How do middle-aged women like J. Lo avoid middle aged spread?

[Anonymous]

Hormones just change where you put the fat. Younger women put it in the hips and butt and older women put it in the belly. But if you don’t accumulate fat then it doesn’t matter. My mom is 75 and slender and looks great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a 56 year old female who has avoided the "middle age spread", and who has maintained her weight for the last 20+ years, my secrets are:

1) 5-6 days a week of intense exercise
2) pretty clean diet, little to no alcohol
3) Hormones (after menopause)
4) genetics

What is a “clean “diet and how does it differ from a dirty diet?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hormones just change where you put the fat. Younger women put it in the hips and butt and older women put it in the belly. But if you don’t accumulate fat then it doesn’t matter. My mom is 75 and slender and looks great.

You also have to factor in muscle loss as you age. You can workout to counteract it, yes, but you can't stop it completely. Your largest muscle groups (legs and butt) will start to get smaller and your waist gets bigger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a 56 year old female who has avoided the "middle age spread", and who has maintained her weight for the last 20+ years, my secrets are:

1) 5-6 days a week of intense exercise
2) pretty clean diet, little to no alcohol
3) Hormones (after menopause)
4) genetics

What is a “clean “diet and how does it differ from a dirty diet?

PP here. I try to eat as little processed food as possible but it's never 100% which is fine. I would say I eat 80% "clean". My diet consists mostly of fruit (berries mostly), veggies, chicken, fish, huge salads, eggs, beans, almonds, yogurt (full fat, plain), ricotta (full fat) - I'm trying to up my calcium intake. I'm also a sucker for protein bars when I'm on the run which is the "not so clean" part of my diet, but they work in a pinch. I also love pretzels and tortilla chips which again is fine because the other 80% of the time my diet is pretty tight. I also drink only water throughout the day, except in the morning when I have my one cup of coffee for the day. It gets things moving if you know what I mean

I also intermittent fast. Stop eating around 7pm, don't eat again until 10:30-11am after my workout. I do IF mostly because it keeps me accountable to myself, and I like structure - which is the Virgo in me. I also recognize that every day and year that passes, I fight a harder uphill battle to stay fit and in shape.

[Anonymous]

Plastic surgery and photoshop.

Also access to high-end designer clothes tailored to make bodies look a certain way, fitness trainers, nutritionists, personal chefs, etc. And knowing how to pose, proper lighting, all that.

Years ago I talked with someone who edits/photoshops music videos and they worked on J Lo’s. Said that he videos require a ton of touching up to make her look flawless, otherwise she looks like a regular person.

People really underestimate how much the right lighting, clothing, and pose can affect how someone looks. There are many IG accounts where they’ll take 2 photos right after each other, in one they look flawless and in the other they have all the cellulite, stretch marks, and pooches that we all have. Celebrities very careful craft a fantasy where they look perfect but it’s never real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m 55. No spread. It’s not inevitable. For most people it takes discipline. I eat healthy most of the time. I exercise daily. I don’t smoke. I very rarely drink. I just take really good care of my body. 5’5 and 115 pounds. Same as I was in high school. My body has changed, of course. Age and childbirth do that. But overall, I look and feel great. No surgery. No Botox. I will never do either. I’m perfectly fine looking like a 55 year old woman.

I take really good care of my body too, but after menopause, my bust size went from 32 C to 34F. It happened gradually over about 5 years, but diet and exercise have nothing to do with that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Plastic surgery and photoshop.

Also access to high-end designer clothes tailored to make bodies look a certain way, fitness trainers, nutritionists, personal chefs, etc. And knowing how to pose, proper lighting, all that.

Years ago I talked with someone who edits/photoshops music videos and they worked on J Lo’s. Said that he videos require a ton of touching up to make her look flawless, otherwise she looks like a regular person.

