Lorraine had been feeling tired and stiff lately, with little energy or enthusiasm for anything. Her reflection in the mirror matched her mood, with dull skin, bags under her eyes and sagging muscles everywhere.
“I thought perhaps I was just getting old,” she remembers. “After all, I was approaching 55 and so perhaps these were just the normal side-effects of ageing…”
Anti-ageing Treatments
Lorraine’s sister, however, had a different attitude to ageing. She was going to fight it every inch of the way.
“Shelley believed that there was an anti-ageing treatment for everything” Lorraine laughs. “Botox, liposuction, anti-wrinkle creams, chemical peels, antioxidant supplements – you name it, she’s tried it! Although I have to say, she did look incredibly good for her age. People often thought she was my younger sister, although she was actually 4 years older.”
Lorraine wished that there was something she could do to look and feel younger but she was reluctant to try the treatments that her sister was using.
“Oh no, I couldn’t bear to go under the knife!” She shudders. “And even the non-surgical procedures, like Botox, gave me the creeps…all those needles. I’ve never been much of a creams girl, either – I have a really simple facial regime and I didn’t like having to use all these extra products. Besides, even though they made my face look a bit better, I still felt really tired and old all the time.”
Exercise: The Simple Anti-ageing Weapon
Then Lorraine bumped into an old friend from university and was surprised at how young she looked. When quizzed on her secret, her friend laughing revealed her secret weapon: exercise!
“Yes, she said all it was, was simple exercise!” says Lorraine. “She said she’d been feeling like me as well – and then on the advice of her doctor, she started exercising more, getting more active – and it was amazing. Almost overnight, she felt better and looked better.”
Keen to try it herself, Lorraine immediately joined her local gym and enrolled for a couple of weekly classes; she also started getting up slightly earlier in the mornings so she could do a brisk walk around the block before leaving for work. She found that just this alone improved her blood circulation, making her feel more energetic and bringing a glow to her skin and a brightness to her eyes. Within a few days, work colleagues started commenting on her improved appearance.
Maintaining Flexibility and Mobility
To balance things out, Lorraine also bought a yoga DVD and started to incorporate stretching exercises into her daily routine, to keep her joints supple and flexible. This helped her feel more mobile and agile – and enabled her to be more active in her every day activities – even simple things like getting up off a chair were quicker and easier to do.
Her improved mobility and agility also gave Lorraine the confidence to join other forms of activity. “I’d always love dancing when I was younger so I decided to take it up again. I found a really good salsa class locally and started going every Tuesday night. It was fantastic – the music, the good atmosphere – I felt so alive, so young again!”
The benefits were so obvious that Lorraine even managed to convince her sister to try some exercise instead of another surgical procedure.
“People often forget that simple exercise can do wonders,” says Lorraine. “And that they should be doing it at least in conjunction with any other anti-ageing treatments or procedures they’re having. It helps you maintain bone density and mobility, it protects you against stress and disease, it improves your mood – it even improves your sex life!” laughs Lorraine. “It’s the best way to show that just because you’re getting older in years, does not mean that you have to ‘slow down’ as well.”
– 20 July
Resources… Can HRT Help you Look and Feel Younger?
Tips to Feel Younger
How to Look 10 Years Younger in 10 Minutes
Strength Training to get Younger Looking
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