The Art of Aging

The Art of Aging
by Sherwin Nuland

We read this as an audio book while driving to my uncle's funeral in Montana. It was a pleasant diversion. Dr Nuland gives examples of older people who exemplify the best of each trait. His lessons are thoughtful and worth remembering, but they are not revolutionary. You've heard every one of them before.

• Don't smoke, wear your seat belt
• Eat less ... (See In Defense of Food)
  
• Keep flexible through regular exercise
  
• You're losing it all the time ... you just don't notice until you cross a threshold
• Don't just learn from the mistakes you make, learn from your successes, too
• Keep a positive attitude
  

We enjoyed the stories, and got the message.

So, what have I done to change myself after reading this book? Something learned in childhood from my mother and grandmother. Remember how she always told you to clean your plate? Well, I'm always going to leave something behind. Depending on the serving size, my goal is as much as one-third to one-half of the meal. I've been doing this for a couple of weeks now and find that it makes no difference on how hungry I feel after a meal.

Maybe someday it will show up as a change to the reading on the bathroom scale?

= = = = Guy