To try to remain the same size throughout life?

[JollieJullie]

I used to be a size 8 from puberty until a couple of years ago. Now I am in my early-mid 30s and I am a size 10, but I am trying to go back to an 8.

However, I wonder if my efforts are pointless as maybe my body is maybe just not meant to stay the same size as I get older?

Do you think it is reasonable to remain roughly the same size throughout life? Or should we accept the fact that later in life we will get a bit softer?

Everybody is different. I was a size 10 at 20 then crept up to size 14 from age 30.

Am now 59 and still size 14 with a post menopause belly.lol.

Everyone's different I was always a size 10/12 hit 28 and been a size 6/8 ever since.

I was a size 10 for over 25 years. I'm 12 now, but that's changing back.

Stay slim OP. It helps with health. What changes is your body's ability to metabolise everything you eat and we need less calories as we age. That might be why you're seeing the 10 from the 8.

I’m late 30s and exactly the same size I was at 20 (when not pregnant).

I kid myself that it’s diet and exercise, but I suspect there’s a dose of luck there too.

I don’t know if menopause might clobber me? But in general I don’t seem to have weight ‘creep up’.

Maybe if you're basing it on measurements / weight or something similar, but they've shown clothes sizes changing over the years so I wouldn't pick an arbitrary clothing size over measurements. I am similar measurements to post puberty, but obviously bigger than pre puberty! I have stayed the same height the whole time which helps too I think.

Most people's bodies tend to naturally exist within a certain range of weights (set point range). What this range is varies massively between individuals. If you eat a balanced diet (including all the food groups and some deserts etc) and lead even a moderately active life you should be able to listen to your hunger cues and remain within your set point range. Trying to reduce your weight below that range will cause problems (increase chance of dementia and osteoperosis, fertility issues etc) and will also often lead to weight gain long term as your body responds by increasing hunger cues and you tend to overshoot your original weight. If you have a genetic predisposition it can also lead to an eating disorder.

For that reason aiming for a particular weight or size isn't helpful and is pointless (will your life really be particularly different at a size 8 than 10). Aim to live a healthy lifestyle and accept the weight that puts your body at. If this is challenging aim to combat the negative thought patterns that lead you to have a disordered attitude to weight.

You dont have to change size. It's usually. Change of lifestyle and eventually menopause but I know some super fit skinny 50s. I'm thinner than before kids and I'm 45. Must admit it does get harder though, you have to want it quite a lot.

Same here - mid-30s. In my case I think it's just luck and genetics, plus not having any taste for biscuits, crisps etc.

i do think it’s possible for most people to stay approx the same size, maybe 1 size / 1 stone more but any more than that isn’t going to be healthy or good generally.

I’m 42 and slimmer now than I was in my 30’s and about the same as my teenage years.

I'm a size 8, I don't overeat, I do exercise and I still feel fat. I think you're right though, I'd have to eat way too little to lose weight!

It can be hard work to stay the same size throughout life as many people get less active as they get older and at the same time their calorie requirements reduce. I stayed within half a stone of 9 and a half stone from about 20 to mid-40s. Now I'm perimenopausal my weight is creeping up and it is a lot of effort to stay within a healthy bmi (I am managing it so far but it is hard work). I'm working at it because it is healthier to maintain a steady healthy weight though life if you can.

I've changed my mind about this over the course of my life. Ever since I left my mother's household, I have steadily put on weight. She used to reassure me that some people do just get heavier over time.

As part of the zoe health project I wore a continuous blood glucose monitor this year and saw in real time how bad my body's response to auger is these days. I've been low carbing (as many green veg as I can swallow with good quality meat and fats to make them taste good) and feel well on it.

Blood sugar is now stable and I have been (very very) slowly shedding the weight. I am now confident that in another six months or so I will be back to my teen age weight. I feel more energetic and am much more inclined to be active than I have for ages.

So many of the lifestyle related illnesses are directly linked to obesity that I think this is an important step to ensure that I continue to have a good quailing of life as I age.

I spent a week at a multi sport centre in September where it was very unusual to see anyone even slightly overweight. It was noticeably different to what I see out and about in the UK.

I'm the same weight as I've always been since my early 20s, but where it sits on my body has changed.

My body size has remained about the same my adult life, I’m late 50’s and a size 10. I don’t have a clue what I weigh, have never been particularly interested in what the scales say. As long as I eat well, carry on training then I feel good. If my clothes start to feel tight I cut down food intake but that hasn’t happened for a long time.

OP I would stay comfortable in your size 10, maybe even plump up a bit, rather than trying to get thinner.

Thinner women don't age well, a softer figure is far more attractive generally and much more youthful in the face.

My DM has always, always been a size 8 and 8st. She's a greedy fucker too and it's grossly unfair!

I'm 52 and still wear the jeans I bought in 6th form to do the gardening. My weight has never fluctuated more than half a stone (except when pregnant and for the year or so afterwards).

I'm slim but I've never been exceptionally thin, those jeans are actually labelled a 14, but I buy a 10 now. I'd be fat if I was the "same" size now as I wore in the 80s.

I don't know that it's anything I've done, but fwiw I always eat 3 meals a day, rarely snack and rarely eat anything processed. Have always been generally active and enjoyed active hobbies and had active friends. E.g. if I go out for lunch, we'll probably cycle 20 miles to get there 😆

Depends if you've had children too as this seems to affect things. Think I would probably be slimmer if I hadn't had them but I'm still not so different. I was a 6-8 when teens - 20s so I don't think That's reasonable but 20 years on and I'm 8-10

This is very true re: clothes sizes. I go by weight and measurements, as clothes sizes are useless for telling you whether you are the same size now as you were 10 or 20 yrs ago.

I read somewhere that it's normal to gain around half a stone every 10 years and tbh that's what I have found.

I was 9 stone as a teen (size 12)

9.5 in my 20s (size 12)

10st in my 30s (still size 12)

10.5 in my 40s (size 14.)

I'd like to go back to a size 12 but accept it might not happen 🤷‍♀️

That said I definitely don't intend on gaining any more weight but I do think it's normal to gain weight as you get older.

I try to have no more than 2 or 3 slices of (wholemeal) bread daily. For me this is key. If not my weight definitely goes up.

Ha ha, so as a 34 year old size six, I should expect to soon start looking like an old hag with a scrawny and unattractive frame. At least I'm now forewarned!

After puberty I was always a size 6 to 8. I'm postmenopausal now and a size 8 to 10.

When you consider vanity sizing, that's more than it looks but it's right for me, as I don't have to make any great efforts really.

Oh not that ridiculous rubbish again.

Women are individuals and we all age differently no matter what size we are.

I don't think this is true. Much of our "perception" of aging comes from how someone holds themselves and moves. Over about 40, the more fit and active you are, the younger you appear and younger than that, overweight people will be assumed to be older.