10 Tips for Loving Your Body While Aging

Aging is natural; everybody goes through it. But loving your body at every age takes a certain skill, so here are some tips to help.

Experts say that our bodies reach their peak in both biological function and physical performance between ages twenty and thirty-five. But for many people, it’s difficult to love their bodies even then, so what happens when our bodies begin aging? How do we learn to love bodies that are no longer in their prime?

How Your Body Changes While Aging

Change is a very natural part of aging, as I’m sure you know. However, between the wrinkles, gray hair, and creaking joints, there’s much more going on inside your body. Your body, as it ages, will experience changes in

• muscle mass and strength,
• bone density,
• metabolism,
• hormones,
• skin,
• vision and hearing,
• digestion,
• cardiovascular health,
• brain function, and
• emotional well-being.

While many of these health changes are treatable with a healthy lifestyle, there are some things that you just can’t change about aging.

How to Love Your Body Even As It Ages

As explained above, change is natural, and there’s nothing wrong with an aging body. However, sometimes these changes are hard to accept. But for your mental health and life satisfaction, it’s important to love your body at every age. So here are some tips to help you appreciate the best parts of aging.

1. Practice Gratitude

Focus on the things your body can do rather than what it can’t. So you can’t run a marathon, but you can still go on a ten-mile hike. So you can’t play with kids on the floor without feeling sore the next day, but you can still take them on every ride at the amusement park. Express gratitude for your body’s strength, resilience, and the experiences it allows you to have.

2. Adopt a Holistic Approach

The completely holistic approach isn’t for everyone. But, there’s something to be said for adopting a healthier lifestyle. As the saying goes, “Eat your food like medicine or you will eat medicine like food.” Treat your body with care by nourishing it with healthy foods, staying active, getting enough rest, managing stress, and prioritizing self-care practices such as meditation or relaxation techniques.

3. Celebrate Your Body As It Is

Recognize that aging is a natural part of life and that beauty comes in all shapes, sizes, and ages. Challenge unrealistic beauty standards by embracing diversity and celebrating the wisdom that comes with age. Your hair isn’t just gray—it sparkles. The lines on your face make you look happier. Do what you need to do—buy clothes that make you feel attractive, dress up for photos, get a new haircut, go on dates—to make you appreciate your body as it currently is.

4. Shift Your Mindset

Instead of viewing wrinkles, gray hair, or other signs of aging as flaws, see them as symbols of a life well-lived and experiences gained. Embrace the changes as a reflection of your unique journey. As my own mom likes to say, each gray hair is just a sign of her sparkling personality.

5. Surround Yourself with Positive Influences

Surround yourself with people who uplift and support you, and limit exposure to media or social influences that perpetuate negative stereotypes about aging. Sure, there are bad things about aging that nobody wants to have happen to them, but they’re not avoidable. So don’t let yourself worry unnecessarily about what everyone tells you.

6. Practice Self-Compassion

Be kind to yourself and treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding you would offer to a loved one. It’s okay to feel sad about your changing health. But remember to acknowledge and accept your feelings about aging—without judgment. Nothing good will come of beating yourself up over something you can’t change. Instead, it’s much better to give yourself positive affirmations on the daily.

7. Focus on Inner Beauty

Aging bodies are beautiful, but it can be difficult for some to always recognize that beauty. If you’re struggling with your outer image, cultivate inner qualities such as kindness, compassion, and resilience, which become more valuable and attractive as you age.

8. Find Joy in New Experiences

As you’ve probably heard so many times, “I’m old, not dead.” Just because you’re growing older and have already experienced many things doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy new experiences. Stay curious and open to new hobbies and adventures—like yoga, tai chi, traveling, painting, and reading—that bring you joy and fulfillment regardless of your age.

9. Express Yourself Creatively

Explore creative outlets such as art, music, writing, or dance as a means of expressing yourself and connecting with your body in new ways. Our bodies change every year, so why don’t we try to rediscover it, to understand it? Creativity can be a powerful tool for self-expression and self-discovery.

10. Remember, You Are More Than Your Appearance

When all is said and done, the most important thing you should be reminding yourself daily is that your worth is not determined by your physical appearance. Focus on cultivating meaningful relationships, pursuing your passions, and living a fulfilling life beyond external appearances.

Find More Ways to Love Your Aging Body

^{Shaelyn Topolovec earned a BA in editing and publishing from BYU, worked on several online publications, and joined the Familius family. Shae is currently an editor and copywriter who lives in California’s Central Valley.}