53-Year-Old Woman Shares 3 Things She Wishes She Had Been Told Way Before She Turned 50
“You have a window of opportunity that can change your entire life.”
xavierarnau | Canva Pro “There’s things I wish I would’ve known,” 53-year-old nutritionist Manisha said in a TikTok video, while reflecting on her age. “It’s stuff that might’ve made it a little bit easier for me as I entered my 50s.”
From nutrition to health and general wellness, she said women have been sold a lie about the often dreaded decade, which creates barriers to their success. In response to the stigma and fear around women and aging, Manisha is trying to change the discourse around women turning fifty by sharing some insight she wishes others had shared with her.
Here are 3 things the 53-year-old woman wishes she’d been told before entering her 50s:
1. You’re not ‘too old’
Whether it’s a long-term goal, a new relationship, or a career change, never let your age be the reason you choose not to pursue something. You’re never too old to live your best life — no matter what it looks like for you, there are ways to make it happen.
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“You’re not too old to start a new hobby,” Manisha said, “and you’re certainly not too old to leave that [bad] relationship or toxic marriage that you might be in.”
Consider your 50s a transitional time, where you can both revisit and restructure your life to better suit your changing needs, wants, and goals. If that means revisiting the marriage you’ve been in for decades and ultimately changing your mind about staying, then so be it.
More people are divorcing in their 50s today than ever before — as more empowered people step away from societal obligations and embrace happiness and individuality.
2. It’s not your age keeping you from losing weight and staying ‘healthy’
“It’s not because you’re in your 40s that you’re struggling to lose weight,” Manisha said. “It’s still relatively easy for you. It’s like you telling someone in their 30s that it’s easy for them now that you’re in your 40s.”
While age-specific characteristics like menopause might change your body, ultimately, the reason why many people gain weight or struggle to lose it is their lifestyle.
Whether it’s getting less sleep, experiencing more stress, being less active, or sacrificing areas of your diet and nutrition, it’s not simply age that makes it hard to lose weight, so don’t “give up” on your goals because of that stereotype.
3. You have the power to reduce your risk for illness.
"You have the opportunity to reduce your risk of so many types of illnesses, such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, osteoporosis… all of which will lead you to live a healthier, happier lifestyle,” Manisha said, “and you can grow old and enjoy it.”
Instead of indulging the stigma that older people are less capable of fostering a healthy lifestyle, rewrite your own script. Heart health studies from the National Institute of Aging suggest that reducing stress, prioritizing a better diet, and maintaining a “healthy” lifestyle of movement can lower your risk of heart disease.
Of course, you might not be capable of, or even interested in, doing the same workout routine or eating the same way that you did a few decades ago, but that doesn’t mean it’s not okay to restructure it to better suit you now.
That’s what your 50s are all about. It’s a time to restructure, reconsider, and recraft your routine, lifestyle, mindset, and goals to help support you through the next few decades of your life. You deserve to show up for yourself, even if that means getting vulnerable about what you truly need.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories