Transcription:
Men: Set Yourself Up for a Healthy Future

Amanda Wilde: Welcome to Happily Ever After 40, a podcast brought to you by ProMedica, where we discuss midlife health and wellbeing. I'm Amanda Wilde. In this episode, Rick Black, ProMedica corporate rehabilitation director, shares practical things men can do now to impact their health for years to come. Welcome back to the podcast, Rick.

Rick Black: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Amanda Wilde: So, what we're saying is your future health is influenced by the actions you take today. What are some practical things men can do today that will make an impact on their health for years to come?

Rick Black: Well, I think starting with maybe the most obvious is if you smoke, quit smoking. And I know that's easier said than done. Nicotine is highly addictive and it can be really challenging to quit. But if you've tried before and been unsuccessful, I'd say try again, because it has such a huge effect on health. So, being able to quit smoking can just have incredible positive impact on your life. So if you're having difficulty quitting, there are different smoking cessation programs out there. Work with your healthcare provider and find one that works for you.

Amanda Wilde: I'm a former smoker. I can say that you're never glad. You know, you never wish you had another one yesterday. You know, that's something that motivated me. You know, it's not something you're happy you did when you look back on it. So as we're talking about looking toward your future, it can really be a big boon to stop smoking. In fact, I had a 75-year-old friend tell me most of her friends that died early were smokers and not necessarily dying of smoking-related diseases. So, I guess smoke affects much more than just your lungs, if that's not enough.

Rick Black: Right. Absolutely. It affects your entire body and the earlier you quit, the more likely you are to reduce the odds of serious illness from that smoking. So, absolutely. So, quitting anytime is good, but earlier is better.

Amanda Wilde: What else can men do to make an impact on their health?

Rick Black: Well, you know, I'm going to talk a little bit about moderate alcohol drinking. So I think drinking, in general, if you're drinking excessive amounts where, you know, there's alcohol dependency, that's a whole 'nother issue. And obviously, that can wreak havoc on a person's individual health and their family and their community. But I'm going to focus just on moderate drinking. And I'd encourage men who are, say, you know, having a beer or two in the evening after work, just think about it in terms of the caloric intake. So, you look at a can of beer and it's probably about 150 calories. And so one beer, no big deal. But imagine you're drinking one or two, maybe four or five nights a week after work, add up those calories. And over time, you're just ingesting a lot of calories through alcoholic beverages. And so, I would just encourage men to look at that and think, Are there opportunities to cut back a little bit and less from the alcohol standpoint and just from the sheer calories that they're ingesting and the effect that that could have on their weight and their health in general.

Amanda Wilde: Well, beer belly is no joke, and we see it everywhere and that really can be detrimental later on, right? Just to carry that extra fat around your belly.

Rick Black: Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. and it's not called a beer belly for nothing, right? So, as a result of those added calories, you can put that on. And that abdominal fat that you're talking about, you know, is metabolically different from fat that you might have in your thighs or your buttocks, and those men are at increased risk for problems like insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, erectile dysfunction. So, there's a whole host of things when your waist gets much bigger than your hips, that can lead to problems. It can lead to orthopedic problems. Carrying around that weight in your stomach can affect the position of your spine and over time can cause back problems. So, there's a host of issues associated with that and it can kind of creep up on you as you get older. You know, five pounds here, five pounds there, it doesn't seem like much. But over the years, those pounds add up.

Amanda Wilde: Yeah. And that happens to me too as a woman who doesn't drink beer. So, that actually leads me to the question of-- you mentioned caloric intake, weight is definitely harder to lose as you age. Why is that?

Rick Black: Absolutely. Well, you know, our metabolism slows down and oftentimes our physical activity decreases. So, we're taking in the same or more calories and we're decreasing our levels of physical activity. So, you start getting an imbalance. And if you're taking in more calories than you're burning off, that gets stored in your body as fat. And so, it's very common and, you know, it doesn't have to be a lot, it's cumulative over time. You know, a lot of things I'm going to talk about today, both the things that are problematic and then things that are beneficial for you, you know, their effect is cumulative. It's not one cigarette that gets a person, right? Or it's not one drink that does it. But when you do those activities over an extended period of time, the effect is cumulative. It builds up on itself.

Amanda Wilde: So, let's turn to diet. What should we be looking at in terms of diet?

Rick Black: Well, you know, I'm not a nutritionist, and there's all different kinds of diets out there. But I think that we really need to make sure that we're eating a healthy diet. And healthy, there's a wide variety of foods out there that are healthy. You know, fresh fruits and vegetables, and just watching what we take and our portion sizes all of those basic things. Again, I'm not going to get into the percentage of carbohydrates, the fat to protein. You know, there's all different kinds of diet trends out there and I'm not the best one to speak to that.

What I would encourage people to do though is look at your diet and consider are there things that you're taking in that don't provide any real value for you. You know, a good example is something like soda or pop as a lot of people call it. And if you think about, you know, a can of soda, an average can of soda probably has about eight or nine teaspoons of sugar in it. And I can't even imagine if you tried to eat eight or nine teaspoons of raw sugar, you'd probably get sick before you got very far into it. But when you put that sugar in a syrup and then pour it into carbonated water, we can ingest huge amounts of sugar and calories and they're not calories that are going to improve your health and wellbeing. So, I encourage people look at what you're taking in and consider is this stuff really helping me? Is this helping me be a healthier, stronger person as this is providing vital minerals and nutrients to my diet? And if it's not, consider can you eliminate some of those things or reduce your intake of them?

