In terms of being physically healthy, it would be hard to have a better role model than my dad. My father is 6'2" and has always been in good shape and incredibly strong. He has what is known as "country strength", that is a strength gained from doing strenuous labor, originally on a farm, day after day. Country strength is different and more natural that what someone gets by lifting weights and running around a track, which is inherently artificial. When little boys say "My daddy could beat up your daddy", in my case it was true.
By the time I was born, Dad no longer lived on a farm. But his pattern of hard never left him. After working a full day, driving around, meeting with people and doing his paper work, he would come home, change his clothes and begin his "second" job doing one project after another to improve our property. Just one example, one of the houses we lived in did not have a basement. My father wanted a basement so with a pick, a shovel and a wheelbarrow, over the course of a few months he dug a basement by hand. I was invited to help and participate in these projects, but never forced to do it - he respected the need to study. Although my inclinations were more toward mindless TV watching and later reading, I often joined in his projects as a cement mixer, flashlight holder, tool finder, just to have time to hang out with my dad.
Dad was always fairly disciplined with his diet, generally staying with healthy food. A few times he started to gain weight, in the rare instances when he was between projects, and then would cut back on what he ate, especially at lunch when he was working. For exercise he had a book promoted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that involved a regimen of sit-ups, push-ups, stretches, etc. There was also short stint where he a a few men in the neighborhood started jogging in the mornings. Someone suggested that they were all running around in their underwear, which when I think about it, was probably not true, but it became part of the myth. Mostly, what he did and still does today is hard work.
My father is now in his early 70s and is still in good shape. He has been retired for many years, but still works outside on his projects almost every day. The latest I heard about was a brick sun-deck he built down by the lake. He told me a story recently about when he and my mom were traveling. They stayed in a place with a small fitness center. Dad was trying the machines and did the one for leg presses - he pushed over 500 lbs. What I am saying to you is, if you ever have the pleasure of meeting my dad, do not mess with him, because he could still beat you up.
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