Have you heard of Artificial Intelligence (AI)? It’s everywhere, but most of us aren’t sure how to use it to make our lives easier. Using AI in MidLife, is easy, helpful and fun. There are so many different AI options out there, and each one has a specific purpose. Some are for healthcare, some are for writing, and some are even for programming. If you search for AI options on Google, you’ll likely have to narrow it down to find one that fits your needs. So, for this post, I’m going to talk about the one that’s probably the most recognizable: ChatGPT.
I use ChatGPT for a variety of things. Reading through regulatory and legal language and giving me a summary of how it applies to me, writing recommendation or employment letters and a lot of other general business administrative work. Only recently, did I start asking it about my health and wellness.
Using AI to find Exercise that works for you
For years, I have been working out at home. I turned my entire living room into a gym. But I find myself doing the same exercises that I am well versed in and comfortable. For a while, it worked out well. But then I noticed a plateau in my cardio and strength gains. I turned to ChatGPT and asked for some help.
You absolutely need to ask the right question to get the answers you’re looking for. After a few back-and-forth questions, ChatGPT whipped up a workout plan for me that’ll help me build strength, shed some pounds, and avoid aggravating a few specific areas (my left foot and knee have some arthritis in them). It all started when I explained my goals and any limitations I had, and voila! Workout plan! The chat kept asking me about how many days I wanted to work out, how many minutes I wanted to spend, and what my favorite and least favorite exercises were. In the end, I got a detailed plan to follow for 3 and 4 strength days a week that’ll minimize any pain to my foot and knee.
The workouts I started with were a perfect match for me. There was just one that I couldn’t do right away (pull-ups), so I had to tweak it to target the same muscle groups. It’s been four weeks now, and I’m thrilled with the results. I feel stronger, I’ve lost some weight, and I’ve even started doing a few other exercises that I couldn’t do before.
Using AI for your MidLife Diet
Meal planning is another area that ChatGPT was helpful. I shared my food preferences, dislikes, and allergies, and it gave me a basic 7-day meal plan. Then, I asked it to make sure I got at least 100 grams of protein and 30 grams of fiber daily. I also listed any meals I didn’t like. After a few minutes, I had 7 new lunches, dinners, and breakfasts to try, along with a grocery list to shop from.
I don’t recommend going in blindly to an AI and asking about workouts or health and wellness. ChatGPT’s answers are only as good as the questions you ask and the information that it scans. So always check to see if your doctor, personal trainer, etc. approve of the plan.
Using AI for MidLife Wellness
Another prompt I gave ChatGPT, was asking it to help me bring more wellness activities into my life. I stated that I struggle with sleep because I think of all I must do before I can fall asleep and then dream about work and family all night, giving me less than restful sleep.
This prompt did not give me the answers I was looking for. Instead of giving me a plan for meditation, yoga, or mindfulness exercises, like I was hoping for, it started asking me more questions and felt more like a counselor than a plan. I appreciate what it was trying to do, but I wasn’t looking for a “professional” approach. I’ve heard stories of AIs getting too personal with customers and causing more problems than they helped. So, I made a few changes to my prompts, asking for a plan to help me deal with my nighttime ruminations so that I don’t fall asleep thinking about work. This was a bit more helpful, and ChatGPT gave me a good list of things I can do to overcome this.:
- Creating a bedtime routine
- Mindfulness meditation
- Journaling or brain dumping
- Visualization techniques
- Progressive muscle relaxation
- Aromatherapy or relaxing scents
- Cognitive Behavior techniques
- Keep a consistent sleep schedule
- Exercise during the day
Each topic had a quick summary below on how to do these correctly with further questions being asked if I wanted to deep dive into any of these topics.
Overall
Judgement day and killer robots aside, AI can be a welcome addition to your life. I use AI to help with administrative business tasks, health, and wellness ideas and sometimes just to ask for random answers for entertainment. You can also research other AI tools for specific needs and test them against each other to see what works best for you.
AI is all around us, from our daily business chats to healthcare analysis. I recently paid $90 to have an AI review my mammogram and see if the mammographer missed anything. The AI and the mammographer’s analysis matched but I now have a baseline with the AI, and it will continue to analyze this scan against any new scans. It’s amazing how much it can help! And it’s not just for healthcare – it’s also used in elderly care, robotic surgeries and more. The more we use it, the better it will become. So, what are you waiting for? Get on board and see what you can do with AI!
Word of Warning
Again, with a caution: AI is not an “expert” on anything. Always run any plans by an expert before you implement them to make sure you aren’t doing more harm than good. If it seems too good to be true, too easy, or just plain weird, do your own due diligence.