2Inspire Health & Fitness Magazine #40 - November 2022

Organs: The Giver of Life and Good Health - pg. 3

Is it Possible for an Overweight Person to Lose Weight in Their 40s and 50s? - pg. 8

Best Forms of Exercise for Women in their 40s and 50s - pg. 13

Intense Workouts for Intense Results: Olyasha Novozhylova - pg. 18

For Women in Your 40s and 50s: Signs that Your Weight Loss and Healthy Eating Plan is Working for You - pg. 23

What’s a Safe Amount for a MiddleAged Woman to Run for Exercise? - pg 26

Organs: The Giver of Life and Good Health

Organs... they’re the powertrain of our powerful, mighty human body. We have the brain, the mainframe that controls everything else. Our heart pumps blood through a network of arteries and veins, the cardiovascular system. The heart brings blood, delivers vitality and energy.

Lungs too, major organs that play a key role in distributing oxygen to our cells. Did you ever hear the term antioxidant? That’s a fancy word for saying taker of life. For humans, oxygen is life and lack of it is death. This is where lung health comes in.

Did you know that iron brings energy to the blood which enables the heart to pump oxygen to the far corners of your body? That’s an example of organs working in tandem with one another, with food as the energy source to fuel the process.

People who are anemic have become low in red blood cells or hemoglobin as you may have heard the term being used. A red blood cell shortage means your body doesn’t have the energy to oxygenate itself -- and again, oxygen, that life giver, is critical to your health.

What about the stomach? Another vital organ. A healthy stomach processes nutrition and carries it to the intestines which remove waste from the body. If the stomach is in bad health and we aren’t able to fully absorb the nutrition of our food, what does that do to our organs?

Healthy organs mean a longer life. So if you’re already doing the work of looking good on the outside, getting your exercise in, why not take the extra steps and treat your organs right, too?

The health of our organs is based on such simple practices. And yet the way humans live can make it so complicated to simply give ourselves a healthy dose of life- giving energy each day.

How many years do you think we could add on to our total lifespan by simply taking a few extra moments to slow down and eat our meals mindfully, without the stress hormone cortisol pumping through our nervous system wreaking havoc on all systems?

The nervous system, the brain which controls every

other organ of our body, sending messages down our spine through neural pathways.

Maybe we didn’t think much about our brain when we considered what to eat for lunch today that would help us feel better and look healthier and not gain weight. But that major organ, the brain, requires nourishment and good care just like any other part of our body even though we can’t see it.

Eating for Heart Health and Weight Loss

The health of your heart is critical. But when you’re young, you’re probably more concerned about matters of the heart. Giving love to another person, finding that special someone. Maybe your goals to look healthy and feel good are a part of that. You want to give your best and most fit self to another.

But heart health eventually catches up with us. Sure, it may take a few decades and some hard living before your heart shows signs of wear and tear. But if you could peer into the telescope of your future, sitting with your grandkids

at your knee, who do you want to see peering back at you?

Not many people can take a look into that magic mirror of the future, it’s simply too hard to imagine an older version of ourselves. But the truth is that you have a say in what the older you looks like, how he or she feels. Older you can be as active or a sedentary as you choose. The path to get there is taking control of your own health.

No matter what age you are at this moment... you can begin your education on healthy practices to nourish your heart, the force of energy beating life into your limbs from inside that armored cage of your chest.

Today maybe you’re staying out late, taking your head on a mini trip with a few substances, eating what you want, sleeping in, skipping that workout.

Tomorrow though, you’re going to want to set some routines and practices for yourself. Because one day you’ll wake up in your mid-40s, fifties, sixties, wondering where all the time has gone and why

your health went with it. Somehow we instinctively know to protect our heart emotionally. But physical care of our heart is part of the equation as well and the two relate to one another.

Studies have shown that people who think positively are able to improve their health by relaxing the nervous system. When they feel calm and think loving, grateful thoughts, their taxed nervous system brings itself out of a high cortisol production stress state and goes into regulated parasympathetic nervous system function.

This means your body is taking a little downtime, that background mode where all functions shift into rest and repair.

