It sure IS a lot easier to “look thin” than actually be lean and strong and that’s why we all love the new skinny jeans for us midlife women. I am definitely lucky because my thin and tall frame is deceiving and optics are in my favor. However, I was given a healthy dose of reality last Fall when my physician indicated that based on my body mass index I’m just almost “overweight”. One more pound and I’ve crossed the chasm from “healthy weight” to “overweight”. Of course, I noticed this last year when my jeans starting sliding down below my stomach to find my “new waist”. Hellooo droopy drawers!

Reality Check: Is the Blame All on Menopause?

Contrary to what you and I might think, menopause and hormonal changes can’t be the main culprit in mid-life weight gain Instead, the drop in estrogen redirects the process of fat storage in women from the hips to the abdomen, according to a review from the International Menopause Society published in the October 2012 issue of the journal Climateric. This change in the location of accumulating fat isn’t just cosmetic, or even an optical illusion. It also increases women’s risk of diabetes and heart disease. The reviewers further noted that, at midlife, women tend to gain an average of a pound a year, which they attributed to advancing age and environmental factors. Over time, these gains can add up to overweight and obesity, both of which are associated with health problems including depression, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Increase Your Metabolism – Strong is the New Thin!

This picture is a couple of years old but I just adore my friends at the Maritime Rowing Club for supporting each other in becoming strong, as we age together into our 50, 60s and 70s. The fact is, as we get older, we need fewer calories with a slow down in metabolism. So, you have to cut back your food intake by about 200 calories per day; this applies to men as well as women. So the other thing is that we need to increase our metabolism  - by building muscle!

Why?

You need to have muscle to get rid of fat. Fat only leaves the body if it is metabolized or burned. The prime motor for this process is our muscle system. If your muscle mass is low, then you burn less fat. If you want to lose weight for either health or aesthetic reasons, you cannot do this by isolated measures such as crash diets. If you lose weight just by dieting, your body will obtain its energy from the muscle in protein and you will lose muscle. Without the support of a strong muscular system, you’re putting yourself at risk for poor bone health, including osteoporosis. Many women don’t know that bone is crucial, not only for movement and stability, but for maintaining a balance of blood nutrients required for overall health as we age.

How to get strong and prevent osteoporosis. Poor bone health that leads to osteoporosis is preventable and, to some degree, reversible. Try incorporating strength training into your daily activities. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, diet and exercise both play a role. Here’s a few muscle-strengthening exercises include activities where you move your body, a weight or some other resistance against gravity. They are also known as resistance exercises and include:

• Lifting weights
• Using elastic exercise bands
• Using weight machines
• Lifting your own body weight
• Functional movements, such as standing and rising up on your toes

Yoga and Pilates can also improve strength, balance and flexibility but make sure you’re not at risk for fracture as the postures can be challenging.

Originally posted on Design the Second Half of Your Life.

By Lindsey Emery for Completely You –

In a bad mood? We’ve got a smile-inducing workout routine for you! Studies show that exercise really improves your mood. All you need is 10 or 20 minutes.

Got 10 Minutes? Kick Some Booty!

“If you’re in a bad, mad-at-the-world kind of mood, you need a workout that lets you blow off some steam, like boot camp,” says trainer Ellen Barrett, creator of the Barefoot Cardio DVD. Try doing each of these drills in two minutes or less, 20 reps each, alternating sides when appropriate.

Kick and clap:

1. Stand with feet together, arms by sides. Kick right leg in front of you and clap hands under thigh; release.

2. Kick left leg in front of you and clap hands under thigh.

Plyo skier squat:

1. Stand with feet slightly apart, elbows bent by sides, fisted hands in front of chest.

2. Squat, bending both knees 90 degrees, keeping knees behind toes, and hinge forward slightly from hips (as if skiing). Return to standing position and repeat.

3. On the 20th squat, jump straight up and land softly with knees slightly bent.

Alternating lunge lift:

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, arms by sides. Lunge left leg behind you — bending both knees 90 degrees — as you lift arms overhead, palms up.

2. Lower arms and step back to start. Switch legs and repeat.

Side kick:

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart and elbows bent at your sides, fisted hands in front of chest.

2. Lean torso slightly to left as you kick right leg straight out to side at hip level.

3. Return to center; switch legs and repeat.

Jumping jack:

1. You know the drill!

Got 20 Minutes? Unwind With Yoga
“When you’re feeling blue, sometimes all you need is an easy, stress-free workout to open things up,” says Barrett. Perform this whole sequence on one side, holding each pose for two minutes. Switch sides and repeat moves. Breathe evenly and calmly during each pose. A yoga mat is optional.

Seated hamstring stretch:

1. Sit on mat with legs crossed, back tall, and abs engaged.

2. Extend right leg diagonally in front of you (half-V) and bend left knee, bringing sole of left foot to inside of right thigh.

3. Place right palm on floor beside right hip and lean torso forward, reaching left hand to outside of right foot (or as far as you can without clutching the knee).

Reverse dancer stretch:

1. From the seated hamstring stretch, sit upright and swing left arm back over to left side. Plant palm on floor behind you, with your fingers pointing away from your body.

2. Inhale as you point right toes and reach right arm straight overhead, palm in. Then slowly lean back, pressing into left palm, as you lift hips off floor and reach right arm behind you, forming a line from right toes to right fingers.

3. Look up toward right elbow.

Simple twist:

1. From the reverse dancer stretch, exhale as you lower hips to the floor and sit upright.

2. Keeping left leg still, bend right knee and bring right leg over left leg, so right foot is beside left knee.

3. Place right palm on floor behind right hip, and inhale as you lengthen spine. Exhale as you twist torso to right, placing left elbow outside of right knee and looking over right shoulder.

Butterfly:

1. From the simple twist, rotate torso back to center and bring soles of feet together, bringing knees out to sides.

2. Grab feet with hands and hinge forward from hips, keeping your back straight.

3. Press knees toward the floor.

Straddle bend:

1. From the butterfly, extend legs diagonally in front of you, forming a V.

2. Reach arms as far forward in center as possible. Bend knees slightly, if needed.

Like this workout routine? Talk about it below or connect with us @Completely_You

Lindsey Emery is a freelance writer and co-creator of TheFitTrip.com. Formerly the senior fitness editor of Fitness, she now contributes to SELF, SHAPE and Women’s Health. This is her first article appearing in Completely You.