Is it harder to lose weight as you get older
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As I read through this thread it occurs to me that this may be an unanswerable question from a physiological standpoint. You would have to have an equal starting point, equal motivation and effort and use the exact same diet/activity at a young age and an older age to really determine whether age itself made losing weight harder.
Since I have lost weight both as a young person and an older person, I know it's harder for me now. I used the same methods - diet, exercise - both times. But my life outside diet and exercise is very different now than then, so I can't definitively say that age is even in part responsible for it being harder. Only that it is definitively harder now.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Yes. Your metabolism slows. If you're a woman and you pass through menopause you lose the thermogenic effects of menstruation. Older folks are typically less active. Older folks typically have less muscle.
That said: it's totally possible. It just takes more determination.
For fun, play with a BMR calculator, and tell it you're 20, then 40, then 60. Watch that number go down. For me (5'6" 135Lbs) that was 1409 at 20, 1309 at 40, and 1209 at 60. Two hundred calories may not seem like much of a difference, but it is.
PS: I turn 50 this weekend (BMR 1259).
And don't forget, you also get shorter over those 40 years. If you plug in your height from your high school physical but you're in your 50s, its not going to be accurate so you may be calculating the wrong BMR for yourself. Grrrr.
I'm the same height at 51 that I was at 21.0 -
And don't forget, you also get shorter over those 40 years. If you plug in your height from your high school physical but you're in your 50s, its not going to be accurate so you may be calculating the wrong BMR for yourself. Grrrr.Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I'm the same height at 51 that I was at 21.
I am an inch shorter at 58 than I was at 28. My BMR shows a difference of 166 calories instead of 150 calories if I were the same height. Again, not a significant difference.
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I had my first baby at 23 and my body just snapped back to my pre-baby body. I had my second baby at 29 and this time has definitely been harder to get back to my body back.0
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nesian_twin wrote: »the short answer, especially for women, is yes. Harder but not impossible.
Not for all women, though. I had an easy time of taking it off, and I am keeping off, both of which I was unable to accomplish when I was younger.0 -
Crazily enough (or maybe not crazily), at 47, with hypothyroidism and the whole nine yards, I am finding it easier to diet than every before in my life. I think it may be because I am (also for the first time, in any serious way) being VERY honest about my intake and activity and eating at a less drastic deficit. Looking for slow and steady this time around and it is working! And it's SO MUCH easier because I don't feel as if I'm starving.
Lots of blips and bump-ups for not really any discernible reason, but my over-time graph is going down and down.
I am in fact perimenopausal, by the doctor's numbers (in fact I showed a severely slowed egg production and/or poor egg quality four years before my period became erratic - just this past year) as well. Yes, it's a roller coaster ride with these hormones, certainly. NEVER going to discount that, for any woman. It is a ride and I don't mean a joyride, LOL! And my GOD the emotions! I cry at hotels.com commercials. Stop. The Crying. And the water weight, oh it's water, water everywhere Dear goodness!
But yes, I am losing. New low this morning, in fact - happy dance.0 -
Losing weight...........probably not. Keeping lean muscle? Definitely. Each year I notice that I'm slightly less in muscle strength and some of my muscular "hardness" takes more attention to keep it that way.
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Yep, menopause is the part that is not easy for me. Exercise and no limited caffeine help me with that, and my health goals are different than when I was younger. I certainly am more focused now.Crazily enough (or maybe not crazily), at 47, with hypothyroidism and the whole nine yards, I am finding it easier to diet than every before in my life. I think it may be because I am (also for the first time, in any serious way) being VERY honest about my intake and activity and eating at a less drastic deficit. Looking for slow and steady this time around and it is working! And it's SO MUCH easier because I don't feel as if I'm starving.
Lots of blips and bump-ups for not really any discernible reason, but my over-time graph is going down and down.
I am in fact perimenopausal, by the doctor's numbers (in fact I showed a severely slowed egg production and/or poor egg quality four years before my period became erratic - just this past year) as well. Yes, it's a roller coaster ride with these hormones, certainly. NEVER going to discount that, for any woman. It is a ride and I don't mean a joyride, LOL! And my GOD the emotions! I cry at hotels.com commercials. Stop. The Crying. And the water weight, oh it's water, water everywhere Dear goodness!
