I don’t have health insurance, so I have a big investment in staying healthy.

And so I did a little research today — I found the top causes of death, then created a spreadsheet for the controllable risk factors for each.

Some things can’t be controlled (your age, family history of diseases, gender). But others can. And those things aren’t a huge surprise — you already know not to smoke, drink too much, or eat crappily.

It’s interesting, though, how all of the major diseases are caused by the same things: smoking, diet, exercise, alcohol and stress.

Below I’ll list the top habits you can change, and a simple method for changing them.

The 8 Habits of Healthy Living

1. Stop smoking. This is by far the most important habit, as it affects almost every single one of the leading causes of death. It’s also the hardest of these habits to change. It’s not at all impossible — I quit six years ago next month (read my tips).

2. Lose weight (if you’re overweight). This is not exactly a habit — the best habit to form to lose weight is to eat less. Or eat more of things that don’t have a lot of calories, like fruits and veggies. Being overweight is just below smoking the worst risk factor for many diseases.

3. Exercise. You don’t need me to tell you to exercise, but listen to this: lack of exercise is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, colon & rectal cancers, diabetes, breast cancer, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. If you don’t exercise, you’re just asking to get a major disease. It’s almost a magic pill: do a bit of exercise every day, and you get healthy. You don’t need much — start with 5 minutes a day in the morning.

4. Drink only in moderation. Heavy drinking is one of the worst risk factors for many diseases. That’s more than 2 drinks of alcohol a day for men, and more than 1 drink for women. A glass of red wine is a good thing, but too many and you’re greatly increasing your risk of disease.

5. Cut out red & processed meats. Eating red meats, and processed meats like sausages, bacon, canned meats and so on, is a risk factor for colon/rectal cancer, stomach cancer, and high cholesterol, which in turn is a leading risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke. While this won’t sit well with many people, the overwhelming mass of research supports this. I recommend going vegetarian.

6. Eat fruits & veggies. This is obvious, but it’s amazing how few veggies most people eat. Eating fruits and veggies reduces your risk of several leading diseases, and it’s one of the easiest habits to form. Eat a salad (without heavy dressings, bacon or other meats, croutons or cheese), add veggies to soups or veggie chili, cook up veggies as a healthy side dish with dinner or lunch. Eat fruits with breakfast and as snacks.

7. Reduce salt, and saturated/trans fats. Salt and saturated or trans fats are in so many processed or prepared foods, and they increase risks of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which increase risk for heart disease and stroke. Despite what the Weston Price Foundation and other people on the Internet tell you, saturated fat isn’t healthy — read the sources. Note that this isn’t a controversy in the medical community, but the “harmlessness” of saturated fats is perpetuated by the diary and meat industries, and lay writers like Gary Taube. Cook your own healthy meals instead of eating out or eating prepared foods.

8. Reduce stress. Stress is a risk factor for heart disease and high blood pressure, which is itself a risk factor for stroke. Simplify your workday so that you’re not overly stressed, and exercise to relieve stress.

How to Form the Habits

This might seem like a lot to change, if you’re not already doing these things, but let me share something with you: I changed all of these in the last 6 years.

In 2005, I was incredibly unhealthy. Then I learned to change my habits, and slowly I:

• Quit smoking.
• Started running.
• Became vegan.
• Lost 70 lbs.
• Cleaned up my diet and got rid of unhealthy stuff.
• Simplified my life and reduced stress.
• Cut drinking down to 1-2 glasses of red wine a day.

I did it, and so can you. I changed one habit at a time, slowly, in tiny tiny steps, and it wasn’t hard. Don’t try to change everything, and don’t make it hard on yourself. It’s actually very easy if you’re patience and if you just start.

Here’s how to change these habits:

• Change only one habit at a time. It doesn’t matter which habit you choose. Just choose one. You’ll want to do more than one, but don’t.
• Create positive habits you enjoy. Read the last word again — if you enjoy it, the habit change will be easy. Replace smoking with positive habits you enjoy that fulfill the needs that smoking now fulfills (stress reduction, social lubrication, boredom relief, etc.). Replace red meats with healthy foods you enjoy.
• Start as small as possible. Just do 5 minutes the first week, and try to be consistent as possible. Then do 10 minutes. Small change is by far the most effective method I’ve used for changing habits. Slow change lasts.
• Make it social. Find a partner or group to change the habit with you, so you’re more likely to stick with it.

These work. I’ve done them many times, and every time I stick to these principles, I’ve changed a habit.

Healthy living isn’t impossible, or even especially difficult. It’s just slower to come by than most people care for.

Giudice, who has four daughters with her husband Joe — Gia, 10, Gabriella, 7, Milania, 5, and Audriana, 2 — says that she simply doesn’t have time for negative energy in her life, including the gossip rumors about her and her Real Housewives cast mates. Instead she prefers to focus on her family and her career.

With so much going on for her right now, including juggling her career and taking time out to spend with her family, Giudice says she doesn’t even have the time to sleep. “I can sleep when my kids are gone and gown. For now, I’m up with them in the morning, I send them to school, I work out with Audriana at the gym, then I work, run errands, work some more, pick the kids up for school, make dinner help them with their homework. Joe and I get alone time once they’re in bed,” she said.

Giudice also says that she’s just now taking care of her body as her 40th birthday is just around the corner. “For the first time in my life, I joined a gym. I’m 40 this year and having kids finally caught up with me! That’s actually the theme of my third cookbook coming out next year. What’s worked for me is going to the gym first thing in the morning after my older girls go to school.”

