Ladies over 50: at what age did you suddenly look much older? (legs, head)
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At what age did you look in the mirror and look much older? I thought the aging process was gradual but this year when I turned 58 my arms, upper legs and lower face look saggy overnight! What happened?
Well, I guess it's different for everyone.
I know several women who have had surgical procedures done.
That's not where I am headed.
When I turned 50, I looked great, felt great, and had a huge party.
At 52, I looked in the mirror and said to myself, "Self, gravity sucks, doesn't it?"
Now I am almost 55, and the Great Sag continues.
I am thin, I eat right and exercise daily, but the aging process is inexorable.
I am trying to think of my "condition" not so much "keeping age at bay" as keeping myself healthy so I can continue to enjoy life.
I do not say this self-righteously.
My parents died young. I am now older than my dad was when he died.
What's going on *inside* your body really can matter more than what it looks like on the outside.
I'm not a lady but I'll reply anyway.
My wife still looked great at 45.
Slim wasp like figure. No wrinkles. Smooth, soft skin. Looked like she was 30.
At 55 she has wrinkles and getting the middle age spread which comes naturally for most of us as we age. She still eats like a bird and nothing has changed in her daily habits.
But she smokes. Smoking catches up with a body sooner or later. It causes wrinkles, and aging that seems to happen overnight and speeds up the process.
I am Chinese. Speaking for my mom, all through high school, my friends thought she looked like an older sister to me. After college, I felt that she suddenly looked old. But I feel that it was all the years of smoking, stiff drinks after work and not maintaining her fitness. She also used to get really wound up emotionally. She was never one for real exercise.
Currently, I am 50 and everyone tells me that I look like I'm in my 30's or that they think me a grad student. I don't smoke and I hardly drink. I don't wear makeup (my mother wears makeup and eyeliner) and I feel that wearing eyeliner causes the fragile skin around the eyes to be stretched out over time. I try to stay out of direct sunlight and for long periods of time. I use sunblock and wear a hat during outside activities. I drink a lot of water. I should exercise more, but one of my jobs is very physical. And in that job, I still keep up with the 20 year olds. In fact, I can lift more than most 20 year old women. I speed walk between tasks. I'd like to lose about 10-15 pounds, but maybe the fat is pushing out my wrinkles.
I feel that I looked older in my early forties as I was dating a man who was annoying to me at the end. He made me feel tired and wanted me to act my age. Once we broke up, I felt much better about life and I smiled more. Then when I was almost 45, I fell in love with my current boyfriend. He made me laugh and I was happy all of the time. My friends used to joke that I was the only person they knew who was getting younger instead of older. My boyfriend is also 23 years younger than I am.
Who knows how I will age in the next decade, but I feel that it helps to be active and be happy. I will continue to drink lots of water and stay out of the sun. I wear sneakers and never heels, which makes my feet very happy. In real life, I don't think very much about my numerical age. I refused to be defined by a number.
I think that it helps to have close friends of all ages, both younger and older. Keeping active is very important, as is exploring new experiences like trying different ethnic cuisines. Don't get into any ruts. Let your inner beauty shine through.
Also check out msnbc's Ambush Makeovers! It's really very inspiring. We shouldn't be upset over our bodies aging, but rather we should always be making the most of what we have. A new hair style or colour might be in order, or a change in the way we dress ourselves. No one, not even younger adults have perfect bodies. Tons of young women have muffin tops over their jeans. And being happy with a sincere smile on your face is always your best accessory.
At what age did you look in the mirror and look much older?
^^ Also don't believe everything you see in your mirror. Remember what happens when anorexics look in their mirror, they actually think that they are fat!!! So never stare into your mirror too long as if you are searching for flaws you will only find them, and also consider that the lighting around your mirror might be being uncomplimentary to your skin tones and at the wrong height accentuating your body harshly.
^^ Also don't believe everything you see in your mirror. Remember what happens when anorexics look in their mirror, they actually think that they are fat!!! So never stare into your mirror too long as if you are searching for flaws you will only find them, and also consider that the lighting around your mirror might be being uncomplimentary to your skin tones and at the wrong height accentuating your body harshly.
^^ Also don't believe everything you see in your mirror. Remember what happens when anorexics look in their mirror, they actually think that they are fat!!! So never stare into your mirror too long as if you are searching for flaws you will only find them, and also consider that the lighting around your mirror might be being uncomplimentary to your skin tones and at the wrong height accentuating your body harshly.
That is so true! I can be at two different places in one day with mirrors, and swear that I look ten years younger in one, and ten years older in the other! There is a clothing store here that has the most awful mirrors and/or lighting. I have felt like telling them they might sell more clothes if they made a few changes in the dressing rooms..
I can't speak for the over 50 crowd, as I am soon to turn 43, but I noticed some subtle differences at 40 - - things that no one else would probably notice. With my mom, she always looked way younger than she was. It was only when she was in her late 70's that she even started to somewhat resemble her age. "Okay mom, you better be passing on those genes!"
Speaking of flattering lighting... my bedroom window faces west and my boyfriend claims that in the dim early morning light of our bedroom, I look like a teenager to him!!! We refer to it as the "magic light"... I wish that I could bottle it. Anyway, it's yet another reason to never sell my house.
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What happened?
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