Is it possible to turn your health around with lifestyle changes?

why not book a wellness check with your GP?

there was a news item last week about rolling them out to the workplace, and everyone being eligible at 40, so an appointment to discuss your weight and drinking and general health concerns seems reasonable.

Oh and my other tip is to try and increase the amount of fibre in your diet! For me, this has made such a difference. I feel a lot less hungry and whereas before I was having a lot of abdominal discomfort, I now feel a lot better. My tips are to do things like changing white bread for the best quality wholegrain option you can, and making fresh vegetables a significant part of your evening meal. Things like quinoa instead of rice, and lentil flour pasta instead of normal pasta are also 'easy' swaps in my case. I've lost a fair amount of weight without feeling like I've been trying.

Yes, it's always possible and realising things should change is the first step. I gave up vaping at the start of this year and I feel so much better! I did it in sync with joining the gym and I now feel much healthier and am able to workout in a way I've never managed before. Ending vaping was difficult, especially as my DP vapes and wasn't ready to give up so I am still surrounded by it but it has been totally worth it and feels like such as huge achievement.

I did it cold turkey, but I'd probably recommend getting some stop smoking aids if possible to help with the nicotine withdrawal symptoms - in the end it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and it has been really empowering to see how vaping wasn't actually helping me deal with stress and anxiety - in fact, it was only exacerbating it in my case.

you absolutely can and it doesn’t need to involve taking up cross fit. There’s a book called Atomic Habits, it’s well worth a read/ listen. It’s about the power of developing small habits. Eating more protein, drinking a glass of water with every meal, doing a home work from YouTube.

Yep, that's what did it for me. It's a cliche but get off the bus a stop earlier, walk to the carriage at the end of the railway platform instead of the one by the entrance, walk down the road to the shop for the bottle of milk instead of driving, mow your own lawn instead of getting a gardener to do it, take the stairs at work instead of the lift, park at the far corner of the supermarket car park instead of by the doors, park in a further away car park than the one next to your workplace.

Little changes but often.

I took it to more extremes after the first few years. Moved my office from the nearby town to a rented office at the other end of our village, so I walk to/from work every day instead of taking the car - it's a mile away. Those miles add up!

Bought a standing desk for walk, so not only burning calories and building muscles when stood instead of sitting all day, but when you're already stood up, you're more inclined to walk about the office more, i.e. go to the copier every time you need to copy something, rather than building up a pile and doing several at one, same with going to the file room for a file one at a time instead of getting several at once, etc. Lots of little things.

I built it up and now walk a minimum of 10,000 steps per day, which isn't bad for a traditional "sit down all day" office based job! Not just building it up around your existing life, but changing aspects of your life to make walking more possible (i.e. in my case moving my office location which I know is extreme).

Absolutely. You don’t have to make massive changes either. Stop with the drinking and vaping and get more fresh air. You don’t have to completely change your diet and start running marathons.

I stopped drinking at 42 with chronic health conditions. Just from that alone, I lost a stone without trying. I had more energy so I became more active and ate better. I look younger than I did back when I was still drinking and feeling awful and my health condition is better managed to the extent that I rarely think about it now.

Slow and steady wins the race. It's a marathon not a sprint. You really don't see immediate improvements. It takes time of lots of little "wins", eat a bit less, eat more healthily, do a bit more exercise, and keep doing that and it's the snowball effect. Like I said above, took me roughly 20 years to lose a third of my weight - but the effect is almost miraculous when I look at myself now compared with 20 years ago and compare how I feel today with how I felt back then. It's ALL about good habits - as the days, weeks, months, years pass by, those "little wins" become baked in as a kind of muscle memory. The behavioural aspect is just as important as manic calorie counting and far better than going from one gimmick diet plan to another.

I wouldn't kick the exercise down the road. With that, start really small. A short walk daily, consistently, every day. Build up to more as the more you do it the easier it will get. Even round the block, endless studies show even small efforts at consistent walking help hugely. Is there a friend who could join you to do this? If not, stick headphones on and take yourself.

You won't regret in a year what you start today.

This may be good advice, but it’s also the most difficult change. I haven’t cracked it yet. I’d say change one is enough water

Hmm… I don’t think drinking loads of water on its own will make loads of difference if you drink heavily. Drinking water is great but if you are hammering the booze it’s going to take the edge off thar but not really make a positive impact.

I have to say I think if you are boozing and vaping those are the first and most important things to tackle. These are both things which will potentially have a big negative impact. I would focus on kicking these into touch before you deal with the more marginal stuff. You will automatically feel healthier for dealing with these things anyway which will kick start the process.

I was in a similar situation at the same age. Went low carb high fat, cut out boozing in the week and switched some vaping with nicotine lozenges. I lost a lot of weight and no longer have that bloated look. I still vape and drink too much really but the realistic changes made a huge difference to how I feel and look.

Make one realistic change at a time, OP. Then build up your better habits slowly. No need to feel as if it’s a mountain to climb.

I feel exactly the same - I don’t drink or vape but I do eat excessive quantities of sugar and fizzy drinks, I constantly feel run down and exhausted and the last two weeks have had a near constant headache. I get out of breath walking up stairs and constantly aching joints. Somehow I’m not hugely overweight but I’m just unfit and unhealthy and it shows in my appearance and health. I’m starting tomorrow to drink more water, walk 8000 steps and try and eat more whole food based meals as otherwise it’s a slippery slope to Christmas and I won’t be arsed because I might as well just wait until new year, so feels like it’s now or never!

