Living in LA, you meet a lot of people. When I catch up with friends after a long time, the first thing we often say is similar.

"Hey, why do you look the same as before?"

While wrinkles and thinning hair are unavoidable, it's interesting how some people maintain the same weight as before.

On the other hand, many friends who were slim in their 30s have developed noticeable bellies by their mid-40s.

Since turning 40, I've realized that maintaining my weight from my 30s is more important for my health than I thought.

When I was younger, I could eat a lot and just skip a meal the next day to lose the weight quickly. But as I hit my 40s, it's not that simple anymore.

At work, I sit all day, and in LA, I drive even short distances, so I hardly get any walking in.

After work, I often feel too lazy to go out for exercise. The treadmill and rowing machine I bought are now tucked away in a corner of the storage.

However, I still find myself eating more. When I'm stressed, I go to Koreatown for a bowl of sundae soup, meet friends for dinner, and snack on squid chips or shrimp chips while watching TV at home, and that's how my day ends. After a few years of this lifestyle, my waistline starts to change.

It seems to be especially true for men. They often think that gaining just 5 kg is no big deal, but that 5 kg usually accumulates around the belly rather than being distributed to the arms or legs.

So nowadays, I pay more attention to my waistline than the numbers on the scale.

If you can maintain your weight from your 30s within plus or minus 2-3 kg after turning 40, it indicates that your lifestyle habits haven't drastically changed.

Preventing a gradual weight gain each year is quite important after middle age.

However, there's one thing to be cautious about. Just because your weight is the same doesn't mean your body is the same.

If you weighed 70 kg in your 30s and still weigh 70 kg in your 50s, but have lost muscle and gained fat, that's a different story.

So after turning 40, I believe it's more important to focus on preserving muscle rather than just losing weight.

It's necessary to walk a few times a week, do squats or light strength training, and ensure you get enough protein at every meal.

Surprisingly, snacks are also important. I don't think we need to eat something just because we feel a little hungry.

We often eat before we're actually hungry. After breakfast, we have coffee and bread, then snacks after lunch, and fruit and chips after dinner, which keeps us full all day.

I actually think it's okay to have some time between meals when you feel moderately hungry.

A natural hunger that makes you look forward to the next meal can help with weight management as long as you don't overeat.

Ultimately, managing health after 40 doesn't seem to be that complicated.

If the pants I wore in my 30s still fit, I don't get too winded climbing stairs, my waistline hasn't increased significantly, and I've maintained some muscle, then I'm doing quite well.

From 40 onward, it seems more important to maintain a healthy weight for as long as possible into your 50s and 60s than to focus on how much weight you can lose.