Do most women post 40/45 yrs dislike their body?

47. I've always been overweight, with tiny moments of achieving a healthy, fit body, always scuppered by compulsive eating.

I always kept it within about 20-30lbs overweight. And always been naturally reasonably strong, with lovely hair, skin, eyes and boobs. So tolerable.

Then perimenopause hit. Zero energy, anxiety, depression- cue massive comfort eating, muscle mass loss, losing half my hair thickness, and skin becoming tired..... I'm up a further twenty lbs, and while I know I need to regain my fitness, do strength training and get on a healthier diet, I have no engine inside me to do it. I feel very very old and fat in a body with very limited capacity right now. Just started hrt and deeply hope it will give my spirit enough relief to start to climb back out of the pit.

Well done OP, for looking after your body so much better. Just stay away from the bloody awful mirrors!

I'm 50. Don't hate my body. Legs ok. Tummy less than ok.

But f* me. I HATE my face. I look so old all of a sudden. Lips disappeared. Horrendous turkey neck. Jowls. Bloody awful. Have saved up for upper blepharoplasty and now saving for mini face lift so I can have both done together.

44+ bracket.
My legs and thighs are good. I'm slim, but my waist isn't as defined as it was. Always had a small pot belly. Boobs are slack now. They were once my best feature.
I stand up straight.
My skin looks old.
I look good in some mirrors and fat in others.

Yes, I'd be fine with my body if I had a supermodel's.
I'm not even overweight yet, but when I sit in a room with colleagues I always notice now that around 7 out of 10 are slimmer than me. It's partly an age thing, but it's annoying.

I feel the same as you.

Logically I'm glad I'm healthy. Logically I know the mirrors make it look worse. Logically I know my body is just a vessel. Etc etc.

But I still care and I still hate the way I look. I don't know what the answer is I don't think there is one

So long as mine does its job, I honestly couldn't give a flying fig....after all I don't have to look at myself! Although I'd quite like it if the head hair would stop transplanting itself to my chin!

I’m 45 and I like my body everywhere except the M&S changing rooms. The lighting in there does something awful!!

I’m 50 and a size 10, normal BMI but so self
critical. I’ve been much slimmer than I am now in my 30’s and more overweight. I now exercise at least 4 times a week (usually more) but my belly is rounded and I have awful cellulite on my legs. Even if I lose weight it just emphasizes the saggy skin on my belly.
However I need to accept that I’m not 20 anymore and those 3 way mirrors do no one any favours!

I'm 44 and am not happy with my body but know that for me it is in my control and I could easily fix it. I haven't yet hit metabolic problems so could start doing exercise and be happy, well if I could be bothered.

I’m 55 and love my body, it’s strong and healthy, I feel very lucky.

God no. This is the age that, frankly, our peers start dying - and so I’m pretty happy my body is doing its thing. Accidents, friends with cancer, and witnessed some awful deaths amongst my parents generation. So am mostly thinking about keeping it healthy and moving into the next half of my life. Don’t give two shits what it looks like. Life is short, and what a privilege to get a bit wrinkly.

Very happy! Having seen lots of older
people struggling with infirmity and sometimes it’s such a crappy day I think: ‘at least I can get up and go to the toilet whenever i want’ which is more than a good chunk of the population.
I have a great body, I tell it to go for a long walk, or climb a hill, or run for a bus and it does. Farah fawcett said something a
long the lines of how she had hated her legs, and punished them with work outs, but in the end she respected them for always doing what she asked of them and wished she hadn’t hated them so much.
In 20 years time you would give an awful lot to have this body back again.

Well I hated my body at 16, 18, 20s, 30s. Despite being a size 8 and lovely looking back.

I don't hate my body as much now because I reckon it's the only one I've got and I will never be younger than I am now.

43 and hated my body most of my life. It's a million miles away from perfect, but it's mine, it grew my children. My husband seems to like it. I'm old enough to know life is too short to spend hating bits of myself.

Women's bodies of that age are so underrepresented in the media, TV, movies etc. I think that's a big part of it. Plenty of male actors in their late 50s and 60s strutting round and still looking hot. We're conditioned to think of the female body as about 25 because that's what we see 90% of the time.

I'm feeling very happy with my 52 year old body this evening. It managed to achieve a wheel pose in my yoga class this evening from r the first time ever.

I'm nearly 72, 5'6", 12 stone with bits that wobble, I've never worked out in my life but have always been comfortable with the way I look. I had a boob removed 18 months ago and never use a prosthetic but I still wear bikinis (with granny pants now) and feel very relaxed - tbh nobody stares at other women's jiggly bits so please don't overthink it x

More confident than when younger (what a waste) - cellulite the same as it was when I was about 20, no stretchmarks as older mother (apparently?!), but rounded stomach and flabby arms. And yes, changing room mirrors have made me virtually suicidal

I'm pretty happy with the way I look - have lost three stone and exercise a lot by MY GOD the mirrors and lighting in M&S changing rooms make me feel dreadful.

They must lose millions every year because people look so dreadful in their changing rooms.

I don't mind my body but I can't look at my face properly in mirrors (paticularly shop ones) . Wrinkles and hormonal acne!

I think the pressure to love your body is part of the problem tbh. I tolerate mine! It largely does what I need it to do. It's a bit bigger and wobblier than I would like, but meh. I think we could all do with thinking a bit less about what oir bodies look like tbh.
I'm trying to do more exercise because It makes me feel better and will help ward off various health conditions. I am under no illusions that I will manage to find the time or motivation to do enough of it to significantly change my body shape.

I think most women are unhappy with their bodies at any age.

Between 39 and 42 I was in the best shape ever. I'm now 44 and have let myself go a bit, for various reasons. I'm back at the gym now and cutting down on all the chocolate, so fingers crossed 🤞🏼

I think the majority of women, of all ages, have some body insecurities.

I'm 54 and don't do enough exercise to be in great shape but I don't really care. I'm grateful to be generally healthy and have enough self confidence to not worry about how I look. I've just bought a bikini top to wear with a pair of fitted swim shorts on holiday (like big bikini bottoms). They cover a lot of the flab and cellulite 🙂