Five months after officially ending the challenge, I have (for the most part) stuck to healthier, more conscious eating habits. The $25-a-week budget looks more like $35 now, but still, the end result is that I’m much more mindful of what’s in the food I’m eating and where it’s coming from.

After years of yo-yo dieting, my metabolism is shot, and so the weight I expected to lose during the process has been slow in coming off. I’d imagined being “fit at forty” and celebrating my 40th several sizes smaller than I am today. But a friend reminded me that I’ll be 40 for an entire year, and so I actually have 365 days to become fit at 40. Despite the slow weight loss, I have for the most part maintained my commitment to eating only grass fed and cage free meat, poultry and eggs. There have been a few occasions when I’ve been out and frankly, the lure of jerked chicken (read “why did the chicken cross the road” to understand) overrode any question I had about the origins of my food. But those moments have been few and far between. I’ve also kept to my commitment to purchasing products that contain no artificial ingredients, colors or preservatives. That’s meant smarter snacking, a lot less eating out and an overall healthier lifestyle.

Finally, I’m moving more. For a while I was playing tennis on a weekly basis and taking belly dancing classes (more on that in a later post.) These days I’m walking several times a week, and a new round of belly dancing madness is scheduled to start in July.

My goal for 40 is to be fit, mentally, spiritually and physically, and despite a few bumps in the road, I feel like I’m headed in the right direction. I’ve been down this road before, but this time my 40′s are waiting ahead of me with the hopes and dreams I’ve held dear for the past several years. This road – the one of health and wellbeing – is the only road that will take me to the places I want to go. And for that reason alone, I’m determined to stay the course.

How’s your quest to be fit at 40 coming along? Share your story in the comment section, or on our Facebook fan page.

1. Whether you’re meeting your new boyfriend for lunch, getting together with the girls, or having a power lunch, Mezzoman.com helps you find the perfect meeting point halfway in between. Mezzoman uses a “multi-point” system that allows a user to enter up to three addresses at one time and then finds a meeting point right in the middle.

2. If you’ve got plans to “get out” more this summer, DailyCandy can help. DailyCandy editors check out cities all over the U.S. and lets you in on what to do, shop, see, and eat in your city. Sign up for the e-mail list to make sure you never miss a thing. (Image: Sushi Plate Invite)

3. Spring is here and so is the season for backyard parties, get togethers and cookouts. Mypunchbowl.com lets you plan your party from start to finish while taking into account your personal style. From helping you with party themes, invitations, favors and gift registries to providing photo and video sharing services, Mypunchbowl will help you plan a party they won’t forget. There’s even an after-party message board where attendees can upload photos and videos of the event.

4. If you’d rather send invites the old fashioned way, Polka dot design has unique invitations for all events. Whether you’re throwing you’re 40th birthday party, a casual dinner party or a backyard BBQ, you’ll be able to find an invite that fits your personality – and theme – just right.

5. Speaking of eating (well we were) and planning parties, Chow.com uses audio, video, social media and more to help you plan and prepare the meals you want to eat at those fabulous parties Mypunchbowl is going help you plan. And, if you have no interest in cooking for your get together, the site also lists great restaurants in your area.

Email your fab finds to contribute@womenatforty.com and we’ll feature them in a future Five for Friday.

Editor’s Note:

This is a topic that is dear to my heart. You see, my mother, Marion Kane, is a food writer. In fact, she was the Food Editor of two major Canadian newspapers for a total of 17 years. So while most kids spent their evenings playing outside, I was busy dining in the finest restaurants of Toronto ordering lots of dishes to help my mum in her “tasting” ceremony which would either make said restaurant into the latest “hot spot” or else put it out of business within two weeks.

My mother, unlike me, doesn’t appear to struggle with what to eat, how much to eat, or knowing when she’s full. But still, I have managed to learn some important things from her when it comes to eating joyfully. In my mother’s house, eating is a celebration: a time set aside to painstakingly prepare and enjoy a good meal.

In my mother’s words:

We all have to eat. Most people prepare some of their own meals. Many of us are passionate about food and cooking. All of which explains why I love being a food writer: It so easily connects me with individuals of every age, colour, social status, shape and size. I’ve written about where and what Toronto taxi drivers like to eat- a story that led me to burger joints, an African take-out, South Asian eateries and a Jewish deli. I once checked our city’s cops’ top spots to nosh and, for another article, visited favourite haunts of local truckers. In a different vein, I talked to chefs who man high-end kitchens atop downtown skyscrapers for CEOs, and penned a feature about those who prepare the fare at local spas and health clubs. Food is the great equalizer and, from my experience, there’s no better way to lift one’s spirits or create a bond than sharing it with others.

