Do you think your body shape changes every few years

[blueberry2310]

Just that really. I've just turned 40 and I don't think I'm particularly heavier than I've been in the last 10 years but I feel that my body shape has changed a few times in that decade. Clothes that looked good two years ago, for example now don't look so good and I have to dress for a slightly different shape.

Interested to hear what others think it is this all in my mind?

Not "every few years" no.

But shapes do change as you age, and/or if you have children, and/or if you gain weight and lose it again you won't necessarily end up the shape you were originally.

No, it doesn't change every few years in my experience. However weight can change, you can lose or gain muscle definition or replace muscle with fat and this is what changes body shape.

Mine certainly has, since my child I have a lot more weight around my middle and clothes that I used to be able to wear I couldn't even consider now. I think it's part of getting older and if you've had a child you may be more likely to be carrying extra weight (massive generalisation I know) x

Maybe not every few years but over time, definitely, particularly after pregnancy and around the menopause and probably beyond that too.

In my teens and twenties, I was straight up and down - no boobs,no waist, no arse. By my forties I was still flat chested (pregnancy/breast feeding time aside) but distinctly pear shaped. At 61, I'm only 2 or 3 lbs heavier than I was at 40 and yet I'm an F cup and, for now at least, I have a waist. In fact I'm virtually hourglass, albeit a rather saggy one.

I think a lot of women get broader as they age. Not actually fatter, but almost as if their hips and bum spread and flatten.

I’m not sure if that’s a biological thing or just my imagination, though!

Clothes that looked good two years ago, for example now don't look so good

Over the time period you're suggesting I'd say that is just fashion. Longer term we tend to put on weight and lose muscle mass which affects our posture but that is not inevitable.

I’m not sure if that’s a biological thing or just my imagination, though!

No, it does happen, but I think it's a deterioration of muscle tone and definition. It also happens to men, it's not gender specific. Becoming more sedentary with age. Where women/men stay very active, gym, tennis, running, horse riding, whatever, it doesn't tend to happen. I'm not talking when you're very elderly, but there is no biological reason for it to happen in your fifties and sixties, it's lifestyle changes slowly over time which enable muscle loss.

I have been pretty much the same shape and size all my adult life excep for my boobs, which sadly deflated after having dc....

I agree with bluntness. Good diet and moderate exercise is key. The middle age spread and flabbiness is not inevitable!

But the way I dress has changed a bit.

Mine changed at obvious times such as child birth. But agree with Bluntness, with regular working out and not over eating, you can stay the same or get back in shape quickly. That is assuming you don't have any health problems developing such as thyroid issues and the like.

I can't agree. I'm reasonably fit and, if I stay off the cake for a couple of weeks, I can get back to my pre menopause weight fairly easily - it's only a few pounds less. But I'll never get my old shape back. We don't all change in the same way and I don't believe there's a standard middle aged body, but change we do, in my opinion. However I'm thinking post menopause rather than 30s/40s so maybe that's why we disagree.

I think there are enough women in the public eye who are Post menopausal who are not a different shape to their younger selves. Some even look in better shape.

I don't think it's simply about diet or weight, but it's about maintaining a strict exercise regime. Is it easy, no. But I won't agree it's inevitable to change shape noticeably. There are too many women who are living proof otherwise.

Yes possibly Flo, I'm 40's. I have friends in their 60's who have to eat a lot less than they did even 10 years previously. I suppose skin changes and becomes loser, so fat under skin hangs differently. Even ex-athletes can't maintain the same shape as they get older.

The tendency for fat to be stored around the midsection increases as we age particularly if we are sedentary so if you have any fat the older you are the more likely it is to be around your middle.
It's not inevitable but the modern lifestyle of unhealthy diet and very little activity does tend to promote a body shape with a fat torso and thin arms and legs

But a lot of those women in the public eye will have had surgical help, which I have nothing against by the way, but a bit of a nip and tuck, some lipo, done extremely well, will make a huge difference

you lose about 5% muscle mass per decade. That's a lot. Muscle is a lod denser and therefore you will get wider and flabbier without changing your weight.

I do agree that as we age it takes a lot of effort to stay the shape that came naturally to us when younger.

I'm not sure I'd agree that many fit older women have had body surgery. Nip and tuck or lypo indicates there was excess weight there in the first place. For many of them that's not the case. Their faces maybe a different story.

But yes, what once came naturally takes a huge amount more effort. Professional athletes change also because as they age, their lifestyle changes. They are no longer professional and do not train or eat the same way as they did when it was their jobs.

I imagine those women in the public eye work insanely hard to retain their shape. I'm slightly older than Madonna and just reading about her exercise regime makes me want to go and lie down. And that's without factoring in any surgical help.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying you can't look good. Hell I'm the last person on here who would say that. But I do think many or most of us change, especially post menopause. I think it's why so many of us lose our way, style-wise in our fifties - your clothes don't look right any more and you don't know why.

However I realise the op's talking about turning 40.

Agree flo. The effort isn't to be underestimated. I think Madonna is a bit of an exception really, but I think for many of them it's a life of strict eating and exercising regime with little to no alcohol.

The question then is it worth it. However I think if you do maintain an exercise regime, it works wonders.

I bought our house off a woman in her mid sixties, I swear to god she had a body of someone a third of her age. She was in her exercise gear once. I remember looking at her and thinking, how the hell does her body look like that.

Mine changed after pregnancy. I was almost underweight before and was always the 'skinny' one in my friend-group (recovered ED). Now I am in my normal BMI range and have a pear-shape.

No I don't think it's worth it. I totally believe in exercise and eating well in order to stay healthy for as long as possible - that's really important. But trying to retain the body you had at 30 or even 40 - what's the point? I'd rather look for clothes that suit my new shape.

Also as you get older you're more likely to hit health problems that are treatable - but only with medication that changes your weight / body. So far I've been lucky in that respect but a lot of people aren't.

I imagine those women in the public eye work insanely hard to retain their shape
some people genuinely enjoy doing a lot of exercise and eating healthily, if it's your preferred lifestyle and you have the time then staying in shape post 50 is no hardship...you're just doing things that you enjoy anyway.

if you strength train you can postpone the onset and reduce the degree of muscle loss

My mum and MIL have both lost weight as they have aged but their bust sizes have increased massively. Both though complain of flatter bums.

I think your shape can change and it is hormonal. Peri menopause starts for many around 40.

Yes of course and I'm not diminishing the importance of exercise and eating well. I just think it's unwise to draw conclusions based on women who stay in the public eye beyond the menopause. They're the exception. How often do you watch an old film and tv drama and think, 'Whatever happened to her?'

Just one example: remember This Life in the late 90s? I still regularly see Andrew Lincoln, Jack Davenport and Jason Hughes on tv but I can't remember when I last saw Daniela Nardini (who at the time was hailed as the biggest talent or them all) or Amita Dhiri. They're the norm, I would say, not Madonna or Helen Mirren.

However I'm conscious we're going off track. The op was asking about body change around age 40 and I would say, not so much at that age but pregnancy, peri menopause, health or medication all start coming into play.

They're the norm, I would say, not Madonna or Helen Mirren
I agree....In order to stay in shape most people would need to exercise and eat healthily to a degree which the average or 'normal' person would consider onerous.
Very few people exercise consistently throughout their lives and of those hardly anyone would stick to the amount of strength training which would be necessary to maximise lean tissue.

Agree with a lot of this. Every ones body is different and I believe genetics play a large role in your body shape as well as exercise and diet. I'm fitter than I've ever been, I work out five times a week and eat well 90% of the time. I've always been very small but My rib cage is bigger and I feel my hips are wider than they've ever been.