Did your body change a lot after 40????

J

janeybz

Cathlete
Hi!

I just turned forty last week! :) My sister-in-law who is 42 told me that my metabolism will slow way down. It will be so much harder to keep in shape now that I'm over forty and so on and so on.... Anyone over forty out there, what has your experience been? I lost about eight or nine pounds since Christmas (partly in preparation for this metabolism slow down that will befall me) and I feel a lot better (it's a lot easier to jump higher with Cathe when you have less weight to lift :D ). I just wonder if I am going to have to work harder and harder to just maintain where I am. I mean I love to work out, but there are only so many hours in a day! Just to prove my sister-in-law right, my low weight point came on my 40th birthday. Since then I've gone up a pound or two (LOL)! I think it's just a natural plateau due to birthday cake, but it's kind of ironic!

Thanks for any insight and/or advice !

Have a great day!

Jane
 
I want to know this too! I'm 3 years away & getting a little nervous. Tell me all the great things about being a woman over 40!
 
I know almost everybody will disagree with me, but I truly believe it's all a state of mind. I'm 41 and had a baby at 40 and my body is getting better - stronger and healthier - but I think it's because I'm choosing to make it that way. I refuse to believe that just because you get older means you get slower. And I wonder what would happen IF more people actually believed this - would the alleged "medical and empiracle evidence" change? So while my body was getting bigger at 40 because I was pregnant, I have made it totally bounce back since then - and even more. By reading and educating myself and using smart exercise I've dropped to my lowest weight in over 20 years. The one thing I will say about being over 40 - the sex has definitely gotten better. :)
 
Happy Birthday! I was worried about that too, but it never happened. My forties have been the best decade of my life BY FAR. Though I know everyone is different, my metabolism hasn't changed yet. I suppose it will all come to an end when I hit my fifties, but I say just keep exercising and eating healthy and things will take care of themselves.

I admit to being kinda nervous about the fifties though. I'll report back when I get there.
 
Happy birthday!!

I turned 37 in November, so I am peeking around the corner at 40, too.

I think your body probably does slow down some, but I really belive it's more a state of mind as well as your lifestyle. Most of the people I know over 40 with health problems are sedentary, eat the wrong things, drink too much, etc. I will tell you that I am in the best shape of my life now, and definitely far healthier (and tighter) than I ever was in my 20s or even early 30s. I feel great, get enough rest, mostly eat pretty clean, and of course engage in Cathe-eticism regularly. :) So I don't expect to slow down much...

You've got to love how negative people are, though, huh? lol

Cheers,
Marie
 
37 too, but feel much better than I did in my twenties so hope to continue to feel even better in my 40's. If Cathe can do it, so can we!! I think most of us look a million times better than SOME of the young teenagers in their lowrise jeans with tons of belly fat....why does EVERYONE have to wear them???
;-)
Charlotte~~
 
Our metabolism slows down after age 35 because of muscle loss, right? But here we are, working out with weights and maintaining or even increasing our muscle mass - that should mean that nothing happens as long as we hold on to our muscles.

I am turning 37 and I simply don't buy it (yet) that everybody gains weight after 40. Not with regular streneous exercise at least.

My DH on the other hand turns 42 and turned really flabby during the last two years when he stopped working out with weights. He carries all his weight in his belly and he looks pregnant. He doesn't believe that he got fat because he quit working out, drinks too much and eats two chocolate bars a day. As he stopped working out he increased his alcohol and junk food consumption.

Therefore, IMHO, if we keep on working out, we eat less junk, drink less alcohol and don't have to gain weight.
 
Happy B-Day Jane! First off I do agree with the better sex after 40 LSass :+ :7 :) and I am almost 46! The one thing I noticed and I know it's because of running, I was a bit more injury prone after forty. I just adjusted my exercise and focused on strength training with Cathe in the weak areas I have.

Last May when I became a vegetarian, my wieght dropped to an alltime low that I had not been since High School. P90X and Cathe helped too...:)..at this age I feel stronger and healthier than I have ever been....so Nancy...we'll bring in 50 together!!!....:)..Carole
 
My body changed at 42 as I entered peri-menopause but I believe it was a good thing because I added weight lifting to my regimen and totally reshaped my body. I am more prone to aches in my feet if I do high impact so I just do it once in a while now. I was the smallest ever from age 35-42, then fat started accumulating even though I hadn't changed anything I was doing. That's just me, everyone is different.

I would say at 49 I am in the best shape of my life but I do weigh a little more. I think it's muscle weight gain.