That’s a form of nourishment for your heart. And you probably well know the benefits of cardio exercise. The health gurus have been preaching that we get those beats up to 140 a minute for many decades now.. and through many phases of exercise experts who have come and gone.

Whether it was Jane Fonda or Richard Simmons or

Jillian Michaels or your favorite modern-day social media influencer, one thing is certain. They will all tell you that we need to get our heart rate up and sustain that elevated heart rate to keep our most important muscle fit and functioning.

Exercise Your Way to a Healthy Cardio-Vascular System

What kind of exercise is good for your heart? It doesn’t matter what type of personality you have or what your chosen exercise is for getting in your cardio. There’s a heart healthy type of movement for every preference.

Prefer to do cardio in the privacy of your own home? Invest in a home gym and get a cardio machine or a couple of them. Try a stationary bike, if you love an at-home spin session. Or build your gluteus while you get those BMPs up, with a StairMaster or elliptical. The treadmill is perfect for those rainy days when you want to hit the pavement but just don’t feel like weathering the elements.

Cardio doesn’t have to involve machines. You can get your heart rate up with

some simple equipment that won’t cost a lot of money. A hula hoop can be a really fun way to burn calories, move those muscles and get your heart pumping. In fact, it is said that 10 to 15 minutes of hula hooping a day will drastically reduce your waist and improve your cardiovascular condition significantly.

Jumping rope is another low cost way to speed up the beats of your heart and have some fun. Maybe you can do 15 minutes of hooping and 15 minutes of jumping rope.

Got a flight of stairs in the house? Pop on those headphones, crank up

your favorite tunes and do 15 or 20 flights. Stairs are a great way to firm up your backside, tighten those quads and give your heart and lungs a healthy, cleansing workout.

What about jogging? You don’t have to be a long distance cross country runner to benefit from a daily or several days a week jogging session. Jog where you want, when you want. If smooth terrain is your ideal, then hit the trails at your local jogging path at the park.

If traffic lights and crosswalks don’t phase you, trot along the city streets with your headphones cranking your

favorite tunes. Next time you’re out and about, look around. No matter where you roam, you’re bound to see a jogger getting those paces in for the health of their heart and vascular system. Other simple ways to get some cardio in while multitasking in your busy life? Instead of sitting on the sidelines while your kids play sports, jump in the game. Boost your heart rate while tearing around those bases in a game of kickball or softball. Exercise your heart muscle scoring that soccer goal or playing defense.

Any number of outdoor sports that your children are likely to participate in will be enhanced if you join in offer some pointers and use the time to improve your fitness level and direct that energy to a healthy heart, lungs and body.

If you’re middle aged, and weigh more than you like, you may wonder: how hard is it to lose weight in your 40s and 50s?

A lot of people think they’re stuck with the body they have right now. Maybe they chalk it up to heredity.

While it is true that our tendency to hang on to extra weight might have something to do with genetics, it doesn’t mean that all is lost or that you shouldn’t even try.

We can always be healthier than we are today. It is never too late to change our habits and re-frame what we thought we knew about food, nutrition, exercise, and treating our bodies well.

If you’re over 40 and feeling out of shape, overweight, tired, and hopeless about the possibility of positive change, think again.

Midlife can be a time of transformation in any woman’s life. While the hormonal shifts at this time do present certain challenges, you may very well now have the advantage of more time to take care of yourself

instead of other people.

Fat Redistribution Can be a Problem for MiddleAged Women

Are you thinking of starting a fitness program in your 40s or 50s?

Beginning at about the mid-40s, women’s bodies undergo gradual changes as they move toward the end of their reproductive years.

At this age, you might notice a thickening of the middle, finding it more difficult to keep your waist slim.

This has to do with a few different things. First, middle-aged women are more likely to retain water. This could be due to a change in kidney function that causes the body to hold on to liquid, giving the appearance of a thick waistline.

Changes in kidney function during the menopausal transition: Menopause

This condition may exacerbate the third week of the menstrual cycle or what would have been the third week if you have stopped getting a period. The problem is in part due

to low progesterone.

Also, with lowered estrogen levels, middleaged women may be more prone to storing fat in the middle as do their male counterparts.

Other hormone-related possibilities that could be contributing to your thicker waistline include a slow thyroid, insulin resistance, and high leptin.

