ACTIVATE YOUR CORE!

What do you do when you're over 50 and you hear "activate your core!"?

THAT LITTLE VOICE

As I was taking my morning walk the other day, I could hear a little voice in my head saying "walking isn't enough - you should be activating your core while you're doing it". I looked down at my little squidgy pooch that was quietly minding its own business - carefully concealed in my tracksuit pants, and immediately thought "what core?" Somewhere along the way my core seems to have been lost and shows no imminent signs or reappearing.

ONCE UPON A TIME

I started off as a skinny kid and became a tall, slim teenager with no thought about diet or exercise - in fact I can't even remember either word entering my thoughts or hearing them spoken at all in the 1970's. We all just ate healthy (there was almost no take-away other than fish and chips) and we were reasonably active and just stayed trim without giving it a second thought.

Every Summer I lived in a bikini and never thought about sucking in my tummy - it just stayed where it belonged - I was more concerned with my less than ample cleavage than I ever was about my midline. I remember wearing mid drift tops and boob tubes (ahhh those 70's) and never worrying that my stomach was on display. Remember these?:


THEN ALONG CAME CHILDREN

Then along came children - BIG bouncing babies!! And although my body returned to pretty much the same size and weight, things seemed to have shifted around quite a bit. My pert boobs had become little ski slopes, my hips were wider and I had a little "pooch" (or mummy tummy - or whatever you want to call it) which I haven't managed to shift in the years since. It happily goes for walks with me, hangs around when I would rather it sucked in, and generally refuses to budge. Spanx hides it a bit but Spanx is an evil in itself that I would rather avoid if possible!

BEING A NOT-SO-YUMMY MUMMY

I found out about "your core" around the time that yummy mummies started to make an appearance. All these young women popped out babies and were sunning their flat abs in bikinis months later. Every Kardashian and would-be-if-they-could-be was magically wasp waisted within weeks of childbirth. We never had that pressure, but it's definitely all around me now and a constant niggle in the back of my mind. What if I'd put all the extra effort in 30 years ago? Would I look like a nymph now?

WHAT NOW?

I could address it by starting a full-on exercise program at the gym and hire a personal trainer for the other days. Or there's always liposuction - which is as unappealing as full blown exercise - (although I now work for a surgeon who includes liposuction in his operating repertoire, so I could probably get "mates rates"!).....Or I can choose to accept that a "pooch" is a trophy of middle aged mothers (except for a lucky or disciplined few) and get on with enjoying my life. 

I am a great believer in the motto "all things in moderation", which means I will never give up the occasional treat of chips, or chocolate, or cake, and I won't be taking up an expensive regular gym membership. And if that means I carry a little bit of softness on my midline, then it will give my grandbabies a comfy place to rest and I'm okay with that. Here's to self acceptance - long live the pooch!


Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. I am not a medical professional nor am I providing medical guidance. This post should not be taken as specific health advice. It’s a post that relates only to my own health.  If you have similar issues, I'd advise you to speak to your own Doctor or health professional.


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when activating your core really doesn't mean anything anymore

32 comments

  1. Fun post, Leanne. Yes, I also never gave a thought to weight loss. That was something old people and fat people did. I was neither -- so I carried on happily eating what I liked and continued to look slim. Oh the sadness of that moment of truth!

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    1. It's weird how it just creeps up on you and one day you realize that those clothes you've had for years just don't fit quite the same any more Shirley.....

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  2. Let me try again. I think there is too much focus on what we look like in our world and less on who we are inside.
    carol
    www.carolcassara.com

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    1. I completely agree Carol - I'm actually doing a post on that very subject next week because it is so hugely important.

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  3. Yes, me too - never had to think about my weight...until, well, now. And I do subscribe to the "everything in moderation" way of life. It really works!

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    1. Nothing like not denying yourself a treat or two Sheryl - I tried for a couple of months and it didn't help my weight - just made me feel sorry for myself!

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  4. Oh do I ever remember those tops. I was always tall and Twiggy skinny. What a shock when I stopped smoking, had gall bladder surgery, turned 50 and started menopause all in the same week and recovered 35 pounds heavier. Still fighting to lose 15 of those extra pounds.

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    1. Those last extra pounds are almost impossible to budge aren't they? I'm almost resigned to mine, but I'd love a magic cure - science is always coming up with something - once they cure cancer maybe they can work on menopause weight gain :)

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  5. Yep. Me and my pooch have gotten to be good friends. Sigh.

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    1. It's nice to know that we got them from the noble deed of motherhood but I wish it would find a new home!

