[Closed] 40 next year. What should I give up?

I also turn 40 next year, but I think I'll take up something positive rather than giving up something negative (which I don't do too much of anyway).

I suspect that my mental health will be the biggest challenge over the next ten years. The "work/childcare/DIY/worrying about money/iphone addiction/not sleeping/work" endless cycle that's popped on other threads is hitting me like most others my age.

My kids turn 11 and 13 this year, so I'm past the childcare stage, thankfully.

Giving a monkey's hump about what anyone else thinks about you?

1. Don’t Smoke
2. Wear a seatbelt or a helmet
3. Learn to fall AND recover
4. Eat more protein
5. Eat more fiber
6. Take more fish oil
7. Drink more water
8. Floss your teeth
9. Build some muscle
10. Improve joint mobility

http://danjohn.net/2012/05/training-for-middle-age-and-beyond/

Nothing, nor did I when I got to 50.

Although a BMI of 24 is only one less than 25 which is overweight - maybe give up kidding yourself? 😉

cut down on caffeine. But really the ciggies should be first

Oh and I dream of those halcyon days of 39 (51 here).

I'd say give up living, but you've already done that.

http://danjohn.net/2012/05/training-for-middle-age-and-beyond/

reminds me I keep meaning to add Sprints into my training.....

Hill sprints for feeling like you're filled with helium when running on the flat.

Chased some kids through the woods after they smashed in a neighbours shed/outhouse the other week. It was like a scene from Wolfman - I don't think even I could believe the speed with which I caught them.

Scary...

40 next year. What should I give up?

Hope?

Give up McDonalds.
Get yourself a [i]looow[/i] slung sports car so you can't reach the window.

Give up worrying.

Smoking is pretty much a proven bad thing these days, it's not clever. Sugar is looking like it's somewhere between fags and salt so no harm cutting back on that.

Screw giving up the rest just moderation and keep moving.

Don't put on any weight, it gets harder to shift from now on 🙂

Give up giving up stuff. You only live once, Enjoy it.

8. Floss your teeth

Completely discredited now. It's all about interdental brushes these day.

Yeah. Perhaps I should've changed it but, you know - the internet!

Giving a monkey's hump about what anyone else thinks about you?

on it.

1. Don’t Smoke
2. Wear a seatbelt or a helmet
3. Learn to fall AND recover
4. Eat more protein
5. Eat more fiber
6. Take more fish oil
7. Drink more water
8. Floss your teeth
9. Build some muscle
10. Improve joint mobility

OK to follow all these, 9 and 10 are the hardest, especially 9.. 😡

Although a BMI of 24 is only one less than 25 which is overweight - maybe give up kidding yourself?

just checked, 23.8, you're probably right. 😆

sugar - cakes and biscuits can go, they're crap anyway.
caffeine - forgot about this one. will consider it.

Salt - This I'm bad on, salty goods are my downfall, olives, crisps, all that stuff. Is it really that bad, maybe this is where I should concentrate.

No intention of putting on weight or stopping moving. I don't want to be kidnapped.

You dont give up anything! Life is all about a little bit of what you fancy. For the record I turned 40 last year and have continued:
1. riding my bikes, I try to get out every day if poss, did my first 100 mile sportives and the ard rock enduro, like to keep pushing myself
2. Drinking Beer... though I cant drink much before Im pished 4-5 nice ales is enough for a weekend night out
3. eating good food... lifes too short to eat junk, ( I'd bin off the McD's!)

Dan bangs on about investing in a good night's sleep in that article (I think). That's pretty good advice, too.

Drink better beer

12 stone 12 as I sit here now, was 41 back in may. I didn't give anything up, at 40 youre probably on the homeward leg of life so why should you give up anything you enjoy? Fags is a obvious one as its probably the best health decision you can ever make but sod the rest. Live to the full etc

I suspect Dan isn't keeping a 2 yr old busy at 5:45 am. 🙄 Sleep is already on the list, it won't be forever.

Bad beer went a very long time ago, *shudders at the thought of it now.

Are you really 40 next year?
Have you just had a birthday and kept it secret????

My advice... Grab life by the horns, kiss strangers wherever you go (the more hoboish the better), laugh often, love always, pay your friends for BBB lodges, drink more rose, ride a 29er....

DrP

I'm 40 next year.

Hopefully this will mean better race results in the Vets category! But I don't hold out much hope.

I'm giving up nothing. The one thing I really should do is take up Yoga or some other flexibility type practise. This really is the thing I can feel affecting me and what will keep me going.

Other than that, a change in job is the one thing that would make the biggest positive change to my life. But monetary responsibilities make this tricky. Anyone want to give me £50k to make building bikes full time a real possibility. Not investment, just a philanthrotropic £50k to turn it into a proper business!

kiss strangers wherever you go (the more hoboish the better)

Don't do this - 's dirty.

🙂

Hopefully this will mean better race results in the Vets category! But I don't hold out much hope.

have you looked into this?

I finished 11th in open males at the Pivot 12hr, 6 minutes outside top 10. That would have placed me 16th in Vets category!

It gets harder, next year is my last chance to get into the top 10 I think!

What did you give up?

I gave up feeling young.

The one thing I really should do is take up Yoga or some other flexibility type practise.

I keep saying this to myself and doing nothing about it. I used to be quite flexible in the days when I did a lot of different physical activities, but now my exercise is limited to infrequent cycle rides - and mostly road at that - I feel myself just getting less and less flexible every week 🙁

have you looked into this?

Racing against Nick Craig etc...

