Approaching 50. What advice would you give me?

[Redhairandhottubs]

I’m turning 50 and not feeling great about it if I’m honest. It seems like such a big number and looking at people around me, I’m worried about dealing with health issues and caring for parents as they get older.

To those in their 50’s and beyond, is there any advice you would give to make the coming years as good as possible? What (if any!) are the positives of getting older?

Try not to think of the number and enjoy your life

wear what you want and embrace everything

Look after your health, diet, fitness, mental health. I let my physical health go a bit in the childrearing years and am turning it round in my 50s but the earlier you put the effort in the easier it is. On the whole life as a 50 something has been great, more time for myself, I've picked up new hobbies and made new friends.

Start taking an all round vitamin and omega 3. Exercise every day - walking is fine. Count down the days til you are period free! Enjoy it, 50 is great.

Do weight training (two to three times a week ) and jump/skip every day. I’m 62 and trust me the sooner you think about staying strong into older age the better! Look into HRT and it’s long term benefits for your health and wellbeing.
One day you will be 62, don’t waste those years worrying about what you no longer have but embrace and make the most of what you do have. ☺️

If you need/want to lose weight do it now. It gets harder as you get older.
If you're not in a solid exercise routine, work on that, it gets harder as you get older.
Build up social networks, join new activities or try new hobbies, it gets harder as you get older.
Check you are financially on track for retirement, each year that passes means you have to save more money to achieve the same result.
Lean into your job or career, you're probably free of most child rearing responsibility (although may not all), so use the time to build up whatever you do for work, which will also help financially. It gets harder as you get older.
Travel, get the holidays in now. Travel insurance gets more expensive as you get older.
Check you're happy with your HRT, it's protecting you against dementia, heart disease, osteoporosis and many other things. You want to make sure the dose is right.

Above all, enjoy it!

Definitely do the exercise thing. First time in my life I’ve had extra weight that won’t shift. Add in the random aches and pains an dit does make you feel old.

I think the thing is to not get bogged down with the aging thing. Easier said than done. I had a major thing with it and massively want to slam the breaks on.

My DC are not yet teenagers so I’ve got years of adventuring to go so need to be as healthy as possible.

I use expensive-ish moisturiser, have bought my Trinny make-up, rethought what I wear as my body shape has changed as has my colouring and I’ve definitely got more fancy trainers (not the old lady ones, not ready for that yet!). I take mushroom gummies, collagen, magnesium, turmeric, Vitamin D, Biotin and HRT. Something works to help with the anxiety, pain & mood swings (I think it’s actually a combination rather than one magic bullet).

Best thing about turning 50 is that I genuinely have zero f*cks left so I either ignore things or challenge people where I would have usually quietly seethed. It’s quite liberating 😬

Honestly I loved turning 50. I felt great, like I'd got really good at being me. It only took 50 years of practice...😆

So my advice is definitely don't sweat it. If you can, surf it.

You know all the usual stuff about keeping healthy, there's nothing I can add.

(I'm 57.5 now. There is life after 50!)

Don't drink or smoke, exercise as much as possible, lose weight if you need to old and fat = immobile. Take HRT if you are allowed. Don't let the menopause floor you.

I’m just under 50. Changes I’m making and that seem to be helping are-
— low dose hrt (obviously one to discuss with your doctor)
-cutting right down on alcohol. I’m not tee total because I’ll have a glass of wine a few times a year but I almost am.
-getting any excess weight off before I hit 50 (work in progress)
-Pilates, yoga, weights, swimming, walking.
-prioritising sleep and having defined bedtimes and waking times. This makes a huge difference and there’s growing evidence that it increases healthy longevity
-being completely on it with my health- get eyes and hearing tested regularly, I have a private mammogram about every 18 months, look after your teeth, floss every day and see the dentist and hygienist.

I’m also trying to cut down on screens as I think overuse makes you depressed and saps your soul, but it’s hard.

Exercise. Not for weight loss or a ‘beach body’ but for your future strength, mobility and flexibility - and thus independence.

if you think time is flying now, it’s nothing to how fast it goes in your 60s and 70s, so take time to enjoy what you’re doing in the here and now. And if something is genuinely shit, change it. Life really is too short.

Similarly, if there’s something you’ve always wanted to do or try, work towards it actually happening. Doesn’t matter if you then don’t want to keep doing it.

