There’s an old fable that talks about the mysterious “fountain of youth.” It describes how at this one fountain, if you drink the water from it you will forever look and feel young.
Now, we don’t know if this fountain really exists, but these four women sure look like they’ve found it! Take a look at how, in their 70s, these four women don’t look a year over 40.
Linda Wood Hoyte, Age 81
The Capricorn grandmother is a National and International Bodybuilding champion with 28 years of body building experience. In fact, her bodybuilding career has run concurrently with her 40+ year professional management career in corporate America which spanned working for five Fortune 500 companies.
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She is also a certified personal trainer with demonstrated success delivering nutritional seminars and exhibiting training techniques at sports conventions and shows.
As we all know, food can make or break how you look, feel and behave. So instead of letting food control you, Linda controls food.
“Recognize your triggers,” explain Linda. “For me, it’s always been ice cream. I would buy a carton of fudge vanilla swirl, for example, planning to limit myself to just a half cup for dessert. I’d dig into the creamy mixture, have ‘just a taste’ ‐‐ and all my plans went into the trash.
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Along with the empty half‐gallon carton of ice cream. Inevitably, I felt sick the next day and mad at myself for giving in.
I’d try setting up rules (‘I’ll only eat ice cream on weekends,’ or ‘I’ll only eat vanilla ice cream ‐‐ that’s safe and boring’), but those rules were a game of deception that resulted only in weight gained.”
“After you recognize your trigger foods, discover safe healthy foods substitutes.
Ernestine Shepherd, Age 87
Baltimore grandmother Ernestine Shepherd is the Guinness World Records’ oldest female bodybuilder.
But less than 20 years ago, she was middle-aged, flabby and round woman who hated what she saw in the dressing room mirror as she tried on swimsuit after swimsuit.
“I was too prissy to exercise,” she said. “I just didn’t want to have my hair messed up. Didn’t want my fingernails broken.”
That all changed when Shepherd decided her health trumped all and hit the gym.
Here’s how Shepherd made her amazing and inspirational transformation:
She started out slow. Shepherd said she began her workout regimen alongside her sister, starting with a simple aerobics class.
Even though she thinks big, the key she says is increasing the workout steadily. Shepherd said she had never given much thought to bodybuilding until a trainer at her gym suggested she start lifting weights.
She eats smart. Shepherd’s diet may not be for everyone, but her focus on healthy foods is a lesson in restraint.
Shepherd said she eats several small meals a day as part of a diet plan she formulated with her trainers. She takes in 1,700 calories a day, mostly comprised of boiled egg whites, chicken, vegetables and a liquid egg white drink. And she is adamant that she does not use performance-enhancing drugs or even supplements beyond vitamin D.
Wendy Ida, Age 71
Even though she’s not 80 like the other women in this list, we had to include Wendy. Wendy is an 8 time award-winning National Champion of top trophy awards in the NPC Bodybuilding and Figure Championships as well as a Strive to Thrive Fitness expert touring with Actors Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker. Wendy is a frequent guest on TV and talk radio and has achieved international recognition via commercials, exercise videos, and magazines.
“It’s psychologically enriching. It’s about feeling your soul. It’s not just physical, it’s about taking your like back,” Wendy says. “At one point in time, I didn’t really know my worth. So I let someone else rule my life for 12 years. And they took my power from me.”
She is a domestic violence survivor who was in poor shape, bad health and had low self esteem. Considering all her life she was four dress sizes larger than she is today, and gained an additional 50 pounds after having two children back to back, she is grateful to have beaten the odds. She didn’t begin her own exercise regime until age 43, but she has managed to improve her health, lose 80 pounds and dwindle down to a rock-solid size 4 and hold onto it as a grandmother!
Annette Larkins, Age 81
“I do not have a regimented way of eating, and most of the time I do not pay strict attention to what I eat at any particular meal,” admits Larkins.
“That is of course, within the ramifications of my consumption of a healthy, non-cooked, plant based diet consisting of fruits, nuts, vegetables and seeds. Also, the amount of meals I consume daily varies—it depends on my appetite weather I eat one, two, or three meals a day, and the clock does not dictate when I eat—except I try to avoid eating late at night.
My personal evolution demands that I generally do not eat before noon. I am not advising this for anyone else; I am not, as a rule, hungry before then. Most times I will begin with juice of some kind—either green or whatever my taste desires. I may then have a big salad.
For dinner I may have another salad with additional greens of some kind: collards, spinach or kale, for example. Included in this fundamental bill of fare are nuts, avocados, soaked wild rice, sprouted legumes, and or sprouted bulgur wheat.”
“Even though I basically do the same exercises, I may vary the order. For example: I descend and ascend my spiral staircase until I have accumulated 100 floors (once down and once up equals one floor)—I may do them consecutively or break them up throughout the day.
In my downstairs gym, I walk on my treadmill for about five (5) miles—sometimes in order to break up the monotony, I do the treadmill before the stairs. Between what I just described, along with dancing, gardening, and miscellaneous activity, I average eight (8) miles a day. I have a tracker that records my activity—I average about 15 or 16 thousand steps a day!”
“It’s not about survival. That’s not what I want to do. I didn’t come here to survive. I want to thrive,” says Larkins.
Angelique Miles, Age 59
Media and music industry veteran Angelique Miles found herself aged out of an industry that had given her two decades of immense success. She began hitting the gym as a way to cope with that transition —and within a matter of months, realized that she could leverage this new ritual into her most exciting chapter yet.
“I got to the point where I knew I had to toot my own horn,” confesses Miles to Ritual.com. “No one else is gonna do it for you. I started even with the music stuff I had done—even though it was behind me, I had to start telling people what I’d done and make my voice heard because I’ve done a lot and I deserve to be recognized for it.”
“Friends my age, especially Gen-X people were not with the Instagram thing when it first came out. They were like, ‘Why are you taking so many? Are you okay? Why are you taking pictures like a teenager?’ [laughs] Then that turned into, ‘Well, I see what you’re doing and it looks really interesting, but how do you monetize it?’
“I didn’t know. I couldn’t articulate how. But I just felt like I was headed in the right direction and knew it was going to happen.”
“I wake up and say thank you. I work out. I try to read affirmations every day. It’s just something to set the tone for the day.”
Chef Babette Davis, 74
World-class chef, fitness expert and motivational speaker Chef Babette Davis is bubbly and full and of life, but don’t mistake her beautiful smile as one who has had it easy all her life. Oh no. Chef Babette’s journey is filled with challenges and opportunities that she’s taken head-on each time.
Diagnosed with severe asthma, and eczema, the Los Angeles native made the conscious decision to eat for the sake of nutrition.
The bestseller “Fit for Life” by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond initiated her journey towards self-healing.
On her 70th birthday, she posted seven incredible photos of herself in honor of being thankful for 70 years of life.
“I have so much to be grateful for I am healthier now than I was when I was thirty and my lifestyle is conducive to maintaining health! My heart is filled with love and appreciation for LIFE ALL LIFE! And If these post have affected you in a positive motivated way to practice the art of SELF CARE I’m overjoyed! Thank you to each and every one of you for being so wonderful and making my day great!”