People really underestimate how much the right lighting, clothing, and pose can affect how someone looks. There are many IG accounts where they’ll take 2 photos right after each other, in one they look flawless and in the other they have all the cellulite, stretch marks, and pooches that we all have. Celebrities very careful craft a fantasy where they look perfect but it’s never real.

While this is 100% true, JLo legitimately looks amazing for her age, especially for a woman who has been pregnant and whose natural body type is pretty curvy. Remember that Superbowl performance with Shakira? That wasn't photoshop. I'm sure she's availed herself of the best quality procedures available to her to keep her skin looking good and prevent sag, but it's also obvious she's extremely fit and taking very good care of herself. Some 20-somethings can perform at that level and look that good even while eating whatever they want and drinking a lot of alcohol and not sleeping right or taking care of themselves. But a 50-something cannot.

Celebs absolutely cheat when it comes to the fountain of youth thanks to some movie magic and just having enough money to buy beauty. But no one dances through multiple pop songs in four inch heels on international television and looks that good doing it without hard work. It is her job and she does it. Good for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Plastic surgery and photoshop.

Also access to high-end designer clothes tailored to make bodies look a certain way, fitness trainers, nutritionists, personal chefs, etc. And knowing how to pose, proper lighting, all that.

Years ago I talked with someone who edits/photoshops music videos and they worked on J Lo’s. Said that he videos require a ton of touching up to make her look flawless, otherwise she looks like a regular person.

People really underestimate how much the right lighting, clothing, and pose can affect how someone looks. There are many IG accounts where they’ll take 2 photos right after each other, in one they look flawless and in the other they have all the cellulite, stretch marks, and pooches that we all have. Celebrities very careful craft a fantasy where they look perfect but it’s never real.

While this is 100% true, JLo legitimately looks amazing for her age, especially for a woman who has been pregnant and whose natural body type is pretty curvy. Remember that Superbowl performance with Shakira? That wasn't photoshop. I'm sure she's availed herself of the best quality procedures available to her to keep her skin looking good and prevent sag, but it's also obvious she's extremely fit and taking very good care of herself. Some 20-somethings can perform at that level and look that good even while eating whatever they want and drinking a lot of alcohol and not sleeping right or taking care of themselves. But a 50-something cannot.

Celebs absolutely cheat when it comes to the fountain of youth thanks to some movie magic and just having enough money to buy beauty. But no one dances through multiple pop songs in four inch heels on international television and looks that good doing it without hard work. It is her job and she does it. Good for her.

Most of that is cosmetic surgery and manipulating body water levels, the way body builders do before a show. Which is for sure “work” in that it involves starving yourself for several days and doing specific exercises, plus makeup, spray tanning, etc.

But, she doesn’t look like that when she wakes up in the morning. Does she look like the average 52 year old? No, but she also doesn’t look the way she does on TV.

It’s not healthy for anyone - for JLo, who has been through decades of crazy dieting and exercise (which is not healthy, despite her looking “healthy”), and not healthy for everyone who develops unrealistic expectations of what women look like.

We’d probably all be better off if 50 year old women could be celebrated for being 50 year old women, rather than trying to cater to what men think women should look like. Like why not have an older woman with cellulite and all on TV?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Plastic surgery and photoshop.

Also access to high-end designer clothes tailored to make bodies look a certain way, fitness trainers, nutritionists, personal chefs, etc. And knowing how to pose, proper lighting, all that.

Years ago I talked with someone who edits/photoshops music videos and they worked on J Lo’s. Said that he videos require a ton of touching up to make her look flawless, otherwise she looks like a regular person.

People really underestimate how much the right lighting, clothing, and pose can affect how someone looks. There are many IG accounts where they’ll take 2 photos right after each other, in one they look flawless and in the other they have all the cellulite, stretch marks, and pooches that we all have. Celebrities very careful craft a fantasy where they look perfect but it’s never real.

