Throughout my adult life, I’ve been fairly fit—give or take two pregnancies. But until somewhat recently, my efforts were primarily focused on the short term.
I’d eat whole foods, track my calorie intake, count my steps, go to 6 a.m. barre classes or, in the late aughts, follow along to Tracy Anderson DVDs in the hopes of achieving a pert butt and pencil arms. My intent was not to optimize my organs or improve my healthspan but to look good for an event, whether an upcoming vacation, a Halloween party, a first date, or, later, my own wedding.
At times, this may have taken a mental health toll. But in retrospect, I think it was mostly just inefficient.
Fast-forward to today. I’m a 36-year-old married mother of two and a full-time writer who thinks a lot about the future. I’m focused on wise investments, thoughtful parenting, and, more to the point, personal longevity endeavors.
My efforts are conveniently timely as longevity science seeps its way into mainstream discourse, with personalities like Bryan Johnson, tech-millionaire-turned-longevity-guru, gaining popularity (or at least infamy) and products promising to help you live longer seemingly popping up every day.
I recently took a biological age test (which told me my bio-age is the same as my chronological age, but my pace of aging is just 0.8 per year) and used the morbidly named Death Clock algorithmic app, which predicted I’d live to be 102. Yes, I felt smug about the centenarian forecast—and sufficiently motivated by my age test results that I plan to send in another blood sample next year to see if I can outdo my current standing.
I no longer count the days I have left to sweat it out before a specific event and then temporarily slack off until the next occasion is near enough to kick things back into high gear. Instead, I’ve pivoted to an all-around healthy lifestyle to stick with, no matter what’s on the calendar, with long-term wellness as the ultimate goal.
Kien Vuu, a longevity medicine specialist and the author of Thrive State: Your Blueprint for Optimal Health, Longevity, and Peak Performance, explained that when a person’s fitness goals are rooted in vanity, their daily actions might be similar to someone focused on longevity—eating cleaner, moving more, or sleeping better. “But the energy driving those actions is different,” he told The Daily Beast, “and that energy changes everything.”
According to Vuu, when motivation comes from a belief that you need to look a certain way, it can create a subtle stress response in the body—think cortisol spikes and inflammation—which can actually sabotage the goals you’re working toward. “Intention matters,” he said. “And when we lead with the intention to thrive and serve, we don’t just look better. We live better.”
Julianna Lindsey, a physician specializing in anti-aging, functional, and regenerative medicine and the author of Radiant Longevity: A Physician’s Protocol for Living Your Best Life, had a similar sentiment. “Focusing on longevity, as opposed to achieving just short-term goals, promotes a more sustainable and comprehensive approach to overall health and well-being,” she said.
Both experts touched on the difference between lifespan (how long you live) and healthspan (how long you live healthily), as well as sustained wellness as chronic illness prevention.
“Intention matters, and when we lead with the intention to thrive and serve, we don’t just look better. We live better.”— Kien Vuu
Longevity is a way to unlock our full human potential, “so we can live with purpose, create meaningful relationships, contribute our unique gifts, and expand into the life we were designed for,” Vuu explained. Though the concept might sound a little woo-woo, it really just boils down to why you’re aiming to be healthy and how this drives more sustainable habits, possibly with even better outcomes. I want to have energy to keep up with my kids today, tomorrow, and next week, for example, but I also want to be there for them with gusto in the decades to come.
The point is to build a foundation for efficient healing and long-term thriving, Vuu continued. “The very same approach that extends lifespan—optimizing cellular health, reducing inflammation, enhancing mitochondrial function—is also what reverses chronic disease and elevates us into the highest version of ourselves,” he said, adding that illness doesn’t stand much of a chance in a body where cells are functioning at peak performance. (Of course, not all diseases are preventable, but the idea is to give your body the best shot at avoiding them.)
With this mindset shift, I no longer feel the need to cram in extra workouts or cut out food groups in a time crunch or on a crash diet. Still, I walk every day, do some form of strength training two or three days a week, eat plenty of produce, cook healthy dinners most nights, and try to go to bed at a reasonable hour. And when an event does come along that I want to look good at, I do look good—all because I’ve been consistently doing the things that beget looking good in the name of longevity.
The post Why You Should Focus on Longevity, Not Short-Term Fitness Goals appeared first on The Daily Beast.
