This week’s must read:
Lessons from a 93-year-old rower about healthy aging
I’ve read many fitness stories over the years, but this week I was truly inspired by Richard Morgan, a 93-year-old rower with the fitness of someone less than half his age. As our activity columnist Gretchen Reynolds explains, Morgan looked at his training, diet and physiology as the subject of a new case study published last month in the Journal of Applied Physiology.
What’s amazing about Morgan is that he didn’t exercise regularly until he was well into his 70s and still trains a lot in his backyard. Although his fitness began later in life, he has now rowed around the world nearly 10 times and won four world championships.
The story has been a hit with readers this week and shows that it’s never too late to start exercising. I hope you enjoyed the story.
Foods that make you hungry or full
When most of us think about healthy eating, we focus on calories or carbs or some other metric. But a better way might be to think about satiety. What foods make you feel satisfied? What foods make you hungry and want more?
Eating Sweat columnist Anahad O’Connor has put together four simple questions about breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner to help you start thinking about the satiety of the foods you eat. Unfortunately, most of us choose energy-dense foods—packing a lot of calories per bite—that don’t really fill us up. Learn more about simple changes you can make to improve your daily diet.
Should you try supplements, colonics or juices?
Q: I’ve seen a lot of health trends on social media. How do I know they are based on science? Which fashions should I watch out for?
A: When faced with a claim, ask yourself: Does the marketing information sound too good to be true? Are major health care facilities providing or recommending it? Is there any information about it on websites run by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or other trusted agencies or medical organizations?
If the claim doesn’t pass these tests, talk to a health care provider before trying, just to be safe. Read the full column on some of the trends you’ll find on social media this year — and what you should try instead.
Tell us about your New Year’s resolutions.
Have you made a New Year’s resolution this year? Whether you’re trying to eat more vegetables, want to spend more time with the family, or have decided you need to learn to run, The Washington Post wants to hear about it. Please share your decision with us using This form, and a reporter will contact you. (We will not publish any part of your response without your permission, so please be sure to include your contact information.)
Here are a few things that brought us joy this week.
Want to know more about “happy” snacks? Our Brain Matters columnist Richard Sima explains. Ycan you Read this story as a joke.
Please let us know how we do. Email me wellbeing@washpost.com. You can too Find us on TikTok.