aging with care Archieven

How to Increase Longevity: Challenge Yourself to be Absolutely Happy

23 December 2020 by Hannie

If you are looking for ways how to increase longevity in a sustainable way the best method is: choose to be happy! It’s easier said than done, I know. Yet I also know from experience that choosing to be happy really is a possibility.

Through the years everybody encounters hardship. It’s part of life. The big question is: how do you react to these moments of need.

Will you sit in a corner and feel sorry for yourself?
Do you ignore that something is the matter?
Or will you grab yourself by the shoulders and shake yourself up?

What Certainly Not to Do when You Want to Lose Weight

2 December 2020 by Hannie

When I was young I weighed 50 kg. With my height of 1.72m that hardly was a healthy weight and I often had black spots in front of my eyes when I rose from a squatting or sitting position.

After my pregnancy this changed dramatically. I was content I had gained 20 to 25 kg and that I didn’t lose it all after giving birth to my son. My weight back then was between 65 and 70 kg which made me feel more comfortable with my body.

The menopause brought another change. Suddenly I saw myself in the mirror with a bloated head. I had gained too much weight and it showed. When I finally had the nerve to weigh myself, the scale showed an unwanted 86 kg. “Help, I want to lose weight!”

Healthy Lifestyle: Exercising without the Gym is not Difficult

27 November 202016 September 2020 by Hannie

This good advice is constantly thrown at you: make sure you exercise. At least half an hour a day. Tom and I say it regularly on this website as well. Exercising is good for your health, for your brain and for your overall well-being.

If you only link exercising to ‘the gym’, this message can overwhelm you. Because do you want to be at the gym every day? Or do you even have a gym in your surroundings?

But it’s not that hard. Exercising without the gym is a piece of cake. Really. Even if you are housebound, like during a lockdown because of the virus.

You don’t have to exhaust yourself to the point of collapse. Just make sure to make a move that you are already doing with a little more force or effort. Until the moment when talking becomes difficult because of the panting.

Assistive technologies counteract aging conditions

24 July 201924 July 2019 by Tom van Oosterhout

All sorts of conditions determine our everyday behavior, and fix us in time and space. They seem to leave us very little room to maneuver. For instance, given time we will age. Fortunately all kind of assistive technologies can help us to cope with the conditions that inherently accompany aging.

Assistive technologies compensate adverse effects

Most of the assistive technologies compensate for the adverse effects of conditions that determine our everyday live:

Our innate physical limitations, such as aging;
Shortcomings and risks associated with our physical, social and political environment;
Laws and rules;
Macro-economic developments that determine our financial status;
And technological possibilities.

Portion distortion at your plate

2 July 20201 May 2019 by Tom van Oosterhout

Pasta Ratatouille Bake – One of my favorite recipes

A good health as well as a poor health are quite often attributed to our diet. There is a limited truth in this. Our age, the height and weight of our body, our lifestyle, and also our hormones, potential medication, and our health status, contribute to how we feel. As far as food can make us feel better, it is good to reflect on our dietary intake.

Good health, good weight, and good food

Although there is an abundant amount of information on the Internet on food, it’s very easy to get totally at loss. Just try to answer the question how you can combine the goal of a steady and acceptable weight, with a good health and exceptional good food. The best I found on the Internet is the ‘weight loss plan’ of the National Health Service (NHS UK – https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-weight/start-the-nhs-weight-loss-plan/).