It looks like Giudice is going to need that extra energy for the upcoming year. There’s a little birdie going around saying that she might be part of the next cast of The Celebrity Apprentice. With Guidice and possibly Victoria Gotti on the show, that would be a good show worth watching.

Photo courtesy The Brooks Group

So 3 months into this being 40 thing and I am learning so much about becoming an “older” woman. Well, if I’m being honest, I have been privy to a lot of this for a while now, but it seems that somehow when you actually become 2 scores, everything is magnified by 10 like the ugly side of those vanity mirrors and no matter how hard you try, you can’t make it stop. So here are a few things that you discover once you start to crest the hill (which incidentally I will be doing for at least another 10 years).

1. Your body makes lots of new and strange noises. Now one could ask, “how is that any different than being a teenaged boy?” Well, I am happy to answer. You see, teenaged boys are usually making these sounds on purpose, either with their mouths, or other body parts. But a woman over 40? She is usually just as surprised as everyone else when a joint creeks or her behind suddenly learns how to play the trumpet. Most of the time, if you ask her what that sound was, she is just as clueless as you are.

2. You suddenly develop the ability to REALLY multi-task in some new and exciting ways, for instance, you can gain an obscene amount of fat/weight, while simultaneously being able to build massive muscle in a very short amount of time. I have completely stopped using weights when I workout because I don’t want to end up looking like a chubby linebacker.

3. Piggy backing off of number 2, you are secretly convinced that you are not going through the change, you are really turning into a man. You know this because you have more facial hair than your male significant other, you develop the appetite of a lumber jack, and you’re horny at sunrise like a teenaged boy with morning wood (I’m sensing an ongoing theme here).

4. And the final thing that you have to get used to is the fact that guys your age are suddenly no longer attracted but guys your son’s age want to benefit from your years of experience and are fascinated by your newly acquired natural double Ds that you hate because nothing with a waist or without fits right anymore. You, in essence have become a cougar, which you don’t mind so much because how else are you going to satisfy that morning urge? (That is of course if you are single).

Having said all this, I would never want to be in my 20s again. Especially considering that I was a very new, very high strung young wife, and smack dab in the middle of having and taking care of home and babies. Seriously, I would rather plank on hot coals than do go through that ordeal again…okay, maybe not.

It finally happened. I knew that it would and I couldn’t stop it. But I wasn’t ready. It had already happened to many of my closest friends, but that didn’t make me feel any better.

On the first of July this year, I turned 40 years old. Yes, the BIG 4-0. I started thinking about this birthday around Christmastime last year. I wasn’t dwelling on turning 40 but wrapping my mind around the fact seemed somewhat challenging.

When I shared this with some of my close friends and family, I usually got some variation of the same comment. Their responses were mostly encouraging and related to physical appearance and professional achievements relative to my age. But my mixed emotions about turning 40 were not due to concerns about my appearance or worry about my career.

I wasn’t concerned about whether other people thought that I looked good for 40 or if they felt that I should have accomplished more by this age. For me, 40 is the time to perform my next big self-examination. A time for me to take a step back, reflect on my life, create new goals, and update my plans for my walk through life.

Having goals is important to me so reflection and self-examination are key pieces in this process. I like to be organized and develop well-thought out plans for achieving my goals. Over time I have learned to be less rigid in my plans and to re-examine them often because life usually doesn’t conform to our plans.

So what’s the big deal about 40? Compared to age 30, today my cholesterol and BMI are lower, my salary is higher, I’ve paid off all my student loans from college and medical school, I spend more time with my family and friends, and my jump shot is better. Okay, it’s my perception that my jump shot is better but the other things are facts!

Although I feel great about my life, there are some very important things that will impact my life plans at age 40 compared to 30. By far, the biggest difference in my life today is that I’m a mother. My two children, Elise- 8 and Trey- 5, have significantly changed the way that I see life and my priorities. Because of them, I am also more aware of the importance of being a good role model; recognizing that ‘do as I say, not as I do’ is usually ineffective.

Another difference at age 40 is the focus on being healthy. Some of the most common chronic medical conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes are more prevalent after age 40. So the efforts to be physically active, maintain a healthy weight and avoid tobacco that worked prior to age 40 is not enough. Screening for the early detection of some conditions like breast cancer should begin at age 40.

According the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, ALL women age 40 should:

• Get a Pap test at least every 3 years to screen for cervical cancer.
• Have a blood pressure check at least once every 2 years if it was previously normal. If the blood pressure has ever been elevated, more frequent monitoring is needed.
• Get a flu shot every year to protect yourself and others from the flu.
• Get enough folic acid because women of child-bearing age require an additional 400mcg of folic acid daily to prevent birth defects. This supplement is recommended for sexually active women until age 50. Many pregnancies after age 40 are not planned.
• Based on family history and other risk factors, SOME women age 40 should also:
• Discuss colon cancer screening with your doctor if someone in your family has had colorectal cancer.
• Get your cholesterol checked once every 5 years if you are at high risk for heart disease (if you smoke, have diabetes, high blood pressure, are overweight or have a family history of heart disease).
• Get screened for breast cancer. Talk with your doctor about when to start getting mammograms and how often you need them.
• Get tested for sexually transmitted diseases including HIV if you have unprotected sex.
• Talk with your doctor if breast or ovarian cancer runs in your family. Some women may benefit from additional screening or medications to prevent cancer.

To learn what prevention strategies you should be planning based on your age, visit http://healthfinder.gov/ Enter your age and gender in the myhealthfinder tool and you will receive specific information about what you can do stay healthy.

