Turning 40 and body isn't the same!

apick2014

Hi! Amy here & ready for general advice, encouragement & results! Previously in great shape & need to get back to it again but age 40 makes it a little harder. Maybe I need to relearn how to lose it, tone it & maintain it, since it >was<easy in my 20s & 30s. Also I sit in an office 5-6 days a week & stay busy at a computer=sedentary
Currently attend 45 minute bootcamp 3 days a week, and do 30 minutes of cardio first thing out of bed on the other 4 days. Amino energy, quest protein, soy, green tea, hydroxycut... What's working for you?

apick2014

Before photo 2013 & after 2015:(

RoxieDawn

Amino acids, whey protein isolate, multi-vitamins and food! Oh yeah and some caffeine.

strong_curves

I'm 45 and what's working for me is tracking my intake accurately. It's all about calories in vs calories out, imo age has nothing to do with it once you learn how to accurately track how much you're really eating. You don't need hydroxycut, green tea, etc to lose weight. I do think you may have to relearn what you think you know about weight loss since most people think it means some fad diets, eating 1200 calories etc. When I first came to MFP I read the stickies because I had no idea HOW to lose weight in a sustainable realistic way. This is the thread that helped me to really understand how weight loss works:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

Becca281552

@strong_curves ~ thanks for your post... that's a very helpful link!!

Need2Exerc1se

I'm 51. I mostly just eat less than did before and made sure I exercised regularly throughout the Winter, which is usually a pretty sedentary season for me. No supplements, semi-regular tracking. I'm losing slowly to prevent muscle and bone loss.

Weight loss is harder for me now, but I'm not sure fat loss is. Water weight is a much bigger problem right now. F'n hormones!!

paulawatkins1974

I turned 40 in November. I am in better shape than I ever was in my 30's. But that's because I could do whatever I wanted in my 20's, and then it caught up to me in my 30's. At 39, I started taking care of myself. I plan to be in the best shape of my life before I hit 42. I spent the first half of my life trying to kill myself, and I'm spending the second half trying to live forever lol.

dawnna76

paulawatkins1974 wrote: »

I turned 40 in November. I am in better shape than I ever was in my 30's. But that's because I could do whatever I wanted in my 20's, and then it caught up to me in my 30's. At 39, I started taking care of myself. I plan to be in the best shape of my life before I hit 42. I spent the first half of my life trying to kill myself, and I'm spending the second half trying to live forever lol.

this is me too! I am still 39 for another half year so not yet 40 but knocking on the door. I was always in shape in my 20s, got married and had babies in my early/mid 30s and 1.5 years ago realized i was miserable and fat! I went from 170 (20s) to 260 and am currently 185.

i havent used any diet supplements except for BCAA's and whey isolate protien. all the rest is from eating a good diet and lots of it! no low calorie for me, i get to hangry. it takes time, thats the lesson i learned now, in the past i could restrict and lose instantly my body just bounced back and forth with ease. now i have to stay focused on the end goal as each pound is harder and harder to dissapear, but they do!

nicfitnesszone

Moving to another city from NY where I get at least 3 miles of walking daily to and from the subway and meetings, changing to management/sedentary job, outdoor activities came to a halt (I struggled to get back to my outdoor sports down here in TX). And, turning 40 when all this came down.

I can't prove the latter is the reason why I gained 13 lbs (or so) in the course of 9 months but I'm definitely sure of this--lack of activities/sports! I got back into the game and lost all the unwanted lbs. Now on maintenance, learning more about proper nutrition and really learning about my body and what it needs. Quest bars don't give me sugar spike, whey isolate powder (I alternate between NOW, Optimum Nutrition, Bluebonnet brands), Lovaza fish oil, Green tea (I alternate with coffee for caffeine source), T.A.G. powder pre/during/post workout (it doesn't give me boost of energy but I noticed I don't get sore 1-2 days post heavy lifting ). NO hydroxycut for me. All of the above is under the guidance of my personal trainer. Hope this helps!

SezxyStef

at 42 (almost 43) I currently am in great shape...as good as when I was in the military 23 years ago...I have a desk job as well...but I am not sedentary. I don't email or phone unless I have to ...I get up and go to their office. I get up and go get water, bathroom, house work etc...on average 8k steps a day without exercise.

After that I log faithfully, consistently and accurately (which helped me lost over 50lbs)

For exercise I have been doing resistance training the entire time...since Sept 2013 heavy lifting to help keep my muscle...I incorporated brisk walks and bike rides last year and this year I quit smoking so now I am walking/biking and running and still lifting heavy...

