Tips for weight loss with "aging" metabolism

cemrani3

Growing up, I was always big for my age, but never really obese. I was very active but never on a strict exercise regimen. I started on swim team in high school and very quickly lost ~20 lbs. We'd burn like 3,000 calories in a single practice, and I ate whatever I wanted. When I quit swimming in college, the weight came back on, but not as much since I was trying to be health conscious and maintain my figure. After college, I began teaching, and as I had little energy/time to exercise, the weight crept up steadily despite my eating efforts. That's when I found MFP and started diligently logging my food and exercise and weight progress. I would go up and down, but pretty much stay about 10-15 lbs heavier than I should have been.

I'm now 26, and I've noticed the weight loss journey is becoming more and more difficult. I'm eating about the same if not way less on some days, and getting about the same amount of exercise as I had been. The pounds are annoyingly piling on, and I'm scared I'm finally reaching that point in life people say "you're going to start seeing a shift in your weight because your metabolism slows way down." I'm taking in about 1600 calories a day, and I'm still so hungry! It's so frustrating because I don't want to starve myself, and I have no problem exercising, but I'm really uncomfortable with how I look and feel now, and I feel like all my efforts are futile.

Any tips for how to alter diet / exercise patterns for when you no longer have the teenage metabolism (but still the appetite)? Thanks...

debaloo

It helps to eat 5-6 small meals through the day that includes lots of veggies, protein, healthy carbs and a small amount of fat. Also, do heavy lifting to increase muscle mass which will increase your metabolism.

Mokey41

Your metabolism changes very little with age, about 10 calories per 10 year so at the ripe old age of 26 I don't think metabolism slowdown is an issue. The more likely culprit is doing a lot less activity and not having as big a lean muscle mass to burn more calories. Get more active and start lifting!

_Zardoz_

Log your food and drink accurately and stick to your calorie goals. Find an exercise you enjoy and keep moving and the weight will come off .

cemrani3

Thanks! I forgot about the "having muscles actually burns calories for you" thing - makes sense, and that's actually what I had been noticing - while certain areas are still somewhat slender... most the strong muscle mass is gone - will be working on that now!

eileen0515

I saw the title of your thread, and thought, oh this is something I can contribute to.

Then I saw your age, lol. Look I'm 55 and I have not been hindered by a slower metabolism. I've lost almost 60 pounds. I guess we all want an excuse (not saying you do).

It takes awhile to find a balance, where you can eat at a deficit and not be hungry. It takes experimentation to find what works for you.

cemrani3

I know, LOL, I felt a little bad wording it that way, but it is very noticeable as I moved from early to late 20s. I want to get fit now so that it doesn't get worse as I get older. Thanks for the advice!

ninerbuff

I encourage people to learn for life. At 49, my metabolism is close to that of an average male at the same height and weight in their early 30's.
I hit it hard at the gym and try to make every rep count.
The result: I still run pretty fast, jump pretty high and can endure playing in sports.
Hit the weights. Hit them hard.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

AJ_G

It helps to eat 5-6 small meals through the day that includes lots of veggies, protein, healthy carbs and a small amount of fat. Also, do heavy lifting to increase muscle mass which will increase your metabolism.

LOL, completely wrong, meal frequency has zero effect on metabolism.

debaloo

It helps to eat 5-6 small meals through the day that includes lots of veggies, protein, healthy carbs and a small amount of fat. Also, do heavy lifting to increase muscle mass which will increase your metabolism.

LOL, completely wrong, meal frequency has zero effect on metabolism.

No to be combative, or call you "completely wrong" but you are incorrect. Frequent meals with protein delivers protein to your body throughout the day since we can only process so much per hour. It keeps you full through out the day so you don't binge on all your calories or more late at night when it's the worst to eat. It also keeps your blood sugar in check through out the day. Frequent meals help to regulate the hormones ghrelin, leptin and insulin. Your metabolism is dictated by your hormones.

psuLemon

It helps to eat 5-6 small meals through the day that includes lots of veggies, protein, healthy carbs and a small amount of fat. Also, do heavy lifting to increase muscle mass which will increase your metabolism.

