Own every stage: nutrition and exercise tips for women of every age
Whether you're a woman in your 20s, 30s, 40s or beyond, the way you eat, move and rest evolves with you. And Vitality is here to support you every step of the way, helping you meet your wellbeing needs at every life stage.
Nutrition for every version of you
Eating healthy food like protein, wholegrains, fruit, vegetables and healthy fats can help support your health and wellbeing at every stage.
Tap the arrows below for nutrition tips at different stages of your life:
Focus area: fuel your busy years
Your 20s, 30s and 40s are often filled with demanding careers, family responsibilities and active lifestyles. Eating a balanced diet can help support energy levels, menstrual health, fertility and long-term wellbeing.
What to eat:
- Iron-rich foods like lean red meat, lentils, beans, spinach and oats.
- Folate-rich foods including leafy greens, citrus fruits, avocado and legumes.
- Protein sources such as fish, eggs, low fat or fat free dairy, chicken, lean meat, tofu and beans.
- Omega-3-rich fish like sardines, salmon, mackerel, chia seeds and walnuts.
- Plenty of colourful fruit and vegetables to help meet your fibre and micronutrient needs.
Focus area: nourish yourself and your baby
Pregnancy places extra demands on your body and increases your need for nutrients that support both maternal health and your baby's development.
What to eat:
- Folate-rich foods such as spinach, legumes and whole grains, including brown rice, oats and quinoa.
- Iron-rich foods like lentils, black beans, leafy greens and sweet potatoes to support increased blood volume and oxygen transport.
- Iodine sources including dairy products, eggs and cooked salmon or tuna.
- Protein-rich foods at every meal to support growth and development.
- Omega-3-rich fish such as cooked sardines and salmon for healthy brain and eye development.
- A varied diet built around whole foods rather than highly processed options.
Focus area: recover and replenish
After you give birth, nutrition can help support your recovery, replenish your nutrients and give you the energy you need to produce milk.
What to eat:
- High-quality protein from meat, fish, eggs, dairy, legumes and soy foods.
- Calcium-rich foods such as low fat or fat free yoghurt, milk, fortified plant milks and tofu.
- Omega-3 fats from oily fish, chia seeds and walnuts.
- Plenty of fluids to stay well hydrated. Make water your beverage of choice.
Focus area: support healthy changes
Hormonal changes during this life stage can affect bone health, muscle mass and cardiovascular wellbeing.
What to eat:
- Protein-rich foods to help maintain muscle strength.
- Calcium-rich foods to support bone health.
- Vitamin D sources such as oily fish, eggs and fortified foods.
- Fibre-rich foods including wholegrains, vegetables, fruit, beans and lentils.
- Heart-healthy fats from nuts, seeds, avocado and oily fish.
Focus area: eat for strength and independence
Good nutrition can help support mobility, independence and healthy ageing.
What to eat:
- Protein at every meal to help preserve muscle mass.
- Calcium and vitamin D to support bone strength.
- Vitamin B12-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs, low fat or fat free dairy and fortified foods.
- Fibre-rich foods for digestive and heart health.
- A wide variety ofwhole foods to help meet changing nutrient needs and support long-term wellbeing.
Pro tip: just look for the Vitality HealthyFood indicator
When you're shopping at Checkers and Woolworths, look for the Vitality HealthyFood indicator icon on store shelves or online to quickly spot qualifying HealthyFood items.
Plus, get up to 25% back in Ðiscovery Miles, boosted to up to 75% back with Discovery Bank, on thousands of HealthyFood items at Checkers and Woolworths, in-store or delivered to your door.
Download the Vitality winter recipe collection today: HealthyFood winter recipe book
Find out moreExercise tips for women at every life stage
If you want to add more healthy years to your life, get moving! By aiming for 150 minutes of cardio workouts and 2 strength training sessions a week, you can help improve your overall health and lower your risk of chronic conditions.
But what kind of exercise do you need to focus on as you get older? Tap the arrow next to your age group for specific guidance on how to move your body when you're...
- Focus area: try everything
- Goal: establish good exercise habits
- Workouts: strength training, HIIT, team sports or dance
Your energy levels are higher in your 20s, making it the perfect time to explore a variety of exercise types and intensity and see what works for you, creating a strong foundation for your future self.
- Focus on strength training to increase muscle and bone mass and high-intensity training to increase cardiovascular fitness.
