Age and my ever-worsening waist-hip ratio - a vent
So, what is supposed to be the healthiest waist/hip ratio? 0.7
What is supposedly the sexiest figure? A waist/hip ratio of 0.7.
What happens as you age? Apparently, your waist expands in comparison to your hips, until you approach 1:1. And that's if you're NOT overweight.
So, despite getting well into the normal BMI range for my height, I look like a guy with tits in a bikini, and the leaner I get, the more "straight up and down" I become, since there is fat left to lose on my butt and thighs, but not much more around my waist. My current measurements are 36/27.5/34.5. To conform to the 0.7 rule, I'd need a waist of 24" without losing another millimeter from my hips- clearly an impossibility.
I thought it was just me, and my bad genes. But ladies, take a look at the "hottest bikini bodies over 40" (title of a recent online article- one of many) - Courteney Cox, Demi Moore, Dara Torres all have a waist:hip ratio significantly greater than .7, if my eyes serve me, and they are about as lean as you can get. I'm not saying these women are unattractive by any stretch, just that it is a bit of a shock to see that I will never get back the narrow waist I had in my 20s, and it has nothing to do with being overweight.
Have any of the rest of you Over-40 Chicks noticed the same thing? Is anyone else as disappointed about this as I am? I know I should just get over it and be grateful that I've actually lost weight. But I really didn't think I'd end up looking like a linebacker at this weight.
What was your waist to hip ratio growing up???? My sister (who is 23) has always had a very straight up and down figure whereas I pretty consistently (even when I was obese) have a .7 (or close to it) waist to hip ratio. Right now I am 29/41 used to be 42/60 at my heaviest and in high school measurements were 25/36.
Having been overweight for years (up and down, but always overweight since at least age 30), I missed my slightly hourglass figure from my younger years and was looking forward to welcoming it back. I have noticed my upper body and hips slimming down....while my waist sits there and laughs at me. I know I have lost weight from the middle, but not nearly as much as other parts of my body. I'm sure it has to do with genetics, child bearing, etc., but that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it!
My waist/hip ratio has stayed the same throughout my teen/adult life and I'm rapidly approaching 38. Then again, I have not had children, nor have I gained or lost a significant amount of weight. These kinds of things make a difference I would imagine, though not to every body.
What I do note is that my thighs are smaller, my shoulders and back are wider, and my bottom is higher and rounder, so I look like an hourglass now instead of a slight pear. That's all due to weight lifting. I also noted in my 20s that doing the wrong kinds of exercises could increase the obliques and thereby thicken the waist. I avoid those mistakes now.
I'm old enough now that I have finally come to accept my body. And by that I mean that I accept that 1) I actually can change it considerably through strength training—it is not all about genetics in the end—2) there are some things only surgery can "change," and I'm not interested, and 3) there are some things there is no fix for whatsoever. I accept all of this. I may not have the body I'd choose had I a magic wand, but I do have a body I am proud of and know well, and I'm still amazed how many things that I thought I'd have to live with actually can be improved with hard work and a positive attitude. As I say, I believe there are some things for which the fix just isn't out there, but it's astounding how many things you really can control to one degree or another. That tickles me pink, and it's enough.
Last edited by Petite Powerhouse; 01-03-2011 at 06:23 PM.
I am straight up and down and have been my entire life. Tall, small boned, with zero waist/hips/butt. Always had a chest though, and gain in my upper body/torso area first.
Honestly, I don't really care that much. I figure that having the best body I can is what I CAN control. I can't control my genetics or general build and there are plenty of people built like me that have beautiful bodies.
Some arbitrary perfection measurements are not important to me.
I have had a child and it definitely took a long time for my shape to go back to normal, it's still pretty similar to what it used to be. Growing up my dad always told me I was lucky to have an hourglass shape. But guys have always liked my sister better, even when I was a size 2 and she was an 8. Lol.
Ratios? Ratios? I'm just happy to have a waist again. I mean a waist that is smaller than my bust or hips (I guess it always was but it sure didn't feel like it). At 53 I sure don't expect to have the form I had in my 20's, I don't have the hair or the knees (boy do I not have the knees) or the arrogance of my 20's either. But I'm wiser and kinder and happier. And I'm working hard on the healthier. I'll take all those over any ratio any time.
PP, thanks. As always, you have some useful insights. I actually thought about posting this thread to the weight training forum, because I'm suspicious that some of my "shape-shifting" may well be related to the New Rules of Lifting for Women book that I've been following religiously for months now. I think that the exercises have bulked up my obliques, like you wrote, as well as added inches to my lats, another area I could really live without getting any bigger. I guess I don't know enough about what exercises do what to know what I should avoid (except that I've stopped using the "lat bar" - duh). Besides doing fewer lateral flexion exercises on the bosu/swiss ball, what other exercises should I avoid?
Vladadog, I hear you- I really do. I know this is totally a vanity post, and there are plenty of people on this site who would kill to have my issues. I thought 2-3 times about posting this vent at all, but then decided if I can't be vain here of all places, then where? And it really HAS become a frustration to me. Just so you know- I am not working on perfection here. I struggle with chronic hip pain from a torn labrum (can't do much running as a result), a "dropped" bladder courtesy of my second pregnancy, and so much skin stretching from getting up to 170+ pounds during my 2nd and 3rd pregnancies that my belly now looks like a deflated balloon.
Tattoodles, my waist/hip ratio was always around the magic 0.7, even after my 3rd pregnancy, and even when I was at my heaviest non-pregnant weight. I've been gradually "straightening out" basically ONLY since I've been losing fat and gaining muscle on my current diet and exercise regimen. This is uncharted territory for me, but of course, I've also never been 45 before either, and I'm assuming that it's more due to age than diet. Maybe, if PetitePowerhouse is right, erroneously.
ok. i was just curious. my sister looks like a board. a board with a cute face and bubbly personality, but no curves at all. and she's always been like that.
neurodoc - I totally think your "vent" is appropriate for this site and hear where you're coming from. I wear men's Levi's because they fit me better than shapely lady jeans ever do. Lady jeans are made for someone more along that ideal ratio framework than I'll ever approach. I'm vain enough to wish for a different physique and realistic enough be thrilled with any improvements I can manage. My reply, while true, was also meant to be humourous because heck, if we can't find some silver lining in all this we're in for trouble....
Ahh, but the upside is for the first time in my life I can wear men's jeans ( a high school dream!). At age 51 I've purchased my first pair of Levis 505s size 32/32. Yes, I get annoyed when I see the tape measure when I measure my waist, but am enjoying seeing my figure in a mirror.
Excuse my crashing your sub-forum, but it must be said that it isn't always age. I'm 25 and my waist has been bigger than my hips since, well... my whole life.
Ratios? Ratios? I'm just happy to have a waist again. I mean a waist that is smaller than my bust or hips (I guess it always was but it sure didn't feel like it). At 53 I sure don't expect to have the form I had in my 20's, I don't have the hair or the knees (boy do I not have the knees) or the arrogance of my 20's either. But I'm wiser and kinder and happier. And I'm working hard on the healthier. I'll take all those over any ratio any time.
What a great post!! . I've heard 35 ins or less is healthy. I have a couple of inches to go.
Age and my ever-worsening waist-hip ratio - a vent
