Older women and weight?

[Mal Lady]

Hi All!

I'm throwing this question out there to start a discussion on the proper weight of an older woman.

Is it ok to think that you can weight the same now (over 50) as you did in your 20's if you felt good at that weight? Or should you weight a little more once your older?

This is not an ultimatum one way or the other - just like to hear some views.

Mal Lady

[LisaS]

I don't care about weight per se - I'm more concerned about
1) clothing size (I have a image of how large/small I want to be)
2) balance of muscle, leanness & curve - again I have an image of what I want to get to
3) strength, balance, fitness


so if/when I can meet that I don't really think I care if this is at 150, 135 or the 110 from when I was 17. I know several women who weighed around 140 and dropped 2 or more sizes while remaining at 140 - so the scale is only one factor and not the one I am most concerned with.

but maybe that's just me.

[laughingW]

For me it would depend on if I was healthy in my 20s. I was, if a little pudgy.

One fact is that women continue to build bone until age 25 or so. So if one is thinking that the weight at 18 is perfect, it ain't so.

Another fact is that most people lose LBM. So the same weight, might be more fat.

The Eades allow for more weight for older women in the very first book, I remember, for a higher percent bodyfat. It's protective of hormones. But then you would also be strength training so as not to lose muscle right!!

[mcsblues]

Why is this just about women? I remember what I weighed when I was 19 - because it came up when I applied for a job - and I don't want to be that skinny!! I don't remember it being a problem then, but now I don't think I'd look healthy at that weight.

[Mitra]

I agree it would depend on the size/weight you were when you were young. The Eadeses have a book on middle age weight gain in the works: it will be interesting to see what it has to say about this, but we'll have to wait another year to find out.

For myself, I am just a little heavier (now 46). I was about 110 at 20, and 115 in my mid 20s, and I'm somewhere around 115 - 120 at the moment (hormones seem to keep it fluctuating). The clothes I have from those days are a bit tight, so it's not just extra muscle :). I probably could get my weight back down - it has been that low over the last few years, but it would mean keeping my calories as well as carbs down, and would take a level of dedication that it just doesn't merit - I don't want it to be my main interest in life. I also think that when you see older women who have worked very hard to stay very thin, they don't look any better or any healthier than those with a few extra pounds.

Lisa and Laughing W make good points too. The thing is that even if you weigh what you did at 20, you won't be the same person or have the same body, so unless you happen just end up at the same weight, it's probably better to just forget about it, and go for something that looks and feels OK now.

[gitfiddle]

I have been overweight most of my life. When I was at my best adult weight I was also at my best fitness level, eating low carb and in my twenties. I feel strongly that physical fitness will include the right weight for my body, so I don't focus on the scale. Now, getting there is a different conversation!

I've known people who have dieted down to a weight at which they looked tired and drawn, and it's not the picture of health. I think you'll actually know when you're at the right weight for yourself at this point in life. My humble opinion. :)

[Ammy]

I mean absolutely NO disrespect here...but my sister went on Weight Watchers, and when she got to her goal weight I saw her naked and she looked like a Holocast Survivor. She was....gaunt and boney and her legs didn't look like they would even support her. She's 39.
Now she has never been a muscular person, and I'm sure that has a lot to do with it...that she lost the fat, didn't have muscle, and now she is nothing but skin and bones...literally.
But it was G.R.O.S.S!!!!

I got her into pilates and she started walking. She said she is doing it so she can eat more (something about exercise points :rolleyes:) but I'm thrilled. She needs some muscles to make her look.........healthy!!

[Tresses]

For most of my 20s I was in the mid 130s. At the time, I thought I was chubby. When I look at pics of me from then, I can't believe how thin I looked. :eek: Body image is a weird thing. I could've used more toning, but chubby didn't exactly apply.

While I'm hoping to get back to about 132, I also know that I'll be working to maintain muscle mass. 132 will probably look different at age 42 than it did at 24. In fact, after giving birth to 3 children, I can guarantee that it will. It did when I started gaining weight in my late 30s after my first round of PP.

I'm going for healthy, whatever the weight. :)

[Mal Lady]

I'm not abdicating that the weight at younger age would be best. I've just heard that when you get older you should weigh a little more than you did when you were younger and I wanted to find out if that held true with those of you that have reached or close to goal weight. I know I would rather be stronger and have more muscle than be thin, but, I wanted to see what opinions were in relation to the statement that the older you get - you should try to carry a little more weight!:nod:

I was curious about your thoughts, thats all!:)

Thank -you for your insights and if there is any other discussion about this topic I surely do welcome it also.:nod:

Sharon:nod:

[deirdra]

I'm 53 and now at the weight I was at 17. I spent most of my 20s at 150-160 and gained ~10 lbs a decade...until I found low carb and started reading everything I could on food intolerances.

Incidentally, hitting 130 when I was 15 and my doctor told me a 5'6" woman should weigh 115 (this was in the days of Twiggy), started me on 35 years of yo-yo dieting. I wonder if I would have ever gotten fat if I was told 130 was "normal"?