Staying in Shape Over 40 - What You Need to Know

Turning 40 can be a powerful and transient event even though many women believe that everything starts to change or even fall apart at 40. This doesn't have to be so! Women can stay strong and competitive, healthy and fit well over the age of 40. There may be some changes you need to make, but it is an important time for you to make these changes so that you can continue to stay in shape.

Some basic dietary changes can help you to supplement your workouts and keep you strong. Calcium, for example, has always been important in a woman's diet, but it is critical to start supplementing calcium now if you haven't already. Bone density begins to decline and if this gets really bad, it can lead to osteoporosis later in life. Ginseng is an herb that can help to give you energy when you start to feel fatigue, and some people swear it is what helps keep them young. Consuming a lot of fruits and vegetables is crucial to keeping yourself young. Not only is it very healthy for your body, it is quite beneficial for your skin as well. Natural foods, especially fruits and vegetables, are full of antioxidants, and these help keep free radicals from destroying that youthful appearance of your skin. Also good are salmon and other foods such as almonds, flax and fatty fish which provide a strong source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Again, this is good for your heart health but also for your radiant skin.

Staying in shape also means getting - or staying - physical, of course. You may discover aches and pains that you haven't noticed prior to turning 40. It's not because 40 is some magical age, but rather a useful timeline to gauge when women tend to start feeling less energetic, more rigid, or have tighter muscles than they used to. A fun and relaxing antidote to this is yoga. Yoga has been said to be the true fountain of youth! A good, long yoga session a few times a week or a simple practice of ten to twenty minutes daily can relax, tone and lengthen your muscles as well as your spirit. It also helps to de-stress your mind, which has been shown to have an effect on cortisol levels in the body. By reducing cortisol, you can help reduce the belly fat that may be more stubborn to remove these days. Any time of stress-relieving mechanism you use will help keep you young, but yoga is an especially good one.

If yoga isn't really your speed, pick something that is. Maybe you enjoy spinning, or a step class or kickboxing. Whatever it is, don't stop now just because you've reached that dreaded age. Keeping active now is just as important as it was when you were twenty, if not more so. If your aches and pains feel like they are preventing you from doing what you like to do best, it probably means you need to stretch more. Stretching can be a wonderful tool to keep you young and keep your muscles supple and strong. It can help prevent muscle tears and help you reach new levels of fitness by warming up the muscles and ligaments, but it can also just feel great after a nice, long bout of exercise. If you run or bike, be sure to stretch the calves and quadriceps muscles as well as the hamstrings. If you like to partake in a class at your gym and there is a lot of jumping involved, make sure to stretch the ankles as well. Simply adding ten or fifteen minutes of stretching to your daily routine can make you feel years younger if you are faithful about it.

Staying in shape doesn't just mean looking good or staying in good shape on the outside. Once you reach the age of forty, keeping up with regular doctor appointments becomes more important than it was in days past. Make sure to get a mammogram and screen for early detection of breast cancer. Make an appointment with your general practitioner for a complete physical. Consult with a dermatologist, and keep regular full-body skin checkups once or twice a year, which can help screen out skin cancer and suspicious moles that may crop up. If you used to see the eye doctor once every couple of years, cut that in half and see him once annually. Unfortunately, the eyes are quick to deteriorate as you age, and you will want to keep up with these check-ups for safety reasons, to be able to keep reading, and to check for signs of glaucoma and other age-related diseases.

Nobody said getting older was fun, but it does not have to be painful. The age-old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure applies to the aging process very well, and if you take these measures you too can age gracefully.

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Overweight Success Stories - How Did They Lose It!

Real People, Real Diet Secrets, Real Success, Real Struggle, Real Solutions

Almost everyone has a story about overweight. Real weight-gain. Real weight-loss. Real struggle. Real Success. Real joy. Real diet discoveries from "Cave Woman Diet" to "Birdseed Diet" to "Cabbage Diet" to "Peanut Diet." The real people who fight overweight everyday with every trick of the trade. How they gained and how they succeed to lose and keep weight off. From some we learn good tips. The tips that may suit you. May work for you. Some of these may sound like our own stories. Here's one of them.

Helen's Overweight Story

I'm a twin, so I was only 4 pounds 13 ounces at birth. I weighed the "normal" amount for kids my age until I got into fourth grade. My parents divorced that year, and well, let's just say you can guess what happened next. Emotional eating. I was chubby from then on. I weighed 152 pounds at my high school graduation. Did I mention I'm 5 feet on a good day? And that the other girls in my graduating class weighed 100 pounds soaking wet?

When I went to college, things got worse. I was away from home for the first time, worried about events happening at home, and became a bit reclusive for a while. To comfort myself, I ate...and ate. Finally, after my sophomore year of college, I had a wake-up-call. Trust me, being the only 20 year old who doesn't wear jeans will do that for you. I saw a doctor, took the half of Phen-Fen that doesn't cause heart attacks, and lost a lot of weight really quickly. The problem was, I was nearly starving myself. I'd eat eggs for breakfast and dinner (or egg whites) and a piece of chicken with ½ can of green beans for lunch. If I ate more, I gained weight.

