LEANNE WROTE: In my 40’s I made some life changes, like returning to work (make that paid employment),and then grad school to become a teacher. Trouble was, I stopped paying attention to the fact that I gained about 30+ pounds when I went through menopause at 46. With 20-something year olds who didn’t require many mommy services, I hit the gym and a good diet. Dropped 38 on a good day and am maintaining.   So take heart.
July 6, 2009 at 8:02 am
This kind of seems to be missing the point of the rest of the site. Not because it’s not a sob story, but because it’s not acknowledging that regardless of whether the outside world still finds us attractive after we reach a certain age, we’re in a new life stage where we are not treated in the same way as we once were. A diet isn’t going to change that.
July 6, 2009 at 9:37 am
I’m pretty much just goin’ on how proud I am of myself, and naturally that radiates outward. I believe one becomes happier by establishing goals, attaining them (whenever possible), and then repeating that again. So many people, I believe, fall prey to inaccurate perceptions.
July 6, 2009 at 4:19 pm
I guess I take issue with the admonition to “take heart,” which seems to imply that our troubles are based on our extra pounds and if we drop them, it’ll be just like it was when we were 24. (I don’t think most of us even want that!) I think we already hear plenty from major media about how we should be improving ourselves, but beauty tips are no more relevant to this site than they are to an anti-poverty site.
July 6, 2009 at 6:01 pm
There’s no way I’d do 24 again. I came through all those travails already. It’s just fantastic to look fantastic knowing you’re wiser, enjoy a better earning capacity now, and take it from there. I’m going to see “Chicken Foot” (Sammy Hagar-fronted, Joe Satriani) at the House of Blues in Atlantic City. I saw “Buckcherry” a month ago, 50 or not. Also, I don’t know what beauty tips I offered. I’m enjoyig myself, and at 40 I wasn’t as free to do so.