6 Everyday Habits That Are Damaging To Those Who Are Middle-Aged

Written by Tanya Arora  • 

Hitting a mid-life crisis is one of the lowest points of anybody’s life. Not everyone is able to take it in a sunny, cheerful spirit. Plus, the body changes that take place at this time make the whole experience much worse! But you can’t just blame your foul mood, weakening bones, and tummy problems on hormonal changes or low bone density or even slow metabolism. You have your own habits to blame too!

A total of 6 everyday habits make middle age a way worse experience than it could be! So, if you want to steer away from the unpleasantness that this stage of life brings, thereby slowing down its onset, you better avoid the following negative habits:

1. Eating Out

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A great savior on days when you don’t have food cooked at home, eating out regularly though is simply a bad idea. Stepping into your late 40s and early 50s might prove to be good for your social life since you have so much of spare time and cash now to focus on yourself, but it won’t be so positive for your health. Going out and eating out more often will not only cause you to eat more and gain weight but will also adversely impact your digestive health (1). The solution? Eat home-cooked, nutritious food as much as you can to keep your body in shape.

2. Skipping The Glass Of Water

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You can live without clothes. You can live without TV. You can live without Facebook. But can you live without water? No way! Water is absolutely crucial for your survival as well as your well-being. Oftentimes when your body is dehydrated, your mind confuses the signal of dehydration as one of hunger and you end up snacking when you should actually be sipping on water. Sadly, this can lead to further dehydration (2). So, you should ensure that you drink the requisite amount of water every day. Besides, if you drink water before a meal, you may end up eating lesser too!

3. And Sipping On Wine Instead

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Countless articles on the internet rave about the benefits of having red wine every day. While that is all well and good, nobody really talks about the adverse effects of having too much wine. Here’s the thing – red wine is very sweet and considerably adds to your calorie count, which can be harmful if you’re trying to lose weight (3). Besides, having too much wine has certain side effects too such as cirrhosis, depression, and even premature death (4)! Moderation is the keyword you’re looking for here if you must drink. In any case, curtailing your wine (and other alcohol) consumption might be a wise idea.

4. Munching On So-Called ‘Healthy’ Snacks

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First of all, you should know that there are two kinds of healthy snacks – the real ones and the so-called ‘healthy’ ones. Considering how much we as humans like to indulge, we often end up going for the wrong ‘healthy’ snacks, thereby not contributing anything to our health status at all! The so-called packaged ‘healthy’ snacks are actually full of processed sugars and calories and can play havoc with your health. Real healthy snacks, on the other hand, are fresh and mainly contain nutrients such as fiber and protein with low sugar quantities (5).

5. Having A Diet Low In Fiber

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If you don’t know already, fiber is actually very good for your health (6). Dietary fiber naturally suppresses your appetite so you eat less. Besides, it also reduces your chances of constipation, improves gut and bowel health, and keeps your blood sugar levels in check! You can get your fill of fiber from plenty of natural sources such as whole-grain cereals, fruits, veggies, seeds and nuts, and legumes. You can even take supplements if you are allergic to the gluten in fiber-rich foods.

6. Not Exercising

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As middle age starts making its presence felt, you downplay the importance of exercise in your life, thinking you no longer need to look that good anymore. Well, here’s the thing: working out doesn’t just make you look good, it also keeps you healthy and active so you don’t fall prey to a myriad of diseases. In fact, staying active in your middle age is of utmost importance as it keeps your bones and muscles healthy, so you don’t feel all those aches and pains (7). You should do both strength exercises and cardio daily.

Getting older is inevitable. And as much as popular media would like you to believe, an elixir of life doesn’t exist. So, even if you can’t be forever young in body, you can at least try to feel and look much younger by taking proper care of yourself. Ergo, forget how hard this crisis of life is and focus on being happy and healthy!

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