Taking your health into your hands

Ten years ago, I was lucky enough to interview Dr. Josephine English toward the end of her legendary career as one of the first black women OB/ GYN doctors in New York. She was about to turn 90 years old and was sharp as a tack.

During a break in her reminiscences about starting inner-city women’s clinics in 1950s Brooklyn, I asked English how she managed to stay so spry, healthy and alert through her 80s.

I was hoping to hear about some wayward, self-indulgent routine involving a daily shot of bourbon and regular servings of key lime pie and bacon. No such luck.

“Oh, I’m always watching my weight,” she said. “I try to exercise. Not too much dessert. You can’t go crazy with the calories.”

I’ve heard similar advice from other healthy octogenarians. The word from the wise ones is that health and fitness are lifelong pursuits — and they don’t vanish with age.

That take-home message is especially important as the current surge in coronavirus infections threatens to claim thousands more lives before the hoped-for protection of a vaccine arrives in the next year or so.

Most news coverage of the pandemic rightly focuses on public policies — the masking, disinfecting, social distancing and other habits that keep us safe. But equally important is one’s personal policy — the steady building of diet and fitness habits that will keep you healthy and less likely to be wrecked by the virus.

We know that the virus strikes with special fury against those who already have heart disease, obesity, diabetes and hypertension. Attacking those “lifestyle” diseases — a worthy goal in itself — can help fight the virus.

Many of us have a hyper-critical, negative voice that poisons our brains day and night with garbage like “Well, you screwed up again” and “Who are you kidding, that’s never going to happen.” Negative self-talk stops countless important projects, including efforts at self-improvement, from ever getting off the ground.

If we insulted and denigrated a child, an elder or a coworker in the crude way most of us talk to ourselves, it would rightly be considered a form of abuse. Stop the self-sabotage and whisper a kind word to yourself instead.

And then find a daily North Star: an important motivating reason to undertake the lifelong journey to wellness. Maybe you’d like to see grandchildren someday, or need to hang in there for parents and siblings.

If personal, political or professional hatreds and rivalries are your fuel, so be it. Add the old jazz ditty “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead, You Rascal You” to your workout playlist and take satisfaction in the idea of outliving your enemies.

I’ve spent the last two decades tinkering with various diets, exercise plans and schemes — from the Atkins, Cleveland Clinic and 4-Hour Body diets to various degrees of vegetarian and vegan eating and modified fasting.

Most of these diets are 75% to 80% identical, or might as well be. The only diet that “works” is the one you can stick to over the long haul.

One book I found especially helpful is “Younger Next Year,” which was handed to me by Staten Island Borough President Jimmy Oddo while waiting to do an interview on an entirely different topic. The book comes in two versions — one for men, one for women.

The male version is written in a way that 50-something men are likely to respond to.

“Most of what we call aging is decay, and decay is optional,” the book says. “Some of life’s changes are not under your control, but this one is. Taking charge of your life, physically and emotionally, is the best possible antidote to standard retirement and aging. And it all starts with exercise.”

There’s no perfect answer to the exercise question, but there’s no excuse for not exploring the ocean of tips, tricks, techniques, books and videos out there. I spent 10 satisfying years (and a small fortune) working regularly with some of the top trainers at Equinox fitness, starting with a simple request: Help me to not drop dead of a heart attack.

The closure of gyms due to COVID led me to take up street biking and now, with cold weather, the deep, rich universe of fitness, strength, stretching, yoga and biking videos offered by Peloton. There are many cheaper options out there, including the zero-cost choice of walking.

Ed Cox, the skinny and fit former chairman of the state Republican Party, once told me he doesn’t bother working out, but walks everywhere. “If you give yourself a 20- or 30-minute head start, you can get to almost anywhere in Manhattan,” he said.

That’s what works for him. The main point is to find what works for you — and start your journey now.