Slow metabolism

dawnthomas15

Anyone know the best way to get my metabolism going? Mine has slowed down with age, I'm finding it hard to get weight off even with diet and exercise. Any suggestions

neanderthin

As we age the opposite is true: you can't make up for a lack of muscle mass and daily exercise with a diet. Focus on quality protein and getting some form of exercise 3 or 4 times a week for at least 30 minutes and resistance exercise would be a bonus for sure. Sarcopenia is not our friend as we age.

pridesabtch

I hear you, but my metabolism didn't go down due to age. Its more my lowered activity