FIT FOR LIFE

Moor-Doucette (Change Your Thinking, Change Your Body, 2015) shares her secrets on how to look and feel great into your 70s and beyond in this fitness guide.

Inspired by a friend, Moor-Doucette decided to attempt to limit the effects of aging on her body by improving her diet, working out, and focusing her mind with affirmations and visualizations. “All of this would ultimately translate into an inspired and unique training regimen, leading to a succession of Bikini Diva contest wins.” That’s pretty impressive considering the author began all this when she was 68. She was so successful she started working as a life coach and fitness guru; this book represents her accumulated knowledge and advice. The guide contains everything from detailed workout routines and dieting recommendations (down to the nitty-gritty of sugar and coffee substitutes) to mind-improving activities like meditation and journaling. There are beauty tips, including how to make your own skin-care products, including facial scrubs and masks using bananas, papaya, avocado, etc. Though Moor-Doucette writes from her own perspective—and therefore provides advice for those who have passed the age of retirement—the majority of the information pertains to everyone and will be helpful for fitness-minded readers of any age. The prose is highly conversational, and her guidance, which frequently builds on her personal experience, reads as pleasantly neighborly: “We have a stationary bike on our patio that we use when we can’t get to the gym, or just want to ride while watching some TV. My one hundred and three-year-old mother uses it two or three times a week when she doesn’t go into use the bikes at the senior center.” The book’s formatting is a bit basic and monochrome, and though there are a few illustrations breaking up the text, they could be more frequent and inviting. Overall, older readers, in particular, will enjoy these practical, cost-efficient health strategies, most of which can be implemented into daily or weekly routines with little interruption.

An approachable fitness guide with sound health tips.