I hope you will join me in my celebration of life and make plans to stay as healthy as possible!

Let me start at the beginning.

For my 40th birthday, I had a birthday party. I have family and friends around. My husband, son and 2 step daughters (kids are 7, 15, & 17 respectively) were also with me. I had a great time and really found myself embracing the 40 year old syndrome. I am reasonably active after work, but during the day, I have a day job and sit at a desk all day.

So, after my birthday, I continue with my life, but a funny thing started to happen, I started to feel more confident. It was like a revelation one day. I felt like I gave off an aura of confidence and I felt sexy!! I felt more sexy at 40 than I did in my 30′s. Maybe because I could flirt with younger men and know I could get away with it. (no sexual innuendo’s just flirt). Maybe I was embracing the cougar in me. I felt more comfortable in my skin. So, life is good…

Well then I started noticing little things, my size 8 shorts didn’t fit.. uh-oh I went to a size 10…o.k. I wanted to get back into the gym more often. I started doing the workout that I did at 37 and –oh my the size 10 shorts are getting..umm snug..I also added modifying my food intake–diet for all of the non-dieters–which is something i didn’t do before.

So I went to the doctor yesterday for my yearly appt. After that appt, I felt like I need to start applying to nursing homes. The doctor meant well but when I asked about the weight gain, she told me that it is normal and now we have to work extra hard to get rid of the fat and it is much easier for us to gain weight. (no –really–wow thanks for that info).

My aura of confidence has vanished, my sexiness–GONE—(and to top it off I am PMS’ing). I feel fat, horrible, old, and want to eat a box of Whoppers but can’t because I will gain weight in the middle.

So, I guess I better eat vegtables, fart like an old woman, and know that I will not wear a t-shirt that says spoiled rotten on it (the dog might though

For an athlete, turning 40 can be traumatic. Jon Williams turned his first full season as a masters runner into the best of his career.

The Miami resident didn’t go quietly into the masters division. He continued to run at the front of the pack, winning 43 races in 2009 and recording personal-best times at several distances, including a 2-hour, 39-minute marathon at Chicago in October.

“When I was 39, I said I cannot wait for next year. In masters, you get a little extra recognition; it’s an extra award at a lot of races,” said Williams, who will be honored Saturday night in Lakeland as Male Masters Road Runner of the Year by the Road Runners Club of America.

“I keep feeling I can get faster. As long as I’m not slowing down, things are good.”

If time is not catching up with Williams, it may be because he never stops. In 2009, he ran 117 races. That’s more than two races a week, and he averaged nearly a win a week – that’s finishing first overall, not merely winning his age group.

Williams, who competes for Gold Coast Runners club, never met a race he wouldn’t enter. In 2009, he ran distances ranging from 400 meters in a track meet to the Tallahassee Ultra 50K. He won that 31.1-mile endurance test in 3:43.22. beating 16-year-old Cameron Wheeler by 15 seconds.

Eight times Williams ran more than one race in a day. Then there was the Nov. 21 5K trifecta.

In the morning he was first overall in the Coral Springs Charter School Turkey Trot. He then won the Gobble Wobble 5K in Miami and capped the day by finishing 12th in the Fantasy of Lights 5K in Coconut Creek.

His times for the day ranged from 18:04 to 18:22. The following day he won another 5K in 17:55.

“I’m always thinking ahead to the next big race,” he said. “Every time I line up, the competitive instinct comes out and I want to do my best that day.”

No wonder Williams’ personal web site is jonruns.com. Does he ever. And no surprise that he describes himself as obsessive compulsive.

He keeps meticulous records of his training runs and race results. He arrives at races with a check list of things to do before the start taped to the underside of the trunk lid of his car.

The surprise is that Williams went about 15 years without running at all.

Only third-best on his high school cross country team in Cincinnati, he has had his most success since returning to the sport in his early 30s. He’s run at least a mile every day since Dec. 8, 2002, even on days following marathons.

“I looked at myself and saw I was getting to middle age. I knew I had to do something to get in shape,” said Williams, who works for the City of Miami Beach.

Williams was named Male Road Runner of the Year for 2006 by the RRCA. The masters award gives him a set to match one of his idols in running, Bill Rodgers, who won both awards and will be the keynote speaker at Saturday’s ceremony.

Meb Keflezighi, who finished fifth in Monday’s Boston Marathon, will receive the other men’s award. Joan Benoit Samuelson, the 1984 Olympic gold medalist, is the women’s masters award winner. Williams finished ahead of her in the recent Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run in Washington.

Williams says he is “blown away” to be recognized along with legends of the sport. But few can match his dedication and passion. He has run at least 100 races each of the past five years.

Last year’s total was his highest, and it coincided with getting married. Family obligations soon may cut into his racing schedule, but for now, at 41, Williams is making the most of his time on the road.

“I’m a huge believer in the long-term road to success is building miles on miles,” Williams said. “Putting in a lot time and effort, I think, can help almost everybody become successful.”

Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Sesame Street turned 40 yesterday, the Internet turned 40 last month, Diddy and Matthew McConaughey blew out 40 candles last week…guys, I think we’re on to something here. Turning 40 is as cool as it gets.

And I see a real trend in how people are celebrating. Gone are the “over the hill” parties; today 40 year-olds look more like characters from “The Hills.”

From safaris, to surf school, to costume parties, Botox bashes, girl getaways, Vegas, and Paris, people are celebrating 40 in bigger and better ways than ever. And why not? Forty is fabulous.

