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LenDentonThrive Letter #45

Welcome to the LenDentonThrive Letter!

My mission is to help Guys over 50 to build thriving, healthy lifestyles. I call it the ThriveLife!

A Smarter, Not Harder Way Forward

I write this newsletter to share knowledge about the ThriveLife and its ability to build and improve health, fitness, and longevity for Over-50 Guys.

If you’re a busy Over-50 Guy, the idea of starting a fitness program to lose weight and become more fit can seem daunting. That’s especially true if you’ve tried to lose weight in the past and have fallen short of your goals.

Most of the experts on social media will tell you that you need to spend hours in the gym every week doing heavy weight lifting. But, maybe you don’t have time for that, or maybe you’re just not into the gym culture.

That’s exactly where I was 10 years ago. I was super-busy, 70 pounds overweight, and totally NOT into the gym.

But, I found a gym-optional approach that enabled me to lose that weight in 7 months. And the same approach has helped me to become even lighter and stronger over the last 10 years.

I call it my ThriveLife.

It’s a smarter, not harder way to build health and fitness into your life even if you’re super busy. I recently shared a way to start building your own ThriveLife in 30 minutes a day. I call it the ThriveLife 5-30 Plan, and you can read about it here.

The 5-30 Plan is built on 5 simple daily practices you can do in 30 minutes a day. Those daily practices are:

1. Get a check-up (once a year)

2. Eat Smarter

3. Move Smarter

4. Daily weigh-in ritual

5. Get better sleep

The 5-30 Plan is a simple, yet effective way to begin to lose weight, get more fit, and stay fit for the rest of your life. Plus, being more fit can also give you a longer life.

Building Your ThriveLife Toolbox

Early on in my ThriveLife journey, I found that having a good set of tools made that journey much easier. So, in the remainder of today’s letter, I want to share a few suggestions to help you build your own ThriveLife Toolbox. These suggestions link to the 5-30 Plan’s daily practices.

1- Get a Check-up Tool - find a good doctor who will work with you to improve your health. Not all doctors are the same. Work with a doctor who’s more focused on your long-term health than your current symptoms. This kind of doctor will become your ThriveLife partner.

2 -Eat Smarter Tool - Your food choices are the most important decisions you’ll make for better health. I’ve written extensively on Eating Smarter here and here. I created the Eating Smarter Food Zones to help you make smarter food choices.

Use the Food Zones to put food to work for you instead of it working against you. Begin by eliminating the Red Zone foods from your diet. Weight loss begins the day you exit the Red Zone. A summary of the Food Zones is shown in Figure 1.

3 - Move Smarter Tools - Exercise is a necessary complement to good food choices. But it doesn’t have to be grueling or exhausting.

The most effective exercise for losing excess body fat (and weight) is Zone 2 cardio. Zone 2 means that you exercise to maintain your heart rate at 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. For most guys, this can be achieved with a brisk walk!

In Zone 2, your body meets its immediate energy needs directly from your stored fat. This is a smarter, not harder way to maximize fat loss. So, I get 30 minutes of Zone 2 cardio every day.

To maximize the benefits of Moving Smarter, I recommend two items for your toolbox: comfortable shoes and a fitness tracker. I recommend a fitness tracker for two reasons. First, it allows you to track the total number of steps you take every day, including non-exercise times. Plus, most trackers will allow you to monitor your heart rate, which is essential to perform Zone 2 cardio.

There are many excellent fitness trackers on the market today, ranging in price from $50-500+. Choose one that fits your style and budget.

4 - Daily Weigh-in Tools - Daily weigh-ins are a secret super-power of the ThriveLife. They keep you aware of what’s working, and what isn’t. But equally important, they help you to keep your fitness efforts on target by engaging your brain to modify your behaviors. It’s serious neuroscience!

To enhance your daily weigh-in ritual, I suggest two tools. First, use a digital scale that will give you an exact weight. This takes the fudge factor out of our weigh-ins. As an option, select a digital scale that can measure your body fat %. The second tool that I recommend is to use a weight tracking app or journal to record and track your weigh-in results. There are several free apps available that will do the trick. The ability to see your weight loss progress on a trend line has powerful impact on your day-to-day decisions.

5 - Better Sleep Tool - Sleep has been called the super-drug of longevity. Most Over-50 Guys (including me!!) are not getting the 7-9 hours of sleep per night needed to maintain optimal brain health. And, research shows that a lack of adequate sleep can lead to weight gain. Getting better sleep is an important element of my ThriveLife, and it should be for yours, too.

Sleep researchers tell us that the best way to improve our sleep is to develop a consistent routine. I call it my night-time ritual. My night-time ritual framework is shown in Figure 3. You can follow mine, or develop one that more closely meets your specific needs. You can also learn more about the importance of sleep here.

In Closing

Having the right tools makes every job easier!

So, if you’re building your ThriveLife, creating your own ThriveLife Toolbox will be an important step in ensuring your long-term success.

Just remember to keep it smarter, not harder!

See you next week.

I write this newsletter hoping to make a positive impact on the lives of Over-50 Guys and and their families. If you found this information useful, please consider subscribing to receive new editions each week.

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