No reason to give up on all that lovely food and drink, just be moderate. Giving up ham of all things seems bonkers. Really, what's that supposed to achieve?

I didn't give up anything at 40, took up unicycling instead. Also took up running a year or two afterwards, not so much as a middle-aged crisis thing, but so I could exercise effectively when away from home (bike) on fairly frequent travel. Now several marathons later, probably not quite as fit as I used to be (hard to tell for sure unless/until I do a flat time trial and there aren't many round here), but perhaps not too far off.

Giving up bacon for life may not help you live forever, but it'll certainly seem like it.

Coke or hookers... What a dilemma! 😆

i`m 40 on wednesday. cant for the life of me think of why i would want to give stuff up. i dont feel like ive had teh opportunity to properly enjoy most things.

Give up thinking over things too much, it'll be the death of you.

Maybe you should check catchup on BBC for the Rio Olympics. It'll give you an insight to what some 40 year olds and above can be capable of.

I'm 53 didn't give up anything at either birthday. 40-ish is easy relative to 50-ish fwiw ... you do have to eat less as you get older as metablosim slows.

That list is a good one but as you say you do most of that already. Yoir idea about less processed foods is a good one. Less red meat generally ? A few treats make life better, if thats a bacon butty after a Sunday ride then great.

I would suggest you make a bit of a bucket list for the next 5+ years as you get to an age where some of the things you'd like to do start to become more difficult then impossible. Even if you're fit you can pick up an injury which may never heal properly. I did my first guided mtb holiday at 49, shoukd have done that sooner for sure.

Maybe you should check catchup on BBC for the Rio Olympics. It'll give you an insight to what some 40 year olds and above can be capable of.

I'm not exactly falling into an NHS Diabetes statistic! Can still hold my own on the bike even if falling off (or getting knocked off) hurts more than it used to. Perhaps stop wearing these shorts:

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but then that contradicts this advice:

Giving a monkey's hump about what anyone else thinks about you?

More of a sort of insurance policy, I'm quite fond of my health and I like the idea of a having a review and making a positive change. I've found that as I'm so busy it's easy to slip into bad habits. Using the milestone as an opportunity to break these rather than cast myself onto the scrap heap.

To avoide the popeye look:

I would consider giving up masturbation, as it becomes more noticeable which arm you use over the age of 40

Or, consider swapping hands to balance your arms out a bit?

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Bugger giving up stuff you enjoy, unless it's proven to be harmful, like cigs, that way lies a descent into a miserable old age!
I know the nanny state recently advised that there's no safe alchohol level, but seriously, unless you're a raging alcoholic, it's not going to do that much harm having a few pints a week. I've just come back from Green Man, where I probably drank more over four days than I would do over four weeks, but it wasn't really strong, about ABV 3.6, and I guess I drank three or four a day.
Going between different stages helps keep consumption down, 'cos you spill it all if you hurry!
The expression 'a little of what you fancy does you good' has a lot of truth in it, it's over-indulgence that does the damage.

I agree that actually, a moderate amount of alcohol isn't THAT harmful, in an otherwise healthy individual.
But... harm aside, don't you find you just feel 'meh' if you drink most nights, or too much...

Short term negatives outweigh the short term gains nowadays!

DrP

I'm 38 and have a higher BMI than you, I'm planning on getting a Smoker for BBQing more meat, not less!

very depressing thread. but if you must ask, fags, give em up. then fizzy drinks of any sort, those labelled low fat, diet etc are full of other crap. then forget this giving up idea. give that up and start a bucket list and pick something from it! job done.

Wasting time on the internets :(. Wishi could give that up

Givin a fuhhhh

drinking is a tough one. hangovers are rough. i dont like getting massively steaming drunk (like i did saturday) as the sunday is painful and i feel like i owe it to my kids to be vaguely receptive and interactive. However getting massively drunk can be very entertaining and fun - we had a bunch of people over and loads of beer real ale it was great to renew those friendships. there is fine line between being useless the day after and having fun the night before though.

a couple of pints and i dont seen to suffer the next day. well depending on the beer - some make me sneeze like a very sneezy thing. luckily harveys doesnt. nomnomnom unfortunaly guiness does. i bloody love guiness too.

This helped me a lot when I turned 40.

Flossing has been discredited? Didn't know that.

But have you ever sniffed floss after a flossing session? It stinks and if that's going to help keep my breath passable then it'll do. That said, will using interdental brushes have the same affect?

I got upsold a water flosser by the dentist so I'm all over that...

Give up worrying. Make the most of it. I am 20 years older than you and still do everything, but a bit slower.

I've just turned 48, and I suggest thinking about what you might want to start rather than what else to give up. I took up MTB just before my 40th, and got hooked 🙂

I suggest thinking about what you might want to start rather than what else to give up.

Definitely. Same age here and I can't learn and put into practice enough new things at the moment - there isn't enough time in the day or night.

Interesting how this is interpreted. Some people see this as a negative post. I'm not known for being overwhelmingly positive myself, to me this is a very positive step.

What I don't need is more things to do, there really aren't enough hours in the day.

I''ve found that I'm more choosey over the beer I drink,nowadays it's more quality over quantity.

It's just a matter of balance with food tbh....as long as your not kidding yourself on food a god varied diets not a bad thing ....I eat sht now an then but mostly balance it with healthier toss.

Wearing lycra an a mirror sorta helps regulate diet 🙂

Oh and give up worrying about having too many bikes, its not possible.

Sex. Whether you want to give it up or not.