With that, I recently adventured into blogland to launch My Fabulous 40th Birthday. I hope all of you 40 year-olds and almost 40 year-olds will drop by as I spend the twelve months leading up to my own 40th birthday blogging about fabulous 40th birthday ideas, real birthday celebrations, and a few musings on what it means to turn 40.

Glad to be in such good company as all of you!

http://www.myfabulous40thbirthday.blogspot.com

Turning forty has become a landmark. Many people celebrate with elaborate parties and enjoy being at the height of life. But even if you are in pretty good shape, your friends who are older will give you warnings: “Just wait”, “You’re going to gain weight”, or “Check your blood pressure!” Whoever said “40 is the new 30″ was not forty-six, and most 40-something bodies are showing some wear and tear. If you have more than a few extra pounds on, the wear and tear will be more significant. Losing some weight while you are in your forties will assure you better health into your fifties and sixties- a time when you may have more free time, and want to spend it doing something fun. Even if you are not overweight, you may find it a challenge to maintain your weight now. A registered dietitian can give you the support you really need.

1. Registered dietitians are food and nutrition experts, translating the science of nutrition into practical solutions for healthy living. Information you may get from others who claim to understand nutrition, pails in comparison to the expertise, training and credentials that back a registered dietitian.

2. RDs not only have degrees in food and nutrition from accredited colleges and universities, but also have been trained to counsel and coach individuals, understanding how to properly promote positive lifestyle choices. RDs can develop personalized nutrition plans for any individual, no matter what age or medical history.

3. RDs are nutrition professionals you can trust. When you need food and nutrition information based on fact or need to know how a healthy diet improves health and fights disease- rely on qualified professionals in the field.

4. Heart disease and cancer are leading causes of death. A healthy weight and diet can help reduce your risk. A registered dietitian can put you on the path to lowering weight, eating healthfully and reducing your risk of chronic disease.

5. Now is the time to find your own RD; your personal nutrition coach! Health care costs are rising and if you want to live a comfortable life, as you grow older, now is the time to take control of your health.

Rosanne Rust, MS, RD, LDN
Registered Dietitian
Nutrition Consulting, Writing, Lectures

http://www.rustnutrition.com

Licensed Provider for Real Living Nutrition Services®

Tired of dieting?
Try a new approach to weight management:
http://www.rosannerust.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rosanne_Rust

Rosanne Rust – EzineArticles Expert Author

I suppose that is sorta how I feel about turning 40. I don’t feel forty. A good point is that no I do not listen to Van Halen much but my Ipod is instead loaded with Sublime, The White Stripes, Shiny Toy Guns, Wilco, TV on the Radio and the like. I suppose I believed when I was a kid that forty year olds just listened to Paul Anka and were busy yelling at the neighbor kids to get out of their yard.

I suppose it is a blessing to feel more at ease talking to those younger then me then those older, but it is a bigger blessing that I feel I have more in common with the youth. Some of this youthful outlook is great. I love working out. Most folks my age seem to be less fit and as time goes on just give up being healthy. What started as weight loss morphed into weight training and now is taking on new avenues of fitness. I Loved bicycling into work the last few days and flipping off the gas sign on the way. I plan to do this until late fall (gas sign flipage contingent on future gas prices), but who knows we may have a mild winter. The point is that I am in the best physical shape of my life and I plan to improve to a higher excellence as time goes on and that is not the thinking of an old man.

The down side was I could of accomplished much more if I was not so immature in other areas of my life. My youth was not filled with sex, drugs, and rock and roll but two out of three ain’t bad. I would of took them all but their is no accounting for taste in the fairer sex. It is sorta silly to look back with regret. I mean the first time I benched four sets of 10 I did the bar alone. The next week I improved. We all start somewhere and when we start is different for all of us. Why did I wait until 38 to get healthy? The only thing I can come up with was I was resting from what I thought was an overwhelming life. Now I workout to get more from life.

All and all it is a beautiful life. Their is plenty of things to work on but I suppose I feel rested and ready for the challenge. I keep my eyes open for the wonder and never say never. It is like Dylan sang, “Ah, but I was so much older then I’m younger then that now.

Read more from Augiegus

I turn 40 in 5 days and I asked a bunch of people for a list of all the things I should do in the next 5 days that would be socially unacceptable for me to do after I turn 40. The only thing that came up was “take dirty pictures”.

I am very happy with how my life has turned out. However, one of my goals in life was to reach that point…. no matter WHERE I was in life at any given time. That’s all we all really want is to just be happy regardless of circumstances.

The only thing I am NOT happy with is my weight. I lift heavy weights alot so I have sort of a football player look to me, but, I do carry more fat than I want. But on the other hand, I think, WHY DO I CARE? I have the most amazing wife in the world, awesome kids, and a fun life. Why do I care if I’m ‘sexy’? BFD! Right? Now I just have to convince myself of that.

]]> http://turning40.net/why-do-i-care-by-christopher/feed/ 1 http://turning40.net/physical-training-at-40-by-todd/ http://turning40.net/physical-training-at-40-by-todd/#comments Sat, 03 May 2008 01:12:46 +0000 admin http://turning40.net/?p=246 Physical Training

Read more from Todd at his site

When I was losing weight I had images of lean and slender woman who looked fit. As I was turning 40 and I was at my ideal weight I changed my focus. I put on my board a caption that was on a magazine that said “40 and WOW”. Look for photos and phrases that are inspiring to you and make your goal real. Create a board of these images. This is a great thing to teach kids, my children and I have done this together as a craft project.

Place the board somewhere where you can look at every day. I have one right in front of me right now, it is focused on my business and has images of success. The brain unconsciously works on this goal even when you are not thinking about it. Give it a try.

