At the ripe old age of 107 years, Elmer Hill of Henderson, Texas doesn’t meet many people older than he is, let alone very many veterans. Needless to say, he was quite surprised to meet Richard Overton, three months his senior, and also a Texas native. Although the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs doesn’t have a complete list of everyone who served in the armed forces, Hill and Overton are likely the oldest and second-oldest living veterans in the country.

Keys to longevity?

Both men are still mentally sharp and quick-witted, and Overton, at least, claims he still smokes cigars and starts the day with a shot of whiskey in his coffee. 

While the pair seems to be in fine fettle, it comes as no surprise that drinking and smoking might not be the best way to live to the century mark and beyond. Many studies suggest that genetics may be the one of the most important keys to living a long life, but that doesn’t mean you should give up healthy living and reach for the doughnuts. 

Genetics or Diet?

Healthy eating and exercise can also play a key role. These can reduce your risks for heart disease, and strokes, which are among the leading causes of death in adults. They can also help you live better, mitigating the physical effects of aging such as stiff joints, failing eyesight and failing memory. 

While many of us might not reach 107 like Elmer Hill and Richard Overton, a healthy diet heavy on fresh vegetables, fruits and legumes can help you take advantage of the years you do have. 

Thick cobwebs are growing over the treadmill you bought last year. Your New Year’s resolutions, with all their fitness goals, have fallen by the wayside. Working out regularly is something that is easier said than done. Here are some ideas to keep you going when life starts to get in the way.

• Don’t reward the result, reward the action. Rather than being discouraged that you can’t buy the new jeans because you haven’t lost the 20 pounds yet, buy a one-size fits all treat like new earrings or a pair of shoes when you’ve reached your workout goal. 
• Treat yourself while you workout. No, that doesn’t mean heading for the nearest fast food shack. Instead, you can listen to your favorite songs or an audio book from your favorite author. Grudgingly going off to exercise now becomes stepping out to get reacquainted with a beloved classic.
• Workout with a friend or family member. Exercising can often be a lonely experience, so why not bring a friend? A workout buddy can make exercising seem less like a grind and more like hanging out with a friend. They can help push you and in turn, you can help them along as well.

The treadmill doesn’t have to gather dust. Often the key to keeping a regular workout schedule is finding new ways to make it interesting and more importantly, fun!

Every household should have a good system in place to manage important documents. Here are some tips to help you get your stack in order.

Divide and conquer

Sort your documents into 3 categories: active, dead storage, and discard. Active documents are accounts you deal with on a regular basis like your electric bill or your car payment. Dead storage items are similar, except they are more than 3 years old. They might include the set-up instructions for the computer you still have or the receipt for a large purchase you made years ago. The discard pile is where you put the items you no longer need such as expired warranties or old appliance manuals.

Keep the active documents handy, put the dead storage items somewhere that’s out of the way but still accessible, and throw away the rest.

Irreplaceable items

Once you’ve gotten your papers in order, you might want to consider getting a safe deposit box for vital documents such as births certificates, social security cards and the deeds and titles to your property. These are documents you’ll want to keep forever.

A good rule of thumb is to keep the documents as long as you own the property they’re associated with. For example, if you still own the car, you’ll still want to keep the papers that go with it.

Keeping your files straight doesn’t have to be difficult. With a good system in place, you can keep your desk clutter-free and lay hands on that important paper you need in no time. 

If you’ve ever tried reading the nutrition label on something you’re about to buy, then you know it can be confusing. What’s really healthy for you and what isn’t? Should you worry more about calorie count or fat content?

It depends on what your goals are. If pure weight loss is your aim, you’ll want to pay more attention to calorie count. If you’re trying to reduce your cholesterol, then the fat content of your food may be more important.

We all need some fat in our diets. Fats are for important for normal nerve functioning. They also provide energy and protect organs. For healthy adults, 20 to 35 percent of total daily calories should be from fat.

A great way to stay on top of it is by keeping a journal. List the foods you eat, their calorie and fat content. The type of fat makes a difference. Lowering your calorie intake may help you lose weight, but it might not necessarily make you healthier if you’re still eating the wrong kinds of fats.

Eliminate trans-fats. These are found in baked goods, margarine and fried foods. Limit the amount of saturated fat you eat, which comes from butter, red meat and whole-fat dairy products. Replace saturated fats with healthy unsaturated fats found in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds and fish.

Living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean getting rid of all fats.  By keeping track of what fats you eat, you can keep the good and throw out the bad. 

If you would like our help understanding how this impacts you, please give us a call to set up an appointment to discuss your personal health situation and the best way to get started.

Starting an exercise program can be pretty daunting, especially if it’s been a while since you’ve visited the inside of a gym. The good news is that an exercise program doesn’t have to make you miserable.

Easy does it

Often when we start, we’re full of enthusiasm and overdo it. Why do 20 sit-ups when you can probably manage 50? When we wake up the next morning, we know why.

The key to starting an exercise program is to build up gradually. Even world-class athletes didn’t get that way overnight. Don’t try to do too much all at once.

Don't forget to warm up

Stretching is very important. Muscles and ligaments that haven't been used for a while may have lost some of their flexibility, especially once we get older. Many injuries that happen during exercise could have been prevented with proper stretching and warm-up routines.

Be realistic

Have a firm understanding of your goals, and be reasonable in your expectations. What do you want to accomplish with your exercise program? You may never become a champion weight-lifter or a professional gymnast, but even a ten-minute walk every day can help you feel and move better. 

Exercise can be a key part of a healthy lifestyle. By taking the right steps at the beginning of your exercise program, you can get make it a lasting part of your lifestyle.    

If you would like our help understanding how this impacts you, please give us a call to set up an appointment to discuss your personal health situation and the best way to get started.

Many parents feel like they need a crystal ball when it comes to figuring out how to prepare their children for college and careers after they leave the nest. Naturally, you want your child to find a job in a field that will provide successful, long-term employment. But there's no way to predict the future, and there's no formula for figuring out how college + graduation - tuition x years enrolled = lucrative career + happy life.

A degree in four years?

Remember that there's no guarantee that your child will graduate in four years. In fact, a longer time in college is much more usual than in the past. That means added expense. But private universities, even though their tuition is higher, provide more services like tutoring and counseling that can steer a student toward earning the degree in four years. So maybe the expense of a private university and graduation in four years evens out the cheaper tuition of a state university where your child could be a student for six years.

Will they get a job?

Every new "hot topic" for jobs has also had its down time, so when sitting down to plan for college, encourage your child to think in broad terms. When checking out the universities, you want to examine the school’s job-placement rates. You can take a trip to the school's career center to find out what employers from which fields are on-site interviewing students. Press the university for information on graduation rates and job-placement rates.

Keep in mind your child's birthday. Sure, you remember well when your son or daughter was born. But the child who’s planning for college is making decisions out of a 17- or 18-year old mentality.

Life and college, and even self-awareness, change, and with that change can come new insights into what they really want to be when they grow up. Reassuring your child that they haven't missed the deadline for figuring out the future may prevent many headaches over the course of time.

Many high school grads even benefit from taking a ‘gap’ year, and deferring their freshman year at college, while working and learning life skills that can give them a solid reality check.