How much does 'being young' help weight loss?

clare2403

I'm wondering what impact simply being young and healthy has on the body's ability to lose weight.

The standard advice here generally seems to be never eat less than 1200 cal/day (if you're a woman at least), don't try to lose more than 1% of your body weight a week so that you only lose fat and preserve your muscle, always listen to your body and don't push yourself too far and give yourself rest when your body demands it. Also, your metabolism slows with age. All seems pretty sage to me and I follow it.

Now, I am a 23-year-old woman, have a naturally muscly/athletic build and am healthy but am carrying an extra 20/30lb (my happy weight is about 110lb). If I eat 1200-1300/day and exercise weights/cardio as much as my body can handle (with rest days where needed) I lose more than 1% of my weight per week. I'm wondering if that means I am indeed losing muscle or my body just drops the weight without complaining because I'm young and my body naturally wants to be thin and fit? Should I try to lose less weight per week? Or should I just not worry because I'm eating about 1300 cal a day and my body seems to be handling the exercise well? Thoughts???

Also I know a lot of people ask this sort of question but I'm repeating it based on the fact that I have a low starting weight and am quite young.

ShoShoyi

Don't really have an answer for your exact question (I would imagine those who are in their 30s/40s/50s may have a more legitimate answer for you), though personally I'm interested in your "don't lose more than 1% body-weight weekly" theory. Just out of curiosity, where have you heard that?

clare2403

I've seen it mentioned around these forums. Some say no more than 2lbs/week, others say it depends on how much you actually weigh which is where the 1% apparently comes in. Providing you're not obese and likely to lose big numbers. I'm not fussed about the numbers as such but just don't want to be losing weight because my body is using my muscles for energy.

AJ_G

Your BMR decreases by 2% to 3% every decade after you are 20, that should answer your question.

Edit: No matter what, when you're losing weight, you're losing muscle. The larger your calorie deficit, the larger percentage of your weight loss is from muscle. You shouldn't be losing more than 1% of your body weight per week, if you are, eat more or do less cardio.

born2drum

A safe and healthy rate is 1-2lbs but I've heard of some guys (usually heavier guys/gals) that lost in the 3-4lb range but ended up looking skinny fat whereas the 1-2;bs ended up looking lean and toned. But, this varies among individuals. If you keep your protein up you can minimize lean muscle mass.

MyChocolateDiet

nvm

TheRealParisLove

Since you have so little to lose, make sure you are eating at almost maintenance calories. Set MFP for a loss of .5 pounds a week. Weight training will help you preserve your muscle mass, but cardio is where the magic is going to happen for those last ten pounds.

Do some seriously intense cardio 3 times a week. Get your heart rate up as high as possible for 1-2 minutes then work at a more moderate pace for 1-2 minutes. Repeat for about half an hour. You'll see some amazing results with doing that kind of high intensity training 3 times a week.

AJ_G

Since you have so little to lose, make sure you are eating at almost maintenance calories. Set MFP for a loss of .5 pounds a week. Weight training will help you preserve your muscle mass, but cardio is where the magic is going to happen for those last ten pounds.

Do some seriously intense cardio 3 times a week. Get your heart rate up as high as possible for 1-2 minutes then work at a more moderate pace for 1-2 minutes. Repeat for about half an hour. You'll see some amazing results with doing that kind of high intensity training 3 times a week.

All that is necessary for weight loss is a calorie deficit. Whether it is achieved through lowering calorie intake, or increasing calorie burning through exercise, or both does not matter. You can easily lose weight by doing zero cardio and lowering calorie intake. Also, it sounds like you're trying to describe High Intensity Interval Training, but your protocols are slightly flawed. In order for HIIT to be effective, your intervals need to be at a high enough intensity so that you can only sustain them for 30 to 45 seconds. Any longer than this, and your intensity level is not high enough. Once each interval is completed, take a long enough rest to get your heart rate back down as low as you can to resting heart rate. Achieve this by going at a VERY easy pace, not a moderate pace for at least 3 minutes, but it can take upwards of 5 minutes. Repeat until 6 intervals have been completed.

Sarauk2sf

Age is not really related to your question. 1% is fine for now, assuming you are strength training and getting enough protein, but you should drop that down to 0.5% when you are nearer goal.

Age helps weight loss in that your metabolism is naturally higher when younger as compared to older, but unless comparing to someone, for example, going through menopause who may have hormonal related metabolic issues due to it, the difference is not too significant - about 100 cals every 10 years, give or take.

TheRealParisLove

All that is necessary for weight loss is a calorie deficit.

It would be wonderful if that were actually true. Try being a peri-menopausal woman for 6 months and tell me how easy it is to lose weight, LOL!

Oishii

I had the same issue of losing (far) faster than mfp suggested, but in my mid-30s. I lost the last 10lb far faster than I needed or wanted to and found it hard to stop losing. I had the same thoughts about whether this might be what my body 'wanted', but as my boobs slipped below an A cup, my underarms were so concave I couldn't shave and I became anaemic, if I want to be that weight again I'll do things very differently!

So, I don't think it's age. The formulas used are based around averages, not exactly applicable to everyone, so as an individual you have to work out to what extent you fit the formula and to what extent you're an outlier. So far, I've been an outlier, but I'm also aware that this could change in future, as DS2 could trip all kinds of hormone switches, as could old age eventually.

jayareohh924

Dont forget too that some of the "loss" will be water weight as well. MFP does not take this into consideration, so any extra loss (the difference between MFP says and the scale says) is likely to be water loss.

A good example of this is weigh yourself before you go to bed, then weigh yourself when you get up. You will more than likely notice a difference of a pound or so.

morticia16

If you are younger, it just means you can probably achieve a calorie deficit with a bit less restrictions and a bit less exercise since your BMR will most likely be a bit higher. But the key to success is in all cases the same good ol' calories in/calories out ratio.

MyChocolateDiet

i thought i aleready anserd this? why is it on my thing?

morticia16

i thought i aleready anserd this? why is it on my thing?

what thing?

choijanro

I'm 20 yrs old and i think the advantage of being young is the fast metabolism,, but it will depends on your lifestyle,,because there are many teenagers today that are obese & too skinny

UpEarly

I'm 'old' (compared to you, at least). I tried to lose a half pound a week by cutting 250 calories from my TDEE - using MFP's caloric recommendations for my lifestyle and activities. I ended up losing 2-3 pounds a week. Most days I ate between 1900-2300 calories.

After a couple months of losing weight faster than I should, I ended up increasing my calories by saying I lived a 'very active' lifestyle. I ended up losing 66 pounds in a year. I've been at my goal weight for about a year and a half now.

Even now, if I eat under 2,000 calories I lose weight.

I don't know what factor age plays in the overall scheme of things, but it didn't seem to make a difference for me. I lost weight as easily at 39 as I did at 23.

clare2403

Thanks for the help guys! I think I might up my calories and protein intake slightly (just to make sure I'm not losing any muscle mass) and maybe do a little more cardio than weights. I guess my body probably knows best for the time being and I'll monitor how it all goes over the next few months and see how my body continues to react as the weight drops off.