If you do create one show it to me! Here is the one I created when I turned 40, I wanted to workout with weights and reduce my body fat. I was also focused on my ebusiness and writing a book, so this helped me to stayed focused on my goals.

Rosa is a life coach  with a speciality in wellness and weight loss. She is certified in Hypnosis, NLP, EFT and Success Coaching. She is the author of Mind Over Platter: Train Your Brain to Think Thin, as well as the creator of Hypnosis CD’s for weight loss. Her site is www.mindoverplatter.com

• Drink water: The more you keep your body hydrated the longer your skin will stay elastic and supple. Your inside will be happy as well and be less likely to hold on to water weight due to “water faminine” just like your body adjusts and slows down your metabolism for “calorie famine” when you severely cut back on eating.

• Create a support system of positive people: As you get older, life changes become far more stressful thus reeking havoc on your body and your appearance. Life is much easier and less lonely when you have a support system of really wonderful people who will back you up and remind you of your strength and lovability. Your support system will also help make you laugh which is something you need to do more of during those stressful life changes.

• Stay physically active: You don’t have to go to the gym more to stay fit after 40, you just need to keep moving and participate in activities that involve movement like dancing, kayaking, or dog walking. As we get older, we tend to sit more thus minimizing opportunities to burn calories and keep the muscles active. Joining activities that involve groups of people can also help you make new friends or make you feel like you belong to a group which leads to better overall happiness.

• Bask in the sun sparingly: If you’re over 40 and have a hot bod, by all means you should show it off at the beach or the pool, but do it sparingly. Basking in the sun for hours and days will only increase the rate at which your skin wrinkles, shows spots, and mature faster than your actual age.

• Stop taking yourself too seriously: Because we’re grown-ups now many of us feel the need to always act like a grown-up and be serious all the time. After all, we’re now parents, leaders, business people, and the “example to the younger ones,” so with all that seriousness you smile less and feel more stress. Phewy! You can be the adult and still radiate some kid-like vibrance. So much of your life is spent on the serious things going on that you forget to have fun and be playful along the way. When you lighten up, your whole glow lightens up too.

More about Stephanie and her blog – Back in Skinny Jeans 

With the right attitude, this decade can be enriching and invigorating

“Your sex appeal is history.” “Might as well toss that sports equipment.” Your buddies are happy to pepper you with these myths as you approach the big Four-O, but here’s the truth: a man’s 40s can be a great time of life.

“These years are life-changing, not life-ending,” says clinical social worker Bruce Curry of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “You might not have the same feeling of invincibility you had in your 20s and 30s, but you can feel more confident and content.” Here’s how to reach that comfort level:

Pay attention to your health. “Young men tend to ignore it, but it’s important to focus on health now to prevent problems later,” says internist Gregory Stout, D.O., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. That’s especially true if you have conditions like heart disease in your family. Get your cholesterol and blood pressure checked, watch your weight, and give up unhealthy habits like smoking.

Take a new approach to sports. You might not be able to keep up with 20-year-olds on the basketball court, but you can keep your competitive juices flowing in an over-40 league—or in a new sport, like golf.

Have realistic goals. It’s the key to avoiding a midlife crisis. “If you’re not the tycoon you thought you’d be by age 40, adjust your expectations or you’re in for a fall,” Curry says.

Be proud of your career achievements. You’ve worked hard to establish yourself and now might be a manager or shop foreman. Explore how you might use the skills and experience you’ve gained to help younger co-workers.

Spend time with your family. Don’t keep putting off that ski trip you promised your children—they’ll be grown before you know it. Stay attuned to your partner’s feelings as she makes her own midlife transition. And learn from your parents, who can help prepare you for a rich life well beyond 40.

Get involved in your community. Whether it’s coaching a children’s soccer team or helping clean up the local park, you’ll broaden your circle and enrich your life.

Want to Know More? For a list of 10 top health tips for men and a schedule of regular checkups you need, call 610-402-CARE, or click here.

The Latest Health Craze

Sure, it’s not the most joyous of all occasions. But, turning forty needn’t be a harbinger of life on the decline. In fact, with just a bit of care, the decades beyond forty can easily be the most enjoyable period of one’s life.

Scientists continue to verify the health benefits of an active lifestyle. Especially as we age. A recent study by researchers at the University of Cambridge finds that even modest exercise helps those over forty prevent stroke.

A little background information will help us gain a bit of perspective. 15 million people worldwide suffer strokes each year. 5 million of these people die, and an additional 5 million are permanently disabled. In the United States, someone suffers a stroke every 45 seconds – someone dies of a stroke every 3 to 4 minutes. In 2004, females accounted for over 60% of the stroke deaths in the U.S.

The researchers examined over 13,000 men and women, ages 40 to 79, between 1993 and 1997. They then followed their health status through 2005.

The researchers assessed the participants’ physical abilities in completing everyday tasks: climbing stairs, carrying groceries, kneeling, bending and lifting. They found the more capable individuals were in completing these tasks, the lower their risk of stroke. Those in the top 25% of physical capability were 50% less likely to have a stroke than those in the lowest 25%.

“People who reported better physical health had significantly lower risk of stroke,” said study author Phyo Kyaw Myint, MRCP, with the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Go ahead – enjoy your fortieth birthday. And, to make sure there are many more, add a bit of stretching, bending, walking, stair climbing, and grocery carrying to your daily routine. Before you know it, you’ll be celebrating with a cake blessed with too many candles to count – and, a life full of vibrant years to match.