My mother’s dearly departed friend, Julia Child, agrees:

“Dining with one’s friends and beloved family is certainly one of life’s primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal.”

A recent survey showed that Americans are eating more but enjoying it less. Just 39% of adults in this survey say they enjoy eating “a great deal,” down from the 48% who said the same in a survey in 1989. Also, the survey found that the decline in enjoyment of eating has been greater among those who consider themselves “overweight” than among those who consider themselves “just about the right weight.”

In other words, when you’re not happy with your body, you’re not enjoying one of life’s greatest pleasures- eating.

For homework, I’d like to you to write answers to each of the following questions on a piece of paper or in your journal:

Describe an ideal eating experience. Describe in detail the atmosphere, table setting, location, type of food you’d be enjoying, and whether you would be alone or with others.

Think about how you eat your meals now. Now write down some things that you can do to make your day-to-day eating experiences more enjoyable.

__________________________________________________________

Esther Kane, MSW, RCC relocated to the Comox Valley over two years ago from Vancouver. She is in full-time private practise as a psychotherapist in Courtenay. Esther has over a decade of experience counselling women and their loved ones with a multitude of presenting problems. Her main focus is helping women to become free of barriers which keep them stuck so that they can become all that they dream of being. You can learn more about Esther on her website www.estherkane.com.

This article was originally posted on www.estherkane.com. It is reposted with the author’s permission.

I made a sort of vegetable-bean-beef stew thingy to stretch the meat over several meals and I still have tofu, beans and vegetables left from last week. Just two weeks in, I can see that the real challenge here is not staying within the $25 budget, but not getting bored with what I’ve been preparing. Another thing that’s becoming really clear is that packaged foods, even the ones that claim to be all natural, have so many added ingredients that it boggles the mind. While looking for plain old tortilla chips over the weekend I found only a couple of brands that had 5 ingredients or less. What’s all the other stuff for anyway? And does everything have to have artificial color – what color are tortilla chips supposed to be?

I’m also learning to eat and like what I have on hand. Remember as a kid when you used to eat what your mom made for dinner, or you didn’t eat at all? Somewhere along the way we started confusing our wants with our needs. I don’t know about you, but doing that has gotten me into trouble in the past. Learning to be content with what I have now, is the biggest lesson I’m learning from my little experiment.  On Friday I’ll let you know how long this contentment lasts. Bon Appetit!

Share your thoughts on  being Fit at Forty in the comment section or on our Facebook Fan page.

Grace is a blogger and Women at Forty editor who lives outside of Atlanta, GA. She shares her weight loss challenges and experiences weekly in our Health & Beauty – Fit at Forty section.

1. Ok, so you’d have to be drunk to be fooled into thinking this was really spaghetti – but at only 20 calories, 3 grams of carbs and .5 g fat per serving, House Foods Tofu Shirataki Noodles will do. Served best in soups or stir fried, these noodles add a bit of texture and flavor to low carb meals. You can find these noodles at your local farmers market, or you can check out the store list here.

2. Busy mom? E-mealz is a “meal planning resource for mom and frugal family cooks.” Meal plans are based on what’s currently on sale at grocery stores and options are categorized according to store choice and/or whatever weight management plan you and your family are on. Meal plans are designed to feed 4-6 people and are budgeted at around $75 per week. Two person plans average $35 total per week.  For a subscription of $5 per month, members receive a complete weekly aisle-by-aisle grocery list and menu plan.

3. The 4-Hour work week by Timothy Ferris – This book will revolutionize the way you approach working, whether you’re your own boss or work for someone else. We don’t necessarily subscribe to all his methods, but as they say “eat the meat and spit out the bones.” From outsourcing to time management to the cult of 9-5, you’ll never look at “a job” the same way again. Click here to visit Ferris’ website and read a few chapter previews.

4. JustGive – We all have a heart for giving but sometimes are unsure about how and where to give. JustGive is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to increase charitable giving by connecting people with the charities and causes they care most about.  It’s a website “dedicated to creating comprehensive tools and services to make charitable giving a part of everyday life.”  Ninety-seven cents of every dollar you contribute goes straight to the charities you designate.

