Fitness, Diet and Lifestyle after 40

It is no surprise that things change as we get older. Most people expect things to quite literally go downhill from 40 onwards and while this can be true, it doesn't have to be that way. Yes, there are changes that occur, especially for women (and for guys too!) — but these changes can be mitigated, minimised or even diminished with a little bit of self-care and some ultra awesome bio-hacks!

Fitness, Diet and Lifestyle after 40

Before we go any further, let me just say, I am not against ageing. We live in a society that is in denial about getting older and constantly trying to resist changes that are inevitable and we've gotten a negative view of getting older. Every age is beautiful and some acceptance and embracing is necessary, however what is not necessary is declining health and loss of vitality!

I believe that we can preserve a quality of life right into our 100's! We know much more now about growing older that we can certainly do more to prevent ailments that come with age. Of course genetics play a role but here we will deal with what we can control and that is, our environment and our lifestyle.

It Starts with Mindset!

How we think determines everything and ageing is no different. Therefore, the most important factor in resisting any downward (again, it doesn't have to be downward but for some people it can be) turn of ageing is to think differently about it. You hear people talking about expecting to diminish with time. They expect aches and pains after a certain age and believe it is just inevitable, so when the aches and pains come, they give in to them feeling helpless to do anything about them. As physical imbalances arise, they do nothing to stop them, indeed they do little to prevent them in the first place, then they just learn to mange the pain and limit movement which creates a cycle of sedentary living.

Waiting for the inevitable means the inevitable will come and if there is no contrary information to counter old beliefs, we will hold on to them. But thank God that now, there are many women in their 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's who are great examples of health and vitality at ages that we normally think they shouldn't be (see instagram handles of some of these incredible women at the end of this page for inspo!).

As Your Body Changes So Should Your Strategy! When we were young we could stay up all night an go straight to work the next day, ready to party again the next evening. As we get older, we struggle to stay up past 10pm and find we can't fully get through the day if we haven't slept enough!

Our younger selves could run out of the house in the morning and grab a chocolatey donut for breakfast with a caramel latte to wash it down with and have seemingly no effects. However, try that in your 40's and 50's (even late 30's!) and see if your blood sugar isn't all over the place wreaking havoc with your moods, cravings and ultimately your waistline!

Back then, we could skip a few meals and lose weight within a day or two. Now, we may diet and exercise for months without an inch budging!

Our younger selves could live with permanent low-level stress daily and still sleep at night. Now we have to plan months ahead so we can feel organised and together.

Things change. We change and we simply cannot wing it anymore (and neither should we want to!). So, understanding how the body (and mind) changes, enables us to be more strategic in how we optimise our body's functionality.

We do need to optimise our lifestyle to help with the adaptations today. We do need to prioritise sleep and protein. We do need to need to reduce sugar and alcohol (sorry!). We do need to eat at certain times for optimal results. We do need to exercise daily. We do need to reduce stress as much as possible. We do need to remove toxic things from our lives.

That said, the above goes for any age. If you're looking for optimum health, these are applicable to you no matter what stage you are in life. In fact laying a good foundation in your youth will only benefit you in your future. It's an investment worth making to reap the benefits in the long run. However, no matter where you are starting from, it's never too late to start changing your fitness, diet and lifestyle after 40!

Age Related Muscle Loss A very important reason people struggle as they get older is the lack of lean musculature to hold them up and keep them strong enough to move through and enjoy life. Our muscles are responsible for holding our weight up, keeping our back supported, and helping us to move. Muscle weakness, causes less support of the skeletal system (our bones) causing them to not be aligned or held up properly. Couple that with age-related cartilage loss, and bone friction can lead to all sorts of pain and problems — problems we may not otherwise have if we are physically strong.

Muscles are also highly metabolically active, which means they burn calories even while we sleep. A lot of weight gain has been associated with muscle loss as we age, especially around the abdominal area.

Our muscle strength also determines our body shape. Bodies change as we age but a lot of that can be mitigated by increasing in muscle strength which gives a different appearance to our body composition.

Physical weakness can affect your confidence. When you feel weak you have less confidence moving around. This limits your range of motion and the activities you undertake which in turn causes you to use your body less and less causing more muscle loss and even more diminished confidence. This brings on more aches and pains and you buy-in to the belief that your body is ageing and there's nothing you can do about it. You now take part in less activities and become more sedentary. Your body becomes affected as does your confidence and your quality of life. It becomes a vicious cycle that goes downward very fast!

An inactive lifestyle doesn't give you more energy but less. The old adage that if you don't use it you lose it is true. The less your body is used the more it adapts to not being used. Muscle gets wastes away, bone mass diminishes, capillaries die, arteries clog up, stiffness sets in, metabolism slows down, weight plies on, sleep is affected, depression sets in and soon you're wondering what is the point of life!

The problem is, all the above, while inter-related, happen so gradually over time that we don't make the association. We adjust to these gradual changes bit by bit and before we know it, we need assistance to get out of the car, a back rest for our chair and a stool to climb in and out of bed!

Ok, so if you've just turned 40 that may not be the case but I can guarantee that there are things that you cannot do now that you could do just a few years ago!

What to Do

Here are just a few things that you can do to maintain a good level of fitness and health, balance hormones and get stronger:

1. Eat more protein 2. Increase muscle mass (strength training) 3. Get good quality and quantity of sleep (7-8 hours every night) 4. Reduce stress 5. Eat a whole-food, balanced diet

6. Limit or eliminate sugar and highly processed carbohydrates 7. Get at least 10,000 steps in a day or just increase overall movement 8. Take a good quality multivitamin 9. Drink sufficient water 10.Get sufficient sunlight at the right times (morning) 11. Reduce blue light time at night

Conclusion: As we age, we can get stronger not weaker. To make your latter years better than your former, there are many things you can do to mitigate, minimise or diminish the effects of ageing, which by the way are not all inevitable due to ageing but inevitable due to lack of activity and self care. These changes include mindset (very important) how you see yourself, getting strong and staying active, changes to diet and lifestyle habits to elicit changes in your body and mind and ultimately not giving in to the aches and pains.

It may seem like an upward climb but it is worth it in the end!

Here are some examples of older women who have taken their health and bodies in their own hands! These women are all over 70 years old. There are many more in their 50's but I love the older women because it just shows that anything is possible at any age!

Joan McDonald for example was 70 when she started her fitness journey. She is now 76.

It's never too late!

@trainwithjoan

@reneefitat70

@drjosefinamonasterio

@shepherdernestine