To read more about the study, see this from ScienceDaily. To learn more about stroke prevention, see this from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

GEORGE NEGUS: Now, something just a little trickier and much harder to define – the psychological impact of hitting the four-score mark. It used to be summed up by the simple term ‘midlife crisis’. According to some of the experts, there’s no such thing – at least not in a quantifiable medical sense. On the other hand, there are self-styled geniuses out there who’ll tell you that psychologically, turning 40 is a major milestone. Confused? Well, here’s Dr Caroline West with some very thoughtful people who might be able to sort this out for us.

DR CAROLINE WEST: According to some psychological research, you’ll face two events that will change your life forever. The first crisis is adolescence and the second is, you guessed it, turning 40. So, what’s the psychology of a typical 40-year-old? Well, given that there are a few hundred thousand of us in this country, there are probably a few hundred thousand different answers to that very complex question. And if it helps any, I’m 40 – well, just – and if I think about it, I don’t know if my psyche’s changed that much from when I was 30…or has it?

JULIE McCROSSIN, RADIO NATIONAL: 40 was good for me. I was full of that Sophie Tucker ‘Life Begins At 40′ and it felt like that for me. I felt physically fit and intellectually confident.

DR CAROLINE WEST: You’ll know Rebecca Wilson from ABC TV’s ‘The Fat’. She’s just turned 40. She’s a single mum and she’s a highly motivated, extremely successful sports commentator.

REBECCA WILSON, ‘THE FAT’: I felt fantastic when I turned 40. Plus I’ve got young children, but they’re now getting to an age where they’re great mates rather than being a chore. So, through my 30s, you go through that really, really difficult time of being a new mum and juggling work commitments and all those things. And now, in your 40s, you can sit back and enjoy the…the rewards of all the hard work you did in your 20s and 30s – from a professional and personal viewpoint.

DR CAROLINE WEST: Many of us 40-year-olds grew up surrounded by second-wave feminist ideas of managing a family and a career at the same time. But even those of us lucky enough to have healthy kids and a good job still wonder if we’re successful.

REBECCA WILSON: One woman said to me years ago, “It’s the truth serum decade.” And I think that’s right, that you feel that you have a…a great responsibility to yourself to be true to yourself that you don’t really understand through your 20s and 30s, and that the most important person in terms of that integrity is yourself.

DR CAROLINE WEST: In fact, an Australian survey of women in their 20s, 40s and 60s found that forty-somethings were well ahead of twenty-somethings when it came to emotional health. The majority were balancing a job and having kids at home, but were happy in spite of being hectic. For Rebecca, resignation to the fact of 40 only goes so far.

REBECCA WILSON: People start talking about Botox. (Laughs) And they say to you, “Are you thinking about Botox?” and you go, “Why?!”, because you always think of yourself as being 25, even in the face, and then you see things start sagging. And I think, physically, that’s a real issue.

DR CAROLINE WEST: For men, though, the mythology about turning 40 seems to be very different. Forget the idea of independence plus responsibility. The popular assumption is that 40-year-old men become utterly irresponsible as they battle to recapture their lost youth – the classic recipe for the midlife crisis.

JAMES O’LOGHLIN, ABC RADIO: It’s time to think, “Well, where am I really? “Am I…am I happy?” Um…and it’s got to be about me, really. I don’t want to do things because I’ve been doing them for the last 10 years and because it’s the right and appropriate thing to do.

DR CAROLINE WEST: For columnist, author and sports commentator Peter Fitzsimons, the issue is about more than appropriate behaviour. For him, the real psychological turning point was the balance between death and happiness.

PETER FITZSIMONS, AUTHOR: I suppose, you know, there are friends of mine who are in their 40s that suddenly… (Clicks) ..gone. Suicides, heart attacks, you know? Not a lot, but…in that area where now I’m conscious of my mortality.

DR CAROLINE WEST: And when it comes to blokey blokes, there are few blokier than Peter. A former Wallabies second rower, he played seven tests for Australia. He became an admired sportsman and media celebrity, and it all happened in his 20s and 30s.

PETER FITZSIMONS: In one of Bob Dylan’s less-known works, there’s a phrase he comes up with which is, “This ocean of hours I’m all the time drinking,” and when you’re 20, it is an ocean of hours ahead of you, it just doesn’t matter. And when you’re 30, it’s this huge, huge lake. And when you’re 40, it’s a very, very big-sized dam.

DR CAROLINE WEST: In other words, the older you get, the smaller the world becomes. Suddenly no unlimited horizon or future. And today, with wife Lisa away on business, even the luxury of contemplating mortality is out of the question.

PETER FITZSIMONS: It’s far more complicated in terms of where I was at 23 or 24, which was playing football and writing and no…not committed to one partner and no children. Uh…life then was far simpler, but not better. I mean, now – it sounds like a Hallmark greeting card – but I do ‘love my life’. I do love my life at 40, and long may it continue.

DR CAROLINE WEST: So what’s new about the psychology of turning 40 today? Well, I think one of the most interesting observations is that people are having children later. In our grandmothers’ day, you were most likely to have small children in your early 20s. These days, many people in their 40s have young families, and as we’ve just seen, the big 4-0 can be the beginning of contentment, independence and emotional maturity. So surely for our kids that must be a good thing.

Gigi Levangie Grazer writes about women — their strengths, their struggles, their insecurities.
She especially knows a thing or two about women in their 40s — their celebrations, their confidence, their successes.

Grazer, in her mid-40s, wrote the screenplay for “Stepmom” and is the author of three books, including “The Starter Wife,” a novel about one woman redefining herself after her movie-mogul husband dumps her. Grazer also was executive producer for the television miniseries, based on the novel, that is airing this month on the USA Network.

