Staying Fit for the Over 40 Crowd
from Lose Weight Reviews

No matter how fit you have been all of your life,
when you reach 40, everything seems to change

No matter how fit you have been all of your life, when you reach 40, everything seems to change, especially for women.

Menopause is a contributing factor, though it is uncertain whether it is for physical or psychological reasons. There is no doubt that many women have issues when fatigue as they enter menopause, and this causes them to become less active.

That also creates another problem: the less active you are, the more fatigue you will experience and the less fit you will be. Exercise actually gives you energy, so when you fail to exercise, you will feel drained and exhausted.

Metabolism slows down

Another problem that becomes apparent as you enter your 40s is that your metabolism slows down. One cause for this happening is you become less active, and as you become less active, the calories you consume are burned at a slower rate. That means if you eat the same amount of food that you were eating in the past, you will begin to gain weight.

Staying active

If you have always been fit and active, and you continue to stay active into your middle and senior years, you will not need to change the amount of calories you consume. You may, however, need to adjust the amount of fats and carbohydrates you consume in order to prevent high blood pressure and heart disease. For those who have always been healthy eaters, there is minimal likelihood that you are ingesting too many empty calories. Exercise also keeps you feeling refreshed and promotes good sleeping habits, another problem women may find troublesome as they age.

With that in mind, how does the over-40 man or woman stay fit? One of the most difficult things for anyone is to refuse to give in to fatigue. As long as you are getting enough sleep, it is likely that you experience fatigue because you are not getting enough exercise or are experiencing interrupted sleep. Many people think once they reach 40, they need to slow down, and although this may be true to a degree, it does not mean you should stop exercising. Things such as shoveling snow, mowing the lawn, chopping wood, and other activities that may cause stress on the heart should be minimized, but you can adjust exercise to meet your health needs.

If you find you can no longer perform the aerobic routines you used to do, brisk walking or an exercise bike will work efficiently. You don't have to exercise for a half hour or hour at a time if you are unable to do so- break your routine into small intervals of 15-20 minutes at a time. Don't worry about the aerobics as long as you participate in the aerobics exercises such as cycling, walking, and swimming. In fact, swimming is one of the best exercises you can do because it uses all of your muscles, and unlike other exercises, it's fun and relaxing.

Aerobic exercises

The aerobic exercises are important for speeding your metabolism, so even if you are at a healthy weight, you need to exercise to assure that your body is still burning the calories you consume to prevent weight gain.

In summary, do not let your age be a deterrent to good health and keeping fit. Continue good eating habits throughout your life and exercise regularly. Most importantly, eat foods that are low in fat, reduce your cholesterol, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and drink at least eight ounces of water every day. The combination of diet, exercise, and water will assure that you maintain your weight when you are past 40.

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