Eventually I went off the diet. Somehow, with exercise, I managed to keep the weight off for three years...three glorious years, where I wore tank tops (Did I mention I had a breast reduction at the age of 20? I went from a 42F to a 38B-imagine the freedom) for the first time in my life. I even wore a bikini. Then I got married and gained 15 pounds. Then I got pregnant and gained 60 more. Needless to say, it didn't all come off. I've tried over the years-I've tried hard. But eventually I've given up, after gaining a few pounds and throwing in the towel, declaring myself a failure again.

At this date, after birthing two beautiful children, I'm 48 pounds heavier than I was when I got married. And I want it off...and more. I don't want to be skin and bones. I don't even need to wear a single-digit size. But I do want to be able to walk into a restaurant with my kids and NOT wonder if I'm being judged if I (gasp!) order a milkshake.

So there's my story in a nutshell. I'm going to lose the weight this time, perhaps following the same as did before. I have to. For me. For my kids. For my marriage. I'm happier when I'm at a healthy weight. I'm more self-confident, more likely to take adventures. It's time for me. Is it time for you?

For more free tips that involve no diet, vigorous exercise, hormone or drugs visit:
http://americasweightproblem.com/tips.html

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Everlasting Youth - Everlasting Happiness

All of us wish to hold on to youth and the energy and zing associated with it. We all crave for it. But are we doing enough except applying a brighter make-up and dyeing grey hair? Maybe not. Don’t you think you should get moving?
Here are a few ways with the help of which we can stay young for a long, long time to come!

Know Your Body
Before we start exercising to shed flab, we should find out the root cause of the problem so that we can win the battle of the bulge. The excess flab may be due to poor metabolism. Our appetite is controlled by hormones produced by our body and certain chemicals produced by our brains. We should strive to balance our hormones and consume omegas, pumpkin oil, hemp oil, flaxseed oil as they help reduce fat.

Check Inflammation
Inflammation is our body’s natural reaction to injury or infection. Inflammation may sometimes lead to weight gain, which gives rise to lethargy, high blood sugar levels and hormonal imbalances. This can be checked by consuming naturally processed grape seed extract (an excellent antioxidant), green tea extract and mineral extracts.

Combat Oxidative Stress
Oxidative stress can occur either due to a decrease in antioxidant level or due to an excess of free radicals or both. If the living condition surrounding us is polluted or unhygienic, we are working in stressful conditions and not drinking enough water, we might be victims of oxidative stress. It can cause cellular damage, thus accelerating wrinkling and hair loss and might also result in diabetes and weight gain. To combat this, we should increase intake of colorful plant food, green tea and herbal tea to fight it.

Watch your Thyroid
Thyroid is the master metabolic regulator. Its malfunctioning leads to a gamut of problems like depression, anxiety, infertility, pregnancy complications, dry skin and hair, high cholesterol, heart trouble, joint pain and menstrual irregularities. Consume cabbage, sweet potato, corn and pearl millet to boost thyroid functioning.

Liver and Blood
To detoxify our liver, we should consume soy protein, whey water, broccoli, pomegranate, phytonutrients and grape seed extract.

Watch What You Eat
Keeping a watch on what exactly we are eating is extremely important to our overall well being. We should ban processed food from our diet and go for natural foods. Organic extracts should be consumed on a regular basis. Consume all plant food colors possible in a balanced manner.

No Ill Feelings
Hatred or ill feelings towards others reflects on our face. If we delete the bad memories, we would regain a childlike state of happiness.

Keep the Child in You Alive
Never get into the comfort zone. Never think that there is nothing else to do. We should keep the child in us alive by constantly indulging in meaningful activities that makes us happy. Keep on developing new hobbies.

Focus on De-Stressing
Stress can arise from three factors.
Genetic Disposition: We may be prone to certain genetic disorders like diabetes and hypertension. We should be very cautious about such problems and be aware of every minute change that our body displays. If our family history confirms such genetic tendencies, we should be very regular with our check-ups.
Lifestyle: Lifestyle disorders arise from negative habits like smoking, consumption of alcohol, watching too much TV and not eating on time. These result in stress. We should abhor these habits and focus on being physically active which would help in burning calories and staying fit.
Environment: Our offices, our homes, the pollution, our relationships etc. creates our environment. We should try to find out what exactly is pulling us down and then try to find a solution by talking to our peers and well wishers. Always try to look at the brighter side of things.

When under stress, the adrenal gland in our body produces cortisol, a hormone that increases our blood sugar and insulin levels and slows down the burning of fat. Stress increases inflammation which causes weight gain around the waist. We should fight stress by trying to keep our mind free from negatives.

Friends
Friends, who really care, are life long assets of an individual. They have the ability to make things better for you just by their physical presence beside you. Just by taking a look at their smiling faces, you would have a feeling that your worries are fading away.

Chuck the Routine
Life is not just about getting up in the morning, doing the same old stuff all day and then going off to sleep. Instead, listen to some heart warming music, watch a dance performance or go for a drive. Set aside time for daily exercise and relaxation. Do some stretching initially followed by deep breathing for five minutes and then meditation. This goes a long way in relieving mental stress.

Sleep Tight
Lack of sleep reflects on our face. It makes us age faster. We should try to sleep for at least six hours every night. And don’t forget to dream big!

All the Best !!!

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