I'm trying to do it and to be honest, it's absolute fucking bullshit. At our age, changes are soooooo much slower than you expect.

I do feel better for the vegetables but I'm still fat 😭

A quick and easy way to eat healthier meals is to sign up to simply cook. We've done this in the last couple of months. They send you a very easy recipe and spices. Only a few ingredients but we're cooking fresh every night. Very tasty meals too and pretty healthy.

Yes, of course it's possible. Lots of people turn it around at all ages. Research even suggests elderly people can make changes that have benefits in the longer term.

You need a realistic plan. Forget all the "quick" schemes and fads, etc. Be realistic. If you are drinking too much, don't pretend you can go alcohol free overnight and keep it up. Far better to be honest with how much you drink and just make small reductions, so less becomes the new normal. Same with exercise, just do a little more, then a little more, even if it's just parking at the far end of car parks or walking to the end of the train platform. Every little helps and it becomes the norm. Same with eating, don't cut out all the "treats" as you WILL fail. Better, again, to be honest, and cut things out slowly for the long term.

I used to binge eat in my teens and ended up 22 stones! I went on a crazy diet with lots of exercise and got down to 14 stones in a year. Then I started binge eating again and was back to 23 stones the year later! I was in denial about it. Not just the bingeing but also large meals and eating crap.

It's taken me 20 years, but I've got down from 23 stones to 14 again, very slowly and very gradually, just by "little and often" whether it's been eating slightly less, getting used to smaller meals, stop buying so much crap, walking further, etc. It's reversed my T2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and I feel better now that I did when I was 18! Being more active and eating less and better quality foods (fewer carbs, fewer additives, low sugar, low fat), year after year, makes a massive difference to me.

Because I never made "Big" changes the second time around, the exercise and healthier eating just becomes a habit and you really don't notice the changes over the months and years. What's even better is that when I "fall off the wagon", with either binging (still do very occasionally when stressed) or fancy a treat, I don't feel guilty anymore. I just think "tomorrow's another day" and get back to the fit and healthy way.

Definitely don’t have the mindset that it has to be salad & workouts OP! I’ve lost 3 stone & have been nowhere near a gym or many lettuce leaves! My main thing was quitting alcohol which has improved my life so so much, not just the weight loss. I sleep way better, I’m calmer & less anxious, I have more money! The only exercise I do is walking, although now that my back is stronger I am considering some classes such as Pilates. I try to do “ clean eating “ some of the time which is foods that are easy to digest & not full of additives eg chicken, salmon, broccoli, Greek yogurt with honey & berries. But honestly, coming off booze was the best decision I ever made.

Not only it is possible but it is, in many cases, the only way to drastically improve your health. Even if you have something “wrong” that requires medication, most medication needs to be taken alongside lifestyle changes.

The worst thing you could do is decide there’s no point making any changes because you think the damage has already been done, and carrying on as you are.

Of course it can make a difference! 40 isn't old! My dad changed his diet and started doing weights when he was in his late 60s, after a wake-up call when he was told he was pre-diabetic. As a result, his sleep apnoea disappeared, he came off his statins and blood pressure medication and reversed his diabetes. He'd barely been overweight, but he rgot very slim. He's now a sprightly 80, still playing full rounds of golf and still doing weights.

It is always worth making changes. Start with the easiest- which you’ve identified- and save the hardest to last. FWIW it may be worth looking for the lower-nicotine vape juices in order to wean off gradually when the time comes, but, if you’re buying high quality juices it’s a lot better for you than smoking and can probably go to the bottom of the list.

you can also add steps into life with only minor changes- always take the stairs, walk if it’s a mile or less, and that will also help. Finally, maybe look for a gentle yoga class: some benefits of yoga (which other forms of exercise don’t offer) include reduction in the effects of stress, and greater resilience- which might make it easier to make some of the other changes you want to make.

Good luck! It’s definitely not too late and you are strong enough to do this 💪

When are you 40? When you reach 40, you are entitled to the NHS Over 40s Health Check (I was entitled to the Enhanced one because of my postal code) and they do bloods, weight, lifestyle check etc - an MOT. Then you get given your risk score, they can refer you for support to lose weight etc. That's how it was all picked up for me.

It’s not the most difficult change for everyone. I was drinking a couple of glasses of wine most evenings last year, as well as eating badly and not exercising enough. For me, quitting the wine was the easiest bit. I just stopped buying it. I’ve only drank on 4-5 occasions this year, and not at all in the house.
The food part was the hardest change for me. I could stop buying wine completely, but I can’t stop eating, so it was a more difficult thing to get a grip on. Equally incorporating exercise was difficult because outside of full time work I’m a carer to my disabled child, so time is hard to come by.
Anyway I’ve lost 3 stone this year (now 9 stone 7) so it’s always worth making changes OP!

You can definitely do this. I've been in a spiral of bad eating & too much drinking due to family bereavements. I've piled on a stone and a half in 9 months. I feel shit.
I've not had a drink for a week & im eating decent food. Trying to walk more. I've not had a drink at all this weekend which is massive for me
I already feel so much better
As somebody else said. Small steps. When you feel the benefits it will encourage you to continue.
Good luck.

I watch Louise's journey channel on YouTube, and there are plenty of other similar channels with motivational stories of changing lives.