outsmarting midlife fat cells...

C

cinza

Active Member
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-31-01 AT 08:11PM (Est)[/font][p]

anyone around 48 and over read this book ?

i heard rave reviews on her other book: "outsmarting the female fat cell" .. i think it is a great book from what i read of it.
So i got her next book on the 'midlife fat cell' for women 35-55.

I have to say i dont agree with her repeated statement that its inevitible that we all are changing from pears into apples in our peri- menopausal spell in our between age 35- 50...

i am 50 and have the same basic shape i have had since i was in my 20's.

I have have kept active in ways that used the body from all angles (like dance ) .. so the muscles everywhere get used in every direction... .
and i only got around on bike for most of my years.
and i eat very light...

other than the effects of gravity,
YES: GRAVITY: ITS THE LAW
or the effects loss of skin elasticity and disasters of childbearing...
i havent really changed much..
..
Thats all background for my real concern though...

My real concern is ..while i might have done fine from 35-50, I am concerned about my next few years, big time!

..
Why?

I often see trim women SUDDENLY change their shape around 52.
Women in their 50's that i have known for years but havent seen for a month or two will suddenly look fatter around the shoulders and neck.... poof.. i can see they hit menopause...

I think its very different look than being in peri menopause.
.
This worries me!
.

"Outsmarting the Midlife Fat Cell" doesnt talk about this Sudden gain after 50 ...

"Outsmarting the Midlife Fat Cell" talks about slow gain over the 20 years when women are really overworked by family and work and not getting good overall physical use of their bodies... maybe not even noticing they are getting out of shape till they are out of shape...
This is reasonable weight gain and can be managed.....

but this other weight gain around age 50 is sudden against all our defenses ...and people say they cant make it budge.

This writer is talking to women going into menapause right now ;
As one, I want to know more about the sudden change i have observed that happens around 50 ...


all she says about being in our 50's is that our fat cells shrink after 55....
I love that !! (i think...unless i shrivel..which i dont feel happy about either)

but what about from 50- 55 specificly?
whats going on that i am seeing on friends?

I wonder if i am in good shape now after my first 20 years of the change, i wonder, will i stay that way ?
If not then what to do?


as long as i am being a disatisfied customer

i cant resist adding : }>


I am not too thrilled about adopting her 'meno-positive' attitude of :

" Lets make fat our friend "

!!

I am single 50 year old woman who wants to find a mate/husband before i get too old to know what to do with one!!

Since working out with weights and getting my muscles in shape i get a lot more romantic offers than i have had since i was 19 !!

I'm not ready to give that up to sit home nights being grateful for my double chin!
:))
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-31-01 AT 06:56PM (Est)[/font][p]I usually lurk but had to put in my 2 cents. I am a fit 50 year old, soon to be 51. I have been active for 30 years, exercising before it was the thing to do. I read Outsmarting the Midlife Fat Cell and any other book about menopause. I've been hypothyroid since I was 11 years old and at the age of 20 I lost 107 pounds and kept it off until I got too close to 50. At about 49 and a third to be exact, it started. I gained 40 pounds while watching my food intake like a hawk. I don't normally miss a workout so it wasn't from lack of exercise. Obviously or not, I workout with Cathe so the cardio intensity is there. The muscles are there. You know, the muscles that keep this from happening? I wasn't a full-fledged pear but I wasn't exactly an hourglass either. Right now I'm an apple fighting to not turn into a pumpkin. I've been fighting for months and nothing works. It's gotta be in the genes. Your body will change at menopause or it won't. On the other hand...

My neighbor is beyond this. She had the weight gain. She lost it. She is now one big wrinkle from to head to toe. Everywhere. She looks like an 80 year old but she wears a size 6. If my weight is going to come off and leave me looking like that, I'd rather have the extra weight.

One more thing, the weight is mostly in the torso. My arms and legs have more definition than ever. Hmmmm, definition in the extremities and a fat gut. I am a freak of nature and haven't a clue what to do about it.