It may be beneficial as your estrogen and progesterone fluctuate toward gradual reduction at this time, to look into natural sources of these hormones which can benefit your body as well as improve how you look and feel.

Some women find that increasing their consumption of soy, plantbased foods, foods that are rich in minerals such as seafood, seaweed, sweet potatoes, and legumes seems to improve their energy levels, appearance and keep the weight off their middle.

Another common issue that shows up at middle age for many women is changing digestion. You may need to get yeast under control to help

reduce the middle-age bulge.

Adding plain yogurt and probiotic supplements to your daily diet can help with digestion, so that foods which give you problems will move more quickly through your digestive tract.

Staying regular is important for everyone, and it is often an overlooked problem that does cause women in their 40s and 50s to have what appears to be a thickening waistline.

Finally, an expanding midsection, for women in their middle years, can be related to high cortisol levels in the bloodstream caused by stress and hormone imbalance. This causes fat to collect around the vital organs.

If high stress and poor sleep habits are a problem for you, you might try talking with an endocrinologist, as well as reducing stress or even managing anxiety with medication.

Look into ways to keep your digestive system working at peak performance if you want to display a slimmer look as well as maintain high energy levels over the course of your day.

Hotter in Your Forties and Fifties? Yes, It’s Quite Possible.

One of the benefits of being a woman in the autumn of her years, is that she may bloom into a more mature yet attractive version of what she once was. Many middle-aged women exhibit a more sculpted and toned musculature once they have begun focusing on nutrition and exercise.

Why does this happen? As estrogen levels decrease with approaching menopause, we lose that

extra layer of all-over body fat that young women have which signals fertility and femininity. This can be a good thing if you embrace fitness at this time. A woman in her 40s or 50s, with some dedication to eating right and exercising, can transform into a lean mean fitness machine!

In fact, some middle-aged women might very well end up looking hotter than they have in their entire lives!

Additionally, because of these hormone changes, it is now more important than ever to nourish your hormones. Focus on daily consumption of healthy foods. Mitigate stress. Get enough rest, and include exercise as a part of your daily regimen.

Fitness for Women Over Forty: Do it For Your Health

Women who reach menopause are at higher risk for heart attack and stroke. This is not to say that it will happen to you or anyone you know. But it’s just a reminder of the really big reasons why it’s so important to keep yourself healthy and in good physical shape.

What should your health goals be as a woman who is in her 40s or 50s?

Find the right health and fitness plan for you, and stick with it.

Obsession is never a good thing, but dedication and commitment are. One thing to keep in mind as you focus on weight loss and good health at middle age is consistency.

This means settling into a routine that works for you. It means following through, and staying committed to the actions, habits and daily choices that bring healthy weight loss results.

Most importantly, it means moving toward improved blood work numbers, which is the best way to

know if you’re doing the right things for your body.

You will have the greatest positive effect on your health and physical condition if you stop viewing it as a “diet” or temporary thing.

Good health at middle age should be about permanent lifestyle change.

How will you know what kind of healthy weight loss and fitness plan is right for you?

Not every woman will choose the same eating habits to experience the same desired results. It’s important to keep this in mind, because you might have to shift into trying and doing different things as your body reacts.

Consistency with health goals doesn’t mean that you should adopt a dogmatic view of how to be healthy. Instead, notice when repeated habits seem to produce desired results. Figure out what you’re doing that works to increase feelings of good health and well-being, as well as improves your appearance.

If something you’re doing seems to be resulting in

weight loss, a fitter body, and increased well-being overall, continue that good habit for a while. Then if you’re not seeing the results you want anymore, or if you experience undesirable symptoms or other problems, change it up and see what happens after that.

Keep doing this until you find your happy medium – the balance of habits and practices that fit your needs best. Each person is different – from blood type, to heredity, to lifestyle, to the types of stress faced each day, to their eating habits and style of exercise.

Also, your needs may change over time. Expect to make adjustments as needed.

Really, the idea is to get educated on health and wellness, and do whatever is best for your body.

D O W N L O A D T O D A Y o n A m a z o n

Best Forms of Exercise for Women in their 40s and 50s

What’s a great form of exercise if you’re in your 40s or 50s, female and don’t really like to exercise?