But yes, I am losing. New low this morning, in fact - happy dance.
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Losing weight...........probably not. Keeping lean muscle? Definitely. Each year I notice that I'm slightly less in muscle strength and some of my muscular "hardness" takes more attention to keep it that way.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
While I have noticed amazing changes in my body since starting heavy weight lifting at 51 (light weightlifting in my 30's and 40's), I'm sure muscle build is way slower than it would have been in my twenties, or even thirties. That's if I'm really building any muscle at all, and not just maintaining it. 0 -
I think it depends on the person. IME, I didn't have all of these pains that I have now. No plantar fasciitis, no hip pain, no picky eaters you have to work around.
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My body doesn't bounce back from weight gain/loss like it used to. By that I mean, skin tone just isn't what it used to be. It is by far harder for me personally to tone it up. It's not impossible but it's taking a lot longer now that it did in the past. I will say that I'm healthier, stronger and have better stamina now than I did when I was younger, but that's due to really poor habits that I have dropped and a lot of good habits that I have picked up. At 49, I doubt I will ever have the body of a 20 year old but I believe I can feel like one from the inside. That's good enough for now.0
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Losing weight...........probably not. Keeping lean muscle? Definitely. Each year I notice that I'm slightly less in muscle strength and some of my muscular "hardness" takes more attention to keep it that way.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
While I have noticed amazing changes in my body since starting heavy weight lifting at 51 (light weightlifting in my 30's and 40's), I'm sure muscle build is way slower than it would have been in my twenties, or even thirties. That's if I'm really building any muscle at all, and not just maintaining it.
My experience also, without the earlier weightlifting... didn't start resistance training until my late 40s and perimenopause, and serious lifting only for about the past year.
My saddlebags are now gone too, which is entirely the result of lifting and not weight loss. They've plagued me for decades and at considerably lighter weights.
And I have no idea what my body is doing in there... I call it a "recomp" but I've never actually been able to measure my BF% vs LBM to know if I'm successful at what I'm doing. all I know is my dress slacks are getting noticeably looser (some are now unwearable) without any change in body weight. So something is changing in the right direction.0 -
It's not an "excuse" to present facts about an aging body. Older people can lose weight just fine. So there is no need to be anything less than honest.0
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
Mine's from more factors than just the hormone games, but the last 2.5 weeks for me were insane. Had a loss, proceeded to gain about 8 lbs in 2 days, watched that 8 bounce back and forth, down 4, up 4, down 4, up 4. Yesterday, I was .5 over the loss, this morning I was 1.5lbs down, went back to bed, woke up a few hours later, weighed again, another 1 lb down. I curious to see how much more I "lose" tomorrow, and how long it will be before I'm back up the coaster again.
I know I am losing fat, and it shows in measurements, but I honestly have no idea exactly how much. For all I know, I'm down another 20 from when I started logging, and the rest is just retention.0 -
Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
most women lose their thigh fat after menopause, because it's only there to support reproductive hormonal stuff - fat tends to move to the stomach after meno
i'd source it but i'm tired, people can look it up0 -
Almost 50 here
And no problems losing weight
I am doing the same thing i did 25 years ago and lost 66 pounds in that time ( Only gained about 10 back after i became sedentary. Because of an injury)
So nope going fine here, lost 75 pounds in 5 months till now.
Maybe when you get older you become less active? I dont know.0 -
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And don't forget, you also get shorter over those 40 years. If you plug in your height from your high school physical but you're in your 50s, its not going to be accurate so you may be calculating the wrong BMR for yourself. Grrrr.Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I'm the same height at 51 that I was at 21.
I am an inch shorter at 58 than I was at 28. My BMR shows a difference of 166 calories instead of 150 calories if I were the same height. Again, not a significant difference.
Getting shorter as we age is a result of compression in the spine due to gravity. It's nothing that impacts BMR.
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Packerjohn wrote: »
And don't forget, you also get shorter over those 40 years. If you plug in your height from your high school physical but you're in your 50s, its not going to be accurate so you may be calculating the wrong BMR for yourself. Grrrr.Need2Exerc1se wrote: »I'm the same height at 51 that I was at 21.
I am an inch shorter at 58 than I was at 28. My BMR shows a difference of 166 calories instead of 150 calories if I were the same height. Again, not a significant difference.
