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Original poster

50 years old and fed up of trying to look nice :(

318 replies

RoyCroppersOldBag · 17/09/2014 10:09

Why is it all so hard now ?? 50 years old and post menopause and I'm so fed up of looking crap all the time - it just seems so much hard work to even just look reasonable :(

When I was younger any old skincare, makeup and shampoo seemed to work, slapped it on and I looked good(ish) NOW I buy good stuff and spend twice as long getting reading to just look vaguely passable!! I'm totally fed up and feel and look awful. Should I just accept it or carry on fighting a battle I don't seem to be winning?

Thanks for reading this far - rant over :)

OP posts:
minkah · 18/09/2014 13:58

I think there's something about Leptins we should know.

So it's grains, not just wheat.

Do you know about leptins, pinfrocks?

AgathaF · 18/09/2014 13:59

What an interesting thread. The thing I really agree with is the lack of decent clothes on the high street (well, in our high street anyway), so pretty much all clothes are from the internet.

A few people have mentioned dyed hair looking dry or flat. I started using henna a few years ago and the change in my hair from using regular dye was immense. Anyone who is red or reddish brown and not getting on with hair dye should give it a go.

Also recommend fillers - just brilliant if well done.

I agree also about exercise. I joined a gym 6 months ago (and actually make myself go five times a week this time Grin). I feel so much better for it - more energetic, less achey, much less cellulite which was an unexpected bonus. I'm hoping the backs of my arms might improve soon, although that appears to be a very slow change!

minkah · 18/09/2014 14:02

Do agree with dyed hair looking lack lustre. And the grey parting isn't a bonus either.

I think henna can be for dark hair too.

pinkfrocks · 18/09/2014 14:07

Do you mean lectins?

If you do, they are found in lots of foods.

They can cause food poisoning.

More about them here if you really want to know.
BMJ British Medical Journal

pinkfrocks · 18/09/2014 14:10

you can even have another link

Lectins

this is really about the advantages of the Paleo diet if you get as far as the end of the page.

noddyholder · 18/09/2014 14:12

Low carb makes a massive difference to my shape and mood skin etc. And it happens quite fast

minkah · 18/09/2014 14:14

Pin frocks, yes, lectins.
wellnessmama.com/575/how-grains-are-killing-you-slowly/

pinkfrocks · 18/09/2014 14:22

I prefer to read about things like this on academic and properly researched sites where you can read the actual scientific papers .

As far as I can see, this site is a blog from someone in the US who doesn't have any qualifications....

pinkfrocks · 18/09/2014 14:24

ps

I don't know if the phytic acid stuff is relevant because that's something that needs research but all she is saying is that too many carbs are bad for you - which is what the Paleo diet is about- and yes, that has some truth in it because refined carbs do make the body push out more insulin and eventually this will lead to obesity and / or diabetes.

polyhymnia · 18/09/2014 14:37

pinkfrocks just to say I agree 100%. Only proper scientific studies in reputable peer reviewed journals are worth considering. Not random blogs

minkah · 18/09/2014 14:40

Are there blogs which aren't random, Polyhymnia?

Nancy66 · 18/09/2014 14:40

this is just people of a similar age passing on tips though!

My stomach is flatter when I don't eat what - but other carbs don't really have any effect.

noddyholder · 18/09/2014 14:48

I prefer friendly passing on of tips to scientific data tbh Life is serious enough and I have so many dealings with doctors etc irl that I don't want any more data. Carbs bloat me immediately and cause very rapid weight gain if I have a spree of them

IrishBloodEnglishHeart · 18/09/2014 14:58

I also find I lose a bit of tummy bulge when I don't eat wheat. I read Patrick Holford's Low GL book in 2009 and have eaten Low GL since then. In all that time I have never gained back the weight I lost by adopting this approach to eating (2 stone). This is in stark contrast to those times when I have gone to Weight Watchers and Slimming World and seen the weight pile back.

MillyDots · 18/09/2014 15:01

I choose to never be a sheep and follow the herd in anyway. I research what I want to know myself from varied sources. Science doesn't mean an awful lot to me, it can change over night if a new discovery is found. There is so much that the powers that be don't want us to know. To just only believe what science tells us a bit naive in my opinion.

pinkfrocks · 18/09/2014 15:05

Thanks polyhymnia

I'm a bit of an 'expert layman' on some food topics only because I've had intolerances for years and done quite a bit of reading online and also through consultations in the past with a dr - a Professor of Immunology whose expert area is food.

I get a bit annoyed when people try to make money out of more gullible readers by writing blogs that are sometimes pseudoscience.

Google Scholar will often link to research papers that are worth reading.

There are a lot of 'drs ' out there too who have jumped on the nutritional band wagon who are not in fact medical drs at all, but have a PhD in embroidery or something ( joke) and become 'media' drs on diet.

Just my little bug-bear.

As you were and sorry for the serious hijack!

pinkfrocks · 18/09/2014 15:06

To just only believe what science tells us a bit naive in my opinion.
so what else ought we to believe?

MillyDots · 18/09/2014 15:11

Pink your posts imply that you believe nothing unless it has scientific studies.

polyhymnia · 18/09/2014 15:19

Right on, pinkfrocks.

As for the opinion that 'science doesn't mean a lot to me', it's a free country but can only be grateful for the sake of human health and progress that it's not a generally accepted view.

pinkfrocks · 18/09/2014 15:29

well I assume you believe in pink unicorns Milly because as far as I know they've never been scientifically proven.

ErrolTheDragon · 18/09/2014 15:36

It's invisible pink unicorns which have not been scientifically disproven and now we're straying into philosophy Grin

pinkfrocks · 18/09/2014 15:37

I am sure I saw one flying past my window just now. or maybe not- because they are invisible, as you say.

MillyDots · 18/09/2014 15:38

poly if that is your view and belief and it makes you happy then that is fine. I prefer to be more open minded and not presume everything else is " pseudoscience".

pinkfrocks · 18/09/2014 15:46

Errol How to dress over 50 is a very philosophical topic.

to henna or not to henna, to exercise or not to exercise, to take up arms against a sea of polyester in the shops....

pinkfrocks · 18/09/2014 15:51

Milly science has made a lot of people very happy because without it they'd be dead.

Believing in something that is not scientifically proven is 'faith'. If you have faith in things you read that are not proven then that's fine - but if you are really ill one day maybe science not faith will be the answer.