What can I do when I’m young to keep healthy when I’m older?

@rsdar I second all of this and want to reiterate a few points:

Mobility and range of motion is super important. I've been incorporating tons of yoga and I feel far healthier than before when I focused on just cardio and weights. Range of motion tends to decrease significantly with age unless you work at it.

Walking is super important, but so is standing. If you have an office job, or will in the future, do what you can do get a sit/stand desk. They say the new smoking will be sitting based on the health risks associated with sitting all day. Daily exercise simply can't make up for 8-12 hours of sitting every day.

Sunscreen!!! Yes!!! I'd also suggest adding a retinol serum when you turn 30 if you want to avoid wrinkles.

Teeth! So many people neglect their teeth and then need thousands of dental work just to keep their teeth from falling into pieces (literally!). Brush, floss, and use a fluoride mouth wash twice a day and get your cleanings every six months. It takes 5 minutes a day to care of your teeth and it's beyond worth the investment.

And I want to add, drink tons of water. Coffee, tea, soda, juice, etc doesn't make up for actual water. I shoot for 80oz of water per day plus any other drinks like my daily coffee, tea, and one seltzer water in the evening (and occasionally glass of wine).

Lastly, go to the doctor and get your check ups. Even if you feel fine, just do it anyway. Even high deductible plans cover annual check ups. Get your bloodwork done and make sure there isn't an underlying risk you're unaware of. I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease when I was 29 and felt totally fine until suddenly I was super sick. Annual bloodwork would have saved me from a lot of damage.
 
@dawn16
Coffee, tea, soda, juice, etc doesn't make up for actual water.

Yes it does. I mean, you don't wanna have too much caffeine or too much sugar obviously but those drinks are all 99% water that is no different to water from a bottle or tap.
 
@deangelo The caffeine from coffee and teas dehydrates you, counteracting the very thing you're trying to do by drinking something. Most juices contain roughly 25% more calories than soda for equivalent volumes as well, so I guess they're ok if you have your sugar and calorie totals in check, but they wouldn't be my first choice either.

Beer is also ~95% water, but nobody's drinking that for their health.
 
@dawn16 You'd have to have a ridiculously strong tea or coffee for the caffeine to dehydrate you more than the water hydrates you.

I'm not saying plain water isn't the best drink because it is, but adding something to it doesn't somehow negate all of the water.

Basically, if you need to drink X amount of water each day to be hydrated and you already drank it in tea, juice, soda and milk... you don't need to drink that whole amount again in plain water in order to be sufficiently hydrated.
 
@pennypule My exact same problem with the "drink XX amount of water" thing. I did it for a few months years ago (I remember my goal was actually quite conservative but considerably more than I was drinking previously) and it was only really feasible if I stayed at home all day. Traveling anywhere suddenly became a challenge because I had to pee every 30 minutes. But also because I got used to constantly drinking I was thirsty all the time (!?). They said the peeing would stop after your body got used to it but it was months and I just wanted to pee more and more. But really not being able to go anywhere without having to use the bathroom was the dealbreaker so I stopped and got my life back from the toilet ahaha.
 
@beyoutifuloutlaw Before I was a regular water drinker, I never felt thirsty (or maybe I did and hadn't learned to recognize the feeling yet). Now that I have an always-accessible bottle I am thirsty and drink so much more.
 
@rsdar Also gardening! I’ve read that a lot of 80+ year olds who are still healthy have gardening in common. And keeping stress low. Stress in your 20s and 30s (especially working long hours) can catch up to you when you’re older.
 
@dawn16 I feel this. Worked 2 jobs all through my 20s, 60 hour weeks, drank a lot, not a lot of sleep... and it's like getting hit by a truck now that I'm older (and I'm only early 30s)
 
@burialchoice Keep your bones strong and remember broken bones and other injuries may heal but they come back to haunt you later in the form of arthritis, chronic pain, etc...
 
@hneed41 I’m finally on board with this too. Took me too long and way too many tan lines. I was driven by aesthetics to not have tan lines for my wedding, but now I’m super terrified of skin cancer as an added bonus. Currently replacing all my racer back tank tops to muscle tanks so that i dont have to worry about reaching THAT part of my back. And wearing pants over shorts more often than not.

I literally went to the beach last weekend in linen pants and linen top with a linen button up long sleeve top. Everyone got burned except me, even though they were wearing sunscreen. Wild.
 
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