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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For us mere mortals who don't have jlo money for private trainers, chefs etc. I am nearly 50 and weigh the same as in HS. My measurements are 32 26 32. I am on no medications. I am upper middle class but not wealthy. And I've had two children and work full time. My tips that have worked for years

Cook everything from scratch. Avoid factory made processed foods. This also includes salad dressing, yogurts etc.

Don't eat out at restaurants much. Inflated portions distort normal portions. If you order an entree, eat half and take half home. If you order wine skip dessert. Split dessert with your significant other. Eat out no more than once or twice a month, max.

Don't snack. You're not a squirrel. Eat three meals only.

Don't drink your calories.

Thin isn't always healthier. Watch your metabolic health. When you have your annual physical, look carefully at your numbers, A1C, blood pressure etc. Be extremely proactive if you develop metabolic issues.

Walk daily, brisk exercise is good. Two miles a day is good.

Don't bother counting calories. Eat real food you have made.

I don't generally avoid food groups but I do avoid or limit whites, e.g. white flour, white rice.

With that waist to hip ratio already, menopause will not be kind to your shape

it just takes time and persistence but its totally possible and doesn't require deprivation imho.

[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.

Exactly. It’s her job.

Yes, it’s possible to look that good at 50 but you have to have the money and the time and the genes. Especially the genes. If you don’t have the genes, the other two won’t be enough unless you want to do some major cutting.

[Anonymous]

Run run run and drink Diet Coke like there is no tomorrow

[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.

I saw Hurley in person once, she was crazy skinny. The lens makes her look healthy but I was 5’7” and 120lbs at the time and she made me look fat

[Anonymous]

I’m the same age as J Lo, post-menopausal, and have not experienced middle aged spread. I weigh the same as I did in high school. 5’7” 33-25-34 112 pounds. I exercise intensely 6 days a week. In addition to exercising a lot, my job has me walking around and a lot and is not sedentary. Cook from scratch most meals and eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but am not obsessed with cutting out carbs or any food group. I don’t drink alcohol, soda, or juice, but will indulge in pastries, dark chocolate, and ice cream on occasion. I don’t count calories. I don’t take hormones. No one in my family is overweight either so genetics has something to do with it too. I am getting crows feet and losing volume in my face so I am looking into Botox and fillers though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

The vast, vast majority of women on HRT do not develop BC, even those with a history of BC in their families still have an extremely low risk of developing BC.

[Anonymous]

She has plastic surgery repeatedly. Has someone prepare her foods, walks and exercises and kneeds her. She also camouflages herself. Make up. Shadowing. Lighting. And I looked physically better than her at her age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the same age as J Lo, post-menopausal, and have not experienced middle aged spread. I weigh the same as I did in high school. 5’7” 33-25-34 112 pounds. I exercise intensely 6 days a week. In addition to exercising a lot, my job has me walking around and a lot and is not sedentary. Cook from scratch most meals and eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but am not obsessed with cutting out carbs or any food group. I don’t drink alcohol, soda, or juice, but will indulge in pastries, dark chocolate, and ice cream on occasion. I don’t count calories. I don’t take hormones. No one in my family is overweight either so genetics has something to do with it too. I am getting crows feet and losing volume in my face so I am looking into Botox and fillers though.

You have a BMI of 17 and are underweight. This will not serve you as well as you are thinking in the event of major stressor or illness. Perhaps “exercising intensely” 6 days a week is doing the opposite of keeping you healthy, especially when coupled with a very particular diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m the same age as J Lo, post-menopausal, and have not experienced middle aged spread. I weigh the same as I did in high school. 5’7” 33-25-34 112 pounds. I exercise intensely 6 days a week. In addition to exercising a lot, my job has me walking around and a lot and is not sedentary. Cook from scratch most meals and eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but am not obsessed with cutting out carbs or any food group. I don’t drink alcohol, soda, or juice, but will indulge in pastries, dark chocolate, and ice cream on occasion. I don’t count calories. I don’t take hormones. No one in my family is overweight either so genetics has something to do with it too. I am getting crows feet and losing volume in my face so I am looking into Botox and fillers though.