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  6. If there's been one blessing from the Trump campaign [and it's hard to argue there has been one], it's the reaction to his comments on appearances--remember his Miss Piggy remarks? We are who we are and those who love us don't need us to be a Miss Universe. They just need us to be healthy. That's what the walking is about.

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    1. So true! I'm over the fixation on perfection that our world seems to have succumbed to - it's time we focused on healthy and happy isn't it?

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  7. Great post! What a beautiful picture of you. I thought is was a model. I too had a tube top (without much to fill it!). Lol

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    1. Unfortunately that's not me in the photo (although I was once that size and shape - and owned exactly that sort of tied midrift top!)

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  8. Down with Spanx. I love that your pooch hangs out with you. Almost like a friend. You wouldn't want to erase your friend, would you? Shifting is natural and it sounds like you are quite healthy. I am 50 pounds overweight...I could fit my 10 year old in my pooch so I need to address it a little more sternly...but your attitude is wonderful and refreshing.

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    1. Thanks Anna - mine could be the third baby I never had, but it is what it is and I'm not going to lose sleep over it at this stage of life!

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  9. Ah yes.... the core muscles! Not as taut as I used to be .... but my cleavage is better now... every cloud has a silver lining & all that! 😜

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    1. Yes Linda, my cleavage improved slightly (probably the extra few pounds!) and that helps compensate a little :)

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  10. Oh you had me at mate rates! My mind is reeling. Discounts on surgery. Tempting! But then but at least for now, I'll have to be content to squeeze it into Spanx when the dress or occasion dictates! My menopot says hello from LA!

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    1. Mine says 'Hi' back to yours Rosie - and I must admit that mates rates at the dentist I worked for were more useful than working for a surgeon - but who knows.......

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  11. I know about core Leanne - my PT gets great pleasure out of making sure I use mine! Yes everything in moderation. For me being active and fit is more than physical it helps my mental health - I'm not sure where I'd be without my PT sessions. My PT is more than a coach she is my friend so I'm lucky. Now what time is afternoon tea?

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    1. You are my role model for midlife fitness Sue and I envy the fact that you love it so much. If exercise and I were better friends I could have an extra scone with that afternoon tea :)

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  12. I was wondering where you were going with this post, Leanne, and was relieved to get to the self-acceptance at the end. I do the same thing. Ponder working on getting in better shape and then realizing that at this point in my life I can give up the concept of having a perfect body. Writer Ann Lamott wrote a wonderful essay about watching some teenagers in their bikinis, feeling bad about herself and then celebrating her cellulite by assigning affectionate names for each of her buttocks. It totally cracked me up when I read it and also gave me permission to do the same thing!

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    1. I think we need to take our whole body image thing a lot less seriously Molly - we all need to be healthy, but this myth of perfection is a killer - I feel so sorry for the young women having babies who don't "ping" back into shape straight afterwards - it must be so disheartening - and so unfair on them really.

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  13. Oh, yes, those taken-for-granted '70s tummies and thighs! I never got the boobs either. that's okay, less to sag! One day as I watched some young lovelies more endowed than I ever was bounce around, I thought, "Even the Roman Empire fell and someday those things will too!" ;-)

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    1. After seeing the women who come into my surgeon's office for breast reductions because of the toll they take on their bodies Lee, I am quite grateful that I missed the well endowed boat!

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  14. Yes, halter tops, tube tops and belly showing. And remember tying your shirts midway up so your belly could be seen----and we didn't even have six packs then. Now I've got a keg for a belly and I look for shirts that go down to my mid thigh.

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    1. Me too Jennifer - you wouldn't catch me in a midrift top for all the tea in China now days - but back in the good old days.....

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  15. Fortunately, the body changes following pregnancy coincide with not having the time or attention to give to caring that much anymore, so it works out!

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    1. That's true isn't it - we realize what's important and spending half your life trying to regain your waistline isn't one of the things on my list.

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  16. Those yummy mummys eat lettuce and a sprig of cabbage for lunch and a piece of asparagus and water for tea...Seriously I love my Mom tum It means I had two beautiful children. Why would I worry about it..Although 14 yrs after that episode, I got a bit more than mom tum so off to exercise I should go ad be more disciplined about what goes pas my pout!
    Thanks fr sharing at the Pit Stop!

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  17. Hell yes! I know I'll never be a stick figure, but as long as I'm healthy (I exercise between 3 and 5 days a week) and happy that's all that matters. Long live the love yourself!

    Sally @ Life Loving

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