The human body is tough. When you're young, it seems to tolerate junk food, late hours and other bad habits without much noticeable effect. As the years pass, however, you may realize that the abuses you heaped on it over the years have left their mark through excess weight, lack of stamina and other worrisome signs. The good news is that it's never too late to treat your body well.
Preventive Medicine
The first step toward a healthier lifestyle is to see a doctor for a complete physical. Learn your numbers for blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose. If you're a woman, get a mammogram and Pap smear. If you don't have insurance, community resources may be available. Many health departments, hospitals and some drugstores periodically sponsor health checks; some towns have free clinics. Get up-to-date on immunizations, including an annual flu vaccine. When your test results come back, discuss any irregularities with your doctor and work with her to make lifestyle changes.
Tobacco
Using tobacco in any form increases your risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease, reduces your breathing capacity, ages your skin and is expensive. Giving up smoking at any age improves health. Heart attack risk begins to decrease 24 hours after your last cigarette. A year later, the risk is halved. Fifteen years later, the risk is the same as if you'd never smoked. Five years after quitting, your risk of death from lung cancer is cut in one-half; 10 years later, your risk is nearly the same as if you'd never smoked.
Weight and Nutritious Food
It's never too late to lose excess weight and eat a healthy diet. Nutritional recommendations for 45-year olds are the same as for 20-year olds. However, because muscle tissue burns more calories and you start losing muscle after age 30, you may need to reduce calories by 100 to 200 a day just to maintain a healthy weight. If you need to lose pounds, do so in a healthy manner by eating smaller portions and more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A healthy rate of weight loss is 1 to 2 lbs. a week.
Exercise
Age is no reason to stop moving, and age is no barrier to starting. Adults from age 18 to 64 should get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise five times a week. Examples of moderate-intensity exercise are brisk walking, water aerobics, riding a bike on level ground or playing doubles tennis. At least twice a week, do strengthening exercises that work all major muscle groups. If you have been sedentary, clear exercise with your doctor. Start slowly to avoid injury and work up to the recommended time, but keep at it. Make exercise and all your other healthy new habits a priority in your life to reap the benefits now and in the decades to come.
