Harder as we age 🤔

bickymc

So I'm frustrated ' REALLY FRUSTRATED ', with my lack of progress.
I think I've damage my metabolism through decades of yo-yo dieting and fad diets plus I'm heading towards the dreaded 50 mark.
I am trying to stay at 5000 kilojoules (1200 cals) per day plus running 5 kilometers 2 days per week plus exercise 2 times per week.
I'm not sure if I'm eating to much for my age, although it's not recommended to eat less or I need to eat more???
So confused .. although a bottle of wine on a Friday night can't be helping ( still in daily kilojoules).
Any tips, tricks or suggestions?
Anyone mid forties or fifties who wants to be friends and share their diary?
Help 😟

ravengirl2014

Hey there! You can add me if you want...my diary is open to friends...i will be 50 next month...😋

PaytraB

1200 calories is quite low for most people. Have you put an aggressive weight loss goal into MFP to get that number? Is 1200 what MFP gave you as a calorie goal?

Are you weighing and recording your food?
Are you "eating back" your exercise calories?

Ooph.....a bottle of wine must be around 500 calories or more. That doesn't leave much for food. It happens....LOL!

I don't think there's any way to damage a metabolism. The body does what it does. I think you're metabolism should be okay. If you aren't losing weight it might be something else in your plan that may need tweaking.

AnnPT77

We tend to burn fewer calories as we age due to two things:

1. If we don't work to retain muscle mass, we lose muscle mass

Losing muscle mass means burning every so slightly fewer calories per day at the same body weight, but not many. At rest, research suggests muscle burns only around 2-4 calories more per pound per day than body fat (which is also metabolically active). What's probably more meaningful is that as our body composition declines, we don't feel like being as active, can't do as much so don't do as much, etc. I suspect yo-yo dieting can contribute to muscle loss, done many times, and if done the way many of my peers do it. (Extreme calorie restrictions, mostly salads (not enough protein), lots of cardio when losing, but no strength training; still not enough protein and little exercise when regaining mostly fat . . . every round loses a tiny, tiny little bit of muscle during each losing phase, and replaces it with fat during regain. One round makes little difference, but many rounds over many years . . . it adds up.)

2. We tend to do less, especially in daily life terms, than we did when we were younger. Maybe in our 20s/30s we were in the early stages of a career with lots of hustle, or even still doing physical jobs. Later jobs are more likely to be desk-oriented. We spent energy earlier chasing toddlers, remodeling our homes/gardens, etc. Now, maybe the kids are pretty independent, and we're enjoying the wonderful homes we created, or maybe even downsizing. If we're doing better financially, we may hire things done we used to do ourselves (mowing, cleaning, etc.) or use more automated methods (Roomba, riding mower). Where we used to go out dancing, we now dine out and go to spectator events (plays, movies, sports). Nothing big, but lots of little things.

The good news is, all of that is stuff we control. We can strength train, and increase muscle mass and fitness. We can work on creating a more active daily life, in a variety of ways. We can get more exercise, have more active hobbies generally.

It sounds like you have a good start on the exercise, but you'd probably guess I'd encourage some strength exercise in there if you're not doing any/much.

When you say "lack of progress", what kinds of progress have you seen: How many pounds lost, in how many weeks? This is a process that takes some patience, unfortunately. If you've just (re-)started exercise, that can add water weight for muscle repair, and hide fat loss on the scale for a while, besides.

I can' speak for you, but for me 1200 was way too low: I lost too fast, felt great (and not hungry) until suddenly I was weak and fatigued. It took several weeks to recover. It's normal to want fast loss, but fast loss isn't always the best plan.

I lost most of around 50 pounds in less than a year at age 59-60 on 1400-1600 calories daily, plus eating all my exercise calories. Now, some women do find they need to eat less than that (I'm mysteriously a pretty good calorie burner), but the point is that shooting for 2 pounds a week may not be a great plan, unless you have well over 50 pounds to lose; and it may not be very sustainable, either (partcularly if you want to keep including that whole bottle of wine ). Even now, at 130 pounds (I'm 5'5") and in year 4+ of maintenance (I'm 64), I'd lose like a house afire at 1200, and that would not be a good thing. But I'm not you. I have no idea how active you are in daily life, how tall you are, how much you weigh, or any of the other things that go into estimating calorie needs.

For sure: Age, as such, is not a big issue. People older than you or (gasp) even me lose weight here all the time. Even the online TDEE calculators say that someone my size at age 20 would be expected to have a basal metabolic rate (BMR, pre-activity calorie burn) only about one daily serving of peanut butter higher than 64-year-old me. That's not much. And if I tell the calculator that old and young me have the same body fat percentage (same muscle mass), that statistical difference disappears completely: Zero difference in estimated BMR.

If you have any meaningful amount of weight to lose (you didn't say), it's necessarily going to take a while. So, you need a sustainable process. It's better to lose half a pound a week for 20 weeks, than it is to lose 5 pounds in two weeks then fall off the wagon - maybe exaggerating a little here, but you get my point.