Middle-aged women do not have to be sedentary. In fact, the more energy you muster up for movement, the more energy you will have for ordinary activities. Moving around each day gets your blood flowing and your digestion primed. It also helps your heart and lungs deliver oxygen to your cells.

You don’t have to be that cliche exercise buff if that is not your personality. You don’t have to put on all the gear and be a gym rat. You don’t need a Fitbit unless you want one… but if you do, by all means go for it.

There are endless options to get some healthy activity in each day. Here are some ideas for you.

Go for a walk.

Walking is an ideal form of exercise to help you burn fat. You don’t have to speed-walk, only if you want to. A brisk walk is a great way to rev up your metabolism, offload stress, get your lungs working and tone your muscles. Walking is considered low impact exercise that actually is the most efficient when it comes to fat burning.

The more variety of terrain you walk each day, and the longer distance you walk, the healthier you will tend to be and the more efficient your body will be at burning fat.

Of course, each person is different. If you like to run, then run. But keep in mind, we’re discussing people who are not crazy about traditional forms of exercise. Getting outside to go for a walk in the fresh air is one of the best ways to burn calories, exercise your muscles, lose weight and be physically fit… even if you hate the thought of exercise.

It’s nice to have good form when walking, but if you start off walking very out of shape, you might have to gradually work up to a good strong form. The proper walking form includes erect posture, a comfortable stride, and your arms and legs moving in coordination to increase speed.

Of course it’s also possible to overthink how you walk. So if you are prone to overthinking, just don’t worry about how to walk. Instead, just get out there. Feel powerful, think positive thoughts, breathe the fresh air and take a nice walk.

How often should you walk?

A half-hour of a brisk walk each day is a good start and a good routine to get into. If you can walk longer than that, great. But a daily half-hour walk seems to be the recommendation. It’s something most people can achieve even if you’re not really that into exercising.

Ideas for where to walk

Walk around your neighborhood, the athletic field, parks in your area. Try some nearby hiking trails. If you get bored walking the same old streets, see if you can find a local walking group online and get recommendations from these people of where to go. You could even meet up… fall in step with a new crew who can show you where the best walking paths are.

Yoga.

Yoga is an amazing form of exercise for anyone, but especially for women of middle age. If you have never done yoga before, you can work into it slowly by learning the basic poses. These include but are not limited to: mountain pose, forward

fold, downward dog, plank, lotus, and others.

Once you have basic yoga poses down, you can also practice yoga breathing.

Proper yoga breathing involves what is known as ujjayi breathing. This involves half-closing your throat to slowly suck air in and then exhale again slowly. It’s almost like half a snore, and sounds like the ocean. This type of breathing, especially when coupled with the holding of yoga poses for extended minutes, has the effect of calming the nervous system.

Correct yoga breathing takes the body out of fight or flight mode so that your body can return to rest and repair mode. This helps us to lower cortisol levels and burn that belly fat without trying.

Anxiety is a common issue with middle-aged women and this at least in part has to do with hormone fluctuations. Yoga is one of the best ways to relax and reset your nervous system. Doing yoga regularly works to promote slower and more mindful breathing throughout your active day, and results in deeper and more restful and healing sleep at night.

If you’ve never done yoga before, you might start by watching a few videos on YouTube A certified yoga instructor can teach you the basic positions and how to breathe. There’s definitely more than one breathing technique, but ujjayi is the standard if you are doing traditional Hatha yoga which most people are.

It’s also a good idea to buy a yoga book. Ideally, you should have pictures of the yoga poses in front of you, performed step by step in pictures. Each yoga pose usually involves positioning the body one way, then flowing into another position, and finally getting into the proper yoga pose that you’re trying to do.

A lot of people get mindblocked on the idea that yoga is only for woo-woo hippie types. Not true. People all over the world, with all kinds of beliefs and religions and non-religions, practice yoga. It originated in India but its benefits will work on anyone. You do not have to celebrate the Hindu religion to benefit from yoga in your life.

Yoga is a universal wellness practice that will greatly improve your

health and well-being. It’s one of the best ways for a woman of middle-age to bring her body back into balance.

