To ask our more “mature” members what to expect now I’m 50 😀

[Baggiegirl]

50 today and recovering from a weekend of partying. I’m quite pleased with my stamina levels all weekend but feel about 90 this morning 😂. So I’m planning a pyjama day. So come on all my fellow 50+ and entertain me by telling me what to expect from here. All stories and advice welcome. Even the scary ones 😜

Can't help, it was too long ago!

Being 50 plus is great! I don't give a flying crap what others think of me, no periods, pmt or vaginal discharge to contend with and , obviously ensuring no one that matters gets their feelings hurt, i do whatever the hell i want! The down side is urinary incontinence and im achey in the mornings.

I'm 50 next year so will be partying that weekend so am curious as to the answers you will get.

I am planning to get Glastonbury tickets next year for me and my DD. I've been before but over 15 years ago a couple of times and I absolutely loved it.

I'm also planning on travelling a lot more, going on solo yoga retreats, joining the gym properly incl joining the tennis groups. Just be braver and do the things I actually want to do even if it has to be on my own.

I'm with @MaMisled - I have stopped (actually stopped quite a while before turning 50) giving any kind of crap what people think about what I do (I try not to hurt, offend, harm etc, anyone, obvs)

I've embraced my grey hair. Wear whichever clothes I feel like wearing, don't worry about white, unshaven legs in summer, etc. Listen to whatever music i like. Go to whatever bands i like, have stopped pushing through books/films/events that give me no pleasure.

I get the occasional cat-call (but I suspect more of a dare-type-of-thing than a real one) and have been felt up. But I am way way way more able to call it out. I also call out bad behaviour by other people towards 3rd parties, and have on several occasions sat next to young women to give them support on public transport.

I've also started giving other people the compliments that I'd like to hear (not randomly, but maybe at the cash desk in the supermarket "i like your nails/hair/top" kind of thing).

Absolutely not missing periods, although I do miss having a defined waistline. Took a redundancy last year - didn't get many interviews which is probably based on age/salary requirements. So i used my new-found 50+ confidence and networked into a great job.

Basically trying to live my best live, while being aware that the ol' hips/knees/joints don't always want to play and that i sometimes have to call it a day even though I don't really want to - or I'll suffer for the next few days.

Happy birthday, OP - and many more of 'em

Following as I'm 50 this year. Definitely peri symptoms but no change to period cycle as yet.

Second the 'don't give a shit' approach to life, so hard to find when you're younger but so accessible now!

After always being very self-conscious about my body, I started running about 5 years ago. Started wearing long jogging bottoms, long sleeved top, gradually realised that that's just far too hot, and gradually reduced clothing to last summer running in shorts and a crop top as it was so bloody hot.

I do genuinely bat off any male comments by thinking, 'your attitude towards women isn't my problem' but it makes me sad for younger women.

Still bit of a stomach drop feeling when someone is in their forties and I remember I’m not.
I think I need to sort my head out a bit though.

52 this year

My periods are still here but no hot flushes and all the other meno stuff for me!!!

I no longer give a shit about giving my opinion or just ignoring those that I don't wish to interact with. I do lose patience frequently.

I am doing lots of caring for elderly relatives and am on several wills as an executor or down as a LPA. Lets hope they on't all die at once...

I do need to lose a bit of weight and kick the diabetes down the line a bit, it is somewhat inherited (all my family both sides) but also could be assisted. I need to get motivated to go to the gym again and build up against osteoporosis.

My DD is nearly 14 so it keeps me mentally young but the aches and pains piss me off

I felt great at 50, it was only the menopause a few years later that made me feel older, as the sagginess starts to set in, jowls start to appear, and general crepiness all over. Having said that I still feel pretty good 'for my age' but sadly can no longer hide to that that I'm middle-aged.

Yep agree, I no longer give a flying crap what anyone else thinks.
You do tend to become a bit more invisible in the world but I'm quite happy with that.
You now have a reason to buy lovely skincare products and can justify their purchase.
You get to buy incontinence pads due to leakage and not actually care who sees you flinging them in the trolley.
You see feminist issues in greater detail if you didn't before and that's quite eye opening
You realise you're most likely over half way through your life and that every minute, word said, action taken counts.
You start randomly asking people where they got their lovely top/lipstick/whatever from without feeling awkward.

Although these might just be me

I don't feel any different in my head to when I was 20! Obvs a bit wiser now tho.
Hangovers last longer and I'd describe them as a 'creeping death' (Start off ok , but get progressively worse!) and a few more aches and pains. I guess tho it's different for everyone.
I personally mourn my pert breasts. When I turn over in bed these days, I have to physically move them round with me

Thanks all. I’ve definitely developed the “don’t give a shit” attitude 😀. It’s the one part of getting older I’ve always looked forward to!

