shihansmurf
Black Belt
Also, fat is not automatically unattractive. Some of the most attractive women that I know and have known would be considered fat by most people, and at least two were definitely fat. At the same time, being thin does not automatically make one good looking either.
Lastly, as we age, it is more difficult to burn calories. For some women, menopause causes changes that make it impossible for them to be 'thin' afterward, even with a good diet and a lot of hard work. For people in general, as we age, our bodies not only burn calories less efficiently, but for us MA-ists, accumulated injuries can also make certain exercises less feasible. Not to mention arthritis and other maladies that make working out more challenging.
Really, it is important to be as healthy as you can be for the size that you are and then establish more specific goals from there.
Daniel
1. True. Scarlette Johansen springs to mind. The starved look may work for some but I'm not a fan. I like healthy.
2. Age and injuries do indeed factor into ones levels of fitness, but given the vast range of training option out there for low impact cardio I tend to think that if a person sets physical fitness as a priority then they will be able to attain it. Now a guy in his fourties most likely isn't going to be able to achieve the same type of results a a man in his twenties, that would require herculean effort and a peculiar combination of genetics so unlikely that its as close to impsooible as you can get, but they can still achieve very good results if they wish to. Guys like Randy Courture are the exception.
3. On your last point, I wholeheartedly agree. Well said.
Mark