Fit at 40 , livre ebook

Random House Publishers India Pvt. Ltd. - Dhillon Pai Rishma

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103 pages

English

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Are you afraid of turning 40? 40 is an important milestone in our life. Yet, this is often the time when the body's metabolism reduces progressively and a lot of health problems such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and muscle and joint pain enter our lives. In Fit at 40, renowned obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Rishma Dhillon Pai will give you a lowdown on major health issues that plague us in the 40s; the importance of a healthy diet; and offer advice, solutions, precautions, and tips to stay healthy, look younger, and keep midlife crisis at bay, forever.

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Publié par	Random House Publishers India Pvt. Ltd.
Date de parution	27 décembre 2013
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9788184005295
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0480€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Published by Random House India in 2013
Copyright Dr Rishma Dhillon Pai 2013
Random House Publishers India Private Limited Windsor IT Park, 7th Floor, Tower-B A-1, Sector-125, Noida-201301, UP
Random House Group Limited 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road London SW1V 2SA United Kingdom
This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author s and publisher s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
EPUB ISBN 9788184005295
To the two people who ve helped shape my life
My husband Dr Hrishikesh Pai and My sister Poonam Dhillon
Contents
Foreword by Raveena Tandon
Meet Our Panel of Experts
Introduction
How to Use this Book
PART 1: THINKING 40
1 Physical Changes
2 Cognitive Changes
3 Psychological Changes
PART 2: FEELING 40
4 Bleeding
5 Fibroids
6 Prolapse
7 Stress Urinary Incontinence
8 Endometriosis
9 Unplanned Pregnancies
10 Fertility
11 Gynaecological Cancers
12 Non-gynaecological Issues
PART 3: FIT AT 40
13 Signs and Symptoms
14 Exercise
15 Diet
16 Anti-ageing
Conclusion
Afterword by Padmini Kolhapure
Notes
Acknowledgements
A Note on the Author
Foreword
I AM A 39-YEAR-OLD WOMAN . As a teenager, or even in my 20s, this isn t something I would have said out loud. But looking back at everything I have experienced so far, my voice doesn t falter. We have to embrace everything about ourselves-the good, the bad, and the ugly-to be called women in the true sense of the word. That is why I am excited about turning 40 and the life that awaits me on the other side.
I am confident of navigating my 40s well because I have taken good care of my body so far. As you all know, I had gained a considerable amount of weight post-delivery that took its time to shift. I took the healthy way back to being slim under the guidance of my gynaecologist, dietician, and of course, my gym trainer.
Even though you are confident that you are the best judge of your health, you always need a good doctor by your side. And who s more important to any woman other than her gynaecologist? They are there with you through your youth, childbearing years, and till much later in life. A gynaecologist becomes a friend with whom you can share your deepest secrets and insecurities. Someone with whom you can discuss even those embarrassing things you can t talk to with anyone else.
I wish Dr Rishma Dhillon Pai all the very best for this wonderful book she has written. It is simple, easy to read, and extremely informative. There is really very little literature and place in media given to women in their 40s, and I am glad she has brought this important phase of our lives into focus.
This book is your go-to guide to the 40s. It s going to be on my night stand for the next few years. Here s to entering the best decade of our lives.
Raveena Tandon
Meet Our Panel of Experts
E ACH OF THE BELOW MENTIONED EXPERTS have contributed a chapter to my book. Thank you for taking out time from your busy schedules to help us better understand the importance of exercise, how simple changes in our diet goes a long way, and how we can reverse back the clock after we cross 40.
Introduction
I LIKED TURNING 40 . One thing that sucks though is that your face kind of goes, and your body s not quite working the same. But you earned it. You earned that, things falling apart!
I wish I was philosophical enough to write this. But even though these are Brad Pitt s words-a man s words-they hit the nail on the head as far as a woman turning 40 goes. As much as we d like to believe otherwise, things do start to fall apart.
The big 4-0 is a wonderful time in a woman s life. The children don t need you always and you finally have that much needed time for yourself. You can keep your date with the girlfriends without worrying about your child s homework or tell your husband to fend for himself for a night and not worry about how he ll react. But this age also brings with it BIG problems. This is the time when the body-one that has served you so well all these years-goes into transition. In a certain sense, it is the beginning of the second half of your life. If you look at it in medical terms, you re stepping from a low-risk zone into a high-risk one.
