To wonder how you keep your size 6/8/10 figure after 30?

[snarted]

I feel like to do this I would have to really restrict myself food wise and keep to a strict gym regime. Any tips?

Always been a size 10, no idea why, i dont particularly exercise, never did, i walk the dog for about an hour a day, not a foodie but eat normal size meals, dont snack though , but have a sweet tooth,just have a fast metabolism i think

I feel like to do this I would have to really restrict myself food wise and keep to a strict gym regime

I low carb and am in the gym most days. Im 49 and a size 10.

The reality of the matter is I have chosen a lifestyle that involves exercise and restricting my food. A friend of mine has chosen a lifestyle that involves eating sticky toffee pudding whenever she fancies and never exercising. She's a 16/18. She's not happy with her size, but my lifestyle is hard work at times.

Who is happier? I genuinely don't know. Either way there is pluses and negatives.

Am 34 this year and size 8-10. A combination of walking everywhere and genetics! And at the moment, breastfeeding. Before I was last pregnant I think I had been eating a lot of crap (can easily put away a lot of sweets and other sugary stuff especially when tired) and think I has started to put on a very few extra pounds. Was still size 10 but was looking a bit bigger than I was happy with. With both DCs breastfeeding has made the weight fall off me.

My mum is also naturally slim but found she gained weight with the menopause. She was a size 12-14 but then decided to be as healthy as possible after having breast cancer and cut out biscuits, cake, puddings, some dairy, processed food and alcohol. She's now back at 8-10 just through doing this (she can only do gentle exercise due to health issues).

Small portions and lots of snacks. Maybe genetics too.

I rarely eat a big meal. But I eat chocolate, biscuits and cake throughout the day!

I grill meat and don't cook with cream or butter. If I'm busy or tired I skip a meal. I can easily 'switch off' hunger if I don't have time to eat eg at work.

Genetics definitely do play a part, which is the same really as saying luck plays at part. It does.

Restricting my eating and working out. I'm very jealous of people who are genetically slim and don't have to put any effort in it. I would balloon if I didn't - I've tried. It's worth it though. It's great to be in shape and fit. It's fabulous when most clothes are flattering and dressing is not a fat-hiding exercise. But for me being fit is more important than being just slim.

Learn, once and for all, that it is fine to be fat. Fat people can be much healthier than thin ones.

Of course this is nonsense. Being fat is a strain on your organs. You may find a fat person who is healthier than a skinny person, but research is based on populations rather than individuals.

I'm 45 and a size 8. I have only nuts and coffee until about 2pm and then and a small lunch. Occasionally I'll go overboard in the evening with red wine or pasta, but normally my dinner is just a (very) small version of what the kids are eating.

I eat whatever I want one day a week.

I work out every day, I couldn't trust myself to manage this on my own - I go to Pilates 4x a week (1 or 2 is HIIT Pilates which is dreadful) and I run about 4x a week on the treadmill.

The hardest part about maintaining a tough regime is the part before you see the results. After that, it becomes much, much easier.

30 is definitely not the turning point for everyone though; I'm 34, two kids in the last 3 years and I'm still much the same size 8 as I was all through twenties. I do a sport regularly but I eat all sorts of crap.

I'm not going to go getting too excited about that yet to be honest, or giving myself any sort of pat on the back because frankly I think the hard work is yet to come for me, and I'm not sure if I'll be bothered with it when it does

Definitely genetics - I have never had to do a lot to stay slim, just eaten sensibly and stayed active. I've been breastfeeding for a year so am much slimmer post-baby than I thought I would be, but unfortunately this also seems to have caused my books to go flappy and my bum to disappear! I think just love the figure you have, there are advantages and disadvantages either way.

*boobs not books!

Yeah it’s good diet (not calorie restricted, but well-balanced and natural food) and regular exercise (weight training included, as I believe this is what shapes my body) for me. BUT.. I’ve never had kids and I do believe having children changes your body shape.

