I just gotta say this... because we're talking about two different things here, and conflating them. Maybe even three different things. Hormonal changes in body fat distribution; getting to a healthy body fat %; and getting to a body fat % that's more suited to racing (or being a model).

Body image issues are really complicated, maybe even more so in an athletic setting. So I hate to even talk about weight loss, for fear of reinforcing somebody's unrealistically negative body image (including my own).

I'll be honest here - with myself as much as with anyone. I don't have an accurate numerical measure of my body fat %, but I'm sure it's at a healthy but higher than ideal level. I can feel my iliac crests all the way around within 2-3 mm of the skin. I have some definition in my arms, mid to lower legs, delts, pecs, back, upper abs and obliques. The last time my cholesterol was checked, it was a total chol. of 165 with 102 HDL. All my life I've carried extra fat around the hips and upper thighs. I was going to say I'm nowhere near a racing weight... but that's not true; I'm within 2-3 lbs of my racing weight, but my body composition is not what it used to be. I've never been happy about my big butt and thunder thighs, but right at the moment what I'm really bummed about is that pooch around my navel, and the loss of definition in my middle abs. (I never had any in the lower abs ) Bottom line: I'm lamenting the depredations of age, and because of my fitness focus I'm a whole lot more bummed about the menopot than I am about the white hairs, the laugh lines or the saggy boobs.

I just had to say this. Because it sounds like there are some people in this thread whose health might improve if they lost weight. There are people like myself, who would like to lose fat for cosmetic reasons, but doing so would mean deprivation. There are competitive athletes who would like to lose fat for performance reasons, and who are willing to deprive themselves to get there. And then there are probably some people reading this who believe they need to lose fat, but really, really don't.

So just... it's an issue of mine. If fat were self-defined, then Karen Carpenter was fat on the day she died. Are we commiserating about getting old? Sharing tips for ways to naturally maintain higher estrogen levels? Or playing that same old fat game?