While this is 100% true, JLo legitimately looks amazing for her age, especially for a woman who has been pregnant and whose natural body type is pretty curvy. Remember that Superbowl performance with Shakira? That wasn't photoshop. I'm sure she's availed herself of the best quality procedures available to her to keep her skin looking good and prevent sag, but it's also obvious she's extremely fit and taking very good care of herself. Some 20-somethings can perform at that level and look that good even while eating whatever they want and drinking a lot of alcohol and not sleeping right or taking care of themselves. But a 50-something cannot.

Celebs absolutely cheat when it comes to the fountain of youth thanks to some movie magic and just having enough money to buy beauty. But no one dances through multiple pop songs in four inch heels on international television and looks that good doing it without hard work. It is her job and she does it. Good for her.

Most of that is cosmetic surgery and manipulating body water levels, the way body builders do before a show. Which is for sure “work” in that it involves starving yourself for several days and doing specific exercises, plus makeup, spray tanning, etc.

But, she doesn’t look like that when she wakes up in the morning. Does she look like the average 52 year old? No, but she also doesn’t look the way she does on TV.

It’s not healthy for anyone - for JLo, who has been through decades of crazy dieting and exercise (which is not healthy, despite her looking “healthy”), and not healthy for everyone who develops unrealistic expectations of what women look like.

We’d probably all be better off if 50 year old women could be celebrated for being 50 year old women, rather than trying to cater to what men think women should look like. Like why not have an older woman with cellulite and all on TV?

Cellulite is nasty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was reading this article by NYT saying how normal it was to become apple shaped in one’s 40s and 50s and it was so depressing to read. On the other hand, there are women like J Lo. And Liz Hurley who still keep their hourglass shape. Sure they exercise but I also wonder if they take hormones etc.

And a personal chef, round the clock help etc. It’s their job to look the way they do. They don’t have another job the way the rest of us do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was reading this article by NYT saying how normal it was to become apple shaped in one’s 40s and 50s and it was so depressing to read. On the other hand, there are women like J Lo. And Liz Hurley who still keep their hourglass shape. Sure they exercise but I also wonder if they take hormones etc.

And a personal chef, round the clock help etc. It’s their job to look the way they do. They don’t have another job the way the rest of us do.

So essentially, you are saying that it is possible to look that good at 50.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a 56 year old female who has avoided the "middle age spread", and who has maintained her weight for the last 20+ years, my secrets are:

1) 5-6 days a week of intense exercise
2) pretty clean diet, little to no alcohol
3) Hormones (after menopause)
4) genetics

I'm a 54 year old female who's also avoided middle age spread and am still the same size as I was at 21 (130 lbs). My secrets are:

1) Not much exercise (at the moment)
2) Ok diet, some alcohol
3) no hormones
4) genetics? Maybe, but everyone in my family is overweight except for my dad.

I think for me it's down to only eating when I'm hungry, and not having too much stress in my life. If I had a stressful job, I'd probably be stuffing my face full of cakes and chocolate. And I really, really don't want to be overweight. If I feel I've eaten too much one day, I'll only have one meal the next. And I wear jeans most of the time, so if the waist gets tight, I know I have to eat less/better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hormones just change where you put the fat. Younger women put it in the hips and butt and older women put it in the belly. But if you don’t accumulate fat then it doesn’t matter. My mom is 75 and slender and looks great.

Well that’s great news because I’ve always had massive thighs and a natural Kim K booty. Glad being elderly will naturally slim me down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Julie Newmar (original Cat woman in 60s Batman show) is 88 and she did this photo at 86! She looks amazing..genetics is huge I think.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Tony-Award-Winner-TV-Icon-Julie-Newmar-Celebrates-Her-86th-Birthday-With-Portrait-20190814

This is the pic

That pose is very forgiving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every celebrity in her 50s is on estrogen. Estrogen keeps fat off of your middle.

This!!! They are basically staving off real menopause for practically decades. I would too, but I don’t want to be dealing with breast cancer treatment in my 60s 70s and 80s, which I would be afraid of.