"I think way too many women go to the other extreme and think they have to give up everything they used to do just because they are older."

This is exactly what bothered me about the writer's attitude.

Tricia! Really?? I'm 42 and in better shape than ever! When I hit 50 I won't be fat of full of pains or wrinkles! The secret is to learn how to take care of yourself and that what the author is trying to do! We can eat well, exercise and have a better quality of life while aging!

Well, said, Taylor!

Kristine - very clever

I have been rereading a favourite book (Victoria Moran, Living a Charmed Life) about embracing the chapter of your life that you're in right now. Right now my chapter includes extra weight and a sick husbanc, but it also includes time at home, wonderful friends, beaut kids, YLF :), and knowing that appearance is a part of the much bigger package that makes us who we are.

ah, i was just thinking about the whole point is to enjoy fully the life that you have now because it is so fleeting. the end of my 20's are approaching, and like maya, there were certainly struggles but there were also amazing, amazing things that happened that i know i will not relive in my life. so savoring those moments are so incredibly important and worth it.

No, rute, that was my point! I felt like the writer was saying that it wasn't possible to look as good, or better, or feel as good or better in your 40s-50s than in your 20s. You and so many other women here are proof that that isn't true!

I wonder how old the writer of this article is - I would hazard a guess that she is not north of 35.

Love what Taylor said!

I checked out Kristine's link and found the author's blog-- http://shweeey.wordpress.com/about/

Maybe that's how 40+ looks to a twenty something? I wonder how she'll view her "advice" twenty or thirty years from now? Thanks, Kristine, checking out the author; it puts a different spin on the article for me.

Good lord! I cannot imagine who thought it was a good idea to have a twentysomething write this article! (Probably a thirtysomething editor!)

you've got to be kidding me! a 20 something wrote that article? How on earth does she have any clue what sex is like in "old age"?

I found her e-mail address on her blog and just e-mailed to ask her if she was the same Ashley who wrote the article... I'll let you know if I hear back from her.
But I don't know too many 50 year old Ashley's......

Oh.. Tricia! I understood now!! I agree!! It's possible! It's possible to look better!

Gah! Clearly written by someone who can't even begin to fathom that middle age is BETTER for many people than their 20s. And, come on: all of us are "aging," from the day we are born.

I'm with the camp that guesses the author's age as mid-20s. Give her 15 years, and then I'd like to know what she thinks . . .

It's actually pretty insulting. It's like a man giving a woman condescending advice about childbirth :).

Re. different things getting better in middle age: recent research suggests that in general, women actually gain in self-confidence, a sense of personal power, feelings of well-being and happiness with life, and adaptive coping strategies (e.g., humor) in middle age, compared to their younger selves.

Oh goodness! I just had a chance to read the article-how foolish the author sounds. I just turned 55 and wouldn't go back to 20 for anything. I heard when I turned 50 that a woman "becomes" herself during this decade and I know it has been true for me. The author gave some good advice, but nothing I haven't read many times before, and her condescending attitude is laughable. Someone else mentioned getting rid of your baby weight ASAP, and I agree with that. Joining Diet Center ( I don't even think those are around anymore!) was some of the best money I ever spent.

her blog doesn't seem like the blog of someone who writes for yahoo.

Well, I found the blog through Kristine's link which led to our Ashley's "professional" site http://ashleymacha.wordpress.com/ which gave this background along with links to her blog and other publications:

"Ashley Macha is a 20-something journalist and photographer with double bachelor’s degrees in Journalism and Nutrition Communication from Arizona State University.
Her most recent work has included a fellowship through Time Inc. at Health magazine in Birmingham, Alabama where she worked as an editorial fellow."

The Health online site is listed as the source of the Yahoo article...

Um, let's not take our rage out at the wrong person here. This girl is just doing her job. I doubt this article was her idea...

But, uh, she WROTE it! LOL

Now I understand now why the article seemed so strange. How sad that someone in her 20s views growing older as such a negative thing. And I know shes not alone in that. It's what TV etc. teaches.

Yes, she did write it because she was likely given it as an assignment. What was she supposed to do? Say no?

It's like saying a slender person can't write about diet tips or a rich person can't write about poverty, etc.

I uniformly hate advice and articles like this, but I think piling on to the author because of her age is misplaced.

She could have, you know, TALKED to some actual middle-aged women for starters instead of pulling those ridiculous conclusions out of, uh, thin air. (And yes, she did talk to one author of a book about over-50 beauty, but we don't know that woman's age either, for that matter.)

And she could definitely have not written in a voice that strongly implies that she is a member of the age group about which she writes. (E.g. "The rest of us need to invest in [Spanx, etc.].")

If a slender person wrote about diet tips, or a rich person wrote about poverty, and they demonstrated such colossal ignorance and stereotyping, I'd have the same reaction.

i agree, i think it's fine for her to write the article if she was assigned to it, but she needs to back it up with some sort of research; she hasn't experienced this age yet.

Maya, it's not piling on, it's just that when you are 20something trying to write about being middle aged - well let's just say it's easy to write something that will offend your middle aged audience, because stuff you say all the time and don't think about it because it's totally innocent from your point of view, will sound "off" to people who are actually middle aged, or will sound like a stereotype.

I knew she was young from her writing. It was a pretty logical guess, given what websites are paying writers these days. But that's another story