Unhealthy Habits
5. "All my good habits cancel out my one or two bad ones."
You may eat right and exercise regularly but sneak a few cigarettes. You may abstain from alcohol during the week but polish off a bottle of wine on Saturday night with friends. "It's not like you get a get-out-of-jail-free card for your good behavior," Chervenak says. "Some habits, like cigarette smoking and heavy drinking, have a direct negative effect, no matter what healthy things you do to compensate."
"The single worst thing you can do for your health is to smoke, even if it is just occasionally," Calderon adds. Other factors can be almost as insidious. "For women over 40, chronic stress and lack of exercise are two of the most dangerous habits for your health," she says.
For help quitting smoking, visit quitnet.com›
6. "I've gained only a few pounds."
The average weight gain for women in their 40s is about a pound a year. "That can add up to a lot of extra weight over time, which puts you at risk for type 2 diabetes," says registered dietitian Christine Gerbstadt, MD, of Altoona, Pennsylvania. "People think it's natural to gain weight as you age, but there's no physiologic reason that has to happen."
In midlife, women's metabolic rate drops by about one percent a year. "When your muscle mass decreases, your caloric needs decrease, so you gain weight even though your diet doesn't change," Gerbstadt explains. "But if you maintain muscle mass, you can prevent the decrease in metabolism and calorie needs." So strength train at least twice a week to torch all the calories you can.
