Anyone else stopping due to how aging losing weight is?!

[Hedgehogtimeagain]

I just wanted to see where everyone is drawing a line on taking wli (unless maintaining) as I have recently stopped after losing 2 stone.

I originally stopped in October last year at a bmi of 24.5 but then restarted in March as I had put on 2kgs, I feel in hindsight this was irrational.

I am now at a bmi of 24 and stopped a month ago as I felt it was really starting to age me. I’m now happy being between 24-25.5 and a size 12.

All the collagen in the world won’t prevent the loss of volume in the face that is associated with wli, and I look at photos 3 years ago and think how much better I looked with more padding in the face.

I just wondered how people are balancing losing weight and being at a lower bmi against the effect that it has on how you look? It’s been quite alarming in my case, and I don’t want to go down the route of fillers/ Botox but it’s that age old thing of solving one problem but creating another!

I am BMI 22 and still have a significant tummy pouch. It's a dilemma for me, if I lose any more to get rid of the tummy my face is going to look awful (also my legs and bum, which are respectively like sticks and non existent). I am so grateful to be at this weight and feel 30 years or more younger in my body but...

My neck looks really scraggy since loosing 2stone since May . I am in my 60s so this latest injection pen will be my last until after Christmas. I will then reassess. Am still overweight at 79kgs but happy with how I look.

My problem is that I was a skinny girl before menopause and I have this picture in my mind of how I looked and the kind of clothes I wore before then! I can wear those clothes again now but my face isn't the same!

Go on any mounjaro forums on Reddit, many many before and after pics, I do think it settles down, as said I had a little turkey neck and it’s tightened right up and disappeared, and any crepey skin on my body has gone, I think it just takes longer for your skin to shrink back.

there's no gurantee that you lose more weight you lose the tummy, tummy/midriff fat can be down to other things including stress and hormonal issues. Regular exercise will help and ultimatley that is what true health is, good nutritious diet, regular exercise and lower stress levels, not a specific number .

Not at current prices.

I think it is really sensible op that you can recognise where the negatives start to outweigh the benefits and that smaller is not always better.

I also think optimal BMI does seem to shift a little as we age. Without wanting to sound rude, I would have thought 26 was really quite heavy when in my twenties, but I look at friends now who in their mid to late forties are around 21 or 22 BMI and I do have to say I think they look older, more strained and less "glowing" than contemporaries around that 24-26 sort of range. And looking at my mum's friends, the less padded ones are not lasting longer or keeping better health than the slightly more filled out - and lots of studies support that. Obviously obesity is not healthy at any age, but I do think the whole thing is more nuanced than the closer to a bmi of 20 the better.

I think it depends, I think if you’re fit and toned, then it depends on body type, what is rh3 ideal body weight, and don’t believe bmi is the sharp tool you make it out to be, again I go back to the many before and afters on line, and I think it’s not just about bmi, but about muscle tone and definition, being strong, and often visible muscle tone and definition is better when a lower bmi, as it means lower body fat, and more visible muscle. Higher bmi often means higher body fat, and no visible muscle or tone.

i also think personal preference comes into it. And our feelings on our own weight, for example if someone is a bit chubby they may feel driven to argue that’s better, go on about things like being glowing, and if someone is fit and toned and at a lower BMI they personally may feel driven to argue that’s betters d focus on muscle and definition. I see a lot of people thinking they looked younger fatter, when I’ve never ever seen that, as the fat may stretch out the wrinkles, but that’s not remotely youthful/

I can say in my social circle and what I see on line, for me personally I think the 4o plus age group looks better when they are fit and toned. And I find when edging to over weight, that’s seldom the case, often there is a belly there which is ageing, or a flat or a bum that’s lacking definition.

however I do beleive once you get to about 70, then being at the upper end of a healthy bmi is better visibly as well as for health reasons.

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I definitely agree that BMI is not a sharp tool - and didn't mean to infer that.

For decades I was right at the bottom of healthy weight - and wasn't healthy with it, despite having quite a narrow frame. I'm very in favour of a very loose interpretation.

Nope, BMI is healthy down to 18.5 for adults under 65. Most people are much heavier than they need to be.

You sound like you're falling for (and reinforcing) the comments everyone who doesn't want you to lose any weight makes about how you'll end up looking awful. Most people look much better.

I think it's also if the weight comes off too fast.

Also, this isn't scientific at all, but I imagine as you lose weight like this, you actually need to shift your skincare regime. You're eating differently, exercising differently, different levels of hormones in your body etc, so I think a change in your skin and the need to manage it differently isn't strange. Perhaps go back to basics on that an dthink about what your problem areas are and then what skincare might be able to support you?

I have just started with a BMI of 31. I'm hoping to get to 24 - I'm aware that below that is better, technically, but I was that when I met DH and frankly, any thinner and I would have looked awful. I don't want to lose any more than that. To be honest, from a pure looks perspective, I suspect I'll be happy at 26BMI.

