Body Wisdom: Why (Trust Me) You'd Rather be Strong than Skinny

How are you feeling these days about your body?

If you're like me, you might be wondering why your butt cleavage looks a little tired or noticing a little more give in the skin around your armpits, or asking why are my jeans squeezing me in new places? And that's just my list.

If you're like a lot of women, you've probably got your own. And look, I am a huge fan of body positivity. The last thing we need as women is to feel more guilt and shame about our appearance. But I don't think we do ourselves any favors when we decide these thoughts are forbidden. You're human and getting older every day; some days you're going to have unhealthy thoughts about your body. The key is notice them so they do not become the narrative. Shutting the thoughts down without conversation or reflection allows them gather force behind the locked door. And you know what eventually happens next, right? They break out and sabotage your plans to eat more fiber and less french fries. They become the reason you don't take the walk, or worse, overexercise and skip meals. But here's the thing: we're old enough now to make peace with our bodies—to, at last, become friends.

Side note: Am I the only one who wants to go back and splash my 16-year-old self with a cold glass of water and say snap out of it and you look amazing! I still remember the beach trip with my girlfriends, where we all lined up in bikinis and sucked it in for a photo. And I was a very small, athletic teenager still reaching for the elusive 'perfect' body. Lord, we really can't spend a lifetime beating ourselves up.

But you know what's one of the most underrated aspects of getting older? Wisdom! And that means we can break that cycle and change our focus from the vanity of our appearance to the health and wellness benefits associated with movement, vitality and the focus of today's episode, strength.

Body Wisdom for the Ages

So a changing body, a lot of it is just how it is. If we are lucky, we will get old before we die. Some of these changes, especially when it comes to muscle loss and the consequences associated with it, can be thwarted, and there's good reason to launch your own thwart down.

Did you know that muscle mass peaks in our thirties and then it begins to decline? Muscle loss known as sarcopenia affects 45% of older Americans and is especially prevalent in women.

So beyond our mixed feelings about our beautiful aging bodies, there are real consequences to letting gravity have its way with us. Adults experiencing muscle loss feel weak and lose stamina. You become more prone to injury too, and not just from falling, but from enjoying the things you love, like running, skiing, dancing, gardening, or playing with your now or future grandkids.

The good news is there is something you can do about this and the benefits go beyond more muscle tone. Building muscle through strength training or resistance training has vast benefits, including some of the top complaints for women as they age, like the need to decrease stress, boost your body image, increase your confidence, and fit into your favorite clothes.

Learn About it from an Expert

In my recent podcast, Body Wisdom: Why (Trust Me) You'd Rather be Strong than Skinny, I interview a truly remarkable woman.

Kim Rahir is a health and wellness coach who helps women in midlife deal with a host of health symptoms by building strength and muscle. She is one of the most surprising European masters weightlifting champions you'll ever meet. Winning her first competition at age 60. She also has a personal story that will inspire your socks off.

When Kim was 45 and raising three children and working as an international journalist, she received a life-changing diagnosis. Inside the episode, Kim shares her own health journey and how she came to accept her MS diagnosis, but not what she calls "living her life as a sick person." Her strength training regiment did more than help Kim manage her symptoms. In her story, she'll share how it helped her recover and even shock her doctors with her results.

If you've already heard about resistance training and have been wanting to add it to your life, this episode is for you.

If building muscle after your thirties is something you've never thought about, this episode is for you.

And if you're like, where would I even start? Or I don't want to look like a bodybuilder, Victoria! Girl, I've got you covered.

Find this episode on your favorite platform or go here to listen. I know your'e going to love Kim as much as I do, and get some amazing tips on how to integrate strength training into your life no matter where you're at today.