Reading time: approx: 8 minutes

LenDentonThrive Letter #11

The Power of Motion

Happy Saturday! I’m Len Denton, and I’m glad you’re here!

Do you want to live a longer and healthier life? In this week’s newsletter, I’ll show you a simple activity that you can use to make an extraordinary change in your overall health, fitness, and longevity!

But first, here’s a quick overview of this week’s edition of the LenDentonThrive Letter:

• The Big Idea - This week, we'll explore the power of motion and how simple walking can dramatically improve and extend your life.

• Tip of the Week - This week, I’ll share some quick ideas on how you can add hundreds or thousands of steps to your daily routine without taking additional time out of your busy schedule.

• What I’m Eating - a quick look at a typical ThriveAge-compatible meal or snack. (Warning - non-professional food photos below!)

• What I’m reading - I’ll share two useful news items that you can benefit from!

I’m glad that you’re here! We have a lot to cover in ten minutes or less, so let’s get started!

1. The Big Idea - The Power of Motion

In last week’s newsletter edition, I shared an interesting study from the United Kingdom. It was one of my news-you-can-use entries.

After I published that newsletter, I went back to the study. There was something so compelling about it that I decided to go back and re-read it in depth. I read lots of studies like this one. They are typically pretty boring - written by scientists for other scientists. But, what I found was so important, I felt that I needed to bring this back to my readers with greater focus and clarity.

Here is a quick summary of the study. It shows the impact that simply walking can have on our overall health and longevity. The study tracked 2000 adults for 10+ years, measuring the number of steps they took per day. The study focused only on daily step counts and did not take into account the pace or intensity of the steps.

The analysis showed that people who walked at least 7,000 steps per day had a 50-70% lower risk of mortality than those who took fewer steps!

This is HUGE!! … for at least two reasons:

First, walking is a simple exercise that is available to almost everyone. It doesn’t require special equipment, a membership, or training to be able to do it well.

Second, what other activities can we do so easily to have a similar 50-70% reduction in mortality? I can’t think of any!

I’ll quickly illustrate the immense value that this represents with a couple of charts. As we age, mortality rises at an exponential rate. This can be seen in the blue line in Chart 1 below, which is based on all-cause mortality data from the CDC:

Chart 2 shows the same mortality rate (blue line), but adds the red line, which indicates a 50% reduction from the original mortality rate.

This shows that walking 7,000 or more steps per day bends the mortality curve downward!

Which means living longer!

I don’t know about you, but I definitely want to be on the red line instead of the blue line…especially as I get older!

Here’s the most important point - we get to decide on the red line or the blue line based on our choices and behavior.

This study proves that there is power in motion! It’s really good news for those of us who want to live longer, healthier lives!

This is also why Simple Rule #3 says: Remain in Motion.

Taking Action

Based on the information provided by this study, what should we do? Below, I’ll offer suggestions based on three different scenarios.

1. If you aren’t presently moving (walking, jogging, or similar exercise), I suggest that you begin doing so. Start at whatever level you feel comfortable with. Don’t overdo it in the beginning. Then, gradually build up to 7,000 steps per day (or more). Then, keep doing it.

2. If you are currently moving, walking, or jogging, work your way up to 7,000 steps per day in a gradual and comfortable way. Once you achieve this level, keep it up.

3. If you are currently moving in excess of 7,000 steps per day, congratulations! You’re on your way to a longer, healthier life. Keep going.

Remember to remain in motion, because there is power in motion!

Summary

We’ve always known that there is value in exercise.

But, we now know that walking a mere 7,000 or more steps a day has the ability to bend the mortality curve in our favor. The power to add several healthy years to our lifespan is in our hands…or, more specifically, in our feet!

Shall we take a walk?

Want to Go Deeper?

Do you want to dive deeper into ThriveAge and what it can do in your life? If that sounds like a smart move for you, then consider subscribing to the LenDentonThrive Letter. It’s totally free!

