I now weigh less than I did at 23. But I seem to be slightly bigger around the waist. Is there a case for actually weighing LESS now than when young and fit?

Lots of people who lose weight are smaller now than when they were young, especially if they had weight to lose as a youngster. Were you young and fit at 23? Or did you have weight to lose? If you were fit, likely the extra weight at 23 is muscle because we are just naturally way more active in our youth than in our 50s. And at 23, we still have a bit of the effects of the youth growth hormone coursing through our veins.

Well, you must be pretty slender, at 5'7", and 136#. But our bodies change their shape as we age.

I always had small breasts and big thighs. Now that I've finally gotten back to my mid 40s weight, the top is bigger, the waist is bigger, but the thighs are actually more slender than they've ever been. And I mean, EVER, even at 129# in my teens and late 30's.

If you've had kids, bigger waist. If you haven't, but you lost a lot of abdominal and lower back weight, bigger waist, as the skin that covered that fat sort of slides down and lands on top of your hip bones. I KNOW you know what I mean, right?

Congratulations on your weight loss, and MAYBE the skin will start to tighten a bit. But, as everything else, it takes longer as we age.

I was slim at the age of 23, so I find myself surprised that I weigh about 5 lbs less now than I did then. Or maybe it is my scales!

I am 67 years old and my waist has definitely thickened with age relative to the rest of my body. I weigh about what I did in my early 20's. slightly more than I did when I was 16. We get old, our bodies change. It's called aging and it happens to all of us. There's actually a case for weighing more when you're older than when you were younger. Some people believe it confers some protection if you become seriously ill.

Jean

Even as an overweight 20-something, I always had a nice waist ratio -- at least 10" different than my chest and hips. Too bad back then, it wasn't appreciated like it is now.

But as the years have gone on, my waist got proportionately larger, and apparently that was a sign of my increasing insulin resistance.

I think the current thinking is that waist circumference is one of the best markers for health, and your waist should be half your height.

1. you have lost muscle over the years. muscle takes up a very small fraction of the space fat takes up, pound for pound.
google fat versus muscle to see a visual comparison.

2. when estrogen plummets after menopause, women's waists expand. you know how women tend to be more pear shapes and men apples? women become apples when that hormone shift happens.

3. you have likely lost some bone mass as well (most people are no longer accruing mass by the age of 30.....as at 56, you most likely are losing some. most people have accrued enough for life, so this isn't necessarily a problem. it is only problematic f not enough was accrued or it drops a fast pace).

I notice that meno is changing my body a lot. Not in good ways either! :-)

Are you sure it's not just excess skin around your middle from being overweight?
I am 58 and weigh less now than when i was a fit 23, as well. I feel a bit "pouchy" in my waist, but excercising and time is starting to tighten my muscles up and the excess folds seem to be dissappearing. My top weight was only about 160, though, so I did not have an excessive amount of stretched skin.

I'm getting fluffier, which is not a good thing. I am finding that at the same weight I take up more space. Bad, bad, bad.

without seeing you in person or knowing your exact age, i would guess that this is a combo of bone loss and decreased muscle mass.

two women of the same height/weight/build/shape.....will have different sizes if one woman is 25 and one is 65.
the younger woman should be heavier.
life is really unfair

Thanks everyone! It makes some sense now. I could actually stand to lose another 3 - 5 kilos but then my nice vintage dress would be too baggy. And I couldn't have that!