I truly believe the weight gain and body change will happen or it won't. You can't fight Mother Nature and win if it's in your genes. I did everything in my power to stop it and I have no power. That's just my 2 cents.

Linda
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-31-01 AT 04:59PM (Est)[/font][p]
Oh dear, i dont look down on anyone....


the idea of being powerless against age.. death ... is scary..

to do your best and be helpless is scary.

To not be able to control the body is scary.

i was wishing the book would advise on the actual menopause year or years. ... I think its different than the two childbearing decades before it. ...
I would like to understand the things that will apply to me any day now better.....the book dealt with whats passed for me...but not the immediate future.

I think around 50 could be a whole different story for some of us....the two decades before are a whole distincly different phase of life.

i also think a good report on genetics and body type and prior weight history would be relevant in understanding the whole thing...
my body type is different than someoone elses ...what kind of experience might each type expect?

if i never put on much fat is that a help or does it matter at all when the changes happen?

i have a feeling body type and history really count in this...but the writer of the book offered only general info.....one size fits all.

and it just didnt fit me... but i still need good advice.
 
Hi Linda

It was nice reading your post Linda. I recently came off the end of a 30 year marriage and a two year relationship. Both men ended up with women that were built like sticks. I am 5"10" tall with good muscle tone ... but am also 50 ...and have found it increasingly difficult to keep the weight off my midsection.

I have felt like I have spent my entire life trying to be a figure that my body just was never meant to be.

I know that decreasing my calories does not work...actually seemed to have the opposite effect...so I am pumping up my weightlifting now to see how that works.

I think it is also your basic body type and one must really be happy with living an active life at our age and doing the best we can with what we are born with...but also enjoying our lives.

I now feel pretty good about myself physically and enjoy just being strong and healthy for myself. I should probably do a little reading on this menopause thing though... I seemed to have just slipped by it...a few hot flashes and then that was it...the child-bearing years were gone. Guess I should be happy when I hear the horror stories from many women.

Kathleen
 
Weights have proven to very key for me.....my weight stays steady, but the intense weight work has made a LOT of difference. Of course, I still do cardio, but not so much that I don't have the energy for the weights.

I SAY I don't care what I weigh as long as I look good, but I don't know that it's really true. I would not be happy AT ALL about a 40 lb. weigh gain! I gained about 5 with my hormone pill episode, and I was VERY unhappy!

In my family, it seems the women get thinner as they get younger, and I hope that holds true for me. However, I'm built different than the women in my family that I have been able to observe. Then, too, I am the only one who has been into exercise at all.

I will fight it every step of the way!!!!! "Don't tell me not to fly, I've simply got to, if someone takes a spill, it's me and not you. Don't send around a cloud to rain on my parade." Is that how it goes? "I'll march my band out, I'll beat my drum."
 
RE: outsmarting those stupid midlife fat cells...

I am with you HB..

i aint going down without a fight!
 
RE: outsmarting those stupid midlife fat cells...

This is a very sobering thread. I am 44 and look pretty darn good relative to my peer group. (This is a sign of middle age for sure, you can't say you look great anymore, just you look great for your age :)) I am terrified to think that at age 50 all my hundreds of hours of cardio and weightlifting agony will be for naught, as I suddenly begin to look like a walking Idaho potato. Well, I guess I'll just do my best, keep exercising and taking vitamins and eating well and see what the damage will be when I get there. But you women scared me, I really thought with all this virtuous living I would be safe.
 
I've read both of Waterhouse's "outsmarting .." books & found both worthwhile though not totally applicable. Like Cinza, I disliked her attitude that a female is going to get fatter so learn to love the fat. I'm fighting! As I recall, Waterhouse writes that once you complete the change, the fat battle is over or at least stable. Pam Peeke's "Fighting Fat Over 40" is also good but mistitled. I think anyone fighting a slowing metabolism would find useful info in these books, but certainly they target those in perimenopause or menopause. Peeke makes a great case for exercise & diet planning & the importance of having a plan B when lives demands get the best of you. She absurdly advises women to make 2 dinners - one that fits their dietary needs & one for the rest of the household. Right, the woman that can't find 30 minutes to move her body is now going to prepare 2 meals.

