How do you feel in your 40's?
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With apologies for a long-winded answer:
I'd never been an athlete, but by my 40s was in terrible shape. These were really not the best years of my life: Working 70+ hour weeks in high-stress sedentary job: husband died at 45 of esophageal cancer when I was 43; diagnosed at 44 myself with stage III breast cancer and went through bilateral mastectomies, 6 months of chemotherapy, 6 weeks of radiation, 7.5 years of anti-estrogen drugs; spent days and hours sitting/sleeping in recliners and such at nursing homes after my dad fell, broke a bunch of bones and blinded himself at age 83; got diagnosed as hypothyroid, pre-hypertensive, hyperlipidemic, osteoarthritic, osteopenic; broke my ankle; tore my meniscus; got sleep apnea; had regular back pain. And I was obese. I was weak, tired, broken down, discouraged, depleted.
All over for me, right? I mean, already late 40s? Over the hill!
So, I decided that if I was ever going to feel good, happy or strong again, I was going to have to work at it.
Gradually, over a period of time, I ramped up. Took some yoga, strength trained, did aerobics, joined a rowing team, joined a rowing club, started taking regular spin classes, ate more veggies, took adult learn-to-swim classes, took lap swimming classes, bought a new bicycle and cycled some, went to multiple rowing camps for grown-ups, actually competed as a rower in races (boats and machines), even won a few rowing medals racing, and more.
But I'm a slow learner: I was pretty decently fit and strong, but still obese, still bad blood pressure and lipids. Needed to do something. Final straw: Gallbladder adenomyomatosis. Got my eating under control, lost 50+ pounds at age 59-60 in just under a year.
Now age 62, at a healthy weight for the past 2 years (5'5", around 130) , still very active, strong, fit (resting heart rate high 40s); low-normal blood pressure, solidly normal blood lipids. I don't have trouble keeping up with women decades younger on the river or in fitness classes. (Some of my most fun rows this summer were in a double with a nineteen-year-old collegiate rowing team member.
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At 62, do I feel better than in my 20s? Mmm, dunno: 20s were decent, as far as I remember. Do I feel better than in my 30s? Yeah, probably. Than 40s? Hands down, no question. I'm a whole different woman.
So: Can you feel like you did in your 20s/30s? Seems likely, with some work, will, and persistence.
Will there be challenges or limitations? Most likely, some difficult, but I'll bet you can find a way around them if you try.
You can surprise yourself. It'll be worth the work. And fun.
Best wishes!
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Soon to be 44, hard to compare to my younger self. At the time I graduated college, I was a machine, strong and very fit. Maintained that thru my 20's and early 30's. Let things slide mid 30's until I decided to lose weight and run a couple marathons. Went from 185 to 165 and felt awesome. Never got tired, but wasn't nearly as strong as I used to be. So I started working on being both strong and capable of running very far distances. Building my work capacity has helped that a lot. Also some trial and error and balancing things I need to do vs things I want to do haha. The biggest difference between now and my younger self is speed and explosive power. And sometimes a little longer to get warmed up.3
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I'm 37 and I don't know what it's like to feel good in your 20s because I was fat BUT I bet I feel the same. Definitely feel great!1
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At 46 I feel and look better than I have ever have!2
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I'm 41 in a month, and have always been pretty fit. But I have to say, the almost daily yoga practice I started a couple years ago has me feeling more youthful than I felt in my 20s and 30s!1
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I will be 44 in a few months. I have lost a total 49lbs!! I have started weight training and have put on a good amount of muscle. I feel fan-freaking-tastic!! I feel so much better than when I was in my 20's. I was thin, but not fit. I ate whatever I wanted and smoked. Now I am fit, eat healthy and stopped smoking. I now run Half Marathons and cycle over 100 kms (62miles).3
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Love the skin you are in at every age! Be the best version of yourself and enjoy your journey. When I was in my 20's I did not think I had a great body, I hid it. I am 5'7". I weighed in the 120's in my 20's and I did nothing to earn it, purely genetics. In my forties I looked back at my twenties and thought what a shame, I did not appreciate it. I started running and enjoying my strength and kept fit. I am now in my 50's. I constantly remind myself to love myself and try to do the best with what I have NOW. People are surprised when I tell them my age.
Everyone is different, mentally, physically, genetically. Enjoy the skin you are in, I say! and try for the best NOW, don't compare!1 -
When I get there I imagine I'm gonna feel depressed as hell. I'm 36 now and feverishly trying to find a way to slow down or reverse time.
