The 40's slow down

lauralash1024

Is anyone else having trouble loosing in their 40's? I quite smoking last year (was a social smoker) and haven't been wonderful with my eating or exercise, but I'm still feeling I wasn't horrible enough to gain what I have. Doesn't want to come off either. It's honestly discouraging.

editorgrrl

Nope. I'm in my 40s plus have Hashimoto's (autoimmune thyroid disease), and logging worked for me. I followed the advice in the Sexypants post: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

Everybody's different—and what works for each of us changes over time. So it'll take some trial & error to find what works for you.

justrollme

I had trouble before I realized that my guesses at estimating amounts were really, really bad. That is why I joined MFP, primarily to use the tracking tool, and as soon as I read about it, I bought a kitchen scale. Since then, losing has been no trouble, so far.

tkphotogirl

Nope. 43, just logging, drinking lots of water, and light to moderate exercise (mostly walking), and it's coming off at a decent rate. Keep at it - even the tiniest deficit adds up over time.

Pinnacle_IAO

lauralash1024 wrote: »

Is anyone else having trouble loosing in their 40's? I quite smoking last year (was a social smoker) and haven't been wonderful with my eating or exercise, but I'm still feeling I wasn't horrible enough to gain what I have. Doesn't want to come off either. It's honestly discouraging.

40's???
That's young...lol
Just keep eating clean and exercising, and you will redefine what it means to be in your 40's and beyond.
And don't listen to anybody under 40 who advises "eat whatever"...
Clean eating is paramount, and that's just whole, real foods - nothing processed or made by man.
I strive toward this ideal and meet its demands 75% of the time. Close enough...and life is also to be lived.

Good Luck!

justrollme

Pinnacle_IAO wrote: »

40's???
That's young...lol

That just made my day.

mommyof4cpa

justrollme wrote: »

I had trouble before I realized that my guesses at estimating amounts were really, really bad. That is why I joined MFP, primarily to use the tracking tool, and as soon as I read about it, I bought a kitchen scale. Since then, losing has been no trouble, so far.

^^^
This....it can be done!

sijomial

40's? You're a baby!!

Don't let age be an excuse.
Do the right things (diet, exercise, patience, learning, striving...) and the weight will come off.

canary_girl

Nope, I'm in my 40's and thinner than I've been since junior high

Pawsforme

I had no trouble at all maintaining weight in my 40's. I hit 51 and I did start having trouble. Not sure if it was age so much as thyroid, though.

lauralash1024

Thanks for all the responses. Maybe I've been doing something wrong. I do loose but only when I feel like I am starving myself. Had great success with very low calorie no sugar diet but since I tried to go back to everything in moderation, I have gained. I am going to try to watch very carefully this week and see how it goes.

ahoy_m8

Good on you for quitting smoking! That's awesome and likely to make a huge health difference for many years. I did actually have a harder time later in my 40's. Seemed like the same old food&exercise routines weren't having the same results. When I examined it, though, I concluded it was my activity, not my age or metabolism. I made a career change to something much easier physically (much less travel), so even though my workouts were comparable, I was less active otherwise. Man, I loved my first career, but I'm so glad to be taking it easy comparatively. Not lamenting that change at all. All I had to do was buy a food scale, count accurately, and presto--everything back to normal. If something "seems" off, it's worth investing the effort to track as accurately as you can for a couple months. Once I did, it all became reassuringly clear.

maillemaker

I'm about to turn 45 and I am down about 33 pounds since February, and down about 40 pounds from my maximum weight.

It's all about eating less than you burn. Maintain a deficit, at any age, and you will lose weight.

Thanks for all the responses. Maybe I've been doing something wrong. I do loose but only when I feel like I am starving myself.