Getting shorter as we age is a result of compression in the spine due to gravity. It's nothing that impacts BMR.
I didn't think so. Even if it did, a change in BMR of 16 calories daily is inconsequential.
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"Harder" is too individualized to answer. There's no question that age = reduced BMR, ie, less CO. So the question is whether there are off setting factors, and that's individual. Some of us have more self control with age. Some of us face more immediate adverse consequences with age, such as lose weight or start taking meds. On the other hand, some of us have restrictions on physical activity, or hormonal changes, or less vanity as we age.0
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People lose muscle as they age. Less muscle = slower metabolism. Staying strong helps to counteract this.0
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Just for the fun of it, I recalculated my BMR for different ages. I am currently 58 and my BMR at my current weight is 1583. Each time I entered a new age, in 10 year increments, my BMR went up by 50 calories a day.
This tells me that whether or not weight loss becomes harder as you age is more because of external factors rather than strictly because of metabolism. Are you still as active? Have you lost muscle mass over the years? Are there more medical things going on that can hinder weight loss? Are you less motivated?
I bought into the "menopausal women have a hard time losing" and "I screwed up my metabolism by yoyo-ing" for years. Turns out my weight gain was because I had become severely depressed and didn't care anymore. I also had anemia that was undiagnosed for a couple of years (just wrote the symptoms off as being because I was fat and out of shape). Finally got an antidepressant that worked for me (10 years of trying different ones) and ended up in the hospital for an oil change (four units of blood plus one of IV iron). 15 months and 97 (so far) pounds later, I am getting back to my old (younger) self.
Yes, it can be harder as you get older, but I think it is more because older people have more baggage, both physically and mentally. Metabolically speaking, there doesn't seem to be that big of a difference.
I don't know about that, at least personally. I find that I have less baggage now than I did when I was younger.
Or maybe it's that I have a better perspective on my baggage?
I don't know. I don't feel any burden from the hardships that physical impairments (and I've got them) or biological imperatives impose on the process. What would be the point? Things are as they are, and focusing on them would get me what? Cranky? A case of the poor me syndrome? What good would that do? For me, as I said before, this is the easiest go at losing weight I've ever had mentally. It's not a chore to simply do the math or make the choices.
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
most women lose their thigh fat after menopause, because it's only there to support reproductive hormonal stuff - fat tends to move to the stomach after meno
i'd source it but i'm tired, people can look it up
Oh, from your lips... please oh please oh please oh please.
I know eyelashes are there to attract a mate. My once very long lashes are sort of sad looking now, but my thighs are still, um, well... let's just say I'm waiting.
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Need2Exerc1se wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Yes. Your metabolism slows. If you're a woman and you pass through menopause you lose the thermogenic effects of menstruation. Older folks are typically less active. Older folks typically have less muscle.
That said: it's totally possible. It just takes more determination.
For fun, play with a BMR calculator, and tell it you're 20, then 40, then 60. Watch that number go down. For me (5'6" 135Lbs) that was 1409 at 20, 1309 at 40, and 1209 at 60. Two hundred calories may not seem like much of a difference, but it is.
PS: I turn 50 this weekend (BMR 1259).
And don't forget, you also get shorter over those 40 years. If you plug in your height from your high school physical but you're in your 50s, its not going to be accurate so you may be calculating the wrong BMR for yourself. Grrrr.
I'm the same height at 51 that I was at 21.
I'm shorter, but I developed scoliosis somewhere along the line... never had it when I was younger. I've shrunk an inch.
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I don't understand why people say we " lose muscle with age" as though it's a fait accompli
If we are not talking about professional sportspeople, is that not down to people being less active and can it not be countermanded by increasing weight resistance exercise?
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mamapeach910 wrote: »Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
most women lose their thigh fat after menopause, because it's only there to support reproductive hormonal stuff - fat tends to move to the stomach after meno
i'd source it but i'm tired, people can look it up
Oh, from your lips... please oh please oh please oh please.
I know eyelashes are there to attract a mate. My once very long lashes are sort of sad looking now, but my thighs are still, um, well... let's just say I'm waiting.
well, it isn't a 100% awesome story...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130327144131.htm
Just 'weight' until menopause: How estrogen deficiency affects women's fat absorption
Date:
March 27, 2013
Source:
Concordia University
Summary:
Women tend to carry excess fat in their hips and thighs, while men tend to carry it on their stomachs. But after menopause, things start to change: many women's fat storage patterns start to resemble those of men. This indicates that there's a link between estrogen and body fat storage. This connection is well documented, but the underlying mechanisms remained poorly understood until now.