I'm 52. Not post-menopausal, but my mom didn't gain weight through menopause. I'm looking great. I do drink, but don't eat carbs (I know wine is a carb, but I'd rather drink them than eat them). I do believe in plastic surgery! We'll see what happens. Have you seen Hailey Berry at 55 though? She looks amazing. Have you seen Jada Pinkett Smith's mother at 68?? Good gracious she looks good!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the same age as J Lo, post-menopausal, and have not experienced middle aged spread. I weigh the same as I did in high school. 5’7” 33-25-34 112 pounds. I exercise intensely 6 days a week. In addition to exercising a lot, my job has me walking around and a lot and is not sedentary. Cook from scratch most meals and eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but am not obsessed with cutting out carbs or any food group. I don’t drink alcohol, soda, or juice, but will indulge in pastries, dark chocolate, and ice cream on occasion. I don’t count calories. I don’t take hormones. No one in my family is overweight either so genetics has something to do with it too. I am getting crows feet and losing volume in my face so I am looking into Botox and fillers though.

You have a BMI of 17 and are underweight. This will not serve you as well as you are thinking in the event of major stressor or illness. Perhaps “exercising intensely” 6 days a week is doing the opposite of keeping you healthy, especially when coupled with a very particular diet.

NP - you sound a tad envious, and that you're trying to justify why you overeat and don't work out.

[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?

I think we'll see this more frequently when Gen Z ages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the same age as J Lo, post-menopausal, and have not experienced middle aged spread. I weigh the same as I did in high school. 5’7” 33-25-34 112 pounds. I exercise intensely 6 days a week. In addition to exercising a lot, my job has me walking around and a lot and is not sedentary. Cook from scratch most meals and eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but am not obsessed with cutting out carbs or any food group. I don’t drink alcohol, soda, or juice, but will indulge in pastries, dark chocolate, and ice cream on occasion. I don’t count calories. I don’t take hormones. No one in my family is overweight either so genetics has something to do with it too. I am getting crows feet and losing volume in my face so I am looking into Botox and fillers though.

You have a BMI of 17 and are underweight. This will not serve you as well as you are thinking in the event of major stressor or illness. Perhaps “exercising intensely” 6 days a week is doing the opposite of keeping you healthy, especially when coupled with a very particular diet.

NP - you sound a tad envious, and that you're trying to justify why you overeat and don't work out.

Lol. I don’t know any sane person would strive for a BMI of 17. Yikes. It isn’t a good look

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m the same age as J Lo, post-menopausal, and have not experienced middle aged spread. I weigh the same as I did in high school. 5’7” 33-25-34 112 pounds. I exercise intensely 6 days a week. In addition to exercising a lot, my job has me walking around and a lot and is not sedentary. Cook from scratch most meals and eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but am not obsessed with cutting out carbs or any food group. I don’t drink alcohol, soda, or juice, but will indulge in pastries, dark chocolate, and ice cream on occasion. I don’t count calories. I don’t take hormones. No one in my family is overweight either so genetics has something to do with it too. I am getting crows feet and losing volume in my face so I am looking into Botox and fillers though.

You have a BMI of 17 and are underweight. This will not serve you as well as you are thinking in the event of major stressor or illness. Perhaps “exercising intensely” 6 days a week is doing the opposite of keeping you healthy, especially when coupled with a very particular diet.

NP - you sound a tad envious, and that you're trying to justify why you overeat and don't work out.

Lol. I don’t know any sane person would strive for a BMI of 17. Yikes. It isn’t a good look

Especially as you get older. It's not good.

[Anonymous]

My mom is 65 and is thinner now than she was most of her life and she attributes it to HRT, but she also exercises rigorously 6 days a week doing things she loves like cycling and down hill and cross country skiing, and she eats very clean because she has all the time in the world. I think she’s 5’6, 120 lbs and muscular. She hasn’t had any major cosmetic procedure either. She looks 20 years younger than my dad, who has serious sun and smoker damage and isn’t as fit as my mom.

[Anonymous]

C'mon. These are women who have been focused on their bodies being fit for a lifetime and not regular Jane who does it in fits and starts or not at all.