Ditching Diet Culture: A New Fitness Story for Gen X Women Over 50

Melanie Briony
Jun 28
2 min read

Why the Old Advice Doesn’t Work Anymore

Let’s be honest — Gen X women were raised in a diet culture storm.

Low-fat everything. 1,200-calorie meal plans. Weight Watchers and SlimFast. Endless messaging that thinner is better — no matter the cost.

It’s no surprise that many of us internalised the idea that we had to eat less, push harder, and shrink ourselves to be “healthy.”

But here’s the problem: That kind of thinking keeps us stuck in exhausting cycles — always starting over, always feeling like we’re failing, and never really trusting our bodies.

As someone who works with Gen X women in midlife, I see how deeply ingrained these beliefs still are. Many are caught in a loop of:

Bouncing between hard dieting and over-indulging
Using alcohol to cope with stress, overwhelm or disconnection
Believing cardio is the answer, and fearing strength training will make them “bulky”
Equating exercise with punishment, not empowerment
Thinking the harder they push, the better the results — even when it leads to burnout
And perhaps most of all: believing that exercise alone should lead to weight loss

Women over 50 with blond hair in the gym lifting red dumbbells

Here’s the truth:Exercise is powerful — but it’s not a magic weight-loss tool.

You can’t out-train a body that’s under-fueled, over-stressed, and sleep-deprived. Long-term change comes from consistent, sustainable shifts in nutrition, recovery, mindset, and lifestyle — not from another bootcamp or punishing workout plan.

When we cut calories too low, rely on high-intensity workouts, or treat exercise like a way to earn our food, we end up sabotaging the very progress we’re chasing.

And the real tragedy? We miss out on all the other gifts movement can bring: confidence, energy, strength, clarity, stress relief — and a better relationship with our body.