How to make sure you stay fit and healthy in retirement


Retirement is often seen as a chance to relax after a lifetime of hard work. Indeed, you might well be looking forward to some well-earned rest in later life, now that you’ll no longer be at the command of your morning alarm.

Even so, although retirement is often a chance to slow down, you’ll still want to prioritise your physical fitness. You can imagine how easy it might be to drop your exercise routine as you settle into this new, often slower, pace of life.

Fortunately, it’s easy to build these habits into your retirement lifestyle. Read on to discover how you can make sure that you’re keeping fit and healthy in later life.

Create a new routine

One of the major concerns that many retirees have is losing the structure that work provides. Whether you’re a classic nine-to-five employee or you have slightly less regular hours, work often provides a routine for your life. This can include your exercise regime.

So, to help you stay fit and healthy, it can be useful to create a new routine for yourself. Try to wake up at the same sort of time each day, and find a place in your schedule for activities that offer a bit of definition to your time.

This structure can also be immensely helpful in maintaining your wellbeing practices, as you can include exercise within it. Designate time for staying fit, and you might find that you’re more able to stick to healthy habits.

Eat a healthy diet

Retirement can almost feel like a holiday, especially at the very beginning when it feels new and exciting. The downside to this is that it might mean taking a little less care over what you’re eating.

Eating a healthy diet is one of the most important choices you can make to keep yourself fit. Getting the right combination of vitamins and minerals while avoiding foods high in sugar, salt, and bad fats is crucial in all stages of life, and that includes retirement.

So, keep a close eye on what you’re eating to ensure that you continue to enjoy a balanced diet. This includes watching your alcohol intake, which it can be tempting to increase now that you’re not getting up for work.

Remember, this doesn’t mean never having less healthy comfort foods, or not indulging in the occasional meal out, takeaway, or glass of wine. Simply stick to the rule of enjoying everything in moderation, rather than entirely restricting yourself.

It can be sensible to meal plan each week so that you stick to a healthy diet. By carefully selecting your meals in this way, you can be confident that you’re getting all the right nutrients that your body needs to be fit and healthy.

Keep doing what you love, and find new fitness activities

As you get older, it is a fact of life that your body will naturally start to slow down. You may find that as time goes on, you’re a little less able to do what you could before.

But just because you’re reaching this new phase of life, it doesn’t mean you need to stop doing what you love straight away. Rather than pre-empting the point when you won’t be able to do certain activities and so not participating in them, it’s important to keep doing the things you love while you’re still able.

Whether you’re an avid gardener or even an amateur runner, keep looking for opportunities to do these things whenever you can.

You could also look for more accessible ways to enjoy doing what you love. For example, if you were always an avid rugby player, you might not want to put your body at risk by continuing to play a contact version of the sport.

But switching to tag or even walking rugby could mean you’re still able to enjoy the competition and comradery of rugby in a lower-impact format. That way, you could continue to participate in your passion for even longer.

Alternatively, you could find brand-new activities that offer the same health and wellbeing benefits but without the toll they take on the body. Some options you could explore might include walking, swimming, yoga, and Pilates.

Whatever you decide to do, it’s important to find exercises that keep you moving your body.

Remember to take care of your mental health

Alongside your physical wellness and fitness, it’s useful to also pay attention to your mental health.

Although retirement is thought of as less stressful than work, there are all sorts of mental health issues you could face in later life.

You might experience stress and anxiety over financial concerns you have. Or, you might experience loneliness and a lack of identity from no longer being in the working environment. Any of these issues could subsequently lead to depression, too.

So, it’s important to take care of your mental health. Staying fit and active can help with this, as exercise is known to have a positive impact on your mind.

It’s also important to maintain social relationships in retirement. Whether you do this by arranging to see friends regularly, or finding new communities to be a part of by volunteering or joining clubs and societies, this type of social contact can have a hugely positive impact on your mental health.

You could even look to combine this contact with your physical activities. Joining a new sports club and meeting new people or simply inviting friends to go on a walk in the countryside can simultaneously benefit your physical and mental wellbeing.

Get in touch

Need help planning for your dream retirement? Speak to us at Britannic Place.

Email info@britannicplace.co.uk or call 01905 419890 to get in touch today.

Please note

This blog is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

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