'Golden Bachelor' Gerry Turner shares how he eats and works out to stay in shape at 72

• "Golden Bachelor" Gerry Turner, 72, shared what he eats and how he stays in shape with GQ.
• Turner eats a simple diet of mainly whole foods, and focuses on protein.

The first "Golden Bachelor" Gerry Turner shared what he eats in a day and how he stays in shape at 72, and it's actually pretty simple.

The retired restauranter is the first senior to search for love on ABC's "The Bachelor" franchise, and he is embracing his age. In the season premiere last week, he proudly shared that he wears hearing aids. "It's something I need," he said.

Turner told GQ in an interview published last month that he always eats breakfast, and typically treats himself to a big meal on Sunday mornings. He said that he eats three breakfasts on a heavy rotation: oatmeal, which is a good source of protein and fiber, Grape Nuts cereal and blueberries, or scrambled eggs with toast.

"A lot of times it has to do with how much protein I had the night before. If I went maybe a little light on the protein the night before, I'll make sure that I have eggs for breakfast," he said.

Muscle mass naturally declines with age, so getting enough protein, the building block of muscle, in later life can help protect against this.

A typical lunch for Turner is a sandwich followed by yogurt and an apple, he said, and dinner is usually meat or fish with vegetables: his favorite is salmon. Turner loves grilling outside and takes every possible opportunity he gets to do it, he said.

Turner plays nine hours of pickleball a week

His exercise regime is equally simple and is mainly built into his daily life. The Illinois native walks regularly with his dog. "One of the nearby lakes has a circuit around it that is three miles," he said.

Going on a long run used to help the father-of-two and grandfather to "clear his head," but now that he is older he finds walking the best substitute for that.

His most rigorous exercise comes from the nine hours of pickleball he plays a week. "I spend three mornings a week—about three hours each morning—playing some pretty vigorous pickleball. I get my exercise that way," Turner said.

A wealth of research has suggested that habits such as leading an active lifestyle and eating a balanced diet can add years to your life.