There may not be any pockets in a shroud, but retirement to that point may be long, so sort your pension and finances as best you can (but not at the expense of having enough to enjoy your pre-retirement years). And once you’ve retired, ffs spend your money on things that make you happy.

Good things: increased confidence in my choices; increased willingness to take risks, and laugh if I fail. I genuinely don’t give a shit what others think. Post-retirement, I have more time to do things I want, or to do nothing for a whole day if I feel like it, and I don’t feel guilty about either of those. I have less money but more flexibility about how I spend it in many ways. My emotional resilience has improved massively over the years, although the menopause was tough in that respect. It no doubt helps have less stress now than at any point during the child-rearing and working years.

Oh, I’m coming up to 70

LOOK AFTER YOUR HEALTH!

Now is the time to take action. If you get to your 60s as an overweight, unfit smoker you will probably have limited mobility and if you get to that point, it’s all sharply downhill to serious life-limiting health problems and a premature old age. If you smoke / vape / take whatever, quit. Do it now. If you drink too much alcohol, cut back. Monitor your BP & cholesterol. If they are too high, take action to get them back where they should be.

If you’re overweight, lose the excess. If you don’t eat lots of fresh fruit, veggies & lean protein, start now. We can get away with eating crap when we’re young, but 50s are when it catches up with us.

If you don’t exercise, start. Find something you actually enjoy, whether that’s walking, running, cyclimg, swimming, tennis, whatever. It doesn’t matter. Just do something.

One day you are 49 the very next day you wake up and have turned 50, what's changed? Absolutely naff all apart from a number

Enjoy it, the best years of your life are ahead! You will very soon stop giving a shit and it will be liberating. Take up weights/ strength training and keep fit. Think of the people your age who didn't make it this far and count your blessings. Mostly, just have fun.

Get a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for heath and finance for your parents, having gone through caring for my dad with dementia and the sudden illness and death of my mum it was one thing that was a game changer

otherwise embrace the number, I’m a couple of years off 50 but still running ultra marathons, living life to the max and denying my age 😆

Make sure you get regular mammograms.

I’m 53 and still doing all the same stuff I did when I was 27 haha. I eat reasonably well, do a lot of walking and make time for hobbies - my dog, my car and bands/gigs
Currently dating too. Wear all the same stuff I used to wear - band tees, dr martens with tights and skirts etc
no real changes were made apart from some tattoo plans

Get strong.

Also, whatever you do, educate yourself to realise that your appearance is really not important. So what if you look older? You are older! What counts is how you feel so yes, stay as fit as you can. And don't look in the mirror much, look out at what is around you instead and enjoy that. This is the secret to happiness in later life in my view.

Reduce stress, sleep well and exercise with weights.

I’ve just turned 49 and so fed up with my age that last night I bought a pair of pale pink Nike joggers off Vinted to wear (maybe at home).

Wise advice from everyone. I've dabbled with exercise but not really got into anything & I'm regretting it now! My joints ache & I'm now trying to find enjoyable exercises that build strength & flexibility.

When is your birthday?

I turn 50 in a few weeks and it may be a weird experience but back in June I just found everything suddenly changed gear in my head and I realised what I wanted out of the rest of my life and although there's a lot of work to do I feel more at peace with myself than I have done in years.

I'm currently studying with the OU with the aim of developing my career into one sufficiently well paid that I can drop to a maximum of 4 days a week (ideally hybrid working, possibly self-employed).

I'm planning to move next year to a location I love that will enable me to significantly reduce my mortgage and pay it off sooner.

My finances and my weight and fitness need a lot of work, but I finally feel I'm in the headspace to tackle those challenges.

I feel like I've spent a lot of the last 10 years trying to make up for lost time (post-divorce) and prove how well I'm doing to people whose opinions really don't matter a jot, and I'm completely letting go of all that and planning a life for myself that is as authentic, stress free and fulfilling as possible.

It's an adventure!

My advice is to get out in your garden if you have one! My mum had a lifetime habit of digging, weeding, mowing, chopping

I did "lean into" my job, but got sacked this year at 53 - so my advice would also be try not to make your whole life about your job. I realised that I had, a bit.

I give much fewer Fxxks about work now. Go to work, get paid, come home - forget until the next day.

I'm thinking about joining the parish council, and have a half marathon three weeks today.

(HRT applies to the other side of my household..)

Keep moving and healthy. Nourish your body with fruit and vegetables. Get a step counter watch and aim for 10,000 steps a day. Get a large bottle/stanley cup and drink water every day. You'll feel so much better.