• Everything starts in the brain. Yours. Because every brain is unique, the Longevity Lifestyle you create will also be unique. It needs to fit you. This makes it easier to maintain for your lifetime. Join Club 122 Longevity and become a lifetime member. Talk the talk and walk and walk.
  • Pack a PAC Mindset—Positive, Active, and Creative—and take it with you The secret of getting ahead is getting started. Get started by breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, starting on the first one then keep on keeping on.
  • Mindset is key. Both a negative mindset and a positive mindset are self-fulfilling. If you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right! Embrace an affirming mindset that says: You are doing this. Your brain can only do what it thinks it can do and it’s your job to help it understand what it can
  • Self-talk follows mindset. Stop talking about what you want to avoid or give up and talk instead about what you are embracing and doing as if it’s a done deal. Use a positive communication style that helps program your brain for success. What you tell yourself and how you say it makes all the difference in the
  • Recognize when your brain and body need food and eat when your body is physiologically hungry. Drink water to stay well hydrated. Avoid emotional eating (and drinking). Develop sound strategies for managing your emotions and feelings effectively without bingeing on comfort foods. Eat a good breakfast, moderate lunch, and small dinner. Unless you’re doing very heavy muscle work, experiment with two meals a day on weekends: brunch and a late lunch or early
  • Choose healthy forms of self-medication. All human beings self-medicate to feel better. Identify your patterns of self-medication, (e.g., food, beverages, and addictive behaviors). If they are not resulting in desirable outcomes, create new replacement behaviors and use willpower to implement them, one at a time. Be vigilant and consistent. If you slip off your program, get right back on it
  • Get moving and keep moving. Avoid death by sitting. Move it and use it or lose it. Doing something is far better than doing nothing and you can do something. Set realistic low-high range goals and follow through on them. Obtain thirty minutes of challenging mental exercise and ten minutes of reading aloud daily, plus at a minimum of thirty minutes of physical exercise three to five days a week.
  • Physical exercise helps boot up your brain and is the single most powerful tool you have to optimize its function. Develop a balanced activity program. Include variety: aerobic, strengthening, stretching, and balance exercises. Avoid over- exercising in an attempt to get a high from endorphins released during exercise, which could lead to addictions.
  • Healthy carbs provide energy for body, brain, and nervous system. Minimize ingesting empty calories, (e.g., sugar, refined or highly processed foods, sodas, and alcohol). Eat a variety of foods in as natural a state as possible. Balance the calories you take in against those you expend—but focus on the big picture rather than getting sidetracked compulsively counting
  • Drink a glass of water twenty to thirty minutes before each meal to help minimize dehydration. Make meal time a pleasant experience. Eat slowly, chew your food well, and savor If you are in a great rush or find yourself in the midst of a stressful situation, drink another glass of water and wait to eat until things calm down. Or simply eat very lightly, perhaps a salad or a bowl of soup or a piece of fruit.
  • Avoid overeating, especially of poor quality foods, such as those high in animal fat or hydrogenated oils or sugar, refined, and processed—which can trigger hormonal imbalances and increase your risk of insulin resistance, visceral fat accumulation, and type 2 diabetes. Increase your intake of fiber (soluble and insoluble) preferably from whole, intact
  • Avoid all trans fats and minimize the use of saturated animal fats. Select monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats primarily from plant sources—but in moderation, as they are still calorie dense at nine calories per gram. Use vegetable oils extracted without the use of heat and solvents. Cold pressed olive oil for salads and coconut oil when preparing food using high Use positive self-talk patterns to help manage cravings for unhealthy foods and beverages that are no longer part of your life style.
  • Lower your risk for stroke, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes— and improve your brain function—by staying physically active. Walk, play games, bike, swim. Focus on creating and maintaining a Longevity Lifestyle rather than on calories. Choose foods low on Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load lists. Use regular physical exercise to help you stay
  • Stop thinking deprivation. Picture the nutritious food that you now ingest to energize your brain and body. All calories are not created equal. Select quality calories in fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, and raw or roasted unsalted nuts. Slow and steady wins.
  • Manage portion size, which impacts person size, and avoid being killed by sugary, fatty, fried, fast, frozen, refined, and processed foods. Ditch the candy dish, fried chips/crackers, and sodas. Keep only what you have chosen to eat and drink and remove all that might sabotage your success. Think: out of sight is out of mind. Eat to live; not live to eat. It’s your
  • Think of core emotions as four of your best assistants. Emotions are powerful. Learn to identify them quickly and accurately and obtain the information they provide. Choose carefully the feelings you want to hang onto. Raise your Emotional Intelligence, as it can contribute 80 percent or more to your success in life—IQ only 20 percent. A higher EQ also may help you to be more patient and better able to delay gratification as needed.
  • Avoid unnecessary downshifting by managing your thoughts. If you do downshift, upshift as soon as you determine there is no imminent danger or that it has passed. Have at least two strategies at the ready to help upshift your brain as appropriate. Develop skillpower to help you make healthier choices and then activate willpower to help you follow
  • Body energy is closely connected with your thoughts and internal mental pictures. Affirming thoughts and feelings add energy to your system, while negative thoughts and feelings deplete your energy. Develop a growth mindset along with a positive style of thinking and speaking—to yourself and to others. Reward yourself in healthy ways for improved
  • Prevent or resolve overweight, obesity, and morbid obesity—all of which can be lethal for good brain function and can trigger testosterone-estrogen Eat foods that contain soluble and insoluble fiber (a type of carb) to combat intestinal problems. Be aware that bowel symptoms may be due to FODMAPs more than to gluten sensitivity.
  • An appropriate sodium-potassium ratio may reduce the incidence of sodium-related health problems, such as increases in blood pressure. Be prudent about your use of salt and make sure to include foods that are a good source of potassium. Read labels regularly, even if you need to carry a magnifying glass. You may be amazed at what you can learn—and avoid!
  • Learn the difference between being hungry and Eat when you are physiologically hungry. Make pure water your beverage of choice and drink sufficient amounts every day to minimize dehydration, which can be lethal to cognitive brain function. Stop being a pee brain. Aim for two pale urines a day. Avoid sodas of any type: regular or diet. Both have been linked with obesity. Give yourself gold stars—literally or mentally—to encourage and reward your brain.
  • Pull your head out of the sand (metaphorically) and recognize that hauling around excess pounds can be dangerous. Give your brain the optimum amount of sleep it needs. Adequate sleep is linked with mood, memory, creativity, immune function, cognitive performance, and appropriate weight management—even with potential longevity.
  • There is a relationship between stress and aging—the faster you rev up your body with stress, the faster you age. Develop effective stress-management strategies. Important for every brain, they’re especially critical for the female brain because of how it responds to stressors. Live the 20:80 Rule every
  • Identify unhelpful myths related to wellness and aging. Think ahead. Forewarned is forearmed. You tend to meet challenges more successfully when you have identified potential Change your life for the better by consciously hanging out with people who are also on a Longevity Lifestyle.
  • Choose to forgive—yourself as well as others. Learn from your mistakes and move on gracefully. Practice grateful thinking on a daily basis and reap emotional, physical, mental, and interpersonal benefits. Keep a gratitude journal. Consider doing random acts of kindness. Hone your personal spirituality—it involves the ‘spirit’ with which you live life and impacts how you care for your brain and body and how you relate to others and to Planet Earth. Forgiveness benefits the person who is doing the forgiving the most.