Amanda Wilde: So, we have talked about things you can stop doing, unhealthy diet, alcohol use is something to watch and we can stop smoking. What are some things we could start? You said you would be talking also about some beneficial things we can do. What can we do even at this age saying where, you know, maybe we have that beer belly, maybe we still smoke, now we're interested in changing that up to have a healthy future? So, what else can we do proactively?

Rick Black: Yeah, absolutely. I would recommend that people consider increasing their physical activity and to do some form or forms of regular exercise. So of course, if you've been sedentary before you start significantly increasing your physical activity, you should probably be checked out by your healthcare provider. Make sure things that you don't have any unknown issues with heart disease. Get your cholesterol checked, get your blood pressure checked, things like that, just to make sure that everything's okay and that you can engage in vigorous activity. But with that in mind, my biggest caution to people is to think long-term.

So, if you've ever belonged to a gym, you know that in January, gyms are packed because when people set their New Year's resolutions. They say, "I am going to get in shape. I'm going to buy a membership to a gym and I'm going to work out." And that lasts a couple of weeks in January. And then people, many of them, end up going back to their sedentary habits. So, what I encourage people to do is to think really long-term because you're trying to make changes that you're going to incorporate into your life, and that you're going to continue for years and years and potentially decades.

So, it's okay to go slow. It's not a race to get somewhere. There's not a time requirement and you get a huge amount of benefit. If you're completely sedentary and you just start doing something, you get a huge benefit from that increased level of physical activity. So, I encourage people find things that you like doing and then do them. Seek out opportunities for physical activity, right? So, that's why I'm careful not to just talk about exercise. It could be something as simple as if you have the opportunity to take a flight of stairs instead of taking an elevator, take the flight of stairs. I work on the 15th floor of a building. And so several times a week, I take the elevator to a floor, several floors down and I walk up to my office. By the time I get there, I'm a little winded. I'm not exhausted. I'm not dripping in sweat. But I can feel that I just did a little bit of exercise. And if I do that two or three times a week, I can add a hundred steps or more into my weekly activity level. Or you know, if you're going to the store, instead of parking at a parking spot that's right in front of the door, park a little farther so that you have to walk a little bit. And those types of physical activity add up. It doesn't have to be all just dedicated exercise program, but that little bit, walking your dog, things that get you outside and get you moving more can really add to the amount of physical activity that you're doing on a regular basis.

Amanda Wilde: So, just like the bad things you do for yourself, the good things also have a cumulative effect.

Rick Black: Absolutely. Absolutely. And I encourage people a couple of different things. It can be helpful to discuss what you're trying to do and maybe have a buddy or two so that you have somebody to encourage you, because there's going to be days when maybe you don't feel like being physically active. But having somebody who kind of has similar goals to yours and that you're working together, even if you're not doing the physical activity together, you're just communicating and providing some support, that can be helpful.

I encourage people, set goals and, again, be very reasonable. You know, it's very common. You want to get in shape. And you want to do some kind of activity and you go and you do it real hard for a couple of days and you wind up being stiff and sore and achy and maybe even suffer an injury because your soft tissue haven't had time to adapt to that exercise. So then, you get discouraged and you stop doing the activity. Better to go real slow and little by little, so that you kind of overcome that internal resistance and you don't hurt yourself. Again, thinking long-term.

I also encourage people, write down what you've done so that you have a clear record. You can look back and say, "Look what I've done over this past month." That can be helpful because otherwise you've done that activity, you have no record of it and it's easy for it just to be out of your mind and you don't give yourself the credit you deserve for doing it.

Amanda Wilde: I'm really glad you've talked about all these motivators because a lot of us struggle with that one when it comes to exercise. I would just add too, if you're sedentary, you will see effects right away from exercise, just gentle exercise, so you don't have to go all out and, you know, go jogging for a mile every morning from now on. But whatever you do, those extra flights of stairs, you'll feel that immediately, so that can be a motivator too.

Rick Black: Absolutely. Absolutely. And that's also why, you know, it might even help, in addition to writing down what you've done, keep a little journal and be aware of the changes in your body as you do these things. So where you're really winded the first time you did those steps, and then now can you do them and you're not so winded and maybe you can do a second flight of steps. And so, you see how your body adapts over time and you give yourself credit for the effort you're putting in.

Amanda Wilde: Maybe even keep a journal as you're starting, you know, when you do smoke or drink or drink a pop or whatever, put that in there too so you get a good perspective on what you're putting in your body and how that's affecting you.

Rick Black: I think that's a great idea. And some people might be startled actually writing it down. And it's kind of like doing a budget, right? And sometimes people are amazed at where they're spending their money and maybe, in this case, people can see how much they're actually ingesting some of these things. And that might help them to gradually wean away from some of that stuff.

Amanda Wilde: This is all such great information. Thank you for all these tips on how men and women too can set themselves up for a healthy future. Is there anything you'd to add?

Rick Black: I think that the key thing is to think long-term, to go gradually and give yourself credit for what you do, but just think long-term. It's important, just changing things for a day or a week aren't going to have a big impact on your life. But incorporating these things into your life will have a huge effect on you, positive effect.

Amanda Wilde: Thank you again, Rick. It's great speaking with you.

Rick Black: Thank you.

Amanda Wilde: For more information, visit www.promedica.org. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social media. Thanks for listening. Until next time, stay happily ever after 40.