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YOUNG AT HEART: Staying active a mind, body, spirit balancing act

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Beverly Kindt, 81, smiles next to a tall sunflower in her side yard in Alpena on Monday afternoon.

ALPENA — If you think age slows you down, you haven’t met these ladies.

Beverly Kindt, 81, and Marilynn Baukol, 79, both say staying active as a senior takes work, but every healthy lifestyle choice they make extends their lives and makes them feel good inside and out.

Both ladies eat clean, but they don’t necessarily count calories or use diets. They just eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and watch their portion sizes. Baukol eats all the potatoes she wants, but she doesn’t eat anything fried or use oil while cooking.

They both enjoy walking, in addition to other types of exercise. Kindt does yoga and dances around the house with her cat, Molly. Baukol participates in exercise classes five days a week at Alpena Senior Citizens Center and walks along the Thunder Bay River when it’s nice out.

“I’ve been coming (to exercise classes) five days a week, and my husband comes three days a week,” said Baukol.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Marilynn Baukol, 79, participates in a morning exercise class at the Alpena Senior Citizens Center on Tuesday morning.

She and her husband, David, moved to Alpena two years ago from the Seattle, Washington area. The couple is active in the Alpena Lions Club.

“We love it,” she said. “This is the friendliest town that we’ve ever lived in.”

Walking has been Marilynn Baukol’s preferred exercise for many years.

“I walk a lot,” Baukol said.

She and Senior Citizens Center Program Director B.J. Sander often walk in the morning around the Thunder Bay River in downtown Alpena. Then she attends exercise classes at the center.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley Marilynn Baukol, 79, looks through a book about nutrition at the Alpena Senior Citizens Center on Monday morning.

“I signed up for exercise, book club, meditation,” Baukol said, noting that she loves the senior center and all the programs offered there. “This is just, like, our family now.”

Both Baukol and Kindt keep their minds sharp with socialization, hobbies, and reading.

Baukol is part of the Senior Citizens Center Book Club, which will be reading “The China Study,” by T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II.

“You can dramatically reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes just by changing your diet,” the back cover of the book states. “The key to a long, healthy life lies in three things: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

The club meets at 11:30 a.m. on Thursdays. Contact B.J. at the senior center for more information at 989-356-3585.

Baukol gets her nutrients from the foods she eats, and she is not on any prescription medications.

“I like to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables,” Kindt said. “I eat oatmeal in the morning. I eat a lot of organic. I have organic milk, butter, sugar. The basics. I do believe in that. I try to stay away from … a lot of processed foods. I eat pretty clean. I’m always reading something on eating and nutrition, and I believe that helps us stay healthy.”

She cooks her own meals at home, rather than eating at restaurants and not knowing what is in the food she ingests. She makes a large portion and freezes some of it to have at a later date.

“I keep it simple,” she said. “I do that because I’m not really crazy about cooking.”

Kindt finds solace in her garden.

“It makes me feel good,” she said. “I feel I’m close to the earth. I feel I’m close to God. I hear the birds in the morning. I see the sun come up. I’m out on my deck by, usually, 6:30. I start my day out there. I end my day out there.”

She has hundreds of different flowers in her backyard oasis.

“I work in my yard, my garden, every day,” Kindt said. “My garden is full of perennials, but I’m always dead-heading, cutting back shrubs, trees, watering the lawn. I try to keep my lawn green … that’s a lot of exercise, too.”

She gets up early and meditates to start her day on a peaceful note.

“The first thing I do is meditate,” Kindt said. “That sets my mind at ease, centers me.”

She also has a drawing room in her Alpena home where she lets her creativity flow.

“I spend a lot of time up there in the wintertime,” she said of her drawing room.

Kindt recommends having a pet to keep you company and lift your spirits. Her black cat, Molly, has been her companion since shortly after her husband, Jerry, passed four years ago.

“That’s important, too, for state of mind,” Kindt said of having a pet.

She and her late husband planted the garden together.

“When we first moved here, there was nothing back there,” Kindt said. “Jerry and I did, kind of, create a sanctuary with planting trees, and the different flowers. When I’m out there with the birds, the trees, the flowers, I think ‘This is enough.’ That’s the lesson. This is enough. I can enjoy this.”

As seasons change, she recommends joining a local fitness center. Seniors can join the Wellness Center at Alpena Community College, she said.

“During the winter, I join the Wellness Center,” Kindt said. “I love their equipment. But, during the spring and summer, I’m outside. But now, I’ll join for fall, because it’s going to start getting chilly.”

She is also a member of the Association of Lifelong Learners.

“They have wonderful programs,” Kindt said. “And they’re up-to-date on new things.”

She walks three or four times a week for 30 to 40 minutes, which is a stress reliever. She used to enjoy riding a bicycle, but she prefers walking now.

“I’m blessed with good health, but I’ve worked for it, too,” Kindt said. “All these years, I was always exercising.”

Baukol explained why she eats clean and exercises.

“Because I feel better,” she said. “You don’t feel like doing cartwheels all over the place, but, stop doing it, and that’s when you’ll notice.”

It’s never too late to start exercising and eating healthier, she added.

Consistency is key, as well as a positive attitude, Kindt said.

“With exercising and moving, that’s the goal — to keep on doing things to take care of myself, and be able to live a good life for the rest of my life,” she said. “It’s a mental attitude, too. I’ve read a couple of articles on the joy of growing older. There are challenges as you get older. When you get in your 80s, death is, kind of, around you more than ever. But I just feel I’m lucky to be alive, and I’m going to keep working every day to keep my life going.”

She added that balance is essential to a healthy life.

“I honestly believe that … we do have an obligation to our bodies, our minds, and our souls, to take care of ourselves the best we can,” Kindt said. “Stay involved, and keep moving.”

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