Fabulous over 40!

Ex-Supermodel Christy credits yoga for her fab figure. Practicing regularly since the age of 18, she loves the strength and body tone yoga gives her and says she finds it a lot more engaging than weight training.

“Yoga’s a different kind of strength, because everything is about elongating and strengthening from the core out,” she says.

Liz admits she loathes exercise, but pushes herself to do something aerobic, such as walking, every day. She incorporates sit-ups into her daily routine, saying five to ten minutes a day can make a great difference in only a few weeks’ time.

She keeps her digestive system active by drinking warm water in the morning. As for her keeping her skin looking photo-perfect all the time, exfoliation and a blast of cold water in the shower every morning is her secret trick.

The new First Lady makes time for exercise, often rising at 5.30am to fit a regular training session into her packed day. But she admits she’s not quite as diligent as her president-hubby.

“I can skip a workout. He really can’t,” she laughs.

The actress steers clear of caffeine and dairy, but with a weakness for dark chocolate, she admits she still needs to work out. However, Sharon doesn’t have a regular routine.

“When I notice things aren’t quite where I want them to be, I kind of move more, step it up. You park farther from the door; you take the stairs instead of the elevator.”

Many celebs steer clear of alcohol to keep their skin looking younger and to avoid the empty calorie trap. But not Teri — she’s a big advocate of alcohol… except she doesn’t always drink it!

Teri’s been said to pour red wine into her bath to get the most benefit. The resveratrol in the wine is supposed to make the skin seem firmer and help improve elasticity.

“As I get older, it has become important to focus on health,” says Deborah. “Fitness is a big thing for me. I work out five times a week and relax on the weekend or just go for a walk with my dog, Billie. I’m doing soft-sand running at Bondi before going for a swim. I also do cardio workouts with a trainer at the Bondi Icebergs Club. I have never been more consistent at going to a gym — I love watching the waves and seeing the sun on the surf. I’m also into Pilates as it’s a great strengthener.”

The actress, who credits the end of her marriage for her happiness and peace says: “Now I can be the mother I want to be, the woman I want to be, the actress I want to be. I am afraid that all this has happened to me with getting older. I’m 47 — unlike most actresses, I don’t lie about my age — but I’m liking this bit. I love it. I wouldn’t swap it for a million years.”

On being over 40, the Sex and the City star says: “You’re not trying to be somebody else, or do something else with your life. You think: ‘Here I am. I’ve gone through this, I’ve survived that, and I know who I am now.’

“There’s still the part of me that wants to leap at every opportunity, but now there’s the other side that says: ‘Let’s just wait a minute and see what happens.’ That’s intuition, and it comes with age and experience. I’m grateful for that — for knowing that I don’t have to put my heart out there all the time and can just listen to that inner voice.”

“A few extra pounds really show on my body,” says Elle. “I try to put aside an hour a day, six days a week, to do some sort of physical exercise whether it’s running in the park, riding my bike or Pilates — I have to do something. It makes me feel good too.”

On being over 40: “I think the pressure’s off. The hardest part of my personal neuroses is that I feel responsible for everything. I put so much pressure on myself, and I always did as a kid. There’s a nice thing about turning a certain age where you’ve made so many life decisions; so many non-chosen paths are behind you, and you don’t have to worry about them anymore. All those arbitrary goals that you have as an actor and filmmaker, I feel like I already did them. So I can check them off.”

On cosmetic surgery: “I’d rather have somebody go, ‘Wow, that girl has a big nose’ than ‘Wow, that girl has a bad nose job’. I’d rather have a comment about who I am than about something that identifies me as being ashamed of who I am.”

“I do pilates, kickboxing, weight training,” says Sandra. “When I’m in Austin, I run or ride a bike. If I can work out every day, I will. But there are times when I won’t do anything for two weekends and, I’m like, you know what? I talk enough to burn calories.”

As for what’s better after 40, Sandra says: “Sex! Everything. I wouldn’t go backward if you paid me!”

“I feel more vibrant; I’m more active than I’ve ever been,” says the actress. “The F-word really is freedom. It’s the freedom to have dropped the rock — the rock of addiction, of family, of comparisons with other people. It’s being fit and focused and kind of furious.

“I have watched, my whole life, people age and become buffoons,” she adds. “When you crest in your 30s or 40s and then you don’t pull out of the public eye, you become a caricature. You have to have grace, dignity, and gratitude, and walk away kind of slowly, like you’re walking away from a bear.”

“My mother used to say: ‘Never worry about getting older, because the wonderful thing is that when you’re 40, you don’t want to be 20.’ And that’s what it’s like all through your life.”

“My mother always said: ‘It’s useless to have a face-lift. All you have to do is look at a woman from behind to know her age!'”

On ageing: “Age in itself doesn’t freak me out. I’m in better shape than I was at 25 because I’m actually doing something physical which I never did until 2 years ago because I was way too lazy. I’m still really lazy about it. I try to go boxing twice a week and I run but after exactly 21 minutes I’m ready to lie down and vomit.

“I’m super-lucky with my metabolism. I eat more than anyone I know, so I have to be realistic — that might not always be the situation. That’s why I chose really intense training. It was a question of, if I want to continue eating that much, I need to balance it out.”