Curious to hear everyone's input - metabolism/weight maintenance + aging?

modelktford

Hey all! So at work the other day, several coworkers were discussing how basically once you hit 30, no matter what you do, your metabolism essentially shuts down and you gain weight much more easily. A few of them were joking about how in their 20's they were insanely fit, but now they have only to look at some food and gain weight! I was curious, because I'm 23, and they all assured me I had only a couple "good years" (?) left! haha! So my question is this - I always kind of thought that stuff depended on genetics/your personal habits/your own body, but what do you guys think? I feel like I know lots of people who are more toned/better at cardio than me well into their 40's-50's? But am I missing something? Any input would be appreciated

Christine_72

I can only go by my own experience. . But I noticed an upward trend in my weight when I hit 40. Before this I'd never been on a diet in my life, my weight stayed constant throughout my teen/adult life.

I did lose it pretty easily- I think - as I've got nothing to compare my weight loss with.

bendyourkneekatie

Anecdote: I'm 32 and the thinnest I've been my entire adult life. I've also had 2 kids, so yeah.

Your metabolism does slow down as you age. Like, a tiny bit. A couple hundred calories worth. My mum is 62 and a little bit shorter than me, and yeah, has to be slightly more careful with what she eats, but she's slim and fit and still eats chocolate and drinks wine

Thowe92

It depends on genetics, activity level, muscle mass, age, gender, body type, height, etc. Since I've been mostly sedentary for the past few months because of some arm and knee complications I've been having trouble trying to figure out how much I should be eating now myself, but my weight has supposedly been stable around 133. I used to run very often since 2012/2013 and rarely did any weight training. I hope that provided some form of insight if I stayed on topic.

SideSteel

I think there are certainly some potential changes that can make weight loss more challenging or weight gain easier, but it's definitely not an on/off switch nor does it spell immediate obesity for people when they hit a certain age.


I can tell you that I didn't start training and dieting until I was in my mid 30's. I'm 38 now and I'm hitting new maxes every few months in the gym and I'm basically in the best shape of my life.

bendyourkneekatie

For fun, I just calculated bmr with my stats at the following ages:

20: 1441
30: 1394
40: 1347
50: 1300
60: 1254

minties82

I don't think you hit 30 and everything goes downhill, no. There is a loss of muscle generally as people age though. I am 33 soon and this is the first time I've ever managed to lose any weight.

KateTii

Everyone has a metabolism. If your metabolism "shuts down", you have bigger problems to worry about - being dead the big one. People feel their metabolism shuts down at a certain age, but really their body is slowing down because their body isn't growing/replacing cells like it used to and they probably aren't as active either. But their habits don't change. So they keep eating as they did when they were 20 and still growing and wonder why they are gaining weight.

ninerbuff

The biggest issue is that many people who hit 30 are more established in a professional job and greatly reduce the physical activity they did in their 20's. Remember clubbing? Anyway, we're talking about 200-400 calories difference between the ages of 20-60. It's NOT that hard to cut down 100 calories per every ten years. People just tend to eat more when they become parents or spend more time not being physically active. And not 100 calories, but 1000 or more. It's still CICO.

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

youdontknowwhatyousaw

The slow down is mostly caused by loss of muscle mass as you age. So, all you need to do to forestall this slowdown is work to keep the muscle you have and build more.

Packerjohn

Your metabolism slows slightly as you age but if you maintain muscle mass it helps slow the process and as posted above its not significant in the first place. I'm 59 have exercised for 40+ years and eat sensibly. You dont have to gain as you get older. I'm 6'2" 205 pounds which is 10 pounds heavier then at HS graduation. Have been plus or minus 5 pounds from current weight for 40 years. I wear the same size clothes as my 24 yr old son who is the same height and about 5-10 pounds heavier. He is in good shape and has been approached for some local fitness modeling.

Tell your friends they are pretty much full of crap.

Machka9

modelktford wrote: »

Hey all! So at work the other day, several coworkers were discussing how basically once you hit 30, no matter what you do, your metabolism essentially shuts down and you gain weight much more easily. A few of them were joking about how in their 20's they were insanely fit, but now they have only to look at some food and gain weight! I was curious, because I'm 23, and they all assured me I had only a couple "good years" (?) left! haha! So my question is this - I always kind of thought that stuff depended on genetics/your personal habits/your own body, but what do you guys think? I feel like I know lots of people who are more toned/better at cardio than me well into their 40's-50's? But am I missing something? Any input would be appreciated

From personal experience ...

I was moderately fit in my 20s, but I was in the best shape of my life when I turned 33. And generally I was in much better shape through my 30s than I was in my 20s.

I didn't start to lose fitness until I hit 42, but that was only because I developed a fairly serious DVT situation which hospitalised me for 2 weeks, and then pretty much knocked me out of the game for a year.

I've been sort of gradually trying to increase my fitness since, and right now, at 48, I'd say that I'm finally on track to be where I was when I was 41 again ... pre-DVT.

SLLRunner

modelktford wrote: »

Hey all! So at work the other day, several coworkers were discussing how basically once you hit 30, no matter what you do, your metabolism essentially shuts down and you gain weight much more easily. A few of them were joking about how in their 20's they were insanely fit, but now they have only to look at some food and gain weight! I was curious, because I'm 23, and they all assured me I had only a couple "good years" (?) left! haha! So my question is this - I always kind of thought that stuff depended on genetics/your personal habits/your own body, but what do you guys think? I feel like I know lots of people who are more toned/better at cardio than me well into their 40's-50's? But am I missing something? Any input would be appreciated

Don't allow those silly people to tell you that stuff. Tell them that SLLRunner's easiest time of losing weight and keeping it off was in her early fifties, that she lost 44 pounds and has been maintaining for over a year and a half. Also tell them that SLLRunner was overweight and/or obese up until she hit 40, when she lost a total of about 75 pounds, but that she gained it back due to the fork-to-food-back-to-mouth movements. Believe me, there was a lot of food on those forks and spoons as I moved them to my mouth.

