Staying active and healthy is a big priority for many retirement village residents. Dr Paul Stone, a GP and resident at Little Bay Apartments in NSW, talks to us about what it takes to lead an active and healthy village life.
Our residents’ happiness is the most important thing to us, and we are always checking in to see how they feel about village life.
And the results speak for themselves: According to our feedback, 4 out of 5 residents are very satisfied with everything village life has to offer. And also highlight the positive living experiences our residents have with us.
One such resident is Dr Paul Stone, a practising GP who lives with his wife at Little Bay Apartments in NSW. As a strong believer in living a fit and healthy life, we were keen to know how he finds health and happiness in village life. And unsurprisingly, he’s loving it.
A great place with spectacular views, including whales breaching!
“My wife and I have a nice 3-bedroom apartment at Little Bay. We have views over the golf course and the ocean. And a balcony front and back. The lounge room has almost one full wall of glass with sliding doors. At certain times of the year, you can see the whales breaching as they're going down south. And you can watch the yachts on the harbour on Boxing Day. It's a great place.
A fit and healthy life of triathlons and Ironman
I’ve been a general practitioner for a very long time. More than 5 decades. I still work four mornings a week, and I've always lived a fit and healthy life. I started running in 1970, and I've been cycling and swimming for most of the past 40 years. I do triathlons too. In 1984, I competed in the Hawaiian Ironman. It's pretty much the holy grail of triathlons in Hawaii. It’s a 3.8 km swim in the ocean, a 180.2 km bike ride, and then you get off the bike and run a full marathon of 42 km.
I've cut down on my major distances now. But I still get on the bike twice a week and do about 45 or 50 km with a couple of friends. I've done about 19 marathons and 33 City-to-Surfs, and a bit of this and a bit of that.
‘I still work four mornings a week, and I've always lived a fit and healthy life.’
Getting the men together for a Men’s Night In
Recently, I started Little Bay Apartments Men's Night In. You hear about the ladies having a night out, and I thought it would be nice to get together with the gentlemen here and have a talk and a laugh. Everybody seems to enjoy it. Even the wives say it's a good thing because it gets their husbands out rather than them just sitting in front of the TV.
We meet on Tuesday evenings once a month. We sit at one big table, prepare soup, order takeaway pizza from one of the nearby restaurants and have sweets. After that, we go into the theatre and watch a movie. An action movie, usually. Something with the likes of Samuel L. Jackson or Denzel Washington or Bruce Willis. We've got quite a following now, with about 26 on the list. I print out personal invitations for everybody and pop them in the letterbox about a week or so before.
‘Even the wives say it's a good thing because it gets their husbands out rather than them just sitting in front of the TV.’
Eating well and exercising for a positive outlook
I really do feel a lot younger than my chronological age. I'm very keen on keeping fit, and I think it gives you a positive outlook mood-wise. As I like to say, ‘You can't get health from a health food store.’ You can take vitamins and herbs if you like, but all that does is make the company owner a millionaire.
If you eat well and exercise a bit, you don't need that other stuff. It's all too easy to sit in front of the TV and watch it for hours. But in this area, which is really flat, it's so simple to get up and go for a walk. Even if you've had a hip or a knee replacement, there's nothing stopping you from getting out.
Where food is concerned, I'm definitely from the ‘everything in moderation’ school of thought. I like to eat out occasionally, though I don't go overboard and try to maintain my weight. All I can say is it's lucky we only have pizza for our Men’s Night In once a month because I really, really love pizza.
Learn more about Little Bay Apartments, NSW.
For more information about the lifestyle and support offered at our retirement villages, call our customer service team on 1800 550 550.
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