What Age Is Your Energy?

Many of you may or may not be aware that I had my now 12 year old twins at 44 with the assistance of medical science and the gift of donors. My OB/GYN referred to this as “Advanced Maternal Age.” In other words, mid-life, halfway to death, over the hill, the downward slope, or cougar country. It was a bitter pill to swallow along with many other pills and injections that got me to this place. I often do “Mid-life Math” in my head thinking “How old will I be when the girls turn 18 or graduate from college?” “Will I still be around to see them walk down the aisle or hold my first Grandchild?”  I can focus on the negative, or I can marvel in the joy that I get to experience Motherhood at all. I get to decide how I want to view my age in comparison to theirs or other mothers at school pick-up. I got to choose how I experienced menopause while they were having two year old tantrums. I get to decide what I CAN DO to keep myself healthy, agile and fit so I can be around for them well into my 90’s or even 100.

Age is a number right? Well, many things happen to your body as you start to age, but you also are in control of your mindset and your energy. The toaster on your kitchen counter cannot operate without being plugged in - correct? This concept applies to your energy level. It doesn’t miraculously show up when you wake up on 4 hours of sleep, pound coffee all day, and eat crap food on the run. You have to generate your own energy.  A healthy energized body is a rested, hydrated, fueled, and loose yet strong body. One of my mentors, Brendon Burchard is the master of High Energy and Performance. I have attended several of his awe inspiring events where he is on stage for literally 12 hours straight for 4 days in a row. Similarly, Tony Robbins, who at 60 marathons works his way through 120 or more seminars a year, each lasting well after midnight with a 9AM start time. So how do these guys do it? HABITS!  I have concocted this list below that is a combination of Tony and Brendon’s routines. 

• Get 8-9 hours of sleep a night 
• Drink 5-7 liters of water a day
• Eat 4-5 small, nutritionally balanced meals a day
• Exercise 3-5x a week
• Take a mental break from work every 45-50 minutes 
• Do “breath scaling” 3 times daily. This means doing an escalating series of breath where you breathe faster and deeper, without hyperventilating, focusing on cleansing and energizing your body with breath.
• Do “body buzzing” 3 times daily. This is the Qigong method you can explore on the interwebs
• Speak and gesture with more passion.
• Stay standing more often. 
• Hug and engage others physically more often. Well - maybe that one is suspect under the current pandemic - but hopefully can soon resume!
• Don’t worry about your age or anything else for that matter
• Start your day off with meditation, and set your intentions for the day.
• Take vitamins, supplements and any other biohacking products
• Don’t drink your calories - avoid caffeine, sodas or alcohol
• Stay positive in your mindset
• Avoid toxic, negative, soul sucking people (**this is my personal addition)

As with anything, your thoughts create your habits and your habits create your life. I think Rob Lowe said it best “You can have a 32 inch waist and no lines on your face, but if you don’t keep an open mindedness and willingness to compete in life, no one’s gonna say you’re youthful.” So getting back to that “advanced maternal age” thing - age is just a number like scales are for fish. Off to my 5AM Metabolic Meltdown class where I crush a bunch of chronologically aged 25-30 year olds in my daily workout routine. Next week we will get more in depth about habit hacking where I will explain why there is no such thing as a “bad” habit. I will also show you how to break challenging habits with no will power!  I hoped this has served you as it has for me. After all, it’s always and Inside-Project

Video:

Ernestine Shepherd defies nearly every physical stereotype for an 84-year-old woman. For one thing, she's ripped. In fact, she’s a record-holding bodybuilder who spends more than 30 hours each week exercising. But get this: she didn’t so much as pick up a dumbbell until she was in her 50s! Now she’s training other women and completely embodying her nickname, “Granny Six-Pack."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpBo2dl3PBc

BOOK RECOMMENDATION: “The Grace to Race: The Wisdom and Inspiration of the 80-Year-Old World Champion Triathlete Known as the Iron Nun” by Sister Madonna Buder

A Catholic nun recounts her record-breaking efforts to test her physical endurance, from a priest's initial suggestion to run as a way to harmonize the mind, body and soul to the author's initial long, prayerful runs to her regularly competing in marathons and triathlons, including the grueling Ironman competition 44 times. She just turned 90, on July 24, 2020.