Apparently midlife is defined as being when one is between the ages of 40-60, hello Gen X’ers!

While in so many ways we still feel like we are in our prime, its an age where there are a number of challenges but also great opportunities.

Lets get the crappy stuff out of the way first:

• Midlife is where chronic disease starts, chronic meaning long term sickness. We may have felt invincible for a long time, but poor lifestyle choices, maybe genetics or sheer bad luck can send our health issues spiralling. It may be early warning signs, aches and pains, blood pressure being a little too high, or feeling off. Many baby boomers have said that they regret not making changes sooner, or listening to their body and taking action.

• Midlife is a juggling act of ageing parents and helping kids get on their way in life, or maybe we are just starting a family. This juggling act can also include our jobs, occupations, having time to do the things we enjoy.

• We have lots of stress and anxiety in comparison to other generations according to the reference below.

Good things:

• We are the bridge, the connecting point between generations. We bring the family together, we are the link that connects and networks, organising social gatherings, the communicator, the promoter of unity

• We are now in the prime earning years according to the reference below. We are well on our way to saving, paying off mortgages, planning our retirement

• Freedom may now be a thing. With the kids moving out in some instances, we have more free time to rediscover ourselves, revisit old hobbies or start new ones.

• This is where we apparently stabilise emotionally, know what we want, and have life experience under our belt. This feeds into our confidence and belief system.

So what can we do?

• Really listen to the body and the warning signs, this is like a stress beacon, a chance to turn things around

• Be disciplined with your boundaries; don’t give away everything, self care is even more important now

• Structure our time, work out our goals and keep an eye on what we are trying to achieve. Health coaching can be an awesome way to really understand what is important, barriers and how to achieve good health outcomes.

• Get active, this is so important - get out almost every day, get a sweat on (of course after you have had a medical clearance from your Doctor)

• Eating well and consistently is a thing! Eating well most of the time, being mindful of whats going in will help to feed your body everything it is craving and needing to function well. Food is everything when you are trying to lose a few kilos.