I want to die of old age

Don't get me wrong; I don't want to die at all. But when the time comes, I want it to be due to old age (preferably in my sleep) instead of cancer, heart attack or a stroke (the list could go on).

My family history is not great. My mothers parents both died when they were in their early 60s. One from cancer, one from a stroke. I never met them, they had both passed away a few years before I was born.
My fathers parents lived longer lives, both into their 90s. My Poppas health failed in his last years of life and the quality of those years was not good. My Nana is my example. She was one of the healthiest people I knew. She had a huge influence on my life and I think about her each day. Her official cause of death was due to hyperthermia, but she suffered from a stroke in the early hours one cold winter morning and was found too late to resuscitate.

My father died of cancer at the age of 65. He had just turned 65 the day before he passed. It was awful seeing his health decline and I do not want that for me or my family. 65 is too young. I want to see my grandkids grow into adults.

I've been trying to live a healthy lifestyle for about 6 years now. To be honest, my healthy diet went a little bit off the rails once I had my daughter. I was incredibly healthy during pregnancy and I haven't been terrible since having her, but it has been much harder to prepare good healthy meals with a Velcro baby! That meant that we ate more processed foods than I liked. We had things like packaged pasta, or sauce from a jar instead of homemade like I used to prepare.

My goal and focus now is to get a good home cooked meal on the table each night with leftovers for lunch the next day. I've been back in the swing for a couple of weeks now and I'm feeling great. It's good to be back!

For me, I believe food is medicine. It can be what helps you live a great life, but it can also be what causes your body to decline, depending on what fuel you give it.
Before I started looking after myself I was addicted to McDonalds. I'm serious, I had an addiction and I couldn't get enough of it. I was eating it multiple times a week and if I could have I would have had it every day.
One day I decided that enough was enough and I didn't want to be unhealthy any longer. I had my one last meal of McDonalds and I've never been back (despite my cravings!). Part of me is scared to go near it incase it draws me back in and another part of me just won't allow the food near me as I know it's not real food. It's been 6 years now without McDonalds in my life.

I'm aware that genetics plays a role in my health. I know that my family history is not great but I'm giving my body the best chance that it has to stay on this planet as a functioning unit for as long as it can. I'm hoping that I got my dominant genes from my nana and by living a healthy lifestyle I can counteract any bad aspects I have from my family tree.

I'm amazed at how resilient the human body is. I mean I was pretty rough on my body in my early 20s. There was a lot of drinking, a lot of junk food, little sleep, no exercise. I'm hopeful that I have undone the damage I may have caused myself.
These days my life is much slower paced. I don't drink (I don't like the way I feel and behave so it's easier for me to go without), I eat well and I'm getting back into an exercise routine. I feel so much better when I look after myself. So that helps me know that I am doing what I need to stay healthy.

Hopefully I'll be walking around on this planet in good health for another 70 years at least!

I'm open to hear any tips, tricks or healthy lifestyles out there so let me know what you guys do to stay healthy.

Thanks for reading.

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