Why Women Over 40 Need to Break Free from Diet Culture

Last week I declined being on a podcast because something about it didn’t align with me. But the topic did: women over 40 and diet culture.

I am 44. I had a child at 40. I’ve been an athlete since I was 14. And like many women, I’ve spent decades battling food, my body, and the constant noise of diet culture.

My journey started in high school when my mom told me losing ten pounds might make me a faster swimmer. That single comment launched years of restriction, secret eating, and shame. Later, I was labeled a “compulsive overeater” and thrown into a system that treated me like I was broken, while the real problem was the culture around me.

For years, every workout and every bite of food was about one thing: weight loss. The pressure to look like my naturally slim mother, the comparison, the belief that my body wasn’t right, it nearly consumed me. I punished my body instead of honoring it.

But here’s what I’ve learned: diet culture is a scam.

The weight loss industry thrives on convincing women they aren’t enough. They want us to shrink, to obsess, to believe that if we just buy the next program, pill, or plan, we’ll finally be worthy.

Here’s the truth:

-Diet culture isn’t about health. It’s about profit.
-It feeds us lies that thinness equals happiness, beauty, and success.
- It erases the reality of genetics, life stages, and individuality.And it tells women, especially women over 40, that we need to “get our bodies back,” as if motherhood and aging made us less valuable.

But we know better. Today, there are more first-time mothers over the age of 40 than ever before. 

• We don’t need to chase some younger version of ourselves. 

• We don’t need to “get our bodies back.” 

• What we need is to love our bodies now. Because when we approach ourselves with love, we will always find strength.

That is where real health begins.

Today, I work with a nutrition coach, not to starve myself into a smaller body, but to fuel my body for performance, energy, and longevity. I can deadlift over 200 pounds. I can bench press nearly my bodyweight. By November, I’ll run a 5k in under 30 minutes. That is strength. That is health.

What I refuse to do is shrink myself to fit a mold that was never made for me.

Because women over 40 deserve better than empty promises and impossible standards. We deserve to enjoy our lives, our food, and our bodies, without apology.

If something in diet culture sounds too good to be true, it is.
And we deserve more than the lies the weight loss industry keeps selling us.

If you’re ready to step out of the cycle of restriction and into real strength, I’m offering mini-sessions right now. In just one conversation, you’ll uncover what’s been holding you back and leave with simple shifts to begin loving your body as it is today. 

Visit me to book your FREE 30 minute session: https://www.jennverser.com/scheduling