Is It Your Age or Is It Your Lifestyle

Over the last 15 years as a fitness and nutrition coach, I've often heard clients in midlife say, "Everything goes downhill after 40!"

There seems to be a common belief that health and fitness inevitably decline around this age, and many people just accept it.

But is this really true? Are we destined to lose muscle, gain a pot belly and experience worsening joint pain after 39? Is there truly nothing we can do?

The reality is that it's not simply the number 39 or 40 that triggers changes; it's our lifestyle.

Mid-life brings many challenges: increased responsibilities at work and home, less sleep, more stress, and aging parents, all of which leave less time for self-care. The midlife decline isn't due to one single factor but a combination of many small things that gradually chip away at our health.

Here are three key areas to focus on if you want to halt, and potentially reverse, this trend:

You Need to Walk

Many parents spend hours sitting in arenas and rinks watching their children play sports. If you're sitting for three or more hours each night in addition to sitting at your desk or in your vehicle for work, you're sitting too much.

Walking is incredibly effective for getting and staying lean. The goal is to incorporate plenty of movement outside the gym. There are no strict rules on how you achieve this—small, short bursts or longer, scheduled blocks of time will work.

Set daily goals and find a way to stay accountable. I personally love my Garmin watch and the Connect App for this. I sign up for weekly challenges and compete with random people worldwide to earn badges. It might sound crazy, but it works. Most weeks, I log 100,000 steps or more.

Before you say you don't have time, check your device's screen time log; you almost certainly have some time to walk.

Make Most of Your Meals at Home

You can't control what you don't prepare. Unless you're using a meal-prep service, dinners from restaurants are often calorie bombs. If you're ordering out multiple times a week, along with grabbing special coffees, random snacks, summer ice cream and drinks on the weekend, you're likely in a caloric surplus.

Make an effort to grocery shop and prepare most of your food at home. You'll save money and feel better. You don't need fancy recipes—just simple, delicious meal ideas the whole family can enjoy. This is a straightforward way to lose weight and maintain a healthy body composition if that's your goal.

Get More Sleep

In your 40s, you truly appreciate how great it was to be a toddler. Early, regular bedtime is a luxury, and every adult I know is trying to get more rest. A good night's sleep feels like a lottery win. Yet, people often forgo it to scroll on their phones or binge-watch Netflix.

These late nights almost always lead to poor nutritional choices, creating a terrible cycle that's hard to break: staying up late, eating junk food, waking up tired, feeling too drained to work out or grocery shop, then ordering takeout—rinse and repeat. Your mood is terrible, your energy is low, and you're blaming your age for this "inevitable" decline.

If you find yourself scrolling at the end of the night, put the phone down and get some extra sleep!

Reverse the Trend

As a coach, it's frustrating to see people resign themselves to decline at 40. It doesn't have to be that way!

A coach can point you in the right direction and provide accountability. With the right plan, you'll find your health and fitness improving at midlife. I've seen many clients do this.

I'm not saying it's easy, but it I know it's possible. And it's worth it. The alternative is an increasingly tough time as you age, and no one wants that.