Over 45 and happy with your body?

[SpiritSong]

A question for those of you over the age of 45 and who are happy with your current body shape (don't want to lose any significant weight, have good muscle tone, etc.).

How does your current weight compare to your "young" healthy weight?

I was about 135 pounds in college, and now I'm not. I was wondering what a good goal weight to shoot for would be. Based on the "ideal" weight charts, I should shoot for 140, but those charts don't take into account that I am 47 and post-menopausal. If 140 means never having alcohol and eating only steamed vegetables for the rest of my life, it obviously isn't going to happen for me.

I know that the true test will be actually reaching different weights and seeing if they suit me, but I wanted a goal to work towards, and I'm curious how this all worked out for other women. Thanks!

[Kitten]

Great question!
I'm exactly 45.
I weighed 125 lbs before I got pregnant with my son. That's my lowest weight. I dropped my pregnancy weight & was back into my regular clothes about 4 months postpartum. Then I turned 30. The weight crept on for years.
At the start of this year, I finally got serious about how crappy I looked & felt. Made some changes.
Fast forward to today. I'm back in my old clothes *but* I weigh 140 lbs. Because yay muscles.

Edit: FWIW my original goal was 155 lbs. Enough to get me back to a normal bmi.

[LoveVA]

I was around 130-135 for most of my 30s and the first two years of my 40s. Had my twins and finally decided to get serious about my weight. My BMI has always been at the upper end of normal, but my cholesterol has also always been high and my A1C was creeping up (diabetes runs in my family, so I don't have much wiggle room in terms of diet).

Ideal weight calculators put my ideal weight at 110-115 and I reached 115 late last year and I have stayed around 113-115 since then. My A1C is normal and my cholesterol is now normal and at the lowest it's ever been, so that number on the scale does matter, at least for me. My BMI might have been normal when I was in my 30s, but I was still carrying too much weight for my body. I'm about where I was in high school and I'm happy with the way I look for the first time in decades. Moreover, I'm healthier than I was in my 20s.

ETA: I'm also menopausal, so I definitely made a change to my workout regime and diet at the right time (e.g. more strength training, more veggies, fewer carbs, cut out heavily-processed foods and sweets) as it helped me avoid mid-section spread and other weight issues that often come with menopause.

[eam531]

I weigh about the same as I did when I was younger (somewhere in the 130s), but to be honest my body composition is better now than it was then. The secret? Weight training and yoga. I ran and did aerobics for years (mid 1980s to 2000) and did no additional strength training during that time. My knees got trashed and I turned to video workouts and walking/cycling and did that for a good 15 years.

In the last quarter of 2015, we relocated and joined a gym (we are both retirees). We go 5 days per week and work out for an hour. It has done wonders for my strength, cardio capacity, and flexibility--even though I was working out at home consistently from 2000 to mid-2015. I work out on my own using this schedule, and I work hard:

Strength training 3X per week (total body workouts that I have put together from books and observing other people's workouts. I do body weight exercises and exercises with weights)

Cardio 2X per week (rowing machine and/or elliptical)

Flexibility and additional core exercises 5-6X per week (5X per week after my workouts, 15-20 minutes per session; 1X per week is yoga that I do at home)

We do a lot of walking as well--on weekends we often go on hikes with friends and we walk to the grocery store, the library, the bank, etc.

Food is important too, but we do have goodies from time to time.

You would not mistake me for a 23 year old in the locker room, but I look darn good for someone who is pushing 60.

[weener]

I'm 55 and I'm mostly happy with my body. I went through the middle age spread this last year and with some weight gain - I would like to get get rid of some inches. My clothes will fit better. I was too thin in my younger years

[Fitstick]

I'm the same age and been struggling the past year plus with weight gain and or shift. Never had problems with my thighs until about a year ago when I noticed for the first time ever they are getting chunky and went up a pant size. I continue being active and working out but can't live the rest of my life eating salads and veggies. That is the struggle. I hope things change but not sure, I think the diet becomes more critical as we age.

[cherimac]

I am 50 and happy with my body. My weight crept up on my 40s and I overhauled my diet and toned down the intensity. I now weigh what I did in my 20s/30s, roughly, and don't have many of the aches and pains I did.

[catcrazy]

I'm 49 and according to everyone I know my body looks like im in my 20's or 30's, working out, eating clean, definitely pays off! My weight is the same as always 120 pounds 5'8" and very toned.

[momofcha]

I'm not. At 38 I was in the best shape of my life, I thought for sure I had beaten it. Nope. I now deal with thyroid issues and gain no matter how little I eat.

I now found HDM and I'm loving his workouts. I'm working out intensely, but not beating myself up and I'm eating well. I don't over indulge and think I have my weight in a holding pattern. I'm not losing, but I'm constant. I'm working on my waist/midsection and trying not to stress about it. I don't look heavy despite being about 15 pounds over my ideal weight. I just want to keep it in check. Hopefully if I keep this up I can begin to lose. Fingers crossed.

[cherimac]

Aging is tough. I find that to keep my lower stomach from being overly poochy(I'm in the middle of perimenopause), Pilates has been the ticket. Pilates, a bit of barre3, and walking don't wear me out(I don't sleep as well these days) and help me maintain my weight more than heavy weights and impact. I've learned to never say never about what works changing, but right now this works. I think it takes experimenting.

Oh, and what and when I eat is way more important than when I was younger.