Cinza, I suspect you are genetically blessed. My waist has thickened since turning 40 & my appetite often exceeds my energy needs. Undoubtedly the dance & Pilates emphasis on torso strength contributes to your physique.

I think the benefits of a revved up metabolism are incredible. The problem with controlling one's weight by keeping intake low is the difficulty in getting all of the nutrients one needs. Not just macro-nucrients (protein, carbs, fat) but the micro-nutrients that reduce the risk of cancer & heart disease while maintaining bone & connective tissue health.

North American athletes that pursue low profile sports, including dancers, are the few that truly suffer from low protein intake. Their low calorie diets take a toll on long-term health.

So I say to keep that furnace heated up & burn some energy ladies! That'll leave some room for an occasional decadent dessert too.
 
lifestyle and genetics

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Sep-01-01 AT 05:55PM (Est)[/font][p]i am geneticly blessed .....in many ways....

but also
i live a less than typical american lifestyle.

its hard to tell what i would be like if i lived differently.

I have only used a car on a daily basis for 4 years in my life and that was recentley .... before that it was only bike and foot... even with children in bike trailers.. or being pushed miles uphill in strollers.

I only started driving everywhere a few years ago when my company gave me a nice BMW!
But then last year when i found my pants wouldnt zip,
I parked the car and bought some nikes.

Now i walk at least 5 miles to work and home every day..... my car only goes on highway trips now...
and those pants that didnt fit?
They still dont,
but now they are way too big !!

I love the walking, i dont really think of it as a work out...its just enjoyable... It takes time but its a choice i make to make the time.

Then another lifestlye difference:
I dont have a couch to sit on or a tv to watch!!
.. unless i am at my computer or in bed, i am on my feet and moving .... I hate sitting still... i rather be cleaning!

And then, also,
I dont eat much ... i would love to eat more but
I dont have the strength to do more physical activity than i am doing or suffer more injuries from doing too much.
(i already spend about 15 hours a week in classes, working out or walking.. )

I look at a piece of pie and think :
"half an hour on a treadmill for a gulp of pie? " NO way!!
(once a month or so i share a dessert with a fiend....i very much enjoy sharing.. it goes slow and is half the calories!
)


It aint easy!
But i am lucky it works...
At least it does for now.. And maybe part of my good luck is, I LOVE all the stuff i do..... its easy for me to go to the gym and do what i do and walk miles......Being Happy burns calories too!!
 
RE: lifestyle and genetics

Oh dear I certainly hope this is not the case. I don't have that book, did she talk about differences between women who exercise and those who don't? I'm turning 50 next year...I have noticed that my waist is a bit thicker but it has always been very small in proportion to my hips now it's more in proportion.

Well, my mom has been a daily exerciser for many years, long before I was born. She swims, lifts weights, and does step aerobics (sometimes all 3 on the same day)...it's rare for her not to exercise on any given day. She turned 71 on Aug 17 and looks fantastic. She has always had a great body, in fact, it was HER 50th birthday in 1980 that was my big revalation - I was 27, 5'6", and around 115 pounds, certainly not overweight, but not fit at all, and I decided I wanted to look like that now, never mind when I'm 50. I started swimming then and I still do it every day, and have added weights and aerobics/step and running along the way.
So it's not a given that you will be whatever it is that she says you will be when you hit 50. I think those who don't exercise or watch what they eat, it's more likely. I hope anyway!
Barbara P
 
focus on our looks scares me

As a 46 year old woman I worry about the fears women have of aging and the effects it may have on our looks. If we gain weight in our fifties even while exercising and living healthy lifestyles doesn't that mean it's a natural part of aging? Why do we have to work and fight so hard to maintain some kind of image of what we "should" look like? Aren't we being unrealistic to think we can look like we're in our 30's when we're in our fifties? I expect to continue to exercise the same as always. I will take care of my cardio health and continue to strength train and keep my flexibilty. But I'm going to try very hard to be accepting of what my body looks like at every age and just be grateful I can still DO things until the day I die. I've noticed some thickening in my waistline and in my sisters waistlines and my friends. It seems to come with the territory, maybe that's what 50 just looks like! 50 looks pretty good to me, but mostly because of the joy of the wisdom and strength that most older women have and the confidence that radiates from them.

