Over 50 Archives - Melanie Young- Fearless Fabulous You!

Is Your Elderly Parent Eating Properly? Fearless Fabulous You! July 11

On July 10, 2016 / Aging Gracefully, Fearless Fabulous You Radio Show, Nutrition and Diet, Over 50

Remember when your Mom used to bug you about eating your vegetables when you were a child? Well, in my case the shoe is now on the other foot. My 80ish young at heart mother does not like to eat vegetables. Nor does she like to cook. Her meals consist of supermarket takeout or restaurant leftovers or, sigh!, slices of cake and pie. She has a wicked sweet tooth. I worry she is too thin and malnourished; she brushes it off as earning the right at her age to eat whatever she wants if it tastes good. According to the nonprofit

On Fearless Fabulous You! Feb 29- Tips for Caring for Your Aging Parent

On February 27, 2016 / Aging Gracefully, Fearless Fabulous You Radio Show, Over 50

While my usual topics are about you aging gracefully, this one will be about gracefully caring for an elderly loved one. David and I both have mothers in their 80s. We’ve discussed this between us: Who will care for our mothers? David has 2 brothers to share the responsibility. I am an only child. We both live miles away from our mothers. In a medical emergency who locally “on the ground” can assist and, in some cases, be a health care proxy until we arrive? What do we need to consider if she falls or becomes injured or ill and is

Timeless Accessories To Wear at Any Age

On February 22, 2016 / Attitude Adjustment, Over 50

I have closets filled with beautiful clothes, shelves lined with designer handbags, racks of shoes and a safe filled with fine jewelry. They’ve been slowly acquired over the years, purchased by me or gifted from my parents or friends. I’m a lucky, well-dressed woman….except when I’m wearing the wrong accessories. I’m not talking about a heavy purse or too tight shoes. I’m talking about emotional baggage and feathers of self-doubt that dull your sparkle and cramp your style. A brilliant “Huffington Post” article has been circulating among my friends called “What Not To Wear After 50.” by Michelle Combs (www.RubberShoesinHell.com). Some of my favorite tips on what not to wear include:

Be Smart About Your Knees

On October 16, 2015 / Fearless Fabulous You Radio Show, Healthy Living, Over 50

“Oh my aching knees!” I used to roll my eyes when older family members and friends would moan and groan about aches and pains in their knees. Now, I’ve become one of them. My right knee sends me a reminder that it’s time to “get up and move” with a dull ache. Is it age or something else? It turns out females are four to six times more likely to injure their knees over men. And we’re not necessarily talking only about older women. Young women athletes are more likely to injure their Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL), the most common knee injury.

Fearless Fabulous You! Do Your Legs Look Like Road Maps?

On June 19, 2015 / Healthy Living, Over 50

As I’ve grown older I’ve noticed so many unwelcome marks on my body: brown spots, red blotches, strange folds and dimples and lines marking their territory. One of the areas that give me grief- and other women as well- are my legs. Forget cellulite! I’m talking spider veins. I’ve tried needles but now I just wear longer shorts and hemlines to cover them up. But, what can be done to avoid or minimize spider veins and varicose veins? I’ve invited Dr. Danielle Bajakian, Director of the Critical Limb Ischemia Program at Columbia University Medical Center, to join me June 22, 9:28pmET on Fearless Fabulous You!

Your Body. Your Genes. Your Choice.

On March 29, 2015 / Breast Cancer, Healthy Living, Over 50

Once again Angelina Jolie-Pitt made headlines with her New York Times Op-Ed article “Diary of a Surgery” addressing her decision to undergo prophylactic surgery to remove her ovaries and Fallopian tubes. She chose to have the operation after her physician informed her that inflammatory markers from a test may point to ovarian cancer. Jolie-Pitt’s mother, grandmother, and aunt all lost their lives to cancer. In 2013 Jolie-Pitt , in another The New York Times op-ed “My Medical Choice,” revealed her decision to undergo a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction as a safeguard against breast cancer. As a carrier of the BRCA1 gene mutation she had

A Waist Is A Terrible Thing To Mind

On February 15, 2015 / Attitude Adjustment, Over 50

Nora Ephron wrote a hilarious book on the trials of aging called “I Feel Bad About My Neck.” If I wrote a book on aging it would be entitled, “A Waist Is A Terrible Thing To Mind.” Aging is inevitable; the only way to stop aging is to stop living. That’s not a great option. You can slow down the clock with a better diet, exercise, sleep and stress management and- hopefully-great genes. But you can’t stop the clock unless you stop ticking altogether. As a wine and food professional, I’ve grappled with balancing the pleasures I enjoy imbibing with the practical

From Fizzle to Sizzle: How To the Spark Back in Your Life

On November 17, 2014 / Attitude Adjustment, Life As We Know It, Melanie's Book, Over 50

There may come a time when you realize the life or career you had may no longer be available to you. It may not continue to be in your best interest, or you just want to move in a new direction. But life never stands still enough to let you sit a spell and figure it out. Forward is your only option. You ask yourself: What direction am I headed? What’s my next step? What happens next is a combination of strategy and serendipity. You strive to make good things happen and then relax and let good things happen to you. Along