It s an age that can be pretty hard to handle because you re not older-at least in your mind you aren t. Some of you don t look it either. The first thing I ask patients when they come to my clinic is their age because that s a big part of diagnosing. The moment they step in, I play a little game in my head where I try and guess their age. I should ve stopped playing a long time ago because I almost never get it right. My mind says 35 but she says 45 .
The one reason why I ve wanted to write this book is because there aren t many books dedicated to women of this age. There are hundreds of books in the market on pregnancy, diet, and how to look good, but not many that help a woman make a successful and stress-free transition to the second half of her life. Also, everyone caters to the younger woman. Magazines and advertising budgets keep younger women in mind while developing their products. Very little focus is given to women in their 40s.
For the most part, the 40s have been a neglected phase. Though I must admit that a lot has been written about full-blown menopause, I still feel that women who aren t suffering from menopause and don t have babies have a different set of issues that need to be addressed. For example, very few people know what sort of contraception a woman in her 40s should use. Topics like this are never discussed because being pregnant at 40 is considered a reckless thing to do. The most common reaction in that scenario would be, Doesn t she know enough at this age to avoid an unplanned pregnancy?
While you may not feel or look older, the body s wear-and-tear goes on silently for years. And no one visits a gynaecologist till there s a problem. When I tell older women who I meet socially that I am a gynaecologist, they say they don t need me anymore because they re done planning their family. But you need your gynaecologist at every stage, especially after you cross 40, because that s when you re more prone to health issues like uterine prolapse, problems of abnormal menstrual bleeding, and cancers.
W HY IS 40 A LANDMARK AGE ?
Then why am I writing about just the 40s? That s because after puberty, this is the time you see the maximum changes in your body. Sooner or later, you ll suffer from several issues that ll have you question your mental strength, your ability to withstand the ravages of time and, at times, your sanity. You are likely to face problems you ve never encountered before in your life. You ll realize that your body is not the way it used to be. You re more vulnerable to diseases and your ability to recover from them isn t the same either.
But it s important to remember that not everyone faces the same problems. A lot depends on how you ve lived your life so far. I m in my 40s. For me, turning 40 has been a positive experience. My fifth decade started off with a huge party my husband threw for me. The only problem I faced was a nagging backache that got worse in my 40s. Since the pain refused to go away, I decided to have a spinal surgery done. There were some post-operative problems. I developed deep vein thrombosis, a life-threatening complication especially because I could not take blood thinning agents to treat it as it could lead to bleeding in the spine. This usually happens to obese, old ladies, which I was not. I was slim and 40 but that is how life is! What can happen will happen, so I decided I will not let it affect me. Some bed rest, physiotherapy, medication and I was back on my feet and raring to go.
There was also the usual weight issue. I ve always been a very slim person, but after turning 40, I ve had to work towards maintaining my weight. I ve become more particular about my workouts and what I eat. Weight gain is a big concern for women over 40 because the rate of metabolism slows down and your body tends to retain a lot more of the fat that it did when you were younger. But more on that later.
As I said before, 40s are when you re more settled and don t have to keep a constant tab on your partner and children. The same applies for me as well. My husband and I recently moved into our own home with the kids after living with my in-laws for years. I definitely feel much more settled now than when I was just starting out as a doctor. The main reason why I think I m handling this phase of my life so well is acceptance-accepting that life has changed-and being okay with the changes. The fact that I will never be a 20-year-old-and thank God for it-is something I remind myself every day so I can avoid the trap of self-loathing.
If you don t make these mental adjustments, you re very likely to be depressed all the time and you ll continue to try, and fail to look like you re in your mid-20s. Trust me when I tell you that as long as you feel fit and healthy, you re fine. A little bit of imperfection is what makes us stand out. Fortunately, not all of us are Bollywood stars and our body is not our ticket to success. So if your waist is 2 inches more than when you were in your 20s, it shouldn t bother you.
Hollywood actor Halle Berry very wisely said, A magical thing happened when I turned 40-a light sort of went off, and I felt more self-assured and confident, like I finally had the right to be authentic about who I am, to say what I want to say. I guess that comes with getting older. There s no reason why this can t apply to you as