Late 40s, menopausal and fading

[Swedes2]

I haven't as yet submitted to the full beard and elasticated waistband trousers. But heck, it's hard isn't it? I absolutely love clothes, make-up, and all that shit.... but I am becoming more and more interested in my garden (not a euph). Last night I went to the garage to buy milk in my gardening clothes.

Anyone else going through the same thing? Have you any tips you can share?

And I want to say thank you to you all, again. It really does help talking about it. I've never mentioned the M word to my DH. He's half Austrian and anything remotely medical is best not ventured into.

Am 43 now, did have long brown hair with grey roots, age 42 i went blonde and had It all cropped off and i love it. I have to have it done every 4 weeks but i finally feel trendy after all these years.

I wear a lot of linen trousers which i can recommend to all. Always look smart.

As for wrinkles, there are plenty!

Electrolysis is great for thread veins.

Swedey - what's with the being Austrian and not liking to talk about matters medical thing? Not heard of that before.

Swede -- not competitive, honest, just freaked out by not being able to fit into summer clothes I just unpacked . . . ! and weighed myself at the gym and have gained 2 lbs since yesterday.

KM least painful thing for thread veins is IPL or V-beam pulsed dye laser. They creep back every so often but treatment lasts years.

Kerry, I don't need to lose weight. I am 5'5", 9 stone, toned arms, legs and back from the weights etc. i wear a size 8-10

I just need to lose the gunt

Just been to the gym hoping to relieve my permanent shoulder pain and am most peed off that it's still there.

Back pain of one kind or another has been a constant companion for the last 16 years, but I'm determined that this will be the year I beat it and finally get a straight back.

When I signed out I looked at my workout summary and it seems I've never actually achieved my full programme! At best I've managed about 75% of what I'm supposed to do. Hey ho.

As a refreshing evening drink, I like these tonic waters - Waitrose sell them and the pretty bottles, as much as anything, make them feel like a treat < shallow >.

Bonsoir's cream looks worth a try - I'm currently weaning myself off aqueous cream having sworn by it as the only thing I could put on my skin for about the last decade. Now it seems it contains detergent and thins the skin. So I'm not using it, but I now have that tight, itchy feeling, burning chin and eyes and I'm fucked if I know what else to use.

oh yes indeed i did kerry. just on the last baby, aged 43 and 3/4

but developed post partum thyroid disease after second last pg (at 42) so didn't lose any weight from that pg in the 9 months between giving birth and conceiving next one. sigh. so had to lose teh weight from 2 pgs when the last baby stopped bf. not good for the gunt

i had always blamed the pg but having read this thread and reading similar stories from those whose youngest kids are teenagers , i wonder if its peri menopause and i hadn't noticed [ dense]

WWWY - im not an expert on gym stuff, but surely if you never finish your programme then its too hard for you? its not going to help your motivation. don't you need something tailored to you, esp if you have an injury?

i confess i only do classes and swimming as i i need a big scary wummin shouting at me from the front to make me do it

I'm afraid my programme is tailored to me, Kristina - but since it's always the cross-trainer that foxes me, I should go back and ask for something that avoids anything strenuous it.

I think I just feel conspicuous and like a twat on it. I sometimes try classes but can't always trust the shouty woman to bear dodgy backs in mind, so I usually end up walking out.

How can you feel conspicuous on a cross trainer?! You just hold the handles and get going - am I missing something?

you need the shouty woman to come over at the beginning of each exercise and shows you how to modify it for any injuries / weaknesses you might have. and she should stand by you and check you are doing it right

i do body pump in a class of 16 people and in each exercise there is at least one person who is doing a modified version. you shoulnd't be made to feel its a big deal because its not

the classes i go to are almost all over 40s so its not very competitive and people are not embarassed to ask for help IYSWIM. it must be hard if they are all 21 and superfit

if you are not getting the professional advice / support in a class, i can see why you woudl walk out. you dont want to risk making your shoulder worse.

LOL

i have learned from the thread that its a gut that comes down to your . at least mine doesnt hang out the bottom of my mini skirt

What'swrong, the running sorts out the shoulder, believe me.
I have real neck anmd shoulder problems which started 6 years ago. Breastfeeding nearly finished me off.
The only thing that keeps it at bay is exercises a physio set for me (which I do every day) and running/weights.

As I am in the gym every day at the moment (on holiday) I am pain free. it is worth going for that alone.

It's not an injury as such, it's scoliosis. I did used to run 3 times a week, kept it up for about 4 months, but it made no difference. Maybe I should perservere longer.

How can you not feel conspicuous on a cross-trainer? Ungainly posture, arms pumping, legs trying to keep up. < Ladylike >

Just got back with my new nike walking shoes I hope I can translate teh love for them into some actual activity! Am obsessed with gunt spotting when out now luckily have huge dark glasses on or could receive a punch on the nose!

Swedes2 - yes shaping brows is definitely a good idea - had it done in a salon and can now basically follow where it was done as the stragglers are easy to spot

someone on another thread, think they were a beauty therapist, mentioned using vaseline to encourage regrowth if brows are getting a bit sparse. Mine were sparse but with bits outside where I wanted.....hadn't heard about vaseline before though

and when I get the nerve up I'm going to try nordic walking as there's a group in the local park. I walk everywhere but nw works on upper body too apparently.

kerrymumbles - yes, am finding the odd word eludes me

on my shelf is a book called something like 100 simple ways to avoid alzheimers...just have to remember to read it, then remember what it said

I read somewhere a while ago that eating a few walnuts a day is very good, can't for the life of me remember what for but am doing it. we were getting a graze box, then decided to do it ourselves by buying bumper packs of nuts, dried fruit etc., so I have that instead of a biscuit when flagging mid morning