The Ageless Body: How To Hold Back The Years To Achieve A Better Body

Discover the new goals and new rules that are the route to a healthier, better looking and better functioning body. For life.

From Gwen Stefani and Cameron Diaz to Jennifer Aniston and Naomi Watts, a new breed of 40- and 50-plus women are redefining not just what an ageless body looks like, but what's entailed in achieving it. A dramatic shift in body expectations in the last few years means that, despite being plagued by a slowing metabolism and a naturally-occurring loss of muscle mass, pre- and post-menopausal women can realistically aim for the healthy, well-functioning body they crave as well as a physique that looks good with a flat stomach and sculpted arms.

Peta Bee and Dr Sarah Schenker are the living embodiment of this new breed of woman: both in their forties with children, both with hectic careers and social lives. And both with the same bodies they had in their 30s. What matters, they have discovered through self-experimentation and trawling the scientific literature, is how you go about holding back the years. And the rules - for both exercise and diet - have changed.

Peta Bee is a health and fitness journalist who writes for The Times, Sunday Times and Irish Examiner as well as numerous other publications. With degrees in Sports Science and Nutrition, Peta likes to probe the evidence behind latest fads and trends, and her work has won her numerous awards including the Medical Journalists Association's Freelance of the Year (twice). She has appeared widely on television and radio and is the author/co-author of seven books, including Fast Exercise, the 2014 bestseller co-written with Dr Michael Mosley, and The Ice Diet.

Dr Sarah Schenker is a registered dietitian and nutritionist with a PhD in Nutrition and an Accreditation in Sports Dietetics. She is a member of the British Dietetic Association, The Nutrition Society and The Association for Nutrition. Sarah is the nutritional adviser for the bestselling The Fast Diet Recipe Book and regularly contributes to newspapers and magazines including the Daily Mail, Top Sante, Reveal and Glamour as well as shows including This Morning, Watchdog and on BBC Radio. Sarah has also worked as a nutrition adviser to several Premiership football clubs.