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Women tend to carry excess fat in their hips and thighs, while men tend to carry it on their stomachs. But after menopause, things start to change: many women's fat storage patterns start to resemble those of men. This indicates that there's a link between estrogen and body fat storage. This connection is well documented, but the underlying mechanisms remained poorly understood until now.
New research conducted by Sylvia Santosa, assistant professor in Concordia University's Department of Exercise Science and Canada Research Chair in Clinical Nutrition, gives us a new look at the connection between fat storage and estrogen. By examining the fat storage process at a cellular level, Santosa and co-author Michael D. Jensen of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, reveal that certain proteins and enzymes are more active in post-menopausal women. These proteins correspond with fat storage. Their findings were published in the March 2013 issue of Diabetes.
"The fat stored on our hips and thighs, is relatively harmless," explains Santosa, who is also a member of Concordia's PERFORM Centre for better health through prevention. "But the fat stored around the abdomen is more dangerous. It has been associated with diabetes, heart disease, stroke and even some cancers. When post-menopausal women put on more abdominal fat, they dramatically increase their risk for these health problems. Given these dangers, it is very important to understand the how the lower levels of estrogen associated with menopause changes where fat is stored."
Santosa's research compared fat storage in pre- and post-menopausal women. The 23 women who participated in the study were in the same age range, and had similar Body Mass Indices and body fat composition. These similarities allowed Santosa to isolate the effects of estrogen on fat absorption and storage.
She and Jensen were able to examine the activity of certain enzymes and proteins that regulate fat storage in post-menopausal women's abdomens and thighs. By considering these factors together rather than in isolation, the researchers determined conclusively that the overall fat storage "machinery" is more active in post-menopausal women. In other words, these cells now store more fat than they did before menopause.
In addition, post-menopausal women burned less fat than their pre-menopausal colleagues. These changes mean that their cells are not only storing more fat, but are also less willing to part with it. This combination is a recipe for rapid weight gain. "Taken together, these changes in bodily processes may be more than a little surprising -- and upsetting -- for women who previously had little trouble managing their weight," comments Santosa.
Though the increased cellular activity revealed by this study was not specific to the abdominal region, more fat stored overall means more abdominal fat. Evidence of changes in the fat storage pathways after menopause is an important contribution to understanding why post-menopausal women begin to put on more visceral fat.
Says Santosa, "the information revealed by our study is valuable not only to post-menopausal women and their doctors, but to obesity studies more generally. A clearer picture of which proteins and enzymes increase fat storage makes those productive targets for future medical advances in the fight against obesity."
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Concordia University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
S. Santosa, M. D. Jensen. Adipocyte Fatty Acid Storage Factors Enhance Subcutaneous Fat Storage in Postmenopausal Women. Diabetes, 2012; 62 (3): 775 DOI: 10.2337/db12-0912
Cite This Page:
MLA
APA
Chicago
Concordia University. "Just 'weight' until menopause: How estrogen deficiency affects women's fat absorption." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 March 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130327144131.htm>.
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Your ticker is moving the right direction and the tape is showing progress. Keep goingNeed2Exerc1se wrote: »
Mine's from more factors than just the hormone games, but the last 2.5 weeks for me were insane. Had a loss, proceeded to gain about 8 lbs in 2 days, watched that 8 bounce back and forth, down 4, up 4, down 4, up 4. Yesterday, I was .5 over the loss, this morning I was 1.5lbs down, went back to bed, woke up a few hours later, weighed again, another 1 lb down. I curious to see how much more I "lose" tomorrow, and how long it will be before I'm back up the coaster again.
I know I am losing fat, and it shows in measurements, but I honestly have no idea exactly how much. For all I know, I'm down another 20 from when I started logging, and the rest is just retention.
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I don't understand why people say we " lose muscle with age" as though it's a fait accompli
If we are not talking about professional sportspeople, is that not down to people being less active and can it not be countermanded by increasing weight resistance exercise?
Yessum. Yessum=I concur.
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