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Every week, Oprah is setting an intention exclusively for Oprah Daily Insiders, with reflections on topics like letting go, forgiveness, coming into your own, and more.
Hi, Insiders.
This week I'm talking about creating the healthiest life possible for yourself. I have to say, as I continue to age gracefully, as gracefully as I know how, it has become more and more important to me. And when something is important to me, I love sharing it with you all. So hopefully, you've tuned into the latest “The Life You Want” Class.
I invited Dr. Peter Attia, author of Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, to discuss some of his revolutionary ideas—they’re shaking up our outdated approach to medicine and disease. He explains that the key to longevity boils down to knowing the difference between life span and health span. Health span, he says, is a period of time in which you are free from disability and disease. And to increase our quality of life and the duration of our health span, we have to shift the paradigm from treatment, treatment, treatment to prevention. And that involves focusing on certain factors in the vitality formula, as he calls it—like exercise, nutrition, sleep, mental health, all the things we’ve heard before. I’m telling you, they matter as you get older.
Outlive is not just going to change your life; it will enhance it for years to come. It’s important that we prepare now in our present state, he says, for what’s to come down the road, so that you can enter the later stages of life as healthy as possible. You have more control than you think—no matter what age you are. Dr. Attia shares all the things that we should be doing now to make your later-in-life health a priority.
Insiders, I’m asking you to think about this: What do you want your life to look like in your 90s? I’ve asked you that question before, but think about it for a moment and try to envision it. After I had both of my knees replaced, I vowed that I was going to use my health to the greatest advantage, and I’m definitely going to be putting Dr. Attia’s principles in play. He says that grip strength is one of the keys to longevity—your ability to open bottles or open a jar or lift a baby. In my case, lifting my dogs. I’ll be working on that for sure.
If you haven’t watched the class yet, you can click the link below. Dr. Attia said he sees people in their last decade of life realizing that if they had just done a little bit more earlier in life, things would’ve been better. So let’s start working to change that. You have to get moving and keep moving every day. I can’t tell you what a difference it’s made in my life. We have to leave the woulda, coulda, shouldas behind and lay the foundation for our healthiest, healthiest life span.
Have a wonderful and healthful week, everybody. Go well.
Watch The Life You Want Class on Longevity
