I am the Anti-Aging Disruptor!

It’s been more than 50 years since it happened, and it still pulls at me every day in how I live my life. I have lived 20 plus years longer than my mother got to live, and that fact doesn’t escape me for a minute. It was the Christmas season 50 years ago, I came home from college for winter break, looking forward to a festive time with family and friends, with lots of traditional foods, that my whole life was turned upside down. My mom, who had just turned 48, went to bed with a headache on Christmas Eve, and never got up the next morning. Instead, she died in a hospital bed 2 days after Christmas; she suffered from high blood pressure and died of a stroke. 

Years later, I was jolted into the possibility that a similar incident could happen to me. I was a single parent working a very demanding job that required a lot of travel and tight deadlines. The stress of the job landed me on a stretcher in the emergency ward. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure. This was my wake-up call! High blood pressure is known as a “silent killer”, it can be generational, is often brought on by stress or a diet high in salt, and has been deemed a lifestyle disease. 

I had been walking through life up to then feeling like a wet wrung-out towel; I thought everyone felt that way, that it was normal. It was then that I understood that I was not immune to the “silent killer”. It scared me, and made me question was my mom’s fate going to be mine as well? Though I ate clean (I actually was a vegan in my 20s, before it became the thing to do), was knowledgeable about nutrition, so much so that I wrote my college thesis on it, but, it still got to ME. From there on out, I lived my life holding my breath, like I was "waiting to exhale", as I approached the age of 48, the age my mother died. And, once I reached 48, that’s when I got really serious about living my healthiest life yet. I felt blessed to reach an age she had not.

I set out to get my blood pressure under control and did so through stress management practices, which I continue to do today. Having had to shop in the “chubby” department as a child (do they even have them anymore? I sure hope not), I also had to find ways to maintain a healthy weight. I tried a myriad of diets from; the low-fat/no-fat phase, not realizing that the fat was being substituted with SUGAR, drinking shakes and eating bars as meals, even one where I had pellets put on each earlobe, and existing on an extreme caloric deficit, I tried keto…you name it, I tried it all. And they all worked – for a time, but none were sustainable, especially as I got older. 

It wasn’t until I got clear on my "WHY", that my mindset shifted. I began to understand why I ate what I ate, and how my body reacted to different foods. I love to dance and found joy in movement that helped me stay energetic and flexible, I even became a Zumba instructor. All this put together, ultimately changed my life. I am proud to say that I in my 7th decade circle around the sun and am in my best health ever!

For 30 years, I have soaked up everything I could on nutrition, on why older women have the challenges they do, received a certification in Health/Life Coaching from Precision Nutrition, and became a licensed fitness instructor specifically designed for the mature woman. 

I am here today for my Seasoned Sister, helping her live an active and healthy life throughout her Third Act, helping her choose Healthspan and not just Lifespan! My work is in honor of the many women, like my mom, that have never gotten to be a Seasoned Sister!