5. Tech savvy? Not so tech savvy? Check out Geek Girlfriends for the latest tech world news. Christina Tynan-Wood, a technology writer and author of the book , How to Be a Geek Goddess describes the site as “a place for women who like technology but want a hand getting or keeping up to speed.” This is not a site for geeks. But it’s ok if you happen to be one.

Got something fab for ‘Five for Friday’? Email your info to contribute@womenatforty.com. We’ll feature it in an upcoming Five for Friday feature.

I wasn’t exaggerating when I said that over the years, tracking what I could and couldn’t eat and weighing myself have become an obsession. Ironically, none of that obsessive tracking did anything to stop me from gaining weight. But it’s become so much a part of what I do and who I am, that not doing it seems foreign to me.  Enter my public declaration on Women at Forty that I’d do neither. Never one to lie (well, not to large groups of people at once) I refrained from calorie checking and weighing myself – despite being tempted several times. There’s something to be said for going public.

Why was it important to stay off the scale during this challenge? If you’re someone who’s struggled with weight their entire life then you know that the scale can become the most powerful “voice” in the house. It can dictate your emotions, what you eat and don’t eat and can shape your outlook on your entire day. If you’re someone who’s given your power to the numbers on the scale, NOT weighing yourself for a period of time can be a difficult, but ultimately healthy thing. For me this challenge is about returning my focus to food as nutrition not as nurturer-problem solver-companion-savior, regardless of what the numbers on the scale say.

I’m back to the market this weekend. My total last week was $25.72 (adjusted for the most expensive pint of orange juice I’ve ever purchased, bought during a meeting at a coffee shop on Tuesday.) I’ve actually got beans, rice and a few other staples left over from last week’s purchases, so I think I can come in under $25 this week. Hey, I might even be able to by about a half an ounce of free range chicken to add a little variety to this all bean thing I’ve been doing. I’ll be back on Monday with a total and an update on how my first weekend on the challenge went.

Share your thoughts on  being Fit at Forty in the comment section or on our Facebook Fan page.

Grace is a blogger and Women at Forty editor who lives outside of Atlanta, GA. She shares her weight loss challenges and experiences weekly in our Health & Beauty – Fit at Forty section.

Super Foods are foods which are so nutrient-rich that they can help fight aging and illness. For years experts have touted the benefits of super foods for helping to prevent wrinkles, memory loss, vision problems, thinning hair and more.  From heart disease preventing salmon to bone building broccoli, super foods have more “bang for their buck” than your typical fare. If you’re anything like me, you might be struggling with weight and how much to eat. And while that can be a life-long battle, incorporating at least some of these super foods into your diet can be an easy way to help improve your health and well being, one bite at a time.

Spinach – The super food for your eyes – Squinting at my screen has made me that more conscious about taking care of my eyes. Known as the super food for eyes, spinach is rich in folic acid, vitamin A, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, magnesium, vitamin C, and iron. It also contains lutein which acts as an antioxidant, protecting the macula tissue from oxidation and absorbing damaging UV light.  If you’re buying it fresh, choose spinach with deep green leaves and stems free of yellow or brown spots.

Salmon contains omega-3 fatty acid which is shown to help prevent heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends eating fatty fish like salmon twice weekly. If you’re not a fan of salmon, canned tuna also contains omega-3. As for mercury content? Experts say that the benefits of eating salmon far outweigh the risks. Pregnant and lactating women should consult their doctors before consuming fish.

Almonds – Although high in fat, almonds have the same type of heart healthy fats as olive oil. Almonds provide magnesium and potassium and have been shown to lower cholesterol. One serving of almonds provides half of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of vitamin E. If you’re one of those people who find themselves eating more than a serving a time, pre-pack a handful of almonds in a small zip-lock and snack on it throughout the day.

Blueberries – Blueberries are a low calorie source of vitamin C and fiber and are a rich source of phytonutrients or plant compounds.  Blueberries can also help prevent urinary tract infections and have been shown to improve short term memory.

Broccoli – Broccoli’s packed with calcium, folate and fiber and also contains phytonutrients. Phytonutrients may help prevent chronic illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.  It’s also a great source of vitamins A and C. Besides being a good source of calcium, potassium, folate and fiber, broccoli contains phytonutrients — a group of compounds that may help prevent chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Broccoli is also a good source of vitamins A and C.

For a list of 27 Anti-Aging Super Foods and their benefits, click here. Is there a super food that has worked miracles for you? Share your super food story in our comment section.