Do I save my face or my figure?

[Thecatsbutler]

I lost a good bit of weight last year, which I was really happy about. I was back in my old clothes, looked and felt good (in clothes) My skin didn't do well with the weight loss though, I had turkey neck, jowls, looked older too. My body was very saggy but at least you can cover that up.
I have slowly gained some weight back which is not ideal, but something I'm confident I can get in top of again.
My face and neck look much better though with the extra weight. So I thinking, do I stay overweight to save my face or lose the weight for a better figure.
I'm postmenopausal so I know my skin will never bounce back. A
size 12-14= nice figure, saggy face/size 16=chubby,better face
If it was all going down, what would you save😱😁

Save your figure, it’s the healthier option.

Runners my age ( 50) can look gaunt if they take this too far - so l don’t recommend long distance.

But what if they love long distance running? Should women have to give up activities they love for fear they look 'gaunt'? Heaven forfend we ladies should 'take this too far' and do anything that might threaten our looks. This thread is depressing as.

Hmm I just Googled Melissa McCarthy, she's 51 and has a lovely youthful plump face but I actually like the sculpted look of an older face just as much. Obviously, I'm not talking skeletal and malnourished..

I've always had chubby cheeks despite being thin so I'm loving my new found cheekbones and hollower cheeks now I'm late forties.

I remember one of the mums at school returning after the summer break. She'd lost about a stone or so, looked great, happy and more confident, and received some compliments.

A couple of the mums made a few muttered comments about her looking "gaunt" "she's taken it too far now" and it just seemed like sour grapes really.

headnorth it might br depressing AF fir you. You might not mind. However it’s the style & beauty topic, which tends to lend itself to more things of a superficial nature!
Plus. It’s been proven that short sprints are much healthier on the joints.
I train with very heavy kettle bells 3 times a week. This covers the whole body with cardiovascular & resistance training without breaking down my body.

Age eventually shows on skin, unless you resort to surgery. I'm 65, and apparently look well for my age, but I would be delusionary if I claimed to look much younger. My BMI is at the top end of where I want it to be at 23, but I still walk daily (the dog needs exercise whatever the weather) and do Pilates twice weekly. I am starting to think I should do some weight-training too, but not quite sure where to start with that.

I'm facing the same thing.
I'm hoping as I'm relatively young, my skin will bounce back... if not, oh well. I'm not winning any beauty prizes either way.

@HeadNorth

Runners my age ( 50) can look gaunt if they take this too far - so l don’t recommend long distance.

But what if they love long distance running? Should women have to give up activities they love for fear they look 'gaunt'? Heaven forfend we ladies should 'take this too far' and do anything that might threaten our looks. This thread is depressing as.

This is me! 55 and a long distance runner. And I cycle which is probably even worse for the skin. But I like being fit and slim, BMI 19 - 20 max. I've just started HRT so it will be interesting to see if that helps with the wrinkles. I saw my brother for the first time in 2 years and he commented on them. But I'm not bothered, my DH likes my wrinkles and has a horror of any sign of Botox or fillers in women's faces. Must start doing some weight training too as it's so important to keep osteoporosis at bay. No idea what to do either!

I have no interest in being skinny either. I want to stay fit and able to get out of my chair without strain.
I’m an 8 / 10 & l have no idea how much l weigh? I’m very cut/ toned , so l am probably pretty heavy!

When I tried intermittent fasting my face became so small. Like a dot

Sorry but Are you sure you weren't just hallucinating from low blood sugar?

I do Crossrope weighted ropes. Heaviest is 2 lbs and hope to go up to 3 lbs shortly. Jump rope (skipping) is fun, improves coordination and builds muscle. A 30 minute workout can burn 400 calories.

@SmileyClare

When I tried intermittent fasting my face became so small. Like a dot

Sorry but Are you sure you weren't just hallucinating from low blood sugar?

😂 I wish. No, it was just totally the wrong way for me to eat! I have a small face & it’s easy for me to just end up being a nose if l don’t eat enough after training!

Fair enough. I'm still laughing I have visions of you looking in the mirror after training and saying Oh shit where's my face gone?

😂😂😂
That’s not too far off!

I think this is more sun damage than ageing but still happy to see this natural look rather than a plastic fake face and lips

Figure, without question. There is, after all, always the option of plastic surgery if you are desperate about your face.

Choose health. Exercise. I’m 53, size 8 and although my face isn’t perfect, I move a lot and eat healthily, so I look OK overall.

Even if there were no health considerations I'd still choose body because I'm more vain about how my clothes look than I am about my face. In any case I disagree that a fuller face is more youthful - mine certainly isn't.

I’d always go for body for health and aesthetic reasons. If we were static beings who didn’t move then face may win on the looks front. We don’t often see our own moving images just a reflection in the mirror.

IMO, what makes women appear youthful is how they move. So someone overweight huffing and puffing trying to get off the sofa or not being able to bend down to pick something up as their belly is in the way, breathless and sweating with exertion. That’s all really ageing.

Resistance training for functional fitness can really help - squats, lunges, deadlifts, single leg deadlifts with as much weight as you can manage.

IMO, what makes women appear youthful is how they move. So someone overweight huffing and puffing trying to get off the sofa or not being able to bend down to pick something up as their belly is in the way, breathless and sweating with exertion. That’s all really ageing.

Resistance training for functional fitness can really help - squats, lunges, deadlifts, single leg deadlifts with as much weight as you can manage.

^^ you can do all that resistance training and still have a belly and be over weight.