I don't think denial is very healthy, our bodies change as we get older, I don't care who you are. Hormonal changes do happen and will affect your body. But, there are tools we have to stay in shape and be our best, we just need to use them.
 
well, I'll be the first to say that I do believe my metabolism has slowed down. I'm 42 and feel I have to really watch what I eat. Up until I was about 37 or 38, I was the type that could anything I wanted and never gain weight. I cannot do that anymore. I now have love handles that I have NEVER had before and it drives me crazy. I started exercising when I was 17 and have never stopped, but my body has changed dramatically over the last couple of years. I hear so many say they are in better shape in their 40s. NOT ME. I was in excellent condition in my late 20s until I was around 37 and then things started changing. I have never had the best eating habits and it is so hard to start watching what I eat now when I never did before. I have totally changed up my exercise and I'm finally seeing results. I'm now doing very little cardio, actually rebounding and walking only, but lots of weights with Cathe. I have finally started seeing results over the last couple of months.

For me, this changed happened almost overnight. One day I did not have love handles and the next thing I know there they are. It was not gradual. It happened very quick.
 
Kelley,

I wanted to comment on your post. The very same thing happened to me at 42. Just like you, I had been an exerciser most of my life...but I watched my diet because I was an overweight child and new I had a tendency to be that way. I was wearing size 2's and 3's and then what seemed like overnight I started getting bulges and fatty deposits but mine were on my thighs and butt area...some on my back. I was frantic. Weights were also the key for me and changing my eating. Instead of low fat I went higher protein and added some essential fats.
 
Happy B'day.

I'll be 43 soon and I can truly say without a doubt that I NEVER had a fast metabolism. I was never a tiny petite girl in my teens nor was I fat. At 12-13 I was 120lbs, but very voluptuous I could have passed for an 18 yr. old. I was never an athletic person only the kid games I use to play in the 70's-tag, dodgeball, a little bb. But that did not last long. When I was in my mid 20's that's when things changed, esp. after my 2nd daughter, boy did the wt stay with me. Early 30's I was 170 and it stayed that way until very late 30's b/c that's when I started working out. Needless to say I am 42, 5'3, 150+ lbs with a very muscular and toned body than I have ever had. I actually like being in my 40's--the sex is definitely better--and it's very hard for people to believe that I'm a grandmother. My dd's and I can pass for sisters.

Haydee
 
Hi Candi, I'm also adding in more protein to my diet. I think lifting weights is going to be the key to getting my body back in shape. When I think of what size I wear (5, 4, and 6), I think how can I possibly look like I do and wear those sizes. It is because I have lost a lot of muscle tone over the last couple of years even though I workout. I'm waiting, not very patiently, for Cathe's new workouts. I plan on alternating the Gym Style workouts with rebounding for my cardio for a while. I'm going to keep a journal and lift as heavy as possible, and I really feel this is going to help me a lot. I also do not do much high impact cardio anymore, but not because of aches or pains (I've been lucky in that category), but I just feel wiped out after high impact and not energized. Since I started rebounding a couple of weeks ago, I have had so much energy and I feel great.
 
Kelley,

I've been thinking of rebounding. I used to do a little of that a few years ago and thought it was fun. I actually bought it for my daughter and I wound up using it. That would probably be better on my tootsies.

Do you feel comfortable that you're getting your hear rate up enough? What tapes do you use?

I'm also ready for some new workouts. I just recently purchased the MIS/BodyMax/Power Hour DVD. MIS was new to me and it was so refreshing to do something new, even though the exercises are similar.
 
I'm 47 (soon to be 48!), and I've found that about every 5 years from the age of 25 on, my metabolism seems to take a dip. That means that I have to be more vigilent in my diet, and more consistant in my exercise to keep the shape I want to be in.
 
I'm 43 and my metabolism has not slowed down. Since I was 19, I've been able to eat what I want with no problem.

The main change in my appearance since turning 40 is due to gravity, and the skin on my abs has gotten looser this past year. Since my youngest of 3 children was born 4 1/2 yrs ago, I kind of think the looser ab skin is ironically due to my relentless pursuit of stronger abs. I have less body fat/more definition there, but my 43-yr-old skin decided not to go along for the ride. It's a trade-off I'm not sure I'm happy with.x(
 
I am 47 and my metabolism did not change at 40. I think it changed a bit around 25, but has remained the same since then. I have more spider veins and those little tiny red freckley things (ewww), but am not fatter, droopier or saggier. So far so good. Like Nancy, I am a wondering a bit if 50 will cause me to get hit by an old age truck, but I am trying to be just like Diane Sue and just keep on working out and looking good.
 
I'm 41 and haven't noticed a change in my weight yet. I was rail thin in high school and it wasn't until I turned 30 that I started getting hips. Come to think of it, I didn't start menstruating regularly until then either because I was so thin I'd only get a cycle once a few months or so...but anyway, back to the subject, I think most women notice weight changes when they start menopause. Even Kathy Smith commented on the fact that it was so much harder to lose weight when she hit 50.

The only changes I've noticed in my body is that I don't recover as quickly as I used to. I need to take a day off after doing hi-impact exercise, otherwise my joints are screaming. Then again, I've always been athletic so all the wear and tear could finally be catching up to me!
 
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