Well, it's not just *age*; it's a combination of body type, diet and exercise program. A troupemate of mine who is only 32 years old put herself on a very strict diet for a month to "slim down for hafla" but the results aren't what she was expecting, not at all. Her arms look well, "loose" and they weren't before and belly is still "pouchy" and she's never had kids. I think she needs to eat a lot more protein and good carbs and not focus on pounds so much as better muscle tone which will make her meaurements look better. Unfortunately, dance alone won't do that! I don't even own a scale, frankly, don't know how much I weigh, I go by how my clothes and costumes fit and how "toned" I am (speaking relatively here, I'm in fifties now
).
You just can't work out effectively if you starve your body of protein to lose weight fast! Last night I watched "Extreme Makeover" and it was a perfect example of this - it was a guy, but even though women have different belly fat issues; he could not stick with workout because he'd had dental work and was not eating enough for a whole month. Once he started eating more protein and reasonable amounts of carbs and fat, his workouts produced results!
Of course, as we age, it's a lot easier to gain weight than lose it, but it's also true that regular cardio workouts 'rev' up the metalbolism AT ANY AGE, and that's a huge, just huge factor in how our bodies shape themselves.
