As an old person of course there are many things I would do differently.
But as an old person trying to look as young as possible, I would say this.
Get yourself to a healthy BMI and maintain it as closely as possible. Other than sun damage, I think stretching of the skin due to being overweight and then reducing weight, reduces skin elasticity. Especially avoid a yoyoing weight as you get older. At the end of my career, I unfortunately gained too much weight. Even though I regained a good BMI after I retired, my skin did not shrink to fit my new body.
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I would listen to this guy, Arthur Brooks, over and over until I understood how to implement his advice for “building the life you want”.
I made every mistake possible in my youth (and some still) because I learned about how the world works by watching TV and listening to my friends. That was a mistake that is am trying to undo and teach my children to avoid.
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If you are looking for non health advice, I would say live as frugally as you can and invest as much money as you can in an index fund such as the SP500 (SPY) or Nasdaq (QQQ) or both. Being well off in your 40s relieves a lot of stress, anxiety and actually brings a fair amount of happiness. You can also gain a lot of time as you pay others to do the things that you hate doing such as housework.
Save like a madwoman now for 15-25 years and invest so that you can live in happiness from 45 on.
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Two other things I thought of, protect your hearing from prolonged loud noise and protect your eyes ie not staring at a screen 24/7 and get outside.
(I haven’t seen or heard of a single person reporting improvements to eyesight or hearing loss).
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Great question. It’s definitely worth getting a genetic test.
E.g. Checking methylation genes like MTHFR, COMT, and MTRR could give you some really easy, but hugely significant wins.
For example there’s a decent chance you’ll find you need to avoid normal b vit complex and go with a methylated version. Most people have a genetic weakness and for the most part they’re very easily patched.
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If it happens (& I hope it does) there come on anti aging therapies that actually work, they may not be covered by insurance to start with & being able to pay for them yourself will help.
WRT frugal, there are limits, but teaching yourself to not chase after the latest shiny thing will also contribute to happiness, mho. [Not that I’m immune to shiny things, but I’ve gradually gotten better.]
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