I wonder why older men don't get plastic surgery to fix their pendulous ear lobes and drooping noses. And most don't even bother trimming all that extra nose and ear hair! And those skinny little legs most older men have! And their sunken chests! How come they don't seem to obsess about them?

Sorry I got so longwinded but I think women are so darn cool and are way too hard on themselves.
 
Ellen!

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Sep-02-01 AT 04:41PM (Est)[/font][p]I agree..
i think its a sin every minute that we dislike ourselves and our lives... OUr lives are so short and so precious and our physical appearance is so small compared to the miracle of being here and seeing all the beauty around us.... appreciating everything around us.


however there are politics of being a woman.
for example:
after 30 years of being a mother I have no social security and no retirement plan and i have no career ahead to fill the void .


I gave up finishing a PhD to stay with my last child .... If i would have been able to leave my son for a few years, I would be a doctor or professor right now...I couldnt do it.... i tried to see how to leave my son.....but couldnt.
and at this point i dont have the physical ablilty (right arm injury) or mental focus to go back and finish ...
Now i have my son's college education to look forward to instead of my own.. ( $30,00 a year? oh my )

Plan B?
A mate.
Someone for friendship and fun BUT also for help with health insurance, food and shelter as i get older.

It's a fact that women over 50 land up single too often.
Men have their choice in women, especially the men i would be interested in... Intelligent, educated, healthy and good men.
I have a low tolerance for any other kind!

being attractive and staying in shape might mean attracting a mate ... attracting mate might mean friendship, food and shelter and good health when i am 65, 75, 85...


Any one notice our society is still set up in favor of men?!!

As Starlight6 put it:

ARGGHHHH!!!!
 
Hi cinza!

I have no way of knowing what your life is like, but I can understand what you are saying.

Is it possible in your fear that you are not clearly seeing the things you have going for you? You sound very active and full of life. And as you focus all that energy on taking care of your own needs as you age, I can't help but believe that those are the things that will attract a mate to you. There is nothing more attractive than a confident woman-at any age.
 
You could be right!

You could be right! and that would be fair and lovely!

but who knows for sure....i just do my best in the mean time!
 
RE: You could be right!

I guess a summary of all this would be: work out like a lunatic, eat as clean as you possibly can, then see what happens. If you are genetically doomed, then try to be cheerful about it, grateful for your health and energy, perhaps buy some purple hats and do a little jig. If you are not genetically doomed, try not to gloat, perhaps buy some purple hats and do a little jig.
 
RE: You could be right!

Cinza,

Why don't you explore looking for someone who is your "mental" age? You seem to be a very outgoing, open-minded kinda girl. I think it's going to take a much younger man to keep up with you. (Say maybe 25?) Especially, if you don't have a couch for him to sit on, nor a remote control for him to fiddle with. I think that's wonderful!!!!! I wish I didn't have either some days.

Plus,
My husband confessed that it's every young man's dream to "have a go" with an older woman.

Things that make you go, "hhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm."
 
KIM!! Any match makers out there?

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Sep-03-01 AT 12:12PM (Est)[/font][p]


Things that make me go hhhmmmmmmmmm??

hmmm!!
:9

i recently went to my 30 year old son's wedding in arizona where no one knew i was his mother ..

I was very amused that his single guy buddies wanted to dance and flirt with me ..

that got me thinking ... }>

but really ?
I want someone i feel comfortable about getting old with... :)

(just in case that just happens to happen :p )
 
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