LOL, completely wrong, meal frequency has zero effect on metabolism.

No to be combative, or call you "completely wrong" but you are incorrect. Frequent meals with protein delivers protein to your body throughout the day since we can only process so much per hour. It keeps you full through out the day so you don't binge on all your calories or more late at night when it's the worst to eat. It also keeps your blood sugar in check through out the day. Frequent meals help to regulate the hormones ghrelin, leptin and insulin. Your metabolism is dictated by your hormones.

While his delivery was a bit harsh, his answer is correct. It's a satiety issue (for some people) but not for everyone (this who do interim fasting vs a standard diet). Frequency of meals does not improve or hinder weight loss, it comes down to caloric intake.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985

psuLemon

Your metabolism changes very little with age, about 10 calories per 10 year so at the ripe old age of 26 I don't think metabolism slowdown is an issue. The more likely culprit is doing a lot less activity and not having as big a lean muscle mass to burn more calories. Get more active and start lifting!

I agree with this. Realistically, a chances of a metabolic issue are slim at this age and the amount of muscle loss is probably minimal. The biggest difference is activity level. The good thing is, you just have to adjust your calories based on activity. And if you are exercising daily, it's quite easy to get 1700-2100 calories for weight loss.

BrianSharpe

It helps to eat 5-6 small meals through the day that includes lots of veggies, protein, healthy carbs and a small amount of fat. Also, do heavy lifting to increase muscle mass which will increase your metabolism.

LOL, completely wrong, meal frequency has zero effect on metabolism.

No to be combative, or call you "completely wrong" but you are incorrect. Frequent meals with protein delivers protein to your body throughout the day since we can only process so much per hour. It keeps you full through out the day so you don't binge on all your calories or more late at night when it's the worst to eat. It also keeps your blood sugar in check through out the day. Frequent meals help to regulate the hormones ghrelin, leptin and insulin. Your metabolism is dictated by your hormones.

http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/5/941.full

Meal timing and frequency have zero impact on your metabolism. Your TEF from a given amount of food remains constant whether 1 meal or 6 small ones.

I would, however, concede that for some people eating more frequent smaller meals may keep snacking in check and make it easier for them maintain a caloric deficit.

ninerbuff

It helps to eat 5-6 small meals through the day that includes lots of veggies, protein, healthy carbs and a small amount of fat. Also, do heavy lifting to increase muscle mass which will increase your metabolism.

LOL, completely wrong, meal frequency has zero effect on metabolism.

No to be combative, or call you "completely wrong" but you are incorrect. Frequent meals with protein delivers protein to your body throughout the day since we can only process so much per hour. It keeps you full through out the day so you don't binge on all your calories or more late at night when it's the worst to eat. It also keeps your blood sugar in check through out the day. Frequent meals help to regulate the hormones ghrelin, leptin and insulin. Your metabolism is dictated by your hormones.

As been mentioned, it may help with satiety, but there aren't any studies showing that meal frequency increases metabolism. Unfortunately this is a long ongoing myth that's been passed on throughout the fitness industry.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

debaloo

New England Journal of Medicine.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM198910053211403

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/1/16.short


The abstracts are available on both of these pages.

BrianSharpe

New England Journal of Medicine.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM198910053211403

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/1/16.short


The abstracts are available on both of these pages.

The OP posed the question in respect to boosting metabolism not in respect to serum lipid levels or carbohydrate tolerance and we need to be careful not to confuse postprandial thermogenesis with increases in BMR (which you did correctly address with the advice to lift weights)

psuLemon

New England Journal of Medicine.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM198910053211403

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/1/16.short


The abstracts are available on both of these pages.

I would also like to annotate that those studies are from 1989 and 2004. While I do not discredit the information, newer and probably more accurate methods were used in the NIH studies, and looking at different things. In terms of weight loss, there is NO impact. And really, we should try to keep it simple so the OP is not confused.