I think that is just the way it is for a lot of people, myself included. I never lose weight unless I am hungry. I can tell before I step on the scale if I have lost weight or not. Embrace the hunger as a sign that your diet is working. If you absolutely cannot handle the hunger, talk to your doctor about phentermine/topiramate. You have to have a BMI over 30 plus at least one co-morbidity, and many doctors will not prescribe, but it can get you started until you see enough success to be inspired to continue on your own.

healthygreek

I'm 61. I've lost 40 pounds since my 40s.

kshama2001

I've only used MFP while in my 40s. I set my goals to lose a pound a week, eat and exercise accordingly, and have averaged a loss of a pound a week since April.

rhtexasgal

I am 43 and I have determined that discipline is my friend. It is all to easy to stop weighing my food and estimating what I am eating when out and about. The moment I do that, I will gain. Therefore, I plan things out and I make sure that I do cardio exercise at least 5 days a week - and two of them weight training. I always have a goal. Since I met my weight loss goal, my new one is finally achieving a pull-up. My upper body strength is nil so having this goal keeps me motivated. Don't get me wrong ... I love food but I make sure I do enough cardio to justify that bag of chips or ice cream cone. As long as I keep the scales balanced, I maintain my weight.

Liftng4Lis

Nope, got it ALL together in my 40's! WOOT!

Ironmaiden4life

I competed (and won my division against girls 15 years younger than me) in my first figure competition at 42. Started around 184lbs and 30% body fat and stepped on stage at 138lbs and 13% body fat. So no, age ain't nothing but a number

Sued0nim

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

Nope, got it ALL together in my 40's! WOOT!

And me

Tighten your logging

Start lifting

lauralash1024

You guys are very motivating!

kshama2001

Ironmaiden4life wrote: »

I competed (and won my division against girls 15 years younger than me) in my first figure competition at 42. Started around 184lbs and 30% body fat and stepped on stage at 138lbs and 13% body fat. So no, age ain't nothing but a number

That's awesome. Go you!

Kimberly_Harper

Yes but it wasn't because of my age it was because I was eating too much and drinking a lot of beer.

20yearsyounger

Kimberly_Harper wrote: »

Yes but it wasn't because of my age it was because I was eating too much and drinking a lot of beer.

Totally agree. I have more available to me at 40 than I did in my earlier years

SergeantSausage

There's a "slowdown"?

(46 here )

lynseymccormac

yes! i did. Its awful and soul destroying when you are trying so hard. people would look at me like i just wasn't trying hard enough but I knew that I was and it just wasn't budging.
It turned out i had a sugar intolerance and following a low fat diet wasn't working for me no matter how hard i tried. I would exercise but because of the intolerance I never had enough energy to sustain a beneficial workout so i would just maintain no matter what i did.
It was my trainer who suggested I might have a problem and she adjusted the nutritional percentage so that i was eating a lot less sugar, more protein to build muscle. After 40, you start to lose muscle, muscle helps to burn fat and keep your metabolic rate up. Do some weight training. My trainer focuses a lot on weight training with me because of my age and it really helps. Also, as you know things start to go south after forty, weight training gives your body, definition and shape.

Yoshirio

I am 42 and have not had any problem losing.

Sued0nim

lynseymccormac wrote: »

yes! i did. Its awful and soul destroying when you are trying so hard. people would look at me like i just wasn't trying hard enough but I knew that I was and it just wasn't budging.
It turned out i had a sugar intolerance and following a low fat diet wasn't working for me no matter how hard i tried. I would exercise but because of the intolerance I never had enough energy to sustain a beneficial workout so i would just maintain no matter what i did.
It was my trainer who suggested I might have a problem and she adjusted the nutritional percentage so that i was eating a lot less sugar, more protein to build muscle. After 40, you start to lose muscle, muscle helps to burn fat and keep your metabolic rate up. Do some weight training. My trainer focuses a lot on weight training with me because of my age and it really helps. Also, as you know things start to go south after forty, weight training gives your body, definition and shape.

You had a what now?

Were you medically tested? What was the Dx?

DeguelloTex

I was pretty much a slacker in my 40s. I'm doing much better in my 50s.