I'm not overweight, but pant trying to keep up with you! Aging provides the gift of perspective. I haven't shed pounds. But I've shed taking anything personally. I no longer get rattled by other people's antics. It's their stuff, not mine. This is a comforting chapter in life.
I myself am 5’3” and just peak in at 158.5 lbs. great BP & Cholesterol! And just like you I don’t care anymore! This is my God given adult weight I’ve been between this and 164.5 for 30+ years . My mother’s weight too. I compare myself to the deer that roam around our yard searching of little scrap of sustenance that they can find. They all are the same height and weight (so it seems) no matter what they eat. Now do I wish my stomach was a little flatter Yes so so be it. I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease which I blame on the diet food I used to eat and the preservatives in them for all the years I was trying to lose weight that never came off! So now I eat a more anti inflammatory diet but also potato chips and ice cream and it’s freeing!
What a sad commentary on how we women see ourselves. To think your friend was finally finished with wanting to be perfect, just before she died, is such a lousy way to feel. Since I was a young girl, I’ve almost always carried too many pounds. In some circumstances I’ve been able to trim a few pounds off, but once the event for which I dieted was over, I’d slowly start padding myself up again. I’m reasonably healthy, bloodwork needs some improvement, but heck, I’m nearly 75 years old and if I haven’t been able to do it by now, the heck with it!
I’m 5’4” and weigh 184, after losing 60 pounds. I’ve fought the weight issue all of my life, now 77 years. I’ve found a program that works for me and I hope to lose another 20 pounds in the next few months. I feel so much better and my self-image and general health are improving greatly! I agree that the BMI is an out-dated indicator, and my doctor says that too.
WOACA get to be whoever we want! I’ve shrunk so much (from almost 5’7” to struggling to stay at 5’3”) that I don’t even want to know what my BMI is anymore. I’ll never meet that goal! However, in late 2019, my PA said something about statins because of my cholesterol and I said “whoa”. Since then I quit kidding myself about certain foods and about eating out. Wow, did lockdown and 3 surgeries take a hit. Now I don’t obsess, I’m happy with my weight, if only I’d been this confident earlier in my life. 😏🦩
I'm not overweight, but pant trying to keep up with you! Aging provides the gift of perspective. I haven't shed pounds. But I've shed taking anything personally. I no longer get rattled by other people's antics. It's their stuff, not mine. This is a comforting chapter in life.
I myself am 5’3” and just peak in at 158.5 lbs. great BP & Cholesterol! And just like you I don’t care anymore! This is my God given adult weight I’ve been between this and 164.5 for 30+ years . My mother’s weight too. I compare myself to the deer that roam around our yard searching of little scrap of sustenance that they can find. They all are the same height and weight (so it seems) no matter what they eat. Now do I wish my stomach was a little flatter Yes so so be it. I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease which I blame on the diet food I used to eat and the preservatives in them for all the years I was trying to lose weight that never came off! So now I eat a more anti inflammatory diet but also potato chips and ice cream and it’s freeing!
What a sad commentary on how we women see ourselves. To think your friend was finally finished with wanting to be perfect, just before she died, is such a lousy way to feel. Since I was a young girl, I’ve almost always carried too many pounds. In some circumstances I’ve been able to trim a few pounds off, but once the event for which I dieted was over, I’d slowly start padding myself up again. I’m reasonably healthy, bloodwork needs some improvement, but heck, I’m nearly 75 years old and if I haven’t been able to do it by now, the heck with it!
Maura, this is an excellent column…so well written and full of wisdom. All women should thank you for this.
Time to take the bathroom scale to the thrift shop!
I’m 5’4” and weigh 184, after losing 60 pounds. I’ve fought the weight issue all of my life, now 77 years. I’ve found a program that works for me and I hope to lose another 20 pounds in the next few months. I feel so much better and my self-image and general health are improving greatly! I agree that the BMI is an out-dated indicator, and my doctor says that too.
Corporate America, hard at work again. What's next, barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen? Oh wait, they've already done that to us...it never ends.
Amen!
WOACA get to be whoever we want! I’ve shrunk so much (from almost 5’7” to struggling to stay at 5’3”) that I don’t even want to know what my BMI is anymore. I’ll never meet that goal! However, in late 2019, my PA said something about statins because of my cholesterol and I said “whoa”. Since then I quit kidding myself about certain foods and about eating out. Wow, did lockdown and 3 surgeries take a hit. Now I don’t obsess, I’m happy with my weight, if only I’d been this confident earlier in my life. 😏🦩