My husband has this disease and the only thing that helps slow the progression is to exercise. Why should I have to exercise too? Because even if I don’t have a specific diagnosis, aging is going to take a toll and the best tool to fight muscle loss and brain fog is, you guessed it, exercise. I need to be active as much as he does if I want to have a good quality of life when I am older.

I like to couch surf as much as anyone else and wish I could say that I am making this up but I am not. Check out this webpage on the National Institute on Aging called Real-Life Benefits of Exercise and Physical Activity. Here they clearly define the advantages of working out and share videos that talk about the 4 types of exercise I should be doing and why. There is another video that addresses the benefits I can get for my mental health from being more active.

I often stress that I need to stay healthy so I can take care of my husband but the reality is that I need to stay healthy so that I will be able to take care of me. I expect him to do everything he can to fight his disease but am I doing everything I can to combat aging? I want to live independently as I age and the key to being able to make that choice is in my hands now. I need to commit to exercising either with my husband as his PD coach or on my own. I think of the saying “use it or lose it.” I certainly don’t want to lose it so I think I’ll start using it more now so I will have it to use later.