3 Simple Habits This Woman Does Every Day to Make 80 (Yes, 80!) Look Like 50 (2024)

At some point in life, many of us swap our bikini for a one-piece and a cover-up.

Not Filomena Warihay. She’s given birth to four children, and turns 80 this October. And when she lounges by the pool or hits the beach, she proudly wears a bikini—and, it must be noted, she looks fabulous.

“I wake up every morning with a drive and a sense of purpose,” Warihay says. “I’ve been blessed with energy and talent and desire to help others be all they can be, and I’m truly grateful.”

In the book Secrets of the World’s Healthiest People, Warihay says there are three key secrets that have kept her in such great shape.

Follow a 70-20-10 diet

That’s 70 percent of calories from fruits, veggies and grains, 20 percent from lean proteins such as chicken and fish, and 10 percent from fat. “It’s a lot of chopping and food prep, which is a challenge, but it’s worth it,” Warihay says.

Go running

Warihay didn’t start running until age 40. “My middle daughter got an athletic scholarship, and when she received her training schedule before her freshman year, she saw it included running three miles, three days a week. She said, ‘Mom, will you run with me?’ How could I say ‘no?!’”

Eventually, Warihay was in such good shape, she decided to try a 5K. “Well, didn’t I win the gold in my age group? That was it—I was hooked,” she says.

Warihay won the gold every year from age 40 to 75.

“When it comes to motivation to exercise, it helps to have a goal,” says Steve Bowers, DO, co-author of Secrets of the World’s Healthiest People. “Goal-setting helps boost performance in all types of exercisers, from recreational gym-goers to elite athletes.”

Give thanks

Each day, Warihay writes something she’s grateful for and drops the note into her gratitude jar. “The mind-body connection is so clear,” she says. And, yes, it can also help you to stay fit and trim—to the point you can proudly wear a bikini at age 79.

“When we’re thankful, we tend to be more positive and happier with ourselves, which makes us more likely to lose weight if we need to and control our weight if we’re already at a healthy number,” Dr. Bowers says.

Adapted from Secrets of the World's Healthiest People, which profiles dozens of people like Filomena Warihay, along with their health hacks, favorite foods, recipes, and fitness plans. It also includes the 7-Day Weight Loss Jumpstart that helped Dr. Bowers drop 30 pounds.