The good news is that you really can't damage your metabolism. You can lose muscle mass, you can move less, and those things will reduce calorie expenditure. But you control them, so you can improve them, too.

Best wishes! :flowerforyou:

bickymc

AnnePT77 Thank you so much xx very insightful. I only have about 6kg or I guess 15 lbs. I will add some strength training to my weekly workouts.

Ikeeptrying2

I was 47 when I started to focus on losing weight and getting fit (not the same things).

For me (and just speaking for myself), finding that sustainable 'place' where enough calories are not making your life miserable and yet still lose weight was the key to success in dropping. That sounds easy, but it's really not. Perhaps it may be at first but to make it sustainable over time is challenging. Honest and accurate food logging is one tool to make this possible. But, it takes tenacity and willingness to do it. Also, as you begin to close in on your goal weight, those measurements (calories) become more fickle in either direction.

Lifting weights is an amazing activity to add to your exercise routine. A well balanced activity/exercise regime as we age helps our bodies to age well - not just age. A well-balanced regime also helps to prevent injury from exercise alone. By varying the 'what' we do helps to reduce repetitive stress injuries. It also helps to prevent injury in our day to day lives.

You probably already know all of this, but I thought I'd out it out there anyways.

If you are going to add strength training, then be sure to pick a proven plan. There are many...
Here may be a good place to start to provide food for thought… https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

Is it harder as we age?? I'm not sure as I don't have data to support it in either direction, but I do think keeping our bodies in shape as we age is critical.

misty1902

I can relate to your struggle. I've struggled with my weight most of my life. In my late 30s and early 40s I used MFP & regular morning workouts to lose 40 pounds. I kept it off for many years. Then I went through a divorce in my mid-40s, my gym closed, moved twice, bought a house, changed jobs and one of my sons was hospitalized and spent 3 days in ICU. At first I lost another 5 - 10 lbs, probably due to stress, and kept it off for a year or so. Then, about 5 years ago I packed on a whopping 15 lbs in a year. It didn't matter what I did, I couldn't lose the weight. Then, the next year it was another 12 lbs, and it continued.

In the last 5 years I've gained about 40 lbs. I couldn't stop gaining weight. I worked with trainers, tried various different diets (always careful to maintain a healthy calorie count) but nothing helped. I'm back where I started when I lost it all in my late 30s. I've finally stopped gaining weight and seemed to have hit my new "normal".

In talking to my doctor I learned that I was perimenopausal. In talking to my mom I learned that her body did the same thing as she became perimenopausal. I'm not saying that I can't lose the weight now, but I know it's going to be much, much harder. Not only has my metabolism slowed but depression is more active and I work two jobs to make ends meet so I sit much more.

I've learned to be realistic about my weight loss and know it's more important to focus on being healthy than being thin. I still meet with a trainer, try to keep moving by wearing a fitbit to track my steps, try to hit my sleep goals and stay within my calorie count. My weight isn't decreasing, but I am feeling better and for now that's a win.

AnnPT77

bickymc wrote: »

AnnePT77 Thank you so much xx very insightful. I only have about 6kg or I guess 15 lbs. I will add some strength training to my weekly workouts.

With 6kg to lose, if you set up MFP to lose 2 pounds a week to get that 1200 calorie goal, I'd strongly encourage you to reset to one pound a week.

Or, if you got that goal outside MFP, let MFP estimate a calorie goal for you, using your daily life (pre-exercise) activity level, log and eat exercise separately, and eat that much or very close daily - though it's fine to bank a few calories most days to "buy" that wine on the weekend. After at least one full menstrual cycle (if you're not menopausal, 4-6 weeks if you are), evaluate your average weekly weight loss and adjust calories to hit the 1 pound per week average going forward.

@Ikeeptrying2 gave excellent advice up there a few posts: Make the process as easy as possible. That's a success strategy. It also helps you experiment and learn ways of eating and exercising that will work to keep your weight where you want it long term: Eating nutritious, filling, tasty food you enjoy, and that's practical in your life; allowing for some treats and celebrations; finding exercise you can enjoy in a "dosage" that leaves you with good overall life balance (time for all the other important parts of your life).

Best wishes!

alabastermama

@bickymc Our bodies are very efficient no matter what our age even though things slow down as we get older. Your body know how to protect itself from what it perceives as starvation. So, if your creating a huge calorie deficit ( 500 calories plus exercising) it will hold on to as much as it can for as long as it can. If you’re exercising as much as you posted, you my need to add some calories through protein back to your daily total and increase your exercise to keep building muscle whic will help burn more fat. @AnnPT77 gave excellent advice.

elisa123gal

my 2 cents.. you're eating to few caloires and over exercising. I'd eat a few hundred more caloires and eat often during the day..and exercise but don't over do it.. I bet you lose a lot better.

Also..i found as I get older.. i'm just tired of dieting and it didn't work as well just becasue I feel like I had used up all my willpower. But I did finally recharge myself and I know I can lose weight anytime I want..I just have to do it.