This year I reached a milestone age, 55.  I’m half way to 60 and my body continues to change in ways I never imagined when I was 30 or 40.  The changes that have occurred are not significant, but impactful.  As an individual who has always been vigilant in being physical fit, this body change after reaching 50 is still shocking and upsetting. I try to determine what I can do to stop or at least change this metamorphosis my body is going through.

Today is about an honest conversation between my 40-year-old self and my 55-year-old self.  When I was 40 years old, I worked out every day religiously for an hour a day.  My body was in the best shape it has ever been in at age 40.  At age 40 I honestly thought “this is it, I will look like this forever.  I will feel like this forever.”  There were no aches and pains following a workout, there was only the gratification of building muscle.  Suddenly, I hit 50 and it all went to hell.  It’s time to do that check in with 40 year old me to see what the heck I was thinking.

Questions to my 40-year-old self:

55 year old me: What was your motivation to work out on a daily basis?

40 year old me: For me working out was my form of self-care.  I truly loved the feeling of achievement when I completed a workout.  I had six kids at home, a husband and four dogs that I had to keep up with, therefore it was important to stay healthy and physically fit.

55 year old me: Was weight gain or the distribution of your weight ever a concern for you?

40 year old me: For me weight gain was more of an issue for me because I struggled with being able to gain weight and keep it on.  So essentially, I had the opposite weight gain that most people go through.  My concern was around how do I gain weight.  Not once did I have the concern that I would gain weight and not know how to lose it.

55 year old me: What is the one thing you would like for your 55-year-old self to know regarding being and staying physically fit?

40 year old me: I would want my 55 year-old self to know, you are still in control.  Don’t stop working out on a daily basis and find the time for self-care. Being a woman in her 50s now there are those conversations that you need to have regarding your health, but you might avoid them.  There are important conversations you need to have with yourself.  If you are honest in those conversations with yourself you will find some key answers as to what you need to change that will benefit you.  You will also need to be accepting of your current physical condition in order to know how to make an adjustment that will make a world of difference.