My Real Age

Yesterday, my good friend Koalagirl15 sent me a “test” from RealAge.com. Annoying though it was because of the time it consumed, I discovered that I am actually 45.7 years old. My chronological age is 45 years, 13 days. Not bad, I guess. At least I hit the target. Unfortunately, I took one of these RealAge “tests” several years ago and, at that time, I was at least three years younger than my chronological age. Does that mean that I’ve actually aged six years in three years? I’m so confused!

Anyway, according to my personalized RealAge plan, in order to become younger, I should do the following:

1) REDUCE MY CONSUMPTION OF RED MEAT to one small serving per week. Man, I’m really going to miss those Friendly’s hamburgers.

2) EAT MORE POTASSIUM-RICH FOODS. This includes bananas, figs, avocados, and lentils. I’m not a big fan of these choices, except bananas (with brown sugar, of course). Avocados are good in guacamole, but I think that might break the low-fat rule.

3) EAT FISH SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK. I hate fish. My daughter would live in the fish market. I, on the other hand, am the daughter of a meatcutter from landlocked southern Minnesota. This could explain my affinity for red meat and, consequently, my dislike of ocean-going protein.

4) CONSUME LESS “BAD” FAT. I guess this means I could eat the guacamole mentioned above since avocados are high in monounsaturated fat, but this also means onion rings are off the list.

5) INCREASE MY VEGETABLE INTAKE. Ok, now they sound like my mother. My favorite vegetable is spinach. Is it safe to eat yet?

6) INCREASE MY CONSUMPTION OF WHOLE GRAINS. This is wonderful advice. Can they explain to me why, whenever I eat an abundance of whole grains, my scale protests? I thought I was supposed to lose weight.

7) INCREASE MY FRUIT INTAKE. This is fine with me. If only the grocery store would drop the price of blueberries somewhere below astronomical.

8) EXERCISE!!! Once again, exercise!!! Ok, I think I’ve got it now. What was that again? Oh yeah, exercise. The goals are: 90 minutes of strength training and 210 minutes of aerobics per week. This could take some serious schedule management.

9) BEGIN A WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM. Hey, I lost four pounds on vacation. Doesn’t that count?!

10) SPEND MORE TIME BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS.

11) SCHEDULE TIME FOR MYSELF. This was my favorite suggestion because it was introduced by the sentence, “Taking care of other people’s health needs can put your own health at risk.” Didn’t they just recommend that I build strong, close relationships with others? Where is the motivation to do that if taking care of these people puts me at risk? I think I may know why people are becoming more isolated.

Seriously, though, I do need to make some (if not all) of these changes, but it may take a while. Maybe Koalagirl15 and I can encourage each other. In the meantime, here’s what I am doing right:

- not smoking
- not taking prescription medications
- being happily married to the same man for 21 years
- driving a larger car
- not drinking & driving
- flossing regularly
- consuming enough folic acid
- taking daily vitamins
- not talking on my cell phone while driving
- following speed limits
- wearing a seat belt
- eating breakfast

If you want to discover your real age, what you are doing right, and where you could improve, visit RealAge.com. Just remember to set aside some time before you do. The test takes awhile. God bless.