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Or perhaps I should say I wasn't all that jazzed about the golden years, because now that I've seen 75-year-old bodybuilder Ernestine Shepherd in action? Um, WOW.
Apparently that whole "age is just a number" thing isn't merely something nice you write in a birthday card to your grandma -- it's true!
Declared the oldest competitive female bodybuilder in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2010, Ernestine Shepherd will literally redefine your personal definition of what a 75-year-old human being's body should look like. Shepherd is in better shape than the average 25-year-old!
Perfectly toned and sculpted, lean and mean, with absolutely gorgeous skin and bright eyes -- did this woman make a deal with the devil?
Nope. Her secret is simple.
"If ever there were an anti-aging pill, I would call it exercise," she says.
And exercise she does! You know, if you consider running 80 miles every week exercise. (Plus all the bodybuilding stuff, of course.) Naturally Shepherd eats healthy, too, sticking to a diet of mostly lean protein and vegetables.
My favorite thing about Ernestine Shepherd, though, is that she wasn't remotely athletic until she was in her late 50's, when she went to try on swimsuits with her sister and ... well, we all know how motivational THAT experience can be. She started with aerobics classes, then got into bodybuilding at around the age of 60. And would you look at her now?!
Just watch this powerhouse at the gym:
mostly lean protein and vegetables."
This is a factor as important as the exercise or MORE.
A diet high in natural fats (lard, coconut oil, butter, olive), medium amounts of meats and eggs, and low in carbs (about 60 a day) of low- glycemic vegetables, (no grain, no dairy except for organic butter, and no sugars) is a virtual time machine for turning back the years and weight loss.
I am in my late fifties and look and feel much younger. I am active, but get nowhere near the amount of exercise this woman does.
Exercise is important for health for sure, but DIET is the key to optimal health and longevity.