20’s, 30’s, and 40’s… What To Do To Be Your Healthiest In Your 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s… find out how to stay fresh looking and feeling through the decades. You CAN look and feel as young as you do in your 20’s if you take good care of your body. You only get one, so here’s how to keep it youthful through the years!
20’s:
Nourish your body with the right foods. Start the habit of healthy eating now, so you don’t need to make drastic changes in years to come due to health issues. A nutritious diet in your 20’s can help prevent or delay the onset of disease and weight gain. There’s no need to go vegetarian or vegan or gluten-free (though go for it, if that’s your thing!), just eat whole, clean foods 80% of the time, and save your unhealthy, splurge foods for the other 20%. Many studies find that this 80/20 rule is key to good health and a healthy weight, without feeling like you’re depriving yourself.
Get moving. Just as with a healthy diet, making daily movement a priority and habit now will save you in the future. Regular, meaning at least 4 days a week, exercise should include cardio, strength training, and flexibility training. Cardio activities include anything from running to rowing to walking – anything that gets your heart pumping and a little sweat dripping. Strength training is important now to help ward off bone density issues in your future. Plus, it will tone and lift everything into place. Working on flexibility through yoga, pilates, or regular stretching can help keep you moving and aging effortlessly.
Find a good team. Behind every healthy girl is a team of reliable professionals. Make sure you have a go-to primary care physician, ob-gyn, dentist, and eye doctor. Having these relationships established now will help you when you unexpectedly come down with something. Sure, it can be a hassle to find the right person for you, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth the effort!
30’s:
Eat right and move regularly. Because you already implemented these healthy habits in your 20’s, we have no doubt you are rocking your 30’s and maintaining these efforts! Now is the time to start including a bit more calcium in your diet to keep your bones strong and healthy. Maintaining regular and consistent exercise is key to maintaining your healthy status and move into your 40’s like a bombshell. To get the best from each workout, try dividing them up like this: 2 days of high intensity workouts, 2 days of light intensity cardio exercise, and at least 1 day of yoga, pilates, or stretching.
Protect your skin. Talk to your doctor about the best practices for protecting your skin. Daily moisturizer and SPF are a given, but your doctor may have suggestions for what works best for you in particular. Your skin is your largest, most vulnerable organ – take good care of it!
40’s:
Now is your prime time to talk to your doctor specifically about what tests, precautions, etc. you should be taking to keep your body at its healthiest state. Our 40’s used to be considered so much older than they are now – we’re just hitting our prime! Greet this stage in your life with grace and confidence by staying on top of your health game.
Don’t slow down. The one item that will keep you feeling as young as you did in your 20’s and 30’s is to stay as active as you were then. Did you enjoy spinning in your 30’s? Did you really get into yoga in your 20’s? Stay with it! Find a routine that keeps you engaged and beating boredom. Use it or lose it, people!
Protect, protect, protect. No, it’s not too late to keep your skin glowing and youthful. Put on moisturizer with SPF daily (yes, even if it’s completely cloudy). Trust us; you will not regret the five seconds you spend each day putting this miracle worker on all exposed parts. Aging skin is more susceptible to sun damage, so toss on a hat and sunglasses when you head out into the sun, too.
Manon McGovern, creator of The Traveling Trainer, is a fitness and weight management specialist who loves sharing her passion for a healthy lifestyle. She studied Exercise Science at The Ohio State University and started personal training and teaching group exercise classes to introduce herself into the fitness world. She enjoys personal training and teaching Yoga, Spinning, KickBoxing, and strength classes. Now working... Read More
Comments are closed.