Life is a wonderful journey. It’s important to savour each segment as we travel along. Right? Todays segment up for discussion is that dreaded ‘Midlife’. “Well it doesn’t have to be” says Jayne Cox, The Body Image Expert. Say hi to Jayne from across the pond. She will show us how you can enjoy a fulfilling, meaningful life as you move toward and through mid-life. She says it can even be magical! Sounds good to me.

 

Body Image at Midlife!

by Jayne Cox 

 
It’s a fact that women struggle with how they look and it seems, for many, insecurities about body image increase with age. For some women it’s a battle to conform to social and personal expectations to be a certain size, shape or weight and for others it’s the visual signs of age that cause torment. Advertisements, features on TV and in glossy magazines apply steady and constant pressure for us to join the anti age revolution and put our hands in our pockets and try products and radical procedures that guarantee we’ll be more beautiful, successful and loved BUT only if we keep it up!

The truth is it can seem as if we are caught between a rock and hard place but I believe there’s far more to our marvellous midlife than weight, age and looks!

So what’s the alternative?

How about stepping back and really giving some thought to your life and how you really feel about yourself.  There are some simple things you can do to love your years, your body and your life!

 Midlife can be magical – let me prove it!

My Top 10 Tips…

1. Ditch the diet for life! It’s simple, feed yourself a varied diet, keep active and find professional support to STOP using food and start living.

2. Find a sensible and manageable beauty routine that specifically targets any problem areas.

3. Monitor your TV viewing, how much influence does TV have over your feelings about your body?

4. Do a life audit and check who your friends are. Negative friends encourage negative thinking and drain your positive reserves. Is it time to look at the company you keep?

5. Ask yourself ‘Do I feel fulfilled?’ if not what’s missing? There’s never been a better time to find something that really interests you, stimulates you and makes you feel fabulous! Boredom is a perfect breeding ground for body dissatisfaction.

6. Magazines can influence your thoughts about yourself, so how about picking a new magazine OR just walking on by!

7. Clear out the dated make up and clothes, invest in a few key seasonal pieces and take a make-up lesson or try a wardrobe detox.

8. Get outdoors and get active. If you love the gym great, if you don’t getting active outdoors is fantastic. Use a pedometer to chart your success. Bounce on a trampoline, help mind body and spirit with Yoga or Pilates perhaps find a walking buddy!

9. Throw a Beauty Brunch for your friends, pamper yourself with some beauty product samples or trial sizes and how about finding time to spend 30 minutes telling each other what is really fab about each other, you’ll all feel terrific!

         TEN!

How about looking at your career and your life, is it stale and are you ready for a change? Focus on what you can do, what is within your control and do it! Think outside the box, look beyond your numbers and fill your life with what you deserve and settle for nothing but the best for you and your life!

 YOU can Love your Years, Your Body and Your Life!

Bio:
Jayne has been in Private Practice for over a decade as an Eating Disorder Therapist and a Professional Coach and she has become known as The Body Image Expert, both in the UK and Worldwide.  Her specialities include over coming midlife eating disorders and diet addiction, creating midlife balance at home and in the workplace, finding spiritual fulfilment and discovering the fabulous you!. She is passionate and driven, motivating and inspiring midlife women to overcome their insecurities and to love their years, their bodies and their lives!
She is available for Specialist one to one Coaching face to face in the UK and Worldwide using Telephone, ichat or Skype
www.jaynecox.co.uk  You can also follow Jayne on Twitter @Loving_My-Years 

Susan Sommers is a Pilates instructor specializing in those 50+ in NYC