At 63, I’m fitter than ever – after a lifetime of cigs and booze ...Middle East

I was 47 when a sudden injury meant I discovered what it’s like to be old: barely able to walk at snail’s pace, struggling to climb stairs or navigate busy pavements, feeling shockingly frail and vulnerable.

A mother of two young children with a full-on, full-time job as a senior executive at a newspaper, which I regularly edited on a Sunday in addition to working five days a week, up until that moment, I was the sort of person who never stopped. I only ever paused for a cigarette – 15 a day, each one a guilty but blissful moment, as I saw it then, of ‘me time.’

I also drank a couple of glasses of wine every night, ate rubbish food and did no exercise whatsoever.

It’s only now that I realise how tense I was: chronically tired, debilitating migraines at least once a week, and shoulders solid as bricks. But the body has a way of making you stop when things get critical.

It happened one morning, ironically, after I decided to start running. A deep, deep pain in my lower back – the pain far exceeding anything I’d experienced in childbirth (and I say that as someone who gave birth the second time with no pain relief at all).

An MRI scan showed a curvature, or scoliosis, on my spine that, unbeknownst to me, had been there since birth (meaning that without good core strength, my back was simply an accident waiting to happen) and a severe prolapsed disc.

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It was an agonising injury, but if it hadn’t happened, there’s a strong chance that today, 15 years on, I’d be well on the way to that old lady, barely-able-to-hobble version of me.

Instead, somewhat to my surprise, an entirely different me has emerged. One who, while still holding down a fulltime stressful job, is bursting with energy, barely has a headache let alone a migraine, rarely eats a ready meal, drinks much less and doesn’t smoke.

Oh yes – and this me, the me who is in her early 60s, has a biological age of 20.

That’s according to two biological age tests by Glycan Age, which tests your blood for powerful biomarkers of ageing called glycans, which we have billions of in our body. I was 61 when I first took the test, and no one was more surprised than I when the result came back as 20. Then I took it again 18 months later, aged 62, and it was still 20.

Small steps to a new future

So, how did I do it? By making small changes, step by step, slowly and consistently. About six months after that agonising injury, I started Pilates to strengthen my core. I found I enjoyed it.

The Pilates exercises were all done in front of a mirrored wall. Forced to look at myself for an hour each class, I could no longer ignore the uncomfortable truth that I could do with losing weight. So I started going to WeightWatchers. My goal weight was eight and a half stone, which I reached after about six months by eating chicken or salmon with vegetables and no pasta or bread at all.

That was the first time I’d seriously thought about the impact of what I was eating, and I began to read up about nutrition.

I began going to Bikram yoga as well as Pilates, and even resumed running. Suddenly, I was exercising six days a week, eating healthily and feeling incredibly good on it.

How did I fit it all in? By getting up very early. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you’re sufficiently motivated, and my children, who were seven and 11 then, were a large part of that motivation. Yes, I was doing it for me, but I was also doing it for them; I wanted them to have a positive role model as they grew up rather than a mother who smoked, drank and was always tired.

Three mornings a week, I would get to the gym when it opened at 6am – before they were awake – run on the treadmill for half an hour and then whizz back home to get them up, shower, change, and make them breakfast before leaving at 8am to take them to school. Two mornings a week, I would go to Pilates at 8am, and our au pair would take them to school. On Saturdays and Sundays, I went to Bikram yoga – 90-minute sessions – as well as Pilates.

A physical and mental shift

I was now a fitness fanatic who was more confident, stronger physically and mentally, and definitely happier. Today I still weigh around eight and a half stone (I’m 5ft 5) and instead of a size 12 or 14, I am a size 8 or 10.

I began reading every book I could find on health and longevity. Among other things I learned the importance of health span – how long we can expect to stay healthy – as opposed to lifespan – the age at which we die.

The facts are grim. In the UK, the average health span ends at 61, after which the average British man or woman can expect to live the rest of their life – the next 20 years or so – in failing health, with one or more of the following: diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer.

I interviewed the world’s top longevity scientists to devise a three-week plan to change how you eat, move and sleep. Because it turns out that only 20 per cent of our longevity is down to our genes. The rest – 80 per cent – is the result of our lifestyle.

Trust me, if I can turn my health around, so can you. It’s much easier than you think – and it’s never too late.

Nutrition and fitness tips from Sandra

Move the body more

Start strength training – studies show that 12 weeks is enough to significantly improve muscle even in frail people in their 90s.

Another major study showed that you only have to walk briskly for 20 minutes a day to reduce your risk of dying from any cause by almost a third (30 per cent). That does have to be in addition to the other steps you take just in daily life – going up and down stairs, walking to the shops, and hopefully getting off the bus or train one or two stops earlier than you would do normally.

Smaller portions

When it comes to changing how you eat, the most important thing is to eat less. Caloric restriction has been shown time and again to prolong life – just 10-12 per cent less is all you need to improve everything from blood pressure and cholesterol levels to insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and mood.

Up your fibre intake

Aim for at least 30g of fibre a day, which is not only incredibly good for you but also keeps you feeling fuller for longer. If you have a breakfast of Greek yoghurt, raspberries and nuts, lunch of wholegrain toast with avocado and a butterbean, spinach, tomato and olive salad with your evening meal and eat either an apple or a pear for a snack, you’ll have hit 30g of fibre with ease.

Sleep is key

The final step towards longevity is improving your sleep. Only go to bed when you’re really tired. You are trying to teach your body that getting into bed equals going to sleep – and this is one of the most important ways of doing that.

Age Less – How I reduced my biological age from 60 to 20 and how you can too by Sandra Parsons is published by New River, £14.99

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