Talk to most people over 40 and you’ll hear the same comments: “I just can’t eat, drink, run, stay up all night, read the fine print like I used to”. Youth is forgiving but after 40-something years of moving, breathing, digesting and gravity, our body starts to show signs of wear and tear. We’d expect it with any other machine. But most of us are still shocked when our body can’t keep up with what we think it should do. Some desperately grasp at supplements or surgery to retain their youth while, at the other extreme, some passively resign themselves that their bulging tummy and shrinking calves are just part of getting old. Aging happens. But how fast it happens is up to us.

Over the next few posts we’ll look at some common problems that hit the 40-something age group.

Middle age spread

Why it happens

Hormones, hereditary and lifestyle are the culprits in middle age spread. For women, the years leading up to menopause see a gradual drop in oestrogen levels. Oestrogen encourages fat to be stored around the hips and thighs but with less oestrogen fat tends to accumulate around the tummy. We transform from ‘pears’ to ‘apples’ – just like the men.

Stuff I’ve found digging around on the net … with my take on it ..c

Physical Education Key To Improving Health In Low-income Adolescents School-based physical education plays a key role in curbing obesity and improving fitness among adolescents from low-income communities, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and UC Berkeley.

It’s what we all know: physical activity is good for your body and your mind – and it’s much more fun than sitting in the classroom all day.

TV Bombards Children With Commercials For High-fat And High-sugar Foods Childhood obesity in the United States is reaching epidemic proportions. With more than one fourth of advertising on daytime and prime time television devoted to foods and beverages and continuing questions about the role television plays in obesity, a study in the November/December issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior

For the past six months my exercise regime has been slashed to a minimum by an annoying stress fracture in my foot. Stress fractures are an over-use injury and my particular one was called a ‘march fracture’ because armies who marched long distances often suffered them. In my case it was vanity – some flimsy, pretty sandals which I teetered around on every day for four or five months. It’s taught me an important fashion guideline. Similar to the number one dietary guideline ‘eat a variety of foods’ my new mantra is ‘wear a variety of shoes’!

“No walking or running for at least three months,” my physiotherapist commanded me. I was devastated. How could I cope without even a walk in the fresh air and sunshine? And how would I stop from morphing into the Michelin man? Overnight I cut out 25km of running and 10km of walking each week. All I had left was 5km of swimming and some Pilates. I went through a few months of exercise withdrawal before I finally settled comfortably into slothfulness. It’s been great sleeping in until 6.45am rather than dragging myself into the icy dark streets at 5.30. And the surprising thing is that I didn’t gain any more bulges than I usually do over winter. What was my secret? Don’t eat after dinner at night. It’s easier said than done so here are my top five tips for resisting the after dinner nibble urge.

• 1. Brush your teeth straight after dinner
• 2. Keep your tight jeans or skirt on when you get home rather than slipping into some sloppy, spacious track pants
• 3. Do some exercise after dinner. I would go to Pilates one night and swimming another night. It really helps to do this with a friend so you stay committed. If the evenings are light, walking or tennis with a friend are also great options. I’ll be trying these soon now that daylight saving has started in NZ.
• 4. Eat a reasonable sized lunch which includes protein and ideally a vinaigrette dressing. Protein has lasting power and vinegar lowers the glycemic index which also makes the meal last longer. Yesterday I went out for lunch and had a delicious salad of grilled salmon on baby spinach leaves with a soy sauce, ginger and lime dressing. I wasn’t hungry until 8pm! If you can’t have a decent lunch, have protein mid-afternoon. Try sushi or a handful of raw nuts.
• 5. Go to bed early and read a good book. Compared to blobbing in front of TV with a block of chocolate you’re more likely to expand your mind and shrink your stomach!

You are trying to lose weight and are about to go out for dinner. What do you choose? Salad or vegetables, vegetarian pasta or veal masala? So much depends on how it’s been cooked and what’s been added. Vegetarian pasta in a tomato-based sauce with a salad sounds low in kilojoules but if the vegetables are pre-roasted in oil, the tomato sauce has been laced with cream, the salad is swimming in dressing and cheese smothers the lot, perhaps good old meat and vegetables would have been a better choice. Here are a few healthy eating out tips to help you skip the lurking kilojoules in restaurant food.

• Order water for the table and drink at least one glass for every glass of wine. This helps to fill you up and slow down your eating – and drinking!
• Order plain bread (or toast at breakfast) with the butter or olive oil served separately. Garlic, herb or pizza bread has the fat already added.
• If the meal you are ordering comes with a sauce, ask if it is creamy. Even tomato sauces are often ‘finished’ with cream. A 50 ml dash of cream (less than ¼ cup) adds an extra five teaspoons of fat to the sauce!
• The same applies to soup. Ask if it is made with cream. Even tomato and vegetable soups sometimes have cream or butter added.
• Poached eggs are a good egg choice – unless it’s ‘eggs benedict’ wit all that creamy sauce. Scrambled eggs are often made with cream to give that creamy texture.
• Order extra vegetables or salad.
• At Asian restaurants, choose stir-fried dishes with extra vegetables.
• Check if curries are made with coconut cream which has lots of artery clogging saturated fat.
• Most sweet and sour dishes use meat or fish which has been pre-fried which adds extra fat.
• If you feel full or don’t love the flavour of something, it’s OK to leave some food on your plate. No-one will growl at you!
• If you are planning on eating dessert, order an entrée with side serve of salad or vegetables rather than a main.
• Best desserts are fresh fruit, sorbet or coffee with biscotti.
• If you need a chocolate fix, order a trim hot chocolate for dessert.
• Follow the 3 S’s rule: choose small serves, share large serves and save some for later.