50-65 yr Fit women?

seaweedeater1
seaweedeater1 Posts: 12 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi. I'm 59-yr-old female, 5'3.5", 120.5 lbs, 16.2% bodyfat (DXA scan last week) looking for women around my age who are serious about fitness and staying trim. I have never weighed more than 132, and until last year had held at an average 115 for about 5 years. Most of the 50+ groups seem to be full of women who are relatively inactive and are/have been very overweight. I want to lose 5-8 pounds to get back to where I was 2 years ago. I do 50+ min cardio 7 days/week and have good arm and abdomen definition for my age from lap-swimming 2500 yards 3X/week and simple ab workouts for 40 years. I'm not burning up any records here, but I do get my hr up. Try to include interval straining (spin) but don't like it. I do Level 1-2 yoga 2X/week. I need to work weights back into the program, but am conflicted about giving up cardio time. I do NOT want to bulk up. This challenge is all the more difficult because everybody says I don't need to lose. This is very sabotaging. But I am unhappy with the 8 pounds of fat I've gained during past year of stressful job. I am at a point where my body is VERY reluctant to let go of the fat. I've gained most of it in my thighs, and none of my pants fit! Sizing up seems like a defeat, and a slippery slope toward "old age." Would like some like-minded friends.

Replies

  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    I'm 59-almost 60. I was maintaining in the 130's for years, then I went on MFP and now weigh 120-125 which I am satisfied at.
    I read that women aged 40-59 should be at 23-33% bodyfat and at age 60 and up-24-35% bodyfat.
    My scale tells me I'm 26% but I know scales are not accurate. I have come down from 29% to 26% so I know at least I have lost some bodyfat along with lbs.
    I haven't been under 120 since my teenage years but I feel well at this weight. I do an hour of elliptical 5x per week, walk a lot and lift light weights 3x a week. (I can't lift heavy due to a health issue)
    I'm very happy with my body and I feel great.
    I wear size 6 jeans and dresses.
    I eat very well with some goodies thrown in (especially chocolate;-))

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