At 18.5 I had trouble with my circulation. I was constantly freezing in all but the hottest weather, and did not menstruate regularly. Pushing up over 20 fixed it like a magic wand.

Why would you look awful below a 24 bmi?

Thanks - it's interesting that a relatively small difference can make that much difference to how you feel and glad you worked it out.

You can probably tell I haven't myself got to 18.5 and should perhaps have said from what I've read this isn't too low. However, despite being just into healthy, I won't stop just into the top of the range, and definitely wouldn't have been ok a couple of points outside it!

I’m 58 and now have a bmi of 22. I believe I look so much better now! My face isn’t saggy.

I am certainly not skinny and have trained a lot all the way through losing so have a toned and fit body. My bp is normal, my asthma is under control and I am healthier than I have been in decades.

I just look drawn I think. Ask me again in 6 months when I'm closer to it and have a better sense now I'm 20 years older! But when I met DH I weighed 63kg (BMI 24) and if I say so myself, I looked pretty damn good and had quite a lot of muscle tone too. Much thinner and I'd have been a bit drawn. Although probably i could have lost another 2-4 kg without any huge difference in appearance.

I do remember though that at the time I remember reading that I should reall ybe 54kg and thinking, "no way do I want to lose another 10kg"

It hasn’t been aging at all for me. 50 years of age. Lost a stone. Healthy BMI. Never felt better.

Not aging for me, either. I am a short ‘apple’ and at BMI 25 -26 I still had a lot of visceral fat so not entirely convinced that a higher BMI is automatically better for more ‘mature’ ladies? I am 63 with a BMI of 22. My skin is glowing and relatively unlined for my age and neck is firm (largely due to genetics - thank you, dad!). I have been lifting (heavy for me ) weights and running so pre-MJ wobbly bits have firmed up and my very matronly B-Belly and uni-Bosem have disappeared which has taken years off my appearance.

I think it's just important to be responsive to how your body actually looks and feels, not just believe a number has it right for you.

I had quite toned muscle, so was maybe more like a 17 bmi in terms of actual fat.

I agree with this, I always think it’s the belly that’s ageing , often coupled with the matronly bosom on top of it. A large bust on its own isn’t ageing, ie if stomach is flat, but a large bust coupled with a big belly is what’s ageing.

people take in overall appearance, only we examine our own faces in isolation to the rest of us . But peiple take in body, hair, face, clothes, overall appearance. None of us are floating heads with just a face like we sometimes focus on in the mirror.

good hair, a flattering style, in good condition, good clothes, which are good quality and fitting well, and are current, rather than trendy, in colours that are complimentary, and also current, and often subtle make up that enhances and disguises any problem areas ie dark circles etc, and good eyebrows, not sparse or obviously drawn in and a fit and toned body is what’s youthful.

Conversely whats also ageing is a poor hair cut , poor condition, and or poor colour, dry or poor condition skin, ill fitting and unflattering clothes ie mountain warehouse (unless being worn specifically for out door activities) or the sort of frumpy fat face, sea salt type clothes with a big belly, a big bust and inadequate underwear. And a pair of sketchers to top it off.

its the whole thing. No one is sitting looking at your crows feet and ignoring the rest of you. And no matter how smooth your face, if the rest of you is not matching up, It is still ageing.

I would bet that muscle tone is the main difference between the women on here who feel good at healthy BMI and the women who don't feel they can go that low.

Because it's muscle gives a nice shape, so if you don't have much you're going to look and feel off without it, and probably want to keep more fat on to compensate.

I can't recommend weight training enough for anyone losing weight but especially 40+. It's a game changer.

I'm 53, have lost 22kg down to BMI of 24, still going on WLI alongside heavy weights at the gym. I've got a flat tummy, round bum, pretty much an ideal hourglass shape TBH, I feel very youthful.

Great post. (apart from the Skechers bit, I love my Skechers😄).

I look younger at BMI 20 than I did when overweight or obese. (Mixed ethnicity makes BMI 23 overweight for me.)

I prefer the health benefits of a healthy BMI to the "fewer wrinkles" of a more filled out face and heavier BMI. I'm not especially wrinkly though, but my neck has a bit more skin that didn't show the minor folds when I had more chins!

Not for me, I have to say. I lost 4 stone 8 years ago, was lifting and squatting heavy (Olympic lifting classes 3 times per week) and had the most muscle I'd even had. But even at a bmi of 23 didn't have a flat belly and it was starting to show on my face. Are you taller than average? I'd guess an extra few inches height makes everything look and feel better (I'm a short arse).

Yeah I am pretty tall, you're right that I'm probably lucky in that respect. More 'middle' for the fat to spread itself into before it pops out!