Body Image | Fab after Fifty | Information and inspiration for women over 50

How to be charismatic and not invisible over 50

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Article by Catherine Stothart A recent poll of my over-50 friends revealed that most of us had experienced feeling invisible. Growing up female, we get used to having attention (not always wanted) from others – wolf whistles, comments, glances in the street. As we get older, we notice that it is our daughters getting the attention, not us. And although this is natural, it can undermine how we feel about ourselves at a time when we may already feel vulnerable. However, we can also all think of older women who have confidence and charisma – public figures like Judi Dench, Sandi Toksvig, Julie Walters, Sue Barker, Tessa Jowell, Judy Murray, Kirsty Wark, and many more, plus the people we know personally. So being invisible...
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The Impact of Social Media and Self-Esteem

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When you think about social media and self-esteem, you may be thinking about adolescents and young adults. However, women over 45 are just as affected (if not more affected) by how others perceive them. According to one study on social media effects, just one hour per day on Facebook can lower your self-esteem score by almost six percent. Why? Because we are constantly comparing ourselves to other people. When we see that one of our old “friends” has the perfect husband, a beautiful house, and a wonderful job, while we are on our third marriage, suffering with our millionth horrible job, and living in a cramped apartment, it can be pretty hard on our self-esteem. But we do not realize that many people only post...
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Feeling shirty…What happened to my arms?

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Article by Juliet Young I’m feeling more than just shirty. I’m feeling decidedly irritated and maybe even a little cheesed off, as one online dictionary offered me as a quaint definition of this very old, very British adjective. Why? Shirts. My shirts. Hubby’s, which I very kindly iron every day, because I’m so damned nice and too damned rushed to do more than one at a time, don’t really bother me. They’re big, they’re cotton, they’re his. My shirts are another matter. Should I in fact actually be calling them blouses? Some of them do have cute little flowers, paisley pattern swirls, or small white polka dots printed upon them. On the polka-dotted one there are even a couple of stray...
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Why spend over £70,000 in a lifetime on beauty products? Because you’re worth it.

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Article by Beverley Harvey With the icing on her 72nd Birthday cake barely dry, Helen Mirren stunned fans and beauty industry insiders alike by claiming that using moisturiser “probably does f**k all”. The Oscar-winning actress commented while sitting on a L’Oreal panel in the South of France, where she was appearing in her official capacity as a brand ambassador. She went on to soften her remark somewhat by adding: “…but it just makes me feel better. I’ve always said to L’Oreal that I will only do what makes me feel better.” One can only imagine the collective cringe that must have rippled through L’Oreal’s panel at such a revelation. But as a woman of a certain age, what was your reaction? Mine was multi-tiered; my first thought was; ‘good on you,...
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Love the body you are in : 3 Steps to accepting the person you see in the mirror

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Article by Sidra Jafri My whole life I struggled with weight. I wasn’t obese, but I didn’t have a body which i believed to be perfect. I dreaded the thought of looking in the mirror and the idea of getting photographed gave me shivers. It was affecting all areas of my life as I had no confidence in myself. I spent a lot of time comparing my body with everyone else around me. Comparing myself made it even more challenging for me to love and accept my body. When I trained as a hypnotherapist, I became aware of the power of our mind and emotions over our bodies. I researched a lot on my relationship with food , weight and body. My breakthrough came when I started...
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How body confident are you over 50? : Body confidence comes at age 49

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Article by Ceri Wheeldon Does our body confidence increase as we get older? As the news that Gwyneth Paltrow feels more bikini-body confident at age 42 than she did 20 years ago, a JD Williams poll has found that women feel best about their bodies at age 49. The Facebook poll asked 2,000 women aged 50 and over when they felt their most confident on the beach and happy with their body and appearance. Like famous beach babes Cindy Crawford, Liz Hurley and Halle Berry, age 49 is the magic number when it comes to looking ship-shape in swimwear. Body confidence is not just for teens and women in their 20s Body confidence isn’t limited to teens and women in their twenties, but women in their late forties are embracing their bodies and...
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Happiness comes in all shapes, sizes and ages, says Dr Linda Papadopoulos

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Interview with Dr Linda Papadopoulos Nature takes its course, and we should not be thinking of ageing being the worst thing ever. In today’s society, far too much emphasis is often placed on how we look – we are bombarded with images suggesting that to be valued you need to appear young and pretty. How often do we convince ourselves that our lives will be transformed if we are thinner, prettier, have better skin, fewer wrinkles? Body image and ageing I asked Dr Linda Papadopoulos for her thoughts on body image and ageing. Firstly, says Linda, we should not be thinking of ageing as being a problem. Being less beautiful should not equal lower self esteem. Worrying about how we look is such a waste of energy. We should be embracing the stage...
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To have plastic surgery or not, that is the question….

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Article by Anne Elliott I am often asked what I think about using cosmetic surgery or supplements. My view on both of these things is quite straightforward. They are best used conservatively and at an appropriate time. For example, if you eat a good enough diet you shouldn’t really need supplements unless it is at specific time in your life when you need more than you can get in your daily diet i.e. folic acid during pregnancy or calcium during menopause. As to cosmetic surgery I think it also has a place, but it can be easily abused or used instead of trying to follow a good diet and exercise regime. Vulnerable to body image during menopause We are all vulnerable to body image at all...
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Is it our duty to cover up wrinkly upper arms and crepey cleavage? One reader’s thoughts….

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Article by Moy McGowan When an article on this site about ways to dress to cover crepey cleavage was picked up on twitter, one reader, Moy, was quick to respond- and I asked her to share her thoughts on the topic to promote discussion –and healthy debate! Women over 50: your wrinkly upper arms and crepe-y cleavages are disgusting. You should be ashamed to let anyone see them. It’s your duty to cover them up. Offensive? Absolutely. This is the unspoken notion behind the apparent consensus that women over a certain age should conceal the features that society has decreed are no longer beautiful. I get annoyed with articles which attempt to help us feel better about ourselves by advising us how to dress to hide our supposed flappy, wrinkly bits. While I will...
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3 Steps to Pain-Free Weight Loss and Healthy Body Image

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Article by Laura Fenamore What’s more painful than chronic physical pain? The pain that lives inside of us, that’s what. Can you imagine being 100 pounds overweight and living with all of the shame that goes along with that? Imagine the inability to buy a dress or the fear that goes with flying on an airplane at that size. Now, can you imagine losing all that weight and still coming up short? Still feeling deep inside that you are not good enough? Never believing for more than a few moments at a time, that you are beautiful and valuable? Body image is how we see ourselves from the inside out, and losing weight doesn’t necessarily change this view in any...
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How to be charismatic and not invisible over 50

Feeling shirty…What happened to my arms?

Why spend over £70,000 in a lifetime on beauty products? Because you’re worth it.

Love the body you are in : 3 Steps to accepting the person you see in the mirror

How body confident are you over 50? : Body confidence comes at age 49

Happiness comes in all shapes, sizes and ages, says Dr Linda Papadopoulos

To have plastic surgery or not, that is the question….

Is it our duty to cover up wrinkly upper arms and crepey cleavage? One reader’s thoughts….

3 Steps to Pain-Free Weight Loss and Healthy Body Image

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