How do you feel in your 40's?

I'm 43...I'm in pretty good shape fitness wise...at least as good if not better conditioned than when I was in my late 20s. I'll likely never be in as good of condition as I was in my early 20s because at that time I had been a competitive athlete most of my life and I was in the Marines.

I have zero desire to weigh what I did in my 20s...especially early 20s when I was a bean. I weigh about 15 Lbs more than I did in my late 20s/30 and I'm just as lean...just more muscle mass.

im 40 and feel better than i did when i was 20.

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've lost 40 lbs so far...probably have another 20 lbs to go. I have been working out doing strength and cardio the whole time, and I feel a lot better than I did 4 months ago

I don't know about a specific age, and I question the clarity of anyone's memory of what they felt like physically decades earlier to be able to make an absolutely accurate comparisons based on "feelings," but I don't see anything delusional about thinking that you ought to be able to be in comparable physical condition in your 40s as in your 20s or 30s, especially if you're mainly talking about energy levels. I mean, you weren't a world-class athlete in your 20s in some sport that people generally peak at by their early 20s, and now you're hoping to return to the sport and compete at the top level in your 40s, are you? I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call even that delusional, so long as you recognized the long odds against you.

That said, I lost about 15% of my bodyweight in my early 50s, going from a BMI in the "severely obese" (class II obese) to a BMI at the low end of class I obese, and it made a huge difference in how I felt.

I could tie my shoes again without losing my breath because of all the rolls of fat I was compressing. I could squat down to the ground to pick something up and stand back up without needing something to hold onto. I felt comfortable again doing yoga positions that had felt too difficult for years.

I did find things like walking up esacalators easier, too, but I think that came more from being more active and regularly walking up, rather than a direct result of weight loss.

I certainly felt like I had a lot more energy. If I'm honest, no, not as much energy as in my 20s, but a lot more than in my mid to late 40s when I was putting on that additional weight. I feel maybe like I have as much energy in short bouts as I did in my 20s, but that I could keep it up longer, end up less tired, and get by with less sleep in my 20s than I can now.

And if you find that for you, it only dials the energy clock back five or 10 years, not 20, isn't that still worth working toward?

I am probably fitter and stronger (can run further and lift more weight) than I was in my 20s (I suffered with EDs half of my life), mentally tougher too. So you might not feel the same as when you were younger, for a number of reasons, some of which might be really positive. The aches and pains are more frequent, but other than that I feel younger than my 43 years...

I'm 67 and, after 18 months of weight loss, strength training and conditioning, I am in better shape now than I was in my 40's.

I remember my 40's well because that's when I was in the police academy and started working as an LEO.

I was the oldest cadet in my class at 46 but was ranked in the top 10 in physical agilityin a class of 40+ cadets composed mainly of 20-30 yr olds.

Nonetheless, I weigh less, have less BF and am stronger now than I was then and I think I could compete as well (if not better) now than then.

I have some unsightly (to me) loose skin due to weight loss and/or old age but otherwise look far younger than my years, which I attribute genetics and/or my weight loss program.

So, if I could compete w/a bunch of 20-30 yr olds in my 40's (and can achieve a level of fitness in my 60's comparable to when I was in my 40's), I don't see why someone in their 40's can't achieve a level of fitness comparable to s/he was in his/her 20-30's.

I'm scratching 45 and, honestly? While I have some weight to lose, I feel better than I ever have? I may have been "thinner" in my 20s, but I am so much more focused on health and strength than ever that I feel like I LOOK better. Even more important? I have the wisdom to know that looks matter less than confidence. When I hit 40 I tried to get more focused on fitness but I was not ready. At about 42 I got serious and I realized that while it is hard to reach goals, it is not as hard as I made it out to be. At nearly 45, I can say I truly respect my body and it has a lot of GOOD life in her yet!

Just turned 46 and feeling great! I'm more fit than I've ever been. I just hit the weight I was in my teens (14 lbs overweight and how I wish I could've stayed there instead of eventually gaining 100 more lbs...) I feel like I'm in my 20s, except I wasn't this fit in my 20s...

I started working out at 44. At 45, I am more fit than at any time of my life - and I love the other perks of being this age, such as more freedom to do what I want and the ability to say no to other people without feeling guilty.

I was in my best shape from my late 20s until my late 30s. Then my fitness level started tapering off and hit a low when I was 42 and ended up in hospital with DVT. It took me a long time to get back from that, but I was in pretty good shape again at 44. Things kind of tapered off again, but when I reached 49, I was back at the weight I had been in my mid-30s and was doing most of the long-distance cycling I had been doing during my 30s.