Now I understand that most people will totally balk at this article from Prevention Magazine. But I do believe with all my heart that we, as a nation, are foolishly convinced that being 20 to 40 lbs. overweight is what should be a normal weight for us. I highly doubt myself that I could get back to 117 at 5' 6-1/2" that was what I was at Prom time as a senior. But I felt excellent and even after the birth of my first son, I was 123 and feeling really awesome and looking good! Since after 30 I was at times as low as 130, *and still having pizza and Coke and some desserts* I think getting to 132/135 is certainly not impossible, especially when I already had 3 children.

I fear I may only be 5'6" now also.

I never ever starved myself. I can't. I hate being hungry. What I did do though and don't do today is get plenty of fun exercise . . . swimming 5 mornings a week, riding the exercise bike there, some machines (not that many, they bore me) and playing racquetball (which pretty much ruined my knees). I also walked a lot with a brisk pace.

And I ate very well . . . so it can be done. I truly believe it would take me at least 18 months to get back to that type of fitness level.

Look Younger Naturally

Prevention's Anti-Aging Guide

How to take off 10 years or more--and look and feel better than ever

By Andreas von Bubnoff and Joanna Lloyd , Andreas von Bubnoff has written for Nature, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune. Joanna Lloyd writes often on health and medicine.

We used to think our fate was in the cards--or in the stars. Now, thanks to research unlocking the secrets to living longer and better, we know different. It turns out that 70% of the factors influencing life expectancy are due to good choices and good luck--not good genes.

What are the moves that will peel off the years and show you how to look younger? Prevention asked dozens of scientists studying aging, exercise, nutrition, and related fields which changes deliver the biggest payoff. Read on for their picks on how to look younger -- powerful enough to make these researchers adopt them in their own lives.

1. Stay the weight you were at 18

"Next to not smoking, this is probably the most important thing we can do to stay healthy and live longer," says Walter Willett, MD, chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Leanness matters for how to look younger, because fat cells produce hormones that raise the risk of type 2 diabetes. They also make sub-stances called cytokines that cause inflammation--stiffening the arteries and the heart and other organs. Carrying excess fat also raises the risk of some cancers. Add it up, and studies show that lean people younger than age 75 halve their chances of premature death, compared with people who are obese.

The government deems a wide range of weights to be healthy (between 110 and 140 pounds for a 5-foot-4 woman), partly because body frames vary tremendously. So to maintain the weight that's right for you, Willett suggests you periodically try to slip into the dress you wore to your high school prom--assuming, of course, that you were a healthy weight at that age. If not, aim for a body mass index of about 23.5.

Willett can't use the prom-dress test himself. Nevertheless, at 6-foot-2 and a lean 184 pounds, he dutifully hews to the BMI of his youth.