In fact, it’s even possible that once you start yoga and get into it, you will be able to tell exactly when your body needs yoga. Once you achieve this, you can flow through a yoga session without the need for a teacher to instruct you.

Dance.

There are many different types of dance that you can engage in as a middleaged woman looking to liven up your life. You do not need to be a great dancer, you do not need a partner. You can dance in your living room or you can take ballroom dancing classes if you wish.

You can head to Zumba class which is a lively and energizing type of movement that combines dance with aerobics. Bellydance also is another kind of dance that you might find exciting and different as a woman in her 40s or 50s looking to tone up your middle and improve your health. What about all of those

fun exercises you did as a kid?

Let’s not forget about those old standbys: bike riding, hula hooping, jumping rope, roller skating, and other fun exercises that kids typically do.

Or if you’re a sports lover, why not join a sports team? You can play softball, join a women’s volleyball team, sign up for the swim team or any other sport.

Please be aware though that as we age, women’s bones become more brittle. You will want to be cautious if you’re doing things like roller skating or balancing on wheels of any kind. This could result in a fall which could cause you to fracture a knee or a hip or a shoulder.

Feeling like you want to get a little sexy? Try pole dancing!

Middle aged women looking to liven things up,

get fit and feel fabulous can join an instructor-led pole-dancing class. This could be a fun way to get fit and also maybe give your love life a little boost.

Don’t feel pressured however, if you turn out to not be the pole dancing type. There are different types of exercise for different people. You might be a walker, someone else might be a belly dancer. The point is to get out there, do what you love and get moving.

Intense Workouts for Intense

Results: Olyasha Novozhylova

Olyasha Novozhylova is a model, blogger, author, entrepreneur and podcaster. This month, we talked to her about what it was like going to modeling school in her native Ukraine and how her daily diet and exercise routine has evolved.

Dennis Postema: When did you get into modeling?

Olyasha Novozhylova: I was thirteen years old. Back in Ukraine, I went to modeling school, did training, and went to boot camps, so I started early.

Dennis: What do you have to learn to get into modeling?

Olyasha: I have done modeling boot camps and schools in the United States too. They teach you about the industry, what to do, what not to do, how to apply makeup and how to do your hair yourself.

You need to make sure you follow the rules and walk correctly.

Dennis: Is modeling really big in Ukraine for younger people?

Olyasha: It was, but there were a lot of scams. There

are a lot of scams here, too, because there are so many modeling schools that promise to get you somewhere after you buy their packages, and then there was never anything to begin with. You shouldn’t pay to sign up. The agency should be paying you when you sign up.

Dennis: What does a workout day look like for you and how frequently do you work out?

Olyasha: I do highintensity training, yoga, Barre, and power walks. I mix it all together, because when your body gets used to one type of workout, it might become less effective. I often take classes because they do all the work for you. It’s easier, in a way, because I don’t have to think about what

I’m going to do next. The teachers in those classes are on you. There are maybe 10 to 20 people per class. It helps with accountability, because you’re trying to keep up, it’s fast-paced, and the workouts are hard. You’re quickly switching from one thing to another. Barre classes are good for keeping a toned body. I have learned that if I work out in the gym too much, I lose flexibility, so I mix yoga and Barre into my workout routine to keep my muscles lean. I don’t like being bulky.

I usually do three or four workouts a week, and if

I have time in between, I will take power walks to a park.

Sometimes I don’t like working out at the gym by myself because it’s not as intense as classes are.

My high-intensity workouts are an hour long. That kind of training makes your muscles burn more fat for three days, so even if I don’t work out the following day, I’m still burning fat.

Dennis: What was it like dieting at such a young age? How did that work out and what happened?

Olyasha: I have struggled with my weight since I was a teenager. I started modeling at thirteen, and models at that time had to be a size zero to a size two, and I was between sizes two and four. I felt bad and I felt left out, so I would diet like crazy, to the point where everything I ate was fat-free and sugar-free.

It came to the point where walking around made me light-headed and I had to hold the wall. I’m 5’11” and I was probably 130 pounds. My mom was concerned.

It took me a few years to realize that you can eat whatever you want, as long as you do it in moderation and stay in shape.