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fastfoodietofitcutie wrote: »I have quite a bit of weight to lose and one of the things that keeps me motivated is how good and energetic I will feel when I lose the weight. I keep thinking I can get back to how I felt in my 20's. Am I completely delusional? Can a person in their 40's get back to the condition of a 20/30 year old?
I think it will depend on why you don't feel the same now. Weight can be lost and fitness can be improved but whether you can be all you were at 20 or 30 is variable, and the variables are many. But you can be the best you can be right now.
I'm 55 and I've honestly never felt much different than I did when I was 20ish. Not even when I was overweight. If it weren't for mirrors I could be happily delusional that the outside matches the inside.1 -
I'm 46 and I feel great. My knees hurt more and I'm starting to get a sore hip. But I'm definitely stronger than I was in my 20s. It definitely takes a lot more effort at the gym and counting calories to lose weight than it did 20 years ago. Also, I'm starting to notice that my legs look kinda old...like some veins and stuff. *shrugs* What ya gonna do?3
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When I get there I imagine I'm gonna feel depressed as hell. I'm 36 now and feverishly trying to find a way to slow down or reverse time.
Why? Geez, 36? You are still so young.
You can't reverse time. No matter what you do, time marches on. Just be glad that you are here to see the march. Enjoy every minute because it goes by so very fast.3 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »When I get there I imagine I'm gonna feel depressed as hell. I'm 36 now and feverishly trying to find a way to slow down or reverse time.
Why? Geez, 36? You are still so young.
You can't reverse time. No matter what you do, time marches on. Just be glad that you are here to see the march. Enjoy every minute because it goes by so very fast.
It is depressing, I ain't gonna lie. On the other hand, it's a privilege denied to many so I'm happy to be here.2 -
I feel awesome!!!1
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I'm nearly 49. A lot of people think that I'm in my 30s (lets go with that!). I got into my best physical condition in my 40s. Like, confidently wore a bikini to the beach condition. As far as how I feel, that's complicated. I didn't have a child in my 20s or 30s but had my daughter at 42. I'm legitimately tired at about 10:30 PM, my skin has definitely aged, I'm perimenopausal and I need progressive lenses. That kind of sucks. But, my health is excellent. My bloodpressure and heart rate are in the low end of normal. I think I'm more comfortable and confident with my looks because I'm in my 40s. I def did not have that in my younger years.3
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I will be 48 soon and I haven't noticed a significant dropoff. My diet and exercise knowledge is so much greater and the social vices that used to constantly derail me have been reduced significantly since I was in my 20s and 30s - my life is so much more disciplined and under control than it once was!3
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I don't remember2
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late teens/early 20s...I'll never be that fit again. I was a competitive athlete for most of my life up to that point in multiple sports and then the Marine Corps after HS.
In my mid 20s to 30 I was very active, but I didn't do much in the way of deliberate exercise...and nothing endurance related. I likely have better endurance fitness now at 43 than I did when I was mid 20s to 30. I know for sure that I'm stronger in the weight room at 43.
In terms of "feeling better"...well, I certainly feel better than when I was in my mid 30s but no doubt time has taken it's toll on my body. I'm pretty fit, but I still have aches and pains that I didn't have 20 years ago...herniated disk in my back, have to wear arch support in my shoes, etc...I also don't recover the way I used to even 5 years ago, let alone 20 years ago. I also do not have the energy of a 20 year old in the least...when I was 20 I could pretty much go non-stop and not be at all tired. These days I'm in bed around 9:30.
Many things are better in my 40s though...so it's a trade off.1 -
I am 47, going to be 48 in October, and I will confess--I feel way older. The past 6 years have been one thing after another--separation from husband, teenage son overdosed and spent 8 weeks in rehab, a year of unemployment (husband), two back surgeries (me). I finally feel like things may be settling down. The son is on the right path, graduated from high school, took a gap year, thinking what college/what major/job, husband is back and employed, my second surgery was very successful. And there is a 16 year old son and my full time job too. I have about 15 pounds to lose and have a lot of trouble getting and staying motivated. That said, I know I will feel more calm and energetic with exercise. So I continue to try. I don't like feeling old. People tell me I don't look my age, so there is that, but man I feel it.4
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fastfoodietofitcutie wrote: »I have quite a bit of weight to lose and one of the things that keeps me motivated is how good and energetic I will feel when I lose the weight. I keep thinking I can get back to how I felt in my 20's. Am I completely delusional? Can a person in their 40's get back to the condition of a 20/30 year old?