As an outsider’s insider (she’s married to a producer), she sees many challenges that Hollywood women 40 and older face, but she also knows those are challenges shared by many women everywhere.

What she hopes women realize after reading the book or seeing the miniseries is that they, too, can be 40 and fabulous simply by embracing themselves and finding their inner confidence. I caught up with Grazer by e-mail while she was doing movie-related events in Los Angeles.

Q: Is being fabulous at 30 different from being fab and 40?

A: Being fabulous at 40 is definitely different than being fabulous at 30. When you’re in your 30s, you’re still trying to be what society wants you to be and trying to define your happiness by society’s standards.

In your 40s, you come to terms with your imperfections and learn to love them — they are what make you fabulous. After 40, you learn to celebrate yourself and find a confidence that just wasn’t possible in your 30s.

Q: Forty seems to be one of those magic bullets for women. Certainly it’s just a number, but for some women, it’s so much more. Are women starting to move past the notion that it’s downhill from there?

A: Absolutely. I think the emphasis among 40-plus women is really about taking care of themselves. Turn ing 40 is still a turning point for most women, but not in the negative way once was. Turning 40 is now liberating Women can finally be selfish and do what makes them feel good, and as a result, they look good, too!

My book “The Starter Wife” really shows how life is just beginning after 40 which is why I’m so happy Ponds teamed with USA network to make it in to a national TV event. The six-part miniseries celebrates the sexiness, sas siness and confidence of women in their 40s.

Q: Do you think women who are married think differently about being fab and 40 than those who are single? A: Of course, it varies from individual to individual, but I think that women who are 40-plus have similar notions about being fabulous. It’s about something inside that shines through to your outer appearance, and I think that this metamorphosis is the same for both married and single women.

Q: How can women be fab and 40? Any fashion and beauty tips?

A: Here are some of my personal tips to help women look and feel their best in their 40s: ⢠Slip on some fun lingerie, and you will instantly look and feel sexier and sassier. I like to wear lingerie under my morning get the-kids-to-school sweats to remind myself that I’m not just a mom or a driver or the nutty lady who packs the lunch box, and I immediately feel more bold and sexy.

They love the game, they love the camaraderie, they love the money. So why stop?

Major League Baseball has more 40-somethings on rosters than at any time in the last half-century, and that’s even without 44-year-old right-hander Roger Clemens, who is deciding whether to play this season.

While every franchise searches for the next young box-office hero, it’s the sport’s senior citizens such as John Smoltz, Jamie Moyer, David Wells and Moises Alou who still play for postseason glory.

Some of the biggest names in the game are on the far side of 40, such as Barry Bonds, Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. They remain well-conditioned and well-compensated. Together, those five have more than 55 million reasons for continuing their careers in 2007.

“The carrot that dangles before them is bigger, shinier, more valuable and richer,” Atlanta Braves general manager John Schuerholz says about why more 40-somethings commit to stay in top physical condition and continue sacrificing family time. “The next year they play might mean another $10 million or more.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, 24 players 40 or older played in the majors in 2006. This season, 25 players who will be at least 40 during the season were on opening-day rosters or teams’ disabled lists. From 1962 until 1980, there were never as many as 10 major leaguers 40 or older.

Beyond money, relationships in the clubhouse and the lifestyle are other motivating factors.

“The financial blessing is obvious,” says Braves ace Smoltz, who will turn 40 in May. “But at a certain point most guys have the financial freedom to do what they want. I think it’s about the ability to (say) that I’m still good enough, somebody still wants me and I enjoy doing it.”

“My experience is that most players never want to stop playing baseball. But the players (who) are still playing in the big leagues who are over 40 are special people,” says Jim Bowden, general manager of the Washington Nationals. “You have to keep yourself in tremendous condition, and you have to have tremendous character and desire and a passion to play.”

Detroit Tigers reliever Jose Mesa, who’ll turn 41 in May, plans on a heavy workload. “It’s a beautiful game,” he says. “You don’t want to quit. The hardest thing is to do a lot of running and a lot of lifting. I think the knees are the first thing that bother you.”

Forty-somethings and their teams generally know their limitations.

“As long as you can hit, you can stay around this game,” says Alou, the New York Mets’ everyday left fielder who turns 41 in July. Alou, one of three 40-or-older Mets, signed as a free agent this winter. He was leading the National League in hitting last season until he suffered an ankle injury.

“I’ve had my share of injuries but have been able to battle back,” he says. “This team overlooked the things I don’t do (as well at 40) and still wanted me to come and help them win. I think I can still hit the fastball.”

Conditioning key

But can he hit a changeup? Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Moyer, at 44 the oldest pitcher in the majors, is not only a master at changing speeds but a master of caring for his body.

“My theory is that today guys take better care of themselves,” says Moyer, a 21-game winner when he was 40. “I can’t prove any of that, but guys seem to have more concern for what they’re eating and their offseason conditioning. It’s the way this generation has gone about things.”

Moyer’s program includes working with a conditioning coach to strengthen his body’s core to handle the repetition factor involved in pitching. He’s also become an advocate of spinning (aerobic exercise on a stationary bike). It helps that his wife, Karen, operates a spinning studio in Seattle.

“The question you have to ask is: ‘How do I manage myself to do what I do and stay healthy for the duration?’ ” Moyer says. “Everybody feels good when you come to spring training. Then the bell rings in April and the marathon begins.”

