What’s the ‘F’ word we women don’t like to hear? No it’s not an abuse but it does feel like one…the ‘Forties’!!
We have to deal with stuff like menopause, muscle depletion etc.
When it comes to fitness by the time you near the ‘forties’ you have either found a go-to fitness routine, or you’ve completely given up. Either way, it’s time to shake things up, because this is the time when differences between the fit and unfit really start to show.
While balancing the professional and personal life, we tend to ignore our personal health and well-being. I know many men don’t really agree to me, when I keep going on and on, about women.
So today I will first back my words with figures and research.
To gauge women’s awareness and attitude towards health, an online survey was conducted in February 2015 by ICICI Lombard General Insurance. The survey capturing responses from 1009 women respondents unveils some interesting insights.
The Indian woman, though trying to develop her own identity, prefers to put her family first as accepted by 40% respondents.
47% have fallen sick 1-2 times in the past six months
24% have been unwell more than 3 times in the last six months
63% go for check –ups, only when they fall sick, 16% never go for check-ups
31% respondents gave time constraints as the excuse for not going for check-ups, whereas 30% felt health check-ups were expensive and unnecessary
61% are aware of women related diseases but 59% have never undergone any preventive test
This pattern is corroborated by ICICI Lombard’s claims data analysis for 2013 and 2014 which shows that women are prone to and increasingly succumbing to chronic ailments like arthritis, anaemia, metabolic disorders and cancer compared to men.
Now That I have established my point let’s see what happens when women start reaching the formidable age.
Mark Tarnopolsky, M.D., director of the Neuromuscular and Neurometabolic Unit at McMaster University Medical Center in Ontario says:
The dips in muscle and bone mass that began in your thirties continue but really ramp up if you don’t exercise. Retaining fat-burning muscle is critical to keeping your weight in check. It will not on`ly prevent you from going up a few dress sizes but also help you fight off serious stuff like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer.
As we age, our connective tissue (the supportive framework for the body, like cartilage, tendons, and ligaments) becomes less elastic.
Your Metabolism slows down.
Weight loss affects different parts of the body at different stages in life, and in women aged 35 to 40, body fat tends to go first from the face.
Seems like there is no easy way to stay fit and slim.
So what can we do?
Change your Fitness Routine:
Replace Jogging with walking: Jogging is one of the most effective ways of losing weight – but after a certain age, loss of fat from around the face can mean it has an ageing effect. So I guess it is an individual choice. This does seem to put pressure on your knee joints and also create sagging jawbones. Now this is controversial as the benefits of running are way more than it’s cons.
Become a Yogini: Switch to yoga.The benefits of yoga from decreasing your stress to improving your flexibility and fitness are huge.
Try swimming : As this is a whole body workout and puts no pressure on your cartilage.
Work towards adding muscle to your body:
Muscle is active, calorie burning tissue that helps keep your metabolism going strong. You tend to lose lean muscle mass due to a more sedentary lifestyle. So work more on strength training.
I am ready to embrace my forties with these pointers in mind, hope you are too.