I love food, but I’m not too crazy about sweets or carbs. I naturally don’t like much bread. I don’t buy any sweets.

I have tried all the possible diets, from keto to a Mediterranean diet.

Back when I was dieting, fat-free and sugar-free diets were trending. I don’t see that as much these days. I think it’s changed, but seventeen years ago, everyone was crazy about fat-free stuff.

At that time, I was always cold. I wore sweaters in the summer because I wouldn’t eat, and when you don’t eat, your body has no insulation, so you feel cold all the time. I felt light-headed, and I was always hungry.

I would binge and then not eat for days.

As I got older, I learned that wasn’t healthy. You should do what works for you. The best diet is eating everything in moderation. Everyone’s body is

different—there is no one diet that fits everyone.

I learned that I could lose weight and keep myself in good shape when I ate a lot of healthy, nourishing foods. I eat maybe three or four times a day.

Dennis: You wrote a children’s book to help make a difference in the world. Can you tell us more about that?

Olyasha: In 2020, I wrote Cutie the Unicorn—It’s OK To Be Different.

My main goal was to inform young people that it’s OK to accept others who look different and it’s OK to be different. It’s OK to be yourself. Don’t let anyone dim your light. You don’t have to fit in any boxes.

I was bullied in school for my fashion and for my height—not just by students, but by teachers and even the principal.

When I went back to Ukraine last year, I found my old principal on Facebook. I messaged her, saying, “Thank you so much for doing that to me, because I turned all of those obstacles into success, and I made a

career out of it. Now I’m in fashion and I wrote a children’s book.” So bullying is a bad thing, but sometimes you can turn obstacles into success.

Many kids are shy because they’re hurt inside. Sometimes they’re so hurt that they feel like they can’t share it with anyone, and that’s when issues come up, because deep down, they’re damaged.

Dennis: What do you do on a daily basis to stay confident?

Olyasha: Working out definitely always gives me

confidence, because it makes me feel good, and not just feel good about myself, but in general. Doing things that you love and spoiling yourself are important too. Keeping my hair, makeup, and lashes on point helps me stay confident as well.

Dennis: Are you a foodie?

Olyasha: Yeah, I love food and I love good restaurants.

I like to try healthier options, or sometimes I get whatever I like, because sometimes it’s better to get what you really like or what you really want. When you crave something, you have to have it, so sometimes it’s better to have it, because otherwise, you will end up eating more of other stuff and getting full on something that

you didn’t really want and still won’t feel satisfied. Have what you want in moderation.

I don’t like to eat late, though. I kind of naturally do intermittent fasting, because the latest I eat is about 8:00 p.m. You’re not supposed to eat four hours before sleep. It’s very unhealthy for your body.

Dennis: Do you have any other advice for our readers?

Olyasha: The best advice by far is working out and eating. Don’t deprive yourself of things you like.

If I know a holiday or a celebration is coming up, I’ll eat the worst foods at the beginning of the day, so it will burn off by the end of the day.

Not eating at night helps me stay in shape too.

Find out more about Olyasha on her Instagram @notbasicblonde_, check out her podcast NotBasicBlonde on any major podcast platform, read her blog at notbasicblonde.com, and check out her children’s book, “Cutie the Unicorn— It’s OK To Be Different” on Amazon.

For Women in Your 40s

and 50s: Signs that Your Weight Loss and Healthy Eating Plan is Working for You

What are some signs that a certain diet or way of eating is working for you in your quest to lose weight and get healthy at middle age?

It’s often recommended for people who want to go on a brand-new exercise and nutrition plan, to work with a nutritionist or dietitian or health coach.

This type of health authority can guide you in your choices, provide needed information, supply you with creative meal plans and menu ideas, and help you track your progress as well as become mindful of any

reactions you may be having.

That said, it’s your choice to go pro with your health goals. But even if you don’t work with a medical or health professional, there are certainly some signs that you can look out for to know whether a certain type of diet is working with your metabolism, preferences, ability to digest certain foods and so forth.

