Keeping Fit Through-out Your Retirement

Is it time to retire? Good for you, you deserve some hard-earned time off! Retirement is the part of life that most people who have their feet firmly planted in the working world look forward to. Perhaps not too soon because retirement comes with age, but those getting on in their years who are starting to feel like they need a nice, long rest will welcome retirement with open arms. 

There is one major setback that comes as part of the retirement package and that’s laziness. When you’ve stopped getting up and going to work every day, you may find that you start losing your energy. It is a well-known fact that energy breeds more energy and doing nothing all day with leave you feeling tired. Retired people can begin to feel weary and their health could possibly diminish without a project to keep them busy. If you’re retiring, do yourself a favour and KEEP FIT.

When you keep fit, your body will thank you. You’ll have enough energy to do daily chores around the home, play with the grandkids and see your friends!

But the number one reason to keep fit is in case you have an enhanced annuity fund. Think of it this way, when you have an enhanced annuity you are essentially making a bet with your insurers. If you outlive your life expectancy, you have won the bet and if you die earlier then insurers make a profit. It’s that simple, so if you want to win the bet and not lose out on money then you should do regular exercise and eat as healthily as possible.

Try to cut out eating red meat more than once or twice a week. Stick to lean meats, oily fish (no more than twice a week) and vegetarian alternatives like tofu or Quorn products. You will benefit from the protein levels without taking in the high fat content in red/fatty meats.

Try to get your recommended half an hour – an hour of rigorous exercise a day. Whether you love to run or just want to enjoy a brisk powerwalk, or maybe you’d prefer swimming, football, tennis/squash, or cycling, your health will benefit massively from regular cardio exercise.

Smokers are likely to get a higher enhanced annuity on retirement, so change your habits, kick the cigarettes and beat the odds! You’ll feel healthier, live longer and get a much better pension that anywhere else.

Try not to eat big, heavy meals too often in your retirement. It’s not healthy for anyone to eat large meals because our bodies can’t cope with so much food in one sitting. We put all of our energy into digesting what we’ve eaten (hence the sluggish/lethargic feeling after a lot of food) and the older we get, the harder it is that our bodies have to work. Eat small amounts often and you’ll feel energised, healthy and fit all day long. Make sure you eat complex carbohydrates (whole wheat/wholegrain foods) often and pack in important vitamins to help ward off common illnesses such as osteoporosis.