7 Things I Used to Be Obsessed With (That I’ve Happily Let Go of at 60)
I’ve been in the fitness industry for almost 40 years, which means I lived through every questionable idea the 80s and 90s handed us. Step aerobics in a thong leotard. SnackWell’s cookies by the sleeve. Sweating to burn off every bite.
I believed all of it. I taught some of it! And one by one, I’ve let it all go.
So here are 7 things I used to be completely obsessed with that have no place in my life at 60, and what I do instead. If you’re still carrying any of these around, consider this your permission slip to set them down.
1. Endless Cardio (In the Name of Skinny)
At 40, cardio was king and the goal was skinny, skinny, skinny. More miles, more classes, more burn, more everything. I watched that calorie counter like it was going to hand out a prize.
Now I know better. Muscle is what keeps you independent, mobile, and metabolically healthy as we age, and endless cardio doesn’t build it. Strength training does. I still love my cardio (walking is my favorite), but lifting comes first, and the goal isn’t shrinking anymore. It’s being strong enough to hoist my granddaughter, my suitcase, and my own body off the floor for the next 30 years.
Cardio is to live longer, strength training is to live stronger, and mobility training is to live pain-free. I wish someone had told 40-year-old me that skinny was never the prize.
2. Low-Fat Everything
Raise your hand if you lived through the fat-free era. Fat-free cookies, fat-free yogurt, fat-free salad dressing that tasted like regret.
Here’s what nobody told us: when they took out the fat, they filled the gap with sugar and refined carbs. We were never satisfied because we were basically eating dessert all day and calling it a diet. No wonder we were hungry an hour later.
Now healthy fats are a non-negotiable in my kitchen. Avocado, olive oil, nuts, salmon, whole eggs (yolk included, thank you very much). Fat keeps me full, supports my hormones, and makes food taste like food. The low-fat phase can stay in the 90s with my scrunchies.
3. Avoiding Salt
I spent years treating salt like the enemy, shaking my head at anyone who reached for the shaker.
Then perimenopause hit, and I was dragging through mornings I used to bounce through. Turns out my body was low on sodium (yes, really!). As an active woman who sweats through workouts and teaches classes every week, I actually needed more salt, not less. I add my favorite LMNT electrolytes in my water, and my energy came back.
One important note: if you have high blood pressure or your doctor has told you to limit sodium (some people are genetically salt-sensitive), follow that guidance. But for a lot of active midlife women, the decades-old fear of the salt shaker is doing more harm than good.
4. Skipping Rest Days
No rest days. That was the badge of honor. If I wasn’t sore, exhausted, and signed up for two classes back to back, I wasn’t trying hard enough.
What I know now: recovery isn’t lazy. It’s productive. Rest is when your muscles actually rebuild and your body cashes in on all that hard work. I take two full rest days a week now, and my workouts are better for it. My Oura Ring keeps me honest when I’m tempted to push through anyway.
Read this twice: the workout breaks you down, the rest builds you back up.
5. Sugar-Free Everything
Diet soda, sugar-free gum, those little pastel packets in everything. I thought I was being so good.
Meanwhile, the fake stuff was giving me headaches. Once I cut way back on artificial sweeteners, the headaches eased up, and food started tasting right again. These days I’d rather have a little real sugar and enjoy it than a chemical imitation that leaves me with a headache and a craving.
I keep an eye on added sugar (the American Heart Association suggests women cap it around 25 grams a day), but I don’t fear dessert. A real cookie, enjoyed at a table with people I love, beats a sugar-free anything eaten standing over the sink.
6. The Scale Being the End All, Be All
For years, the number on the scale decided what kind of day I was going to have. Up a pound? Bad day. Down a pound, and suddenly I was a wonderful person.
Nonsense.
Here’s what I tell every midlife woman I train: in menopause, your weight can swing 3 pounds in a single day from hormones, sodium, stress, and sleep. That daily number is measuring water and chaos, not your worth or even your progress.
I’d rather track things that mean something: how heavy I’m lifting, how my clothes fit, how I sleep, how much energy I have for my life. The scale gets a vote now, not a veto.
Use these 5 powerful ways to track fitness progress that don’t involve the scale.
7. Fashion Over Function
Younger me wore the cute shoes. The pointy, pinching, blister-making cute shoes, all day, because that’s what you did.
At 60, I’ve flipped it: function over fashion, and I’m not willing to be uncomfortable or do damage to my feet for a look. The best part? You don’t have to choose anymore. My closet is full of shoes that are comfy, not frumpy: cushioned walking shoes I can log miles in, supportive sandals that still look great with a sundress, sneakers that go with everything.
These are my favorite supportive comfortable sandals
These are the most comfortable walking shoes for women over 50
These are 4 shoes I’ve walked 20,000+ steps in without foot pain
Your feet have to carry you for decades. Dress them like you plan to keep using them.
What I’m Obsessed With Now
Protein at every meal. Lifting heavier than I did at 40. Seven-plus hours of sleep, walks around the lake, and shoes I never think about after I put them on. And time with the people I love, because that’s the obsession that actually pays off.
Moral of the story? Being obsessed isn’t the problem. I just spent too many years obsessed with the wrong things. If any of these still have a grip on you, start where you are and let one go this week. I’d start with the scale.
PS. If you liked this, I wrote a whole post on what I do differently at 60 vs. 40 as a trainer. It’s the longer version of this list, and it might be my favorite thing on the blog.