It would be difficult, although I suppose I could try, to return to the state of utterly reckless and clueless decision-making skills I employed in my 20s. Perhaps if I returned to the level of recreational drugs I used to do. However at my age I would probably quickly suffer a stroke or heart attack like all the people I know who never grew out of doing that. So my guess is - no. lol2 -
I'm 47 and aside from my bad knees, I'm in better shape than I've ever been in my life. I've been lifting for over a year and am stronger than I've ever been in my life. I have a resting heart rate under 50 and am around 16% BF. I only wish I had started twenty years ago.2
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I'm 46 and lost 100+ lbs in last 16 months and feel great was annoying to get out of breath going up stairs not being able to sit in regular chairs. I did strain my patella tendon in my knee my second 5K and partially tore my rotator cuff boxing so I do show my age from time to time but 100% worth it. It would be great to go back to college days and get in shape then but as long as you're doing something now all that matters.1
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42, I'm stronger faster and better in almost every way than 20 and 30 year old me. At 230ish(down from 265... Up from 145 at 21) I can run faster, lift more, and longer than I could at 21 or 35. My knees are a tad crunchy(the one big reason I started cutting down in size) but that's just an annoyance.1
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I'm 48 and in the best shape of my life and have loads of energy I spent my late 20s and 30s being over weight/tired/lacking get up and go. 1
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I feel AMAZING in my 40's. I am in excellent shape, great health. I don't smoke and I am a healthy weight for the first time since my teens.3
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I feel the best I’ve ever felt in my life in my 40’s! When I was younger I was thin but completely sedentary and I had a knee problem that caused me pain for years. When I was 38 my thyroid quit working correctly and I gained a lot of weight by literally eating and sleeping all day due to zero energy. Got the thyroid under control but it still took two years for me to get my act together and lose the weight. When I found myself in the beginnings of non-alcoholic-fatty-liver-disease and prediabetes I was determined to change. I ate less, ate more nutritious food and started walking, then hiking, and after strengthening the muscles in my bad knee, I started running. Finally after 19 years, no more knee pain!!! My liver enzymes & blood sugars went back to normal and I feel amazing! I’ve also developed a lot of confidence... only now in my 40’s I feel amazing in my bikinis where as in my younger days I stayed covered up. I am a runner and I love running! I feel strong and I know what I’m capable of and I’m super excited to see what the future will bring. It doesn’t matter how “old” you are because you will never be younger than you are today... it just matters what you do with the time you have left. Unless we consider the alternative, we are all getting older, and I for one, am going down fighting all the way
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Just turned 41 and I feel better than when I was in my 20s. If I could only go back and educate my former self on diet and exercise who knows where I would be now 1
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My one complaint about being almost 44 is that number. I just remember thinking that sounded ancient when I was a kid!
In my 20s I maintained a good 10-15 lbs over the weight I've averaged since I discovered working out at around age 28/29. I also lived on Diet Coke, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, and pink wine (not rose.) I also had a bell-shaped bob hair cut and crazy-thick eyebrows. Most people who haven't seen me since I was that age are amazed by how much better I look. So I feel GOOD about being me, and I can live with my imperfections much more than I could tolerate them even 5 years ago because I finally get it: Life is short, good people are priceless, and your looks are only a small part of who you are and how far you can go.1 -
I started losing weight when I was 38, I'm 46 now and I feel great. Better than I did for most of my 30s. I feel like I am a good 10 years younger than I am. Sometimes I have to remind my trainer of my age 1
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I was in pretty good shape in my 20s and 30s, but even now in my 40s I still feel pretty good. A few extra aches and pains here and there, but really, not that different.
My dad and my stepmom are in their early 60s and in fantastic shape. Seeing them run, bike, swim and hike encourages me to stay active as I get older.2 -
I'm 44. I let myself go for a couple of years due to pain. Pain meds made me absolutely disinterested in anything and everything. Now, I've dropped the meds (cold turkey), took that extra energy and irritability and invested it on a new obsession: fitbit and healthy diet. I decided at this point to focus on walking 5 miles 5x a week. I feel better. I'm always told I look younger than my age, but obviously I'm never going to look like I did in my 20s (sniff sniff) but I'm happy now with myself and routine I've made.
I drink lots of water and green tea (64 to 80 oz a day) and my skin looks better now than it ever has. Of course, I also have a vigorous skin care to prolong younger skin. I'm fit now and I can proudly wear a bikini. To me, after 3 kids, that's an accomplishment on its own. I still get carded when I'm purchasing alcohol (not for me) lol. That makes me feel better 2
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