I believe it all comes down to your lifestyle and balance.
I have an office job but out of it am generally quite active; I walk my dogs three times a day, I have a horse which i ride regularly, muck out, carry bales of hay, bags of feed etc.
On an evening I rarely sit down until around 9.30pm.
I cook everything from scratch, eat three balanced meals a day and snack healthily in between and drink around 2 litres of water - if food is there i will eat it so i do have smaller portions and try to buy healthy alternatives to chocolate and crisps. My downfall is wine, I probably have a glass of red each night and more on a weekend.
I'm not genetically supposed to be slim, all my family including my sister are larger than me but I wouldn't say they ate well nor lead active lives. I am 5'6 and 9st10. I think its important not to obsess over your weight but focus on how you feel.

I’m in my 40’s and size 8/10. Diet (vegan) and exercise and go easy on the alcohol. I’ve had 3 kids. I eat quite a lot in volume but it’s mainly healthy. I could never be low/no carb as it would affect my sporting performance.

PARunnerGirl

I don't think it's inevitable that having children changes your body. I had children relatively young at 22 and 25 and my body snapped back very quickly, BF in particular saw me actually become slimmer than before I had kids. Even now although I've put weight on my stomach is pretty flat, it goes to my love handles! The only difference I would say is I have one boob bigger than the other which I think is a result of BF as I don't think it was as noticeable before and my last kid favoured one side! I started putting weight on 2 years after having my kids when I went from a city job to a long driving commute when I started snacking too much in the car and walking less.

33 and a size 8. No tips I'm afraid, I have always been a terrible eater, live off my nerves and generally always on the go. Lucky enough to have a savoury tooth rather than a sweet tooth. I don't drink alcohol.

I had 2 children in my 30s and was back at my normal weight within 3 weeks (EBF and dreadful night-sweats help, I suspect). I remained naturally a size 10 until my metabolism fell off a cliff at 40.

Everyone has a different version of staying 'naturally' at their static weight, though. I grew up in the snack-free 70s and live in London and had to deal up-and-down-five-floors living, a giant pushchair and two toddlers and school runs and lugging shopping home all through my 30s. My sister lives in the US suburbs and her life is so much easier/more fattening!

No advice - lucky with genetics i would say. I did use to run alot when i was younger. I eat small portions of food (always have) but i binge on sweets/crisps/chocolate daily. I walk in parks on the weekebed and have two kids under 4 to run after, maybe that helps. I would say eat smaller portions, but more often. Im a 4/6 size.

A combination of a sensible diet, running and a bit of weight training. I’m the same size as I was when I was 20. I’m now 34 and have a 12 week old baby. To the untrained eye I’m one of those women who ‘snapped back into shape’. I didn’t use pregnancy as an excuse to pig out and kept active throughout so my two stone weight gain was mainly bump with a bit of hips and thighs! It’s slowly come off since having my daughter as I walk everywhere (average about 5 miles a day)

If I eat more junk, drink more alcohol and run less miles each week I put weight on just like anyone else. I like being the size I am so I have to be constantly aware of what I’m putting into my body to maintain my shape. Running is my hobby and I find I perform better when I’m fuelling myself properly. I also feel better day to day eating proper food, and not too much of it.

regular exercise. Not driving. Not drinking. Eating minimally

I dont do this by the way, but if I wanted to be slimmer, this is how ive always done it

Interesting that a lot of people put their weight down to good genetics, but when overweight people say this kind of thing, they're just lazy and making up excuses 🤔

Yeah I wonder how much genetics has to do with it or just good/bad food habits being passed down?

but when overweight people say this kind of thing, they're just lazy and making up excuses 🤔

I think this is because while it's true that it's hard to lose weight if genetics is against you, barring metabolic disease or genetic diseases like Prader-Willi syndrome, it's also usually not an excuse to be obese.

After 30 I found I can either ; eat what I like and drink what I like or look how I like. Unless I can find the time to run at least 10k a day. It really is that simple.

I disagree with the genetics comments.
Our genes haven’t changed recently.
30 years ago here wasn’t many overweight people about. Our genes were the same as then.
Lifestyles and portion sizes have changed for some.

LuMarie

What an inspiring post.