Hi, Movers! Hope you’re having a lovely week. Welcome to 2024’s second half, the third quarter.

Check in with your New Year’s Resolutions. Remember those? How much progress have you made (or not made) in the past six months?

Half a year is actually a long time to to make progress if you’re consistent. Now could be a perfect time to revamp your goals if you want to get to it!

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🦳 The privilege of aging

I’ve been thinking a lot about aging lately. As you dedicated readers may know, somehow my third decade of life is sunsetting. I’ve recently spoken about Function Health and reversing my “biological age.” America’s presidential candidates are raising everyone’s awareness of old age. And also… there’s wrinkles. Those are coming.

A lot of the conversation in the health media space today has turned to longevity, or even anti-aging. Our society is deathly afraid of… death. Maybe some of us have made peace with it. I even chose the Stoic anthem, “Memento mori,” as my word of the year last year. It means “Remember death,” and is a reminder that we all only get one shot at this life, so some stuff really matters and some stuff really doesn’t.

With the second anniversary of my mom’s passing on the horizon, as well as the first since my grandad’s passing, I guess the concept has just been on my mind more than usual.

What a privilege it is to age.

What a privilege to grow older. What a privilege to get wrinkles and smile lines and sun spots and worn hands and feet.

Every year is a blessing. But when the length of our lives don’t match expectations (we do have “life expectancies” after all), it’s disappointing—tragic, even. We can’t help but feel like someone’s life was cut short. That they had more to do and offer and enjoy and give and create and breathe. Because life is precious.

Age isn’t a bad thing. Not at all. What a privilege it is to age.

Sure, plenty of “bad” things can come from aging. Especially if we don’t take great care of our bodies, that can include muscle and bone loss (sarcopenia and osteopenia), decreased cardiorespiratory fitness, and chronic diseases. Thankfully, these declines are quite mitigable if we maintain consistent exercise routines and healthy dietary and lifestyle practices.

Many of the side effects of aging, however, depend on how we frame them. And there are also numerous benefits to aging that don’t get nearly as much press. Wisdom, perspective, experiential knowledge, increased capacity for love, friend and family bonds, the ability to consider various points and form complex opinions. The list goes on.

While our capabilities and responsibilities should and do shift as we age, that doesn’t mean we are of any less value. American culture is one of the worst at treating aging individuals with respect and dignity and welcoming all they have to offer.

I promise you, the elderly person today felt like they were young just yesterday. We’re all only ever each age once. And the older you get, the more you realize how fast life flies by. It will be you with the gray hair soon.

The search for the fountain of youth is no new endeavor. For all the history of mankind, we’ve been searching for ways to never die. Honestly, with where technology is now and with the speed at which it’s advancing, we’re certainly closer than we’ve ever been. 

But thus far, there’s really just nothing that can halt the inevitable entropy of aging. Time will tick on. The long, slow, sure drum of the aging process can be temporarily covered but never fully stopped.

And that’s okay. 

We don’t need to live forever on this earth; that’s not the point. I don’t think we really want to, anyway. Speaking for myself, I’ll tell you what I do want:

• I want to live long (not forever), and

• I want to age well.

If I can do those two, I will be so satisfied. Thankfully, much of those are within my control. And, they’re pretty well in your control as well. Barring a tragic accident or the development of an early disease, we have quite a bit of power to improve the length and the vitality of our years. The inputs (nutrition, hydration, love) and outputs (exercise, habits, love) of our bodies can have an incredible impact on how well we live as we age.

Maybe that should be our new focus: Age with grace. Embrace the eventual wrinkles. Sure, slow the physical declines by taking care of yourself, but don’t entirely resist it. Enjoy the growth that comes with experience, and greet every day with gratitude.

Maybe getting older isn’t so bad. It’s better than the only other alternative.

✅ Take Action

Every newsletter's Take Action section will invite you to take small steps to improve your health. Recognizing that we all have different capabilities, I'll offer three different levels of action you can choose to take.

Level 1: Name to yourself one thing you’re grateful you grew out of.

Level 2: Spend time with someone at least a generation older than you this week and ask for some wisdom or stories.

Level 3: Shift your mindset. Enjoy the aging process, because to age is to have lived. Then return your consciousness to the present and live every day in a way you’ll be proud of when you reach your final one.

This newsletter is brought to you by… me!

Interested in becoming a sponsor? Know someone else who might be? I’d love to get to know you and/or your business and see how we can partner together. Reply to this email!

✍️ Drew's Picks:

• Age better: Dr. Peter Attia explores exercise recommendations for older people. Just like saving for retirement, it is never too late to start, but the earlier you start, the better.

• Scan: This podcast dunks on BMI (are we really still using that??) and instead shares a better alternative: body composition scans.

• Snooze: Sleep’s importance really can’t be understated. Debunk some myths and get a few recs from this podcast.

Have a lovely rest of your weeks, folks. Don’t injure yourselves with fireworks tomorrow! 🎆🎇🧨 

Keep moving,

Drew

The content in Move to Improve is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. It is always a good idea to consult with a trusted health professional before making any major lifestyle changes that could have a significant impact on your health. This is not a medical resource, and any opinions and articles are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional. Please think critically and take what I say with a grain of salt (aka don’t sue me).