- Learn correct exercise techniques and work on your mobility to help prevent injuries and develop good muscle memory.
- Join team sports or social wellness clubs to connect with people who'll keep you active for the rest of your life.
- Exercise regularly to help manage stress and boost your concentration.
- Focus area: maintain muscle, manage stress, find your balance
- Goal: build resilience
- Workouts: strength training, Pilates, running or cycling
The demands of starting a family, juggling busy schedules and getting less sleep make it even hard to find time and energy to exercise your 30s. This can lead to weight gain and less time spent on yourself.
- Focus on the quality of exercise you get rather that quantity.
- Add strength training to your workouts to maintain and improve muscle mass.
- Do high-intensity interval training to boost your metabolism and burn more calories in a shorter, more intense workout time.
- Add some lower intensity workouts on recovery days or when you feel tired. This could be a brisk walk outside, easy cycle, yoga or Pilates class.
- Make exercise part of your daily routine. Take the stairs, park your car further away from the shops, play with your kids or pets, do squats while waiting for kettle to boil, do push-ups on the kitchen counter or even calf raises while brushing your teeth.
- Focus area: hormonal changes, bone density and recovery
- Goal: protect your muscle and bone density
- Workouts: strength training, yoga, brisk walking or swimming
Changes in your hormones, a slower metabolism, muscle mass loss and weight gain, especially in your torso area, are all common in your 40s, making exercise even more important.
- Aim for at least 3 strength training sessions a week.
- Risk of injury is higher so make sure you have good form and allow enough recovery time between sessions.
- Do cardiovascular training 3 times a week, for 20 to 60 minutes per session, at a moderate to vigorous intensity to improve your cardiorespiratory fitness.
- Do weight bearing exercises, like skipping or jumps, to prevent the onset of osteoporosis.
Exercise at this age becomes even more important to reduce your risk of chronic conditions, lighten your mood and improve your concentration. The release of endorphins after exercise can also help manage feelings of anxiety and depression.
- Focus area: bone health, cardiovascular health, healthy ageing
- Goal: strength through menopause
- Workouts: strength training, walking or hiking, swimming or cycling
Your metabolism slows down even more at this stage, followed by loss of muscle mass and muscle tone which can affect your posture and bone density.
- Do 4 to 6 cardiovascular workouts a week of 20 to 40 minutes per session, at an intensity where you can still answer a short question but not chat.
- Add 2 to 3 strength training sessions, focusing on multi-muscle exercises like squats, lunges, step-ups or push-ups.
- If you haven't done any strength training before, it's never too late to start. You can use your bodyweight or resistance bands for resistance.
- Add stretches and balance exercises to your weekly training routine to keep your joints mobile.
- Add upper- and lower-back exercises and stretches for your chest, shoulders and lats to help maintain a healthy posture.
- You can still do some impact activities like running, but you may need more recovery time afterwards to avoid injury.
- Focus area: balance, mobility, functional strength
- Goal: stay strong and independent
- Workouts: functional strength training, tai chi, walking or water aerobics
Musculoskeletal problems such as joint degeneration, arthritis, disc narrowing between spinal vertebra and muscle aches and pains are more common in your 60s.
- Aim for 4 to 6 sessions of cardiovascular exercises a week like walking, cycling, stair climbing, hiking, swimming or a slow jog.
- Add 3 days of strength training using free weights, elastic bands, body weight or machines.
- Do daily balance exercises to reduce the risk of falling and improve your walking gait and posture.
- Add regular stretching to help maintain and reduce the amount of wear and tear inside your joints.
Regular exercise in your 60s can help reduce the impact of chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's, diabetes, obesity and certain cancers. It can also help you:
- Stay independent and make daily activities easier
- Sleep better and wake up more refreshed and energised
- Manage stress and ease feelings on depression, anxiety and sadness.
- Feel more confident to perform daily tasks
- Keep your brain active to help prevent memory loss, cognitive decline and dementia.
Remember to check with your GP before you start a new exercise programme.
Pro tip: focus on consistency, then increase intensity.
At each life stage, it's important to start slowly and gradually build up the intensity of your exercise. If you're not sure how to begin, book a workout on Vitality Fitness in the Discovery app. You can get up to 8 free workouts a month to exercise anywhere in the network and discover a world of workouts at your fingertips.
Find out moreLive life with Vitality!
This article is for educational purposes only. Please chat to your healthcare professional for personalised fitness and nutrition advice.