I don't do "odd" things like hydroxcut, or green tea or any of that...I add protein powder to my morning smoothie but that's to hit my protein macro as it 's hard in teh summer to eat bacon and eggs....it's hot.

98bikinisuitedlbs

SezxyStef wrote: »

at 42 (almost 43) I currently am in great shape...as good as when I was in the military 23 years ago...I have a desk job as well...but I am not sedentary. I don't email or phone unless I have to ...I get up and go to their office. I get up and go get water, bathroom, house work etc...on average 8k steps a day without exercise.

After that I log faithfully, consistently and accurately (which helped me lost over 50lbs)

For exercise I have been doing resistance training the entire time...since Sept 2013 heavy lifting to help keep my muscle...I incorporated brisk walks and bike rides last year and this year I quit smoking so now I am walking/biking and running and still lifting heavy...

I don't do "odd" things like hydroxcut, or green tea or any of that...I add protein powder to my morning smoothie but that's to hit my protein macro as it 's hard in teh summer to eat bacon and eggs....it's hot.

I am 421/2 and struggling with the last lbs. Several knee surgeries after years of running and cardio queen!! I am not doing nothing out of the ordinary in terms of my diet. Overall incorporating more veggies and fruits by drinking green smoothies is a huge help for me and less cardio and more strength training mainly Pilates and working with my own weight. Love to add any of you for support too!!

Best,

Rosie

cwolfman13

40 going on 41 and I haven't been this fit and healthy since my early 20s...no, I don't have the body I had when I was 22, that would be a completely unrealistic expectation...but that doesn't mean you can't be healthy and fit and feel awesome.

- Eat well
- Eat in appropriate quantities
- Exercise regularly...for best results I recommend about a 50/50 split between some moderate cardio activity and some resistance training
- Move more in general (in my experience this actually has a greater impact than trying to exercise your *kitten* off)
- Get plenty of rest.

I would also come at this from an overall health and wellness perspective rather than just focusing on this kind of body or that kind of body or some arbitrary weight on the scale that gives you warm and fuzzies. When you do the things you need to be doing for your overall health and wellness...well, in my experience, everything else just tends to fall into place.

SezxyStef

cwolfman13 wrote: »

40 going on 41 and I haven't been this fit and healthy since my early 20s...no, I don't have the body I had when I was 22, that would be a completely unrealistic expectation...but that doesn't mean you can't be healthy and fit and feel awesome.

- Eat well
- Eat in appropriate quantities
- Exercise regularly...for best results I recommend about a 50/50 split between some moderate cardio activity and some resistance training
- Move more in general (in my experience this actually has a greater impact than trying to exercise your *kitten* off)
- Get plenty of rest.

I would also come at this from an overall health and wellness perspective rather than just focusing on this kind of body or that kind of body or some arbitrary weight on the scale that gives you warm and fuzzies. When you do the things you need to be doing for your overall health and wellness...well, in my experience, everything else just tends to fall into place.

Yup I actually appreciate mine more now..I see they young things running around with the bums that are well...lifted naturally and all I can think is "if only you knew what is going to happen you wouldn't complain about one thing on your body today"...

I appreciate how strong I am and don't take it for granted any more...I am actually glad I am in my 40's...

apick2014

Love the responses, links, stories & encouragement. Thank you! What a great group:)

HollieWould1

apick2014 wrote: »

Before photo 2013 & after 2015:(

I can tell this is going to be so easy for you! It won't be too challenging for you to get back into shape at all. Upload your progress pics too. Good luck OP

Fasttrack2freedom

Almost 39/here . feel free to add me

Sarauk2sf

cwolfman13 wrote: »

40 going on 41 and I haven't been this fit and healthy since my early 20s...no, I don't have the body I had when I was 22, that would be a completely unrealistic expectation...but that doesn't mean you can't be healthy and fit and feel awesome.

- Eat well
- Eat in appropriate quantities
- Exercise regularly...for best results I recommend about a 50/50 split between some moderate cardio activity and some resistance training
- Move more in general (in my experience this actually has a greater impact than trying to exercise your *kitten* off)
- Get plenty of rest.

I would also come at this from an overall health and wellness perspective rather than just focusing on this kind of body or that kind of body or some arbitrary weight on the scale that gives you warm and fuzzies. When you do the things you need to be doing for your overall health and wellness...well, in my experience, everything else just tends to fall into place.

^^yep (except I personally do not o cardio as I hate it).

I would add, find an activity you enjoy - one that keeps you moving but is not exercise for exercise's sake.

