Each week, journalist and content producer Stephanie Stephens celebrates healthy living with a famous figure age 45+. Today’s guest feels like family to me. She used to “join me for breakfast,” even as I was yawning and groggy, clutching my morning coffee mug. Joan Lunden is an award-winning journalist, bestselling author, motivational speaker and successful entrepreneur among many hats she wears so well. She co-hosted ABC’s Good Morning America from 1980 to 1997—the longest tenure of any early morning television host. Being smart, articulate, cheerful, quick and energetic at that hour is tough, but it seemed like a breeze for Lunden. Now she’s a working mother of seven—including two young sets of twins. In addition, Lunden is the spokesperson for the nation’s leading senior referral service, A Place for Mom, which is free. She hosts RLTV’s Taking Care, a series dedicated to caregivers across America. The author of seven books, she recently co-wrote a new edition of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Family Caregiving. She also founded and oversees a women’s wellness retreat, a.k.a. “girl getaway,” at Camp Reveille, located on Long Lake in idyllic Naples, Maine. Come on over to her website, Joan Lunden’s Healthy Living, for health, wellness, and lifestyle tips, family information, and parenting advice. Lunden is on a mission “to motivate, inspire and help others gain knowledge,” she says. I asked her for her best advice for others in our demographic who are “taking care” of someone near and dear to them—and there are millions of us. How do you Mind Your Body with what you eat? After turning 40 and having three children, and being on GMA, I had an epiphany. I wasn’t working out enough or eating right, so I decided to change my life. I got a nutritionist and a trainer and lost 50 pounds. Now I eat as clean as I can and fill the fridge with things that are interesting to me—foods that are colorful and inviting, so I don’t feel deprived. I put fruits out at every meal. I love fruit salad. What you do for physical activity? I go to the gym with my husband and try to work out every single day. Tennis is the best in summer. It’s harder to keep up my routine with so much time in airports and hotels. But I also try not to be so hard on myself. What do you think slows the aging process? The most important thing is to stay physically active and engaged in life. Find something you enjoy and can continue to do. Find a place to do what you like, with other women, so you come out sweating. Stay connected to them—that’s as important as staying active. You’ll age much faster if you are alone. You believe in A Place for Mom, don’t you? Yes, and I wish I would have moved my mom into a great, active senior community. (She died in August last year at age 94.) I believe her later life would have been completely different. Isolation is absolutely a risk factor for aging more quickly. We have to plan—we don’t live in a world in which we retire at 65 and die at 70. We’re so much more active now. What are your best tips for preparing to be and being a caregiver? Statistically, caregivers are sicker, and live fewer years. Women are wired by nature to be caregivers, and unfortunately, many women put off very important medical appointments for themselves. They feel guilty about taking time when they find themselves in that role. They’re just so involved. Before they get there, I urge their families to prepare and have conversations early on—and don’t wait until a crisis moment when it’s really hard to make good decisions. Ask parents, for example, “How do you envision your senior years? How can I help you make that happen?” Get it on video and try to engage your siblings, too. I highly recommend using the A Place for Mom Senior Safety and Well-being Checklist. It’s ideal for keeping tabs on parents, and offers tips on how to be a good caregiver. For example, you should check older loved ones’ refrigerators for expired foods, as well as the dates on their medications, and look for any changes in their balance, hygiene, ability to cook a meal, and more. If it’s time for a transition, tips on the site can help you make the wisest decisions in terms of protection and benefits. Oh, and make sure all your loved ones’ legal documents are in order. Start early before the train comes down the track. How do you navigate when family members are not cooperating with “the plan”? Facilitators can come in handy. It’s rare that the caregiving process is fair and equitable among grown children, and it almost always falls to a woman. Divide all the things that need to be done. Later they may fall on one person, and that person can feel resentful—it’s often the norm. What are your tips for finding affordable care for your loved one? Most important: Determine how much care they need and how much it will cost. Educate yourself about all the community resources, and call long before the senior has to move in somewhere. I urge families to conduct their own research for peace of mind. Use this new State Guide To Assisted Living Records & Reports from A Place for Mom. How do you manage being a mother, taking care of your mother, and having “a life”? I try to be organized, don’t try to do it all myself, and I ask for help—I’m not a martyr! Keep a positive outlook about tomorrow, and stay engaged in life. Take care of yourself first and foremost. Stephanie Stephens, M.A. is a spokesperson and consultant for the active mature female demographic—midlife and boomer. She writes, produces, and hosts her multimedia channel, Mind Your Body TV, featuring timely health and lifestyle blogs, podcasts, and videos—also seen on YouTube and syndicated by AOL/On. Also, don’t miss our roundup of this week’s health news highlights » southbendtribune/entertainment/inthebend/entertainmentnews/how-a-health-epiphany-changed-joan-lunden-s-life/article_d291fb26-f5cd-592c-8f14-6767998dd4d3.html
Posted on: Thu, 22 May 2014 15:02:00 +0000
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