I think the reason that it has been easy for me to lose and maintain this time of my life is because (1) I educated myself on the science of weight management and (2) I'm getting old and don't want to die young from weight-related complications.

The bottom line is you are in control of how much you eat.

tomatoey

drunknfreaky wrote: »

The slow down is mostly caused by loss of muscle mass as you age. So, all you need to do to forestall this slowdown is work to keep the muscle you have and build more.

This. And eat for muscle and general health.

ninerbuff wrote: »

The biggest issue is that many people who hit 30 are more established in a professional job and greatly reduce the physical activity they did in their 20's. Remember clubbing? Anyway, we're talking about 200-400 calories difference between the ages of 20-60. It's NOT that hard to cut down 100 calories per every ten years. People just tend to eat more when they become parents or spend more time not being physically active. And not 100 calories, but 1000 or more. It's still CICO.

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

Also true. Office work in a role that involves long hours + commuting + marriage = butt spread.

OsricTheKnight

modelktford wrote: »

once you hit 30, no matter what you do, your metabolism essentially shuts down and you gain weight much more easily.

Sounds like coworkers who need to rationalize their poor body image and claim that there's no way out so they don't have to face the fact that plenty of people manage to stay fit and trim by taking care of themselves while these people let themselves go.

Are there factors that make it harder? Absolutely. But most of them are on the end of the spoon mixed in with your ice cream after a night out to get away from the kids.

Osric

Cahgetsfit

Personally, I never had to worry about weight in my teens/twenties. there was a period in my early twenties when i gained a bit because of sh!tty boyfriend and sh!tty food, but as soon as I got out of that scenario I lost it really quickly without having to "diet" or anything like that - I just went back to eating my normal relatively healthy diet. then when I went to Italy for 6 months I also stashed on some weight because I was eating EVERYTHING that came in front of me and it was ALL YUMMY and again - emotional space wasn't the best so that never helps. As soon as I got back to Australia I lost it all again without much hassle. That was mid-late 20s. Throughout my late 20's to mid 30s I was fine and fit. And then I got pregnant. And then I had post-natal depression. And then my relationship went to the cr@pper. And I felt like *kitten* and I ate like a maniac and then when I finally managed to crawl out of the cr@pfull mindspace and started going to the gym and dieting I felt better - I lost weight on the 1200 cals method but then was hungry and weak and put it all back on! And now - FINALLY I have been going about it the right way (for me) and I have lost weight, feel fit, am strong, not hungry and yeah... I think it does slow down some, but other things are more factors such as headspace, sedentary jobs....

GaleHawkins

drunknfreaky wrote: »

The slow down is mostly caused by loss of muscle mass as you age. So, all you need to do to forestall this slowdown is work to keep the muscle you have and build more.

Well you and Dr. William Davis are in agreement on this point. Tonight I just finished his 2014 book Wheat Belly Total Health.

What hit me hard after 40 years of yo yo'ing weight was that he states up to a third of each of my losses over the years was from muscle loss and most of my regains were more from fat than from new muscle. The reason weight loss got harder and harder for me was because I was more fat and less muscle than on each prior loss cycle.

Bshmerlie

I don't think it has as much to do with metabolism as it does with priorities. When you're young you are are only priority and chances are you focus on your self image in order to land a mate. But as people get older in their 30s other things in their life can take priority and if they have already been married for a few years a spit out a kid or two personal appearences can take a back seat. Sometimes careers or running a business take up much of their time to the point that they are exhausted by the end of the day. By the time you get into your 40's you spent almost two decades ignoring the scale and putting on the pounds. Not everyone does this but it does explain many of us.

My advice to you would be to simply weigh yourself at least once a week for the rest of your life. Write that weight down in big bold numbers on a dry erase board and put it somewhere you can see it every day. If you ever get more than 10 pounds over your goal weight cut back right away and get a handle on it early. Your health and fitness should always stay at the forefront of your mind. Never let it get away from you.

OsricTheKnight

GaleHawkins wrote: »

What hit me hard after 40 years of yo yo'ing weight was that he states up to a third of each of my losses over the years was from muscle loss and most of my regains were more from fat than from new muscle. The reason weight loss got harder and harder for me was because I was more fat and less muscle than on each prior loss cycle.

I have data on myself for this over the last 12 years. It's definitely a measurable effect, but not quite as severe as that. Of course this must vary from person to person, and depend in each case how you lost and how you regained.

Osric

tomatoey

OsricTheKnight wrote: »

GaleHawkins wrote: »

What hit me hard after 40 years of yo yo'ing weight was that he states up to a third of each of my losses over the years was from muscle loss and most of my regains were more from fat than from new muscle. The reason weight loss got harder and harder for me was because I was more fat and less muscle than on each prior loss cycle.

I have data on myself for this over the last 12 years. It's definitely a measurable effect, but not quite as severe as that. Of course this must vary from person to person, and depend in each case how you lost and how you regained.

Osric

I've read about it in a bunch of places, and am positive it's happened to me. (I'd love to know how to manage when you can't lift weights... will save that for another thread.)

GaleHawkins

After reading this 2014 book of his I gather there are so many factors impacting weight loss one never really knows for sure what is going on.