I am 47 and while my body is not quite as resilient as it was in my 20's and 30's, I do not have a harder time overall keeping a reasonable BF% than I did before - mainly as I have more knowledge and experience now. The biggest challenge is keeping active outside of lifting - mainly due to lifestyle and circumstances.

Jrnegrl66

Turning 49 next month... Why did I wait so long to figure out that exercise & eating healthy was so easy?! It's all about retraining your mind, body & stomach (lol) it's not rocket science! It's making good choices when eating & exercising (cardio, weights or whatever your into) MFP is a great tool to help with your eating & exercising. I'll never be what I was in my 20's & I'm grateful for that. I'm looking forward to being 50 & fabulous!

professionalHobbyist

I'm over 50.

It took a while to get in shape enough to do what I considered a vine of exercise.

I was over 100 lbs overweight.

I was told I ate all wrong and too much of it for my low activity level

So it was just some math...

Do more stuff - walking and weight machines at first

Make better food choices - fruit or veggies more and less ice cream or endless bowls of chips and cheese dip!

Food scale purchase!!!

I was sad to see I ate servings the size of what 2-3 people needed. A 1/4 cup of mixed nuts is not a serving! It's a tease!!

Sued0nim

48

Dropped 54lbs since last year

Eat at a calorie defecit

Follow a progressive resistance lifting programme

Move more in general

And don't fall for fads and gimmicks

wils5150

I am almost 50 and lost 50 pounds in 10 months. I Eat at a calorie defecit, play ice hockey twice a week and lift 2 days a week. Consistantcy was the key for me. It is funny though how the body works. my legs are ripped but I still have that pooch i am trying to get rid of. Age is just a number with hard work we can all get there

apick2014

@ rabbitjb that is so awesome! Way to go on your success;)

TheRealBill

apick2014 wrote: »

Before photo 2013 & after 2015:(

2013:Hawt 2015:still Hawt

bevkaysmith

I am looking for active users. Please add me.. I need motivation. .thanks

ka97

Just turned 40 this year. Mentally, it was tough for me - I think in part because I realized that I had wasted my 20's and my early thirties being overweight and out of shape. I'm lighter, fitter, and healthier than I was at 30. But I'm also almost ten pounds heavier than I was at 35. I could blame it on getting older, or mirena, or something else. But the reality is that I've been a bit more "flexible" about my eating and drinking in the past two years.

allaboutthecake

apick2014 wrote: »

Currently attend 45 minute bootcamp 3 days a week, and do 30 minutes of cardio first thing out of bed on the other 4 days. Amino energy, quest protein, soy, green tea, hydroxycut... What's working for you?

? Did I read this right? You are using this still? What has been your results with it? just curious is all.

shadowfax_c11

45 and to be honest I feel more comfortable in my body than ever. Okay yes I want it to be a lot lighter than it is currently but in the past 2.5 months I have taken over 20 pounds off of it simply by eating at a calorie deficit. Still eat all of my favorite things and not seeing any difficulty with weight loss.

At 39 I took up martial arts. Last weekend I got my black belt. I frequently outwork people half my age. Yes I have some aches and pains that I didn't have when I was 20. Mostly due to damage I did to myself when I was younger and less smart about what I put my body through. Yeah this menopause thing is for the birds but it will pass. Okay yep gravity is making a statement and my hair is changing colors. That's life. And it's really pretty good.

cherub14

Great stories and advice here

bivski

I was 44 weighed 250 in 2009 and didn't like a picture i saw of myself. I wasn't eating right and drank more then I should have. i started to workout out again , and watched what I ate. In a years time I lost 55lbs. i got away from working out. After deployed in 2012 I went back to up to 215. While I was there I started to work out again. Since then I workout six days a week lifting and cardio. I've drooped the 15 and look to lose another 10 - 15. Now at 50 I'm in better shape then I was at 25. You just have to find the time and when you do stay with it.

Bshmerlie

I was in great shape when I was in my 20's. And yeah I don't think I could ever have that body back but I think I can definately be a really fit person. I'm 45 and it will probably take the next 2 years to get to where I want to be but I have no doubt I will eventually get there. There's a lot to be said for determination. You can do anything you really set your mind to especially when it comes to your own body.

flatlndr

I'm 50+, but now in better shape than all of my 40s, and even some of my 30s.

My "secret"? ... eat less, move more ... and give it a bit of time. What worked for me? Walking first, then elliptical, with some lifting thrown in for good measure ... but most importantly, a net calorie deficit.

Good luck and enjoy!