As a bonus, new subscribers will receive a free .pdf version of Chapter 1 of my upcoming new book, The ThriveAge Way (The Over-50 Way To Lose Weight, Get Fit & Stay Fit For Life).

Subscribe to the LenDentonThrive Letter here!

ThriveAge is the roadmap to your custom-built ThriveLife!

2. Tip of the Week: Building Your Bonus Steps

This week, I’ll share a few ways that I build additional steps into my daily step count without taking additional time out of my schedule to do it. I call these my Bonus Steps.

To build bonus steps into your daily step count without impacting your already busy schedule, try these ideas:

1. Parking Lot Steps - gain bonus steps by parking further away from the entrance when at work or when you’re out shopping or dining.

2. Stairway Steps - take the stairs rather than the elevator. This also builds heart health.

3. Walking Meetings - can you take a meeting or conference call while walking?

4. Break-time Steps - grab a quick walk during coffee or lunch breaks.

5. Standing Desk Steps - working from a standing desk adds steps throughout the day as you work. It also improves your core and leg strength while reducing sitting time.

I hope these ideas help you to find your own bonus steps.

3. What I’m Eating

ThriveAge is a food-first approach to health and fitness. I call it '“fitness for food lovers!” So, each week I’ll be giving you a quick insight into one of my typical meals. No crazy diets, just real food.

This week’s entry is one of my easiest and most enjoyable lunch or dinner options - Air Fryer Roasted Chicken Legs with roasted veggies and a tossed salad.

Here’s the break-down:

• 2 Air Fryer-roasted chicken legs (3 Greens)

• 1 cup of roasted (air fryer) veggies (1 Green)

• 1 tossed salad with Skinny Girl sugar-free dressing (1 Green)

This is a total of about 350 calories. But, more important to ThriveAgers, this is a 5 Greens, 0 Yellows, and 0 Reds snack with a FoodIQ of 300. It’s another perfect ThriveAge meal.

Enjoy!

4. What I’m Reading

Here is some “news you can use” from this week’s reading stack. I hope you find these two items to be useful:

1. Taking Charge

   A case study on the importance of taking charge of one’s own health - This is the personal story of a podcast listener who sought to gain a better picture of his cardiovascular health – and who saved his own life as a result.) From the blog of Dr. Peter Attia, a renowned longevity doctor. Well worth the 3-minute reading time.

   https://peterattiamd.com/patient-ascvd-story-highlight/

2. What Happens To Your Body If You Drink Alcohol Every Day?

   Say it isn’t so! Nobody loves a nice merlot more than me. But, the evidence about the negative side effects of alcohol is piling up. Sharing this as a friend.

   https://www.eatthis.com/drink-alcohol-every-day-side-effects/

I’m Writing A Book!

I’m a busy Over-50 Guy who has spent the past ten years building a practice of personal health and fitness that relies on real food and smart exercise instead of crazy diets and killer workouts. This process, called ThriveAge, helped me to lose 70 pounds and keep it off for going on ten years. Now, I want to share what I have learned with other Over-50 Guys. So, I wrote the book!

In The ThriveAge Way (The Over-50 Way To Lose Weight, Get Fit & Stay Fit For Life), I share everything I’ve learned about the principles and practices necessary to create and sustain a healthy lifestyle. I call it my ThriveLife.

New subscribers to the LenDentonThrive Letter will receive Chapter 1 of my new book for free. To get your free copy of Chapter 1, just subscribe to the LenDentonThrive Letter.

Upcoming Topics

Here’s a quick look at some of the topics I’m working on for upcoming editions of the newsletter.

• Ten Years into the ThriveLife

• ThriveLife - What It Is, And How To Get There

• Develop a Longevity Mindset to Add Years to Your Life

Thanks for your time and attention. Have a great weekend. See you next Saturday!

Thrive & Prosper,

Len

Hey, Before You Go…

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Thanks for visiting!

See you next Saturday!