Life begins at 40… or does it?

Reaching that 40 milestone soon? Rather than checking off a series of age related set markers, New You Plan customer Jen describes how she concentrated on making her 40s the best decade yet.

1979 brought us Trivial Pursuit, Walkmans, jumpsuits and if you are turning 40 this year… You.

Turning 40 isn’t what is used to be. Time was, we might have let such a milestone slip by unannounced. But 40 has been rebranded from “old” to “fabulous” these days — and for good reason.

If you are turning 40, not only are you in respectable company (Kate Hudson, Pink, Chris Pratt and Jennifer Love Hewitt this year), you are likely to be more successful in your career and home life than you’ve ever been. And even if your bum doesn’t look quite the same in a bathing costume, you are happier now than you were when you were 20.

There is however something about a landmark birthday that can send us into a tailspin, even as we scatter seeds on food as if that will undo all the damage we inflicted upon ourselves in previous decades.

Not only do we find it so hard to track down clothes which suit and fit, that when we do finally discover the one perfect thing, we buy it in multiples of seven colours; by the time we reach 40, we also have to contend with strong cultural norms around reaching certain milestones by a certain age.

‘When I am 40, I will… own my own home, be happily married, be fit and healthy, have 2.4 children and run my own business.’ Phew! For some of us however, we approach turning 40 with the conviction we’re all getting older, we haven’t done enough with our lives and we’re running out of time.

Where do these feelings come from? And why do they intensify so acutely as we approach 40 – which is still, realistically, only about half of the way through most of our lives.

Milestone birthdays such as 40 can turn even the most chilled among us into quivering wrecks thanks to the significance our culture has placed on them.

Rather than check off a series of age related set markers, New You customer Jen describes how she concentrated on making her 40s the best decade yet.

“For almost all of my life, I’ve felt an intense, suffocating pressure to achieve everything I want before my youth slips away. 39 had always been my deadline date, looming large in my mind. And over the years, I’ve noticed friends expressing similar worries. There was just something about turning 40 that reminded me of a countdown clock ticking away in the background.

I would run through my Before I reach 40 ‘to do’ file several times a day. It was quite some list. According to my deadline, I had to meet and then marry the love of my life, travel to Vietnam, lose the extra 5 stone I had been carrying around since my 20s, oh and have 2 children. In 364 days.

It was during an all day outing with the girls, when I was lamenting my list AGAIN with my friends that one of them said; ‘Focus on one thing that will genuinely make you happy’. That was a real eye opener. That weekend I went through my list one by one:

Meet and marry the love of my life

Well my confidence in myself was at an all time low. I didn’t feel attractive so I wasn’t even actively looking to meet anyone.

Travel to Vietnam

I had put off travelling anywhere for years as I was terrified of having to ask for a lap belt extension on the plane and didn’t want to be sweating in clothes hiding my shape in a warm country.

Have 2 children

See Meet and Marry the love of my life!

Lose 5 stone

I had started and stopped diets so many times. The results always seemed so slow and I would get frustrated and fall off the wagon.

I quickly realised that the one thing that was stopping me achieve my list was my weight. I began to research diets looking for one which produced fast results. That’s when I found The New You Plan. I was so determined to focus on this one thing I ordered a 6-week bundle. I knew if I committed financially I’d be less likely to give up.

My order arrived the very next day and I started the following morning. In my first week I lost 8lbs! This was just what I needed to spur me on. I really enjoyed the food and the online community support was fantastic. Within 4 months, I had lost 5 stone. I was so motivated! I have just booked my 3 week trip to Vietnam and while I am yet to met the love of my life, I no longer avoid eye contact with men and actually go out a lot more so watch this space!”

To help ourselves, we need to make sure that we’re focusing on what genuinely makes us happy, rather than simply soaking up different messages about where we ‘should’ be. It’s important to really listen to yourself and work it out.

If you want to make a real difference to your health and happiness with New You, click here to GET STARTED!

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