1.Do weight or resistance training
Many women are afraid that working out with weight or against resistance will make them “bulky” but that it is not necessarily true, and you still use lighter hand or ankle weights or resistance bands & springs as we do in Pilates to make a difference.
Our muscle mass decreases quicker after the forties and crucially it is also necessary to keep our muscle strength and skin tight and attached to the muscle.
Weight or resistance training is needed to tone up, boost your metabolism, keep weight under control, and very importantly keep your bones strong.
2.Keep your pelvic floor strong
Many women suffer in silence or simply ignore the signs of a dysfunctional pelvic floor until they get much more important symptoms that they can no longer ignore.
It is really a shame because many pelvic floor-related problems can be corrected and dealt with pretty easily if they are taken in time. When you go towards the end of your 40s and go through the hormonal changes of menopause will weaken your pelvic floor even more, creating more issues.
My best advice to women is go and see a women’s physiotherapist as soon as you experience problems, especially if had had children recently. There is a lot that can be done to help but the sooner you deal with it and the better it is.
3.Keep your hormones happy
A woman’s body lives in synergy with her hormones. From our first period to childbearing years, then peri-menopause and menopause our well-being is influenced by this delicate and complex mechanism that has a huge impact on our health.
While we mostly think about our reproductive hormones, we often forget two major players in our health & well-being: the adrenal glands and the thyroid gland.
These glands have they have power over our metabolism, energy production, weight gain, and weight loss, immune system, bone strength, calcium absorption, mood, blood pressure, cortisol ( the stress hormone ) production, and control, hair loss, estrogen balance, sleep/wake cycle and more, with a wide ripple effect.
Mild imbalances often go undetected because most of the commonly performed tests take into consideration only few criteria missing out on the full picture or do not take in consideration the full spectrum of nutrient deficiencies.
Stress, nutrient deficiencies and imbalances, and poor sleep quality can all affect both the adrenals and the thyroid, making it clear how dietary choices and lifestyle habits can have a strong impact.
4.Don’t forget your vitamin C
Vitamin C is a master antioxidant that is needed for many functions in the body. It supports immune function, and energy level, and counter oxidative stress among others.
Crucially though, Vitamin C supports the production of collagen which is the most abundant protein in your body and the one that keeps your skin elastic and wrinkle-free!
5.Invest in your health
If you want to keep your youthful look, and age as gracefully as possible you need to invest in your health & well-being now. Taking good care of yourself in your fourth decade will mean a better way of coping with peri-menopause and menopause symptoms later on, and more health, emotional balance and enjoyable life for longer!
