no progress. Atomic Habits by James Clear breaks down a framework for developing lasting habits. 1) Make it obvious, 2) make it attractive, 3) make it easy, and 4) make it satisfying

Active senior programs at retirement communities fulfill all of those requirements while addressing specific needs. Various retirement communities host kickboxing for Parkinson’s, a special form of kickboxing training that strengthens everything Parkinson’s diminishes. The novelty jumps out by combining regular exercises into something exhilarating. 

Tribute at One Loudoun uplifts their senior community with dance and music. In-tune fitness is done as a group which helps residents keep up their motivation. Bowling with Betty makes bowling easier, but the real exercise is balancing. Bowling with Betty is an assisted living program helping residents regain independence. Betty, the therapy dog at Tribute at Black Hill, acts as a balancing aide and a social bond. 

No matter if you’re in a retirement home or senior apartments, you can incorporate the habit framework for a lasting routine. Set realistic goals based on your actions, not your results. Instead of “I want to run a mile,” try “I want to jog for 40 minutes weekly.” Then, you can break it down into steps. Jog for 10 minutes a day for four days in a row. Once you build consistency, you can grow intensity. 

A few miscellaneous daily fitness tips. 

  • Do a mixture of endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility. 
  • As we age, our bodies contain less water. We also lose more through sweat. Our sense of thirst also diminishes. Drink water before, during, and after physical activities.
  • If you have diabetes, measure your blood glucose levels before and after exercise. 
  • Automaticity is the rate at which habits become automatic. At some point, we stop needing to put in effort to keep up a habit. It becomes self-perpetuating. According to Atomic Habits, automaticity takes around 30 days, but every consecutive day becomes easier. 

Conclusion

Ultimately, physical activities for seniors help us feel good, inside and out. However, too many of us seniors have made inactivity a habit. Sometimes all we need is a little help to get out of our rut. 

If you want to help a loved one live a healthier, higher quality of life, consider a senior community. Explore your options and make the transition easy and stress-free. Visit our website or schedule a tour to find your ideal senior community. 

About Cogir Senior Living

What sets Cogir apart is the company’s devoted approach to creating healthy, vibrant communities that offer residents exceptional independent living, assisted living, and memory care lifestyle options. Cogir Senior Living develops, owns, and/or operates 80+ lifestyle communities throughout the United States.