weightloss after 40 experiences?

Danp

44 here and nope it hasn't been harder.

In fact I think I'm doing it easier this time around compared to the last time I successfully dropped significant digits in my early 30's. I think I'm a bit wiser now.

Well, let me qualify that slightly. Losing weight hasn't been harder that I've noticed but I struggled a little to start exercising and getting active again. Getting the joints moving and muscles going took a little bit longer this time

sijomial

Failed to lose in my 30's and 40's, successful in my 50's.

Some of it was better tools and information making it easier but by far the biggest factor was that was simply ready in my 50's to finally take responsibility for how much food I put in my mouth - that's not an age related factor.

Seffell

It's harder as you get older only because your body slows its metabolism (your bmr gets lower) as you age. So you have to eat less than you did to keep the same weight.

paperpudding

I lost my weight in 2013, the year I turned 50.

was not hard - simply followed MFP amounts like everyone else and lo and behold 10 months later reached my goal weight.

PS I know title means experiences of losing weight after 40 years old - but I read it as losing weight after 40 experiences - and I thought gee, 40 experiences, that is a lot of different experiences before you find the right way

middlehaitch

Seffell wrote: »

It's harder as you get older only because your body slows its metabolism (your bmr gets lower) as you age. So you have to eat less than you did to keep the same weight.

One’s metabolism does slow as we age. Between 50-100 cals a decade.
I’m small and at 65 my BMR is 150cal less than it was when I was 35.

A lot of the estimated drop in BMR is based on the assumption that as we age we move less. Moving less means we lose muscle.

If you keep moving and using your muscles even the drop in BMR due to aging can be offset to a certain degree.

Through just subtly increasing my NEAT over time I can eat 200-300 cals more now at 65 than I could when I first started maintaining at 55.

I only lost weight once at the age of 54-55 so I have no idea if it would have been a different experience when I was younger.
I didn’t find it hard or difficult, just slow. (Been maintaining ~10yr)

Cheers, h.

jan110144

74. Lost 50+ pounds in 6 months. In maintenance for 23 months. I do not think that age, per se, is really an issue. Keys for me ... Eating well, exercising daily, logging, and paying attention to sleep.

Silentpadna

sijomial wrote: »

Failed to lose in my 30's and 40's, successful in my 50's.

Some of it was better tools and information making it easier but by far the biggest factor was that was simply ready in my 50's to finally take responsibility for how much food I put in my mouth - that's not an age related factor.

Yep.

When I decided to switch directions I was almost 54. At 56, I'm about 45 pounds down. I can lift more than I ever could when I was young. I can stop at a playground and knock out 10 chin ups any time. Most of my life I could usually do about zero, even when I was a normal weight. Just learned how much I should be eating and how to (generally) eat the macro ratios I wanted and got addicted to physical improvement. The physical improvement is something I'm very happy with. And because I did not choose an unrealistic timeline for that, I'm gratified whenever there is noticeable improvement in any of those areas.

I did not find losing weight particularly hard because of age. I think the effort is whatever it is. I can't relate it to whatever the effort might have been when I was younger.

HoneyBadger302

Technically it's no harder now than it was "then." Biggest issues for me to learn to overcome/work with/understand is that my TDEE has dropped significantly from my 20's to my 40's, simply due to things like having a desk job now (instead of active jobs). hobbies that are more of a weekend rather than several nights a week+weekends activity, more eating out (mom ain't cooking for me anymore LOL), and having to make time for activity and working out rather than it being a natural part of my day.

Overall what this means is I have to learn to eat less - which I do not find "easy" to do. It's easy in theory, not in reality. I don't cope well with being hungry, and an appreciable loss means I'm going to be hungry - a lot. So, I try to find a happy middle, with a slower loss, but something that doesn't leave me miserable.

Part of me really wishes I could be happier being at a steeper deficit, but I've tried that before, and it has never stuck. The slow-loss method has stuck, it's just slow....

lynn_glenmont

I've had greater success in losing weight and maintaining weight loss over the age of 50 than I ever had earlier in my life. An online database and a way to store for future use database entries, meals, and recipes has made calorie counting so much easier than the days when I had to rely on a little book of calorie information.

Safari_Gal

Why would weight loss be different after 40?