Over 45 and happy with your body?

[Vintage VFer]

Originally Posted by videofit

I am also single so have to look good.

Yes, us old, married bags can just let ourselves go!

All kidding aside, I'm 60 and pretty happy with my body. I weigh about the same as I did in high school. (I'm 5'5", 120 lbs).

I fit in all my clothes. Which is great because I hate to go clothes shopping!

[Sue B]

So...when did the scale become the measurement of happiness?

Our bodies can do, think and create so many fantastic things while running 24/7! If someone asked "do you love your SO/child/parents" would you say "not really, he/she needs to lose a few pounds." We should give love to ourselves the way we give it to others

Great posts, toaster and AF!

[sherry7899]

I love your post Sue!

[firmaniac]

Encouraging thread - thank you for it! I'm turning 50 this month, and have been very content & appreciative of my body, size, weight and fitness level for about the last 5 years. I can't really speak to weight, because I tend to hit the scale only about twice a year. I weigh 35 pounds more now than in High School but am a smaller size and it is *all* due to FIRMing these last 18 years. I don't even lie on my drivers license now (haha) I just reached a day one day where I stopped focusing my mental energy on thinking about what others thought of me. I am so grateful I am relatively healthy, can do the videos I want and have an active lifestyle w/ my husband (and LOL on the inadvertent "letting yourself go if you're married" quip - DH *appreciates* my hard work all these years, too).

[firmaniac]

I Like your post, too, Sue! I initially didn't reply in this thread because it was about the scale/weight, and I spent years breaking free from the mindset of being tied to a number on the scale, since it was very damaging to me emotionally and ruined many moments in life when I thought about that instead of living in the moment. I waited to post because I wanted to see if the thread was going to be more than just giving weight/height then & now.

[Terri1222]

I'm 56 and I used to be so very hard on myself, trying to achieve the ever-perfect body. I've been weight training since I was 18 and back then it was all about how I looked.

Now I'm all about how I "feel", and it's made the biggest difference for me.

I got down to about 95 lbs after having my child over 25 years ago. NOT a good thing. I am now staying fairly consistently between 112-116 lbs and it "feels" like the right weight for me (at 5'3"). I always used to say that after 50, I was going to eat whatever I wanted....but strangely enough, I eat better than I ever have and appreciate how I look in jeans and boots!

My favorite go-to workouts are walking, yoga, pilates, some ballet stuff. I trying to find the time to incorporate more weight work, but it's hard to fit it all in when you have a full time job!

Terri

[Lannette]

Originally Posted by macska

58 and I'm not complaining. I definitely look better if I don't wear my glasses when I look in the mirror, that's the secret, hehe. My weight is pretty much the same as in High School, I'm strong and functioning alright. I had some serious surgeries, now I just have to be careful not to re injure again and that's very hard for me.

Love your secret that and slightly blurred pictures keep me looking my best. Who knew my poor picture taking skills would be so helpful in my older years.

I'm 60. I weigh within 10 lbs of my high school weight but i was dancing seriously in HS and was downright skinny. A couple of years ago i was almost 45 pounds heavier. These days my figure is sculpted more at the dining table than in the gym though I do work out regularly. ETA, I'm 5'3" and 110-115 lbs.

I'm really happy with my body, probably the happiest ever. My stomach could be flatter, there's an in progress picture on my blog. I have to admit that I'm not striving for additional change. I'll keep eating well and see where it takes me.

I have to say that exercise is way more fun when it's play for the sake of playing rather than a continued demand upon my body to make changes that probably aren't even realistic.

[toaster]

Thanks, Renee and Sue...I was feeling a little remorseful that I may have gotten too preachy.

[Lannette]

Originally Posted by Sue B

So...when did the scale become the measurement of happiness?

Our bodies can do, think and create so many fantastic things while running 24/7! If someone asked "do you love your SO/child/parents" would you say "not really, he/she needs to lose a few pounds." We should give love to ourselves the way we give it to others

Great posts, toaster and AF!

I didn't take the OPs post to be just about weight but more about how weight can look different at different ages, mascularity, etc. Yikes! I almost never weigh myself but my doctor does.

[LynnO]

Originally Posted by macska

58 and I'm not complaining. I definitely look better if I don't wear my glasses when I look in the mirror, that's the secret, hehe. My weight is pretty much the same as in High School, I'm strong and functioning alright. I had some serious surgeries, now I just have to be careful not to re injure again and that's very hard for me.

Hey, great idea. I'll look like a blob, no matter my weight. (my vision is very bad). Actually, the last year, I've gone from marginal to below below average (meaning i was always a bit heavy, but a good size and now, i'm overweight and if I keep up this trend, I will be obese soon). I keep trying to stay focused to get off the lbs I gained in this last year to see if it fixed my knee problem. I have a bad foot that is going to need some serious help, and I'm hoping to only have to fix that and not that and the knee.

In truthfulness, I've had some of the most difficult years of my life, initially it caused weight loss and when things got some easier, it rebounded the other way. Now, it is time to take get a handle on things so I can hike hard again. I've never been about my looks cuz I don't have them, but I'd like to be able to do high impact activities again.

There is a middle aged instructor at the gym I go to. Darn, she looks great, but ugh. Just totally ugh. She is all about her looks and weight, and as a fellow middle aged woman, there is nothing in this world more tedious.