In recent years, the best example for baseball life after 40 has been Clemens, whose conditioning has paid off in Hall of Fame numbers. In 2005 he led the NL with a 1.87 ERA but was burned out in the postseason after 32 regular-season starts. Last year Clemens joined his hometown Houston Astros for the second half and compiled a 2.30 ERA in 19 starts.

“We talked about the scenario of a player in his mid-40s when we considered the whole concept of bringing Roger on board for the second half,” Astros general manager Tim Purpura says. “The one constant we’ve seen is that at that age you need more rest and probably less workload.”

Clemens hasn’t said whether he’ll make a second-half appearance this year, but this spring he prepared himself to pitch a 24th season. Jeff Bagwell, in his first year as an instructor with the Astros, watched Clemens work out in Kissimmee, Fla., with a degree of envy.

“I had to stop playing because of my shoulder injury,” says Bagwell, 39 in May. “But Roger, at 44, is still pitching at the highest level of the game. That’s a gift.”

Paying attention to body

Smoltz’s career has been anything but normal. He has gone from Cy Young Award-winning starter to bullpen ace, back to the top of Atlanta’s rotation, working through Tommy John surgery to replace torn elbow ligaments in 2000.

Such procedures and advances to diagnose injuries and speed recuperation have promoted being able to play longer. But staying in shape to compete against younger players is a given. “Ten years ago, it was no big deal, gaining 5 pounds,” says Glavine, 41. “You’d burn that in your sleep. The older you get, that 5 or 10 pounds is a little harder to get rid of. I’ve adjusted my eating habits a lot.”

Glavine also adjusted his workout regimen.

“I really don’t take any time off in the winter anymore,” he says. “You pay attention to what your body is telling you. If the knees get a little bit sore, your ankles get sore, you back off the running and ride the bike. … But I don’t know that a player is any more likely to get hurt when he’s 40 than when he’s 38.”

“I used to buy into what everyone else was saying — that I was getting old,” Smoltz says. “I don’t buy into that anymore. I feel young, (although) I work my butt off to get to this point.”

Teammate Chipper Jones, 35 this month, doesn’t envision Smoltz retiring anytime soon. “He has an unbelievable passion to compete. There’s nothing you can play him in and he’s not good at. … You watch him throwing in the bullpen, and it’s like clockwork. He’s throwing with pretty good stuff for 40 years old.”

Nor is Smoltz ready to retire.

“I still enjoy playing,” he says, “and that’s going to be the indicator for me about when I get out. It’s not going to be a number or an age. It’s going to be that I’m tired of working out. Right now, I absolutely love the competition and preparing for it.”

Families, numbers play roles

How old is too old? Sometimes that answer is determined physically. For others, it comes down to family.

“My body might say I could go five more years, but I think my wife would kill me,” Glavine says.

“The way I’m taking it is one year at a time,” says Moyer, who has six children. “I signed a two-year contract (with Philadelphia), but my family is in Seattle. The last six years, I played at home, slept in my own bed. Now I’m all the way across the country.

“We have a freshman in high school, three in middle school and two that aren’t even in school yet, so it’s not easy. Those are things that I’ll also have to assess from the family side.”

Numbers can also play a role in deciding when a player ends his career. The San Francisco Giants’ Bonds, 42, is closing rapidly on career home run leader Hank Aaron. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Johnson, 43, is the career strikeout leader among left-handed pitchers. Houston second baseman Craig Biggio, 41, hopes to get his 3,000th hit this season. Glavine is nine wins shy of 300.

Some numbers have more cachet than others. Some players put more effort into chasing them, and others are realistic. Alou collected his 300th homer and 2,000th hit last season. He knows he won’t be around long enough for 400 or 2,500, respectively.

“Milestones, honestly they don’t mean a lot,” Smoltz says. “They’re neat, and they’re nice. If they happen, great. But I don’t pitch for milestones. There are a couple things that mean more to me than anything else.

“Me? I’d love to have the real World Series ring on my hand again.”

To mark my birthday, I was inspired to organize a fundraiser in memory of two women who didn’t live to see their 40th birthdays. They died from ovarian cancer, leaving behind friends, mothers, fathers, siblings, husbands, and young children. “F.I.T. to Fight Ovarian Cancer” is a memoriam to my friends, Elka Klein and Sima Goldfarb, and an honorarium to everyone turning 40.

Health and being physically fit are very important to me, so I chose exercise as my venue. Most new research is showing that exercise can help us fight just about everything associated with getting older, proving to be a veritable “fountain of youth.” Exercise is also empowering, uplifting and enlightening. It connects us with our bodies in every way and makes us more aware of it. Some of us don’t like to think about our bodies, but that is a big mistake. It could literally be the difference between life and death.

As women, we are naturally intuitive. Sometimes we feel silly listening to our intuition. Sometimes we know there is something wrong but no one will listen. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynecological cancer because it goes undetected. It whispers. But, it doesn’t have to be a death sentence. When detected early, ovarian cancer has a 90 percent long-term survival rate!

The most common symptoms include: abdominal swelling, bloating, pelvic pain or “feeling full,” and indigestion. Listening to your intuition and knowing your body can help you know what to take seriously.

“FIT to Fight” takes place on Feb. 11 at 9 and 11 a.m. at Cincinnati Functional Fitness in Oakley. The funds raised will go towards an awareness campaign to generate discussion among women, and between physicians and women.

Make 40 a turning point. It is a proven fact that you’re never too old to make a difference in your life, or in someone else’s. Celebrate you life by making this year be a blessing. Do something for your body and soul. Check out our website at www.fittofightoc.com. Be well…

From the Cincinnati Enquirer