Editor's letter: Eat cheese, get a pet and never lie about your age - YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Sign in Welcome!Log into your account Forgot your password? Password recovery Recover your password Search Sign in Welcome! Log into your account Forgot your password? Get help Password recovery Recover your password A password will be e-mailed to you. YOU Magazine Fashion Beauty Celebrity Health Life Relationships Horoscopes Food Interiors Travel Home Life Editor’ s letter Eat cheese get a pet and never lie about your age By You Magazine - August 1, 2021 I’ve written before about my unapologetic approach to ageing – how I’d never lie about my age (51) or agree with those who think I should. So it’s no surprise that I’ve jumped at the chance to feature a fantastic new book on the subject in this issue. Charlotte Bauer is singing my tune. Here, she argues – in ways that make me laugh out loud – for forgetting this idea of sweating to stay or look young and embrace where we are now. It’s an uplifting read and it made me reflect on why (so far) I just don’t really get upset that I’m not young any more. I’m not trying to ‘stay young’, but, like Charlotte, I do put effort into getting the best out of middle age. Here are some of the things that I think help me… Exercise. I’m not talking about marathon training. There are millions of workouts online. Pick your time, your style, your effort level. I only had 20 minutes this morning but the endorphin boost will sustain me all day. It’s great for stress, energy, sleep. Not to mention self-esteem – there’s nothing like that feeling of having conquered it. Seek out laughter. Every day. If none of my friends can make me giggle (which is rare, they all do), I look for something that I know will. Even on my most stressful or lowest days, I deserve five minutes to see the funny side of something. Anything. Wear what the hell you like. Two fingers to any rules of what I’m supposed to be wearing at my age, or for my weight. I love, love, love clothes and I won’t apologise for being obsessed with outfits because they boost my mood and make me feel ‘armed’ for the challenges of every day. Make the effort with people. It’s easy to feel a bit put out if you haven’t heard from a friend in a while. So I don’t wait for a call – I call. Get a pet. If you can take on the commitment, it fills a house with love and energy. Do something nice for no reason. This is particularly great if I’m wallowing in any sort of low mood. It gives me a buzz, as if in some small way I’ve made a difference to someone else. Which probably means it’s not selfless of me, but does that matter? Be grateful. My favourite Peloton instructor is always saying that we all have something we can be grateful for. It’s worth reminding yourself of those things as often as possible. Drink wine. Eat cheese. I saw a line on Instagram once that said, ‘I don’t want to look back one day and think, “I could have eaten that.”’ Also I do love sometimes reflecting on the many things about my 20s that I don’t miss: terrible boyfriends, criminal landlords, weeks on end of cheap, poor nutrition. I had no wrinkles and a tinier waist, but I don’t remember even once looking in the mirror and giving myself an appreciative double thumbs-up, so what was the point? Do you have a list like the above? Let me hear about it – we older (hopefully a bit wiser) birds should keep sharing the inspiration, wisdom and joy, don’t you think? Editor s picks A few things I’m coveting this week I’m taking this, with cropped trousers and heels, for a cocktail. Blouse, £29.99, shop.mango.com Bold, beautiful stripes always look expensive. Cushion, £24.99, hm.com Delicious pre-mixed drinks from a mother-and-daughters company. Rum punch, £25, kudacocktails.com RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR Everything we know about The Crown season 5 Aldi s exercise equipment is on sale with up to 50% off The best Halloween events for 2022 across the UK Popular in Life The You magazine team reveal their New Year s resolutions December 31, 2021 Susannah Taylor The TLC tools your body will love January 23, 2022 How to stop living in fear February 6, 2022 Susannah Taylor My pick of the fittest leggings February 27, 2022 Women’ s Prize for Fiction 2022 winner announced June 17, 2022 These BBC dramas are returning for a second series June 30, 2022 Susannah Taylor gives the lowdown on nature s little helper – CBD April 17, 2022 The baby names that are banned across the world April 27, 2022 The Queen has released her own emojis May 26, 2022 Sally Brompton horoscopes 27th June-3rd July 2022 June 26, 2022 Popular CategoriesFood2704Life2496Fashion2240Beauty1738Celebrity1261Interiors684 Sign up for YOUMail Thanks for subscribing Please check your email to confirm (If you don't see the email, check the spam box) Fashion Beauty Celebrity Life Food Privacy & Cookies T&C Copyright 2022 - YOU Magazine. All Rights Reserved