I raise my hand to admit wholeheartly that, I am struggling to maintain peak physical fitness
as I’ve aged.
But why the swift droop after 45 candles are blown out?
The main reason ageing can be so uncomfortable is that it is something we cannot control. Even with all the exercises, food awareness’s, potions, or cosmetics surgeries and in the world, you can’t escape it, and that’s scary for many.
One way to regain a sense of control is to learn what physiological changes you can expect. This can help you with body acceptance, but if you get this information from advertisements and media, you will be led down a false path that you can look 30-years-old forever, you just must spend the money. Try digging deeper to learn the truth about how your body will change as you experience the ageing process by reading evidence-based books. For example, middle age often brings a decrease in strength, coordination, reaction time, and sensory perception. None of this sounds fun but knowing that these changes are common can help you to normalize them for yourself instead of feeling as if you are ageing ‘poorly’.
I believe there are three reasons for the body changes – hormone levels, mindset, and motivation. We women have solidly evolved and at 45 years old we say – ‘it’s my time to shine and we lessen our care over what others think’. This mindset is empowering yet somewhat unmotivating unless harnessed with a new strength based fitness routine.
The evidence suggests the main reason for women is hormones in particular low estrogen levels. The most common cause of low estrogen is age. It’s natural for your hormone levels to fall as you get older and it is possible for your body to gain a little softness.
Stress may aggravate natural falls in estrogen during the menstrual cycle and reduce peak levels. The decreased estrogen levels in younger women and post-menopausal women result in decreased expansion of regulatory cells addition to estrogen, levels of other hormones produced by the ovaries—progesterone (another female hormone) and testosterone (a male androgen hormone produced at lower levels in women)—are also changing during your midlife years. The trick is to keep these hormones at a stable level.
How do you ensure that your body gets its requirement of estrogen?
There are two ways you can do it. One, by changing your lifestyle habits. Control stress, as stress causes an imbalance in estrogen levels. Strength training also helps as it increases the levels of estrogen (and testosterone too). And two, you can consume foods that increase estrogen levels. There are many foods that boost your estrogen naturally.
The foods that contain phytoestrogens, which are naturally occurring plant compounds that function in a similar way to estrogen. They are also found in some herbal remedies. Additionally, certain vitamins and minerals can help your body create or use estrogen more effectively. You can eat more foods that contain them.
- Add some linseed blend to your breakfast food. Linseed or flax seed Flax seeds are considered one of the best sources of estrogen and they occupy the top position in the list of foods containing phytoestrogens. Also called linseeds, these are said to contain three times more phytoestrogens than soybeans.
- Another one is sesame seeds or tahini and use it as a dipping sauce. You can also add them to your soup, salad, or stir-fried vegetables.
- Soy is another high-quality estrogen food as it contains phytoestrogens called isoflavones that affect the estrogen metabolism in the body. Tofu or Edamame are the pods that are produced by a soy plant that affect estrogen metabolism.
Natural Food Estrogen Booster – add if you are 40 plus.
-Tofu, Edamame, Tahini, Linseed mix (LSA) to your breakfast or salad meal.
The most important ingredients is mindset – Remember ‘What the Body is for!’
And that we are blessed to make it to middle age and to have lived life a million times over, likely experiencing numerous chapters, seasons, and iterations of themselves.
Take a moment to do a flashback-reel of your life. The people you’ve loved, the moments you have laughed, the moments you have cried or fought or stormed off, the victories you have celebrated, the places you have lived, the cars you have rocked out to, and what songs were blasting through their radios.
None of those moments would have been possible without your body. Your body has carried every version of you that has existed through every trial and joy and struggle and success.
Maybe it bore your children or helped you rock them to sleep. Maybe it allowed you to kiss a significant other or hold a loved one. Your body has allowed you to endure and to overcome so much.
To help with body acceptance, instead of looking at ageing as the body breaking down, imagine it as the body is broken in. Your body is well-worn with experience, and that is something to be proud of. Your body has carried you through so much, and it is okay for it to look and feel like it!
You have the choice to stop the charade and refuse to fall into that trap any longer. Commit yourself to fight for body love and body acceptance no matter what time brings you or what anti-aging (again, not impossible!) culture tells you.
A few tips for practicing body acceptance versus body hate are to:
- Make a list of all your body has done and continues to do, for you.
- Surround yourself with people, also fighting the toxicity of anti-aging culture and embracing the beautiful sands of time.
- Dress in a way that makes you feel comfortable and fabulous!
- Remind yourself that beauty means so much more than external appearances.
- Write down things you love about yourself.
- Stop even using terms like “ageing gracefully” or “ageing poorly,” just saying ageing…or, don’t even say that because who cares!
- Critically view social messages and advertisements.
- Do not compare with young especially women who haven’t been/seen or experienced the 45 droops yet. They think they can still beat it. I know I did and I was wrong) Sorry lovely instagram girls but you won’t (…even if you own a gym) and started botox at 25 – you can’t. Please embrace your brain and heart as this is truly where you are fulfilled.
Sending love to your ageing body. I see you beautifully wrinkled, confidently walking with your cellulite thighs. Please lift upon your expression of experience and absorb the dimples of love from joyously sipping from the cup of gratitude.
Health and Happiness,
b.x