Just carry on as before. I think age is just a number. I know loads of 50 somethings who are more active than 20 somethings.

My DF took up marathon running at 54!

oh though I do get sudden realisations that if I'm not careful and don't start working on my TBR pile, i may possibly be buying books i never get to read. I've only got morbid like this since i hit 50.

It attacks without warning, one minute I'm fine, then the next minute I'm all "oh bloody hell, I may not be here to celebrate the centeenery of landing on the moon" (or other random thing) and then i get all morbid and depressed

I'm 50, still feel the same as I did last year periods have got lighter and more regular with no real pmt symptoms.

I do colour my hair as it doesn't grey evenly and gives me a large grey patch over my right eye which makes me feel odd so I hide it.

I can't drink as much as I used to, my tolerance has really plummeted and I can sometimes barely finish a glass of wine.

Other than that, everything is good!

Face looks rubbish but I am thinner and much fitter than I was in my thirties.
More disposable income which I can spend on myself rather than dc.
Don’t care nearly so much what others think. More confidence in myself and my choices in life.
I also feel able to complement random strangers - and they do the same to me.
Definitely a bit invisible at times and a certain attitude to older folk ( you get it a lot on here) really irritates me. Where they think someone over 50 should act and feel as though they have 1 foot in the grave.
I think it’s great

That ageist stereotypes are wrong by very, very pervasive

The downsides for me have been the buggered internal thermostat (I realised fully why older women go in for so many cardigans...) and my slowly-worsening joints. However, I enjoy being the Wise Old Veteran among some of my friendship groups (I have always had the sort of hobbies which involve a wide age range.)

DH & I are late 50’s and the best bits are having more disposable income, no mortgage & life generally feels easier.

However, you become invisible through age, you are always boiling hot & have to work harder at the gym to stay toned.

I'm 65 so I think I qualify.

Definitely agree with the others about not giving a shit about what people think of me (with the caveat that I generally behave in an acceptable manner when out in public!!, dress respectably and try to mind my manners ..!!). The relief of not having periods is a definite plus, otherwise all's good. I can still get my aging rear into a pair of size 10 skinny jeans, enjoy a few glasses of wine and am fully active. I have more time to enjoy my hobbies, have an active social life and good friends. Most of my friends are women in their 40s/50s though, so maybe that keeps me feeling bit more upbeat about life.

Oh, and I've just started claiming my long awaited state pension, so having a bit more cash in the bank helps too!!

Downsides .... having some people think that 65 is old (not in my book it isn't), feeling less inclined to be polite rather than honest (note to self ... try to be more tactful!), grey hair - which I hate - and having to wear my glasses more.

OP ... just get on with it. You'll be fine.

Oh yes, glasses MrsExpo suddenly all packaging is written with teeny tiny writing and you have to either put reading glasses on or buy vari-focals.

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday dear Baggiegirl
Happy birthday to you

Hip, hip, hooray

It's fucking great ..... in general.

However, do NOT under any circumstances pause to watch daytime TV of a weekend. You will be persuaded that you need:

• a funeral plan
• over 50s life insurance
• a walk-in bath
• a SAGA subscription
• Tena Lady (cos you obviously piss yourself every time you sneeze, right?)

Apart from that, it's all uphill. Trust me; I've never enjoyed life more. I'm a relative newbie at 52 but, very minor menopause symptoms aside, I really am loving it all

Enjoy!

I’m 59.
The menopause has left the skin on my arms ‘crepey’ and no amount of moisturising will help. Not having periods is fabulous. Although I have developed minor incontinence 🙄 - not bad enough to make me traipse to the GP though.
Hangovers and cuts and grazes seem to take longer to recover from.
I’m beginning to ‘feel’ my knees - if I crouch down, I struggle to get up without holding on to something.
Like a PP, if I think something (nice) I say it - complimenting other women on their nails, dress, perfume.
Overall though, I don’t have any major health issues and I feel great.
(TMI - my libido has really revved up after the menopause!)

Thanks@NiceLegsShameAboutTheFace😀😀. To be honest age has never bothered me and having seen my mom and aunts on the dance floor Saturday night I’m feeling very positive.
The only downsides so far are going from perfect vision to spending half my life looking for my reading glasses and having to remind myself that including squats in your dance moves is so not a good image when u need help to get back up 😂😂

The only downsides so far are going from perfect vision to spending half my life looking for my reading glasses

Oh, tell me about it. Me and my sis (she's 51 next week) are always cackling: "Ooooh, where's me readers?"