Hello Everybody,
You can be fit over 40 and many people are. But sometimes it is hard to know what being fit is. If you wake up feeling good, open your eyes, stretch your arms and legs, take a deep breath, wiggle your toes and everything works you are probably fit. I would not define fitness as being over weight and being able to run for a bus. That is not fitness - it is determination. To be fit you need to be somewhere around the ideal weight for your height. There are plenty of charts on the internet which will tell you what that is. They will give a range, from underweight to about right to overweight. Where you fit into this is up to you; aim for a weight you feel comfortable with, but be careful. Being underweight or overweight can both be a health risk.
There is no secret about how be fit over 40. It just needs a healthy diet, exercise, and one more thing. The same determination to succeed you have when running for the bus. Over 40s who want to lose weight and get fit are usually of two types. Those who have kept themselves in good shape most of their lives, but are now finding that business lunches or other lifestyle changes are making them put on a few pounds. Or those who are devoted to junk food and reality television and are finding life difficult because of obesity. This is more of a challenge, but anyone can lose weight if they really want to.
Both a healthy diet and exercise are necessary to be fit over 40, or at any other time in life, but diet is the most important. You need to eat fresh fruit, vegetables, wholegrain pulses, lean meat and fish like mackerel as your basic diet. These, of course can become a variety of dishes, and recipes are easy to find either online or in books. Here are some of the best fruit and vegetables to incorporate in what should become your new lifestyle.
Oranges. Famous for Vitamin C which may or may not prevent you catching colds - depending on which academic study you read. Even if it does not help colds it is essential for other things. Vitamin C helps growth and repair of tissues in all parts of the body, it is one of many antioxidants which block dangerous free radicals in our bloodstream.
Apples. These contain antioxidants and Vitamin C. Try to buy apples in season. The improvement in flavour is dramatic.
Grapes. A good source of manganese, which protects the cells against free radical damage and flavonoids - another antioxidant.
Cantaloupes. Good for Vitamin A which helps healthy teeth and bones and promotes good vision. Also Vitamin C and potassium, crucial for heart function and healthy muscles.
Bananas. Excellent for Vitamin C and Vitamin B6 which helps the immune system produce antibodies. A rich source of potassium and manganese.
Where would we be without fruit? Probably not very healthy, so some should be eaten every day.
Vegetables are also essential. These are suitable for cooking, but of course there are many salad vegetables which should be eaten as well.
Broccoli This is said to fight cancer by making the body produce Phase II enzymes which can detoxify cancer-causing chemicals. I am a little wary of cancer busting foods, but it is enough to say broccoli is good for you.
Carrots. These contain a multiplicity of good things, including Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin E - an antioxidant that helps in the production of red blood cells, and Vitamin K which helps blood clotting.
Celery. A cooked vegetable or a salad. This contains Vitamin C and has very few calories, so is ideal for weight loss. Like many fruits and vegetables it is rich in fibre.
Beet. High in fibre. Contains Vitamin C, potassium, manganese, and iron - essential for the transportation of oxygen and regulating cell growth.
Leeks. Much loved by the Welsh. Contains Vitamin C, potassium and beta-carotenes - which are antioxidants.
I hope this list of fruit and vegetables shows that as well as tasting good they are essential to our health. Anyone who wants to be fit over 40 will need to eat some fruit and vegetables every day. I shall cover meat and fish in my next post, then after that the dreaded exercise. Which you need not dread at all.
See you soon,
Peter Stockwell
Cambridge UK
20 February 2011
Photo. Alistair Haimes
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