Signs that your healthy eating plan is right for you:

• Plenty of energy sustained throughout the day

• Feeling full and satisfied even though you are “dieting” or limiting certain unhealthy foods

• Little to no digestive discomfort such as bloating, flatulence and other signs that your food is not digesting properly

• Looking forward to daily exercise

• Building muscle and burning fat

• Improvement in the way your body looks

• Sleeping well

• Clear thinking and great mood most of the time

As we age, one sign of digestive trouble that often goes ignored is an inability to sleep well or fully through the night.

Our body may not be able to break down foods we are eating. We may be eating too much sugar or carbs which can affect our sleep. Or we might wake in the middle of the night with stomach discomfort due to our food not fully digesting or irritating our stomach.

It’s not always obvious when your digestion is off. Sometimes we don’t feel anything, but yet we are unable to sleep comfortably.

If you’re on a certain diet and this or other symptoms seem to be affecting you, make a dietary change. Try talking with your doctor or nutritionist. Or, switch out foods that could potentially be upsetting your body’s balance.

Signs that You May Need to Modify Your Current Healthy Eating Plan:

Here are some signs that your current eating plan is not agreeing with you, and maybe you should

think about a change to different types of foods that are also nutritious.

Digestive difficulty, discomfort or upset.

Again, digestive upset is one of the first things to take notice of especially if it’s been a month or more on the new eating plan, and you’re still experiencing tummy troubles.

Symptoms to watch out for: constipation and diarrhea. Indigestion, heartburn, burping, flatulence, stomach pain, nausea, and even headache.

Believe it or not, something as simple as adding a healthy carb to your meal such as brown rice or whole grain crackers could help you absorb whatever food you’re having problems digesting in your new way of eating and or dieting.

Feeling hungry, nervous, irritated, and unable to concentrate.

These are typical symptoms when we make a change and switch to a healthy eating plan. Our body likely expects certain

types of foods, especially those that come with addictive properties, like sugar. So when we don’t receive our daily sugar fix, for a while we might experience symptoms.

These will eventually go away. If they don’t go away after a month or two, you’re probably looking at some other reason why you are reacting to whatever it is that you are eating. Consider having a conversation with your doctor or investigate the situation another way.

Not able to lose that thickness around the middle.

As mentioned, digestive troubles can be a factor if we are unable to tolerate certain foods. It’s possible that you are eating the most nutritious diet on the planet. However, if your stomach lacks the enzymes to process these foods, they could end up fermenting in your gut leading to unpleasant symptoms and bloating. They could also delay your bathroom habits, which can make it appear as though you are actually chubbier in the middle then you might truly be.

What is a safe amount for someone of middle age to run?

However much is a safe distance and frequent amount of running to do each week depends on how used to and trained for this your body is.

With proper training, literally pacing yourself as you advance as a runner, and some expert advice with possibly some check-in with your doctor, it is perfectly safe for a woman in her mid-40s to run as much as 15 miles, assuming she’s been working up to this number gradually.

The key of course is to watch yourself, take breaks when necessary, drink plenty of water and be reasonable about what you can accomplish.

If you don’t exercise at all, you can’t expect that you’d be able to head out and jog a mile without stopping so forget about 15 miles for now. But again, it’s all about training your body, making gradual

improvements, tracking your progress and also giving yourself the rest that you need to recover, build muscle and tackle the same goals even better next time.

If you don’t run at all, but want to start… wake up today, put on your

Next Monday, increase it to one mile of walking and running if you can.

Continue doing this until one mile feels like no big deal. Then go for a mile and a half. And so on.

Again, don’t forget to do all the things. Stretch. Wear proper footwear. Pace yourself. Drink lots of water. Talk to your doctor. If you feel pain, stop and let your body rest for a while.

sneakers and run for half a mile. If you can’t run the whole distance, walk.

Tomorrow, do it again.

The day after that, rest if you need to. Then, pick up where you left off, and try to run or run-walk that half-mile.

The safest approach to running in your forties is to be mindful of your body sensations and give your body what you need. If something hurts, rest that body part. If you’re having trouble breathing, talk to your physician. If a healthy eating plan is something you can use, work that in.

Running helps us lose weight, and it’s easier to run when you weigh less. So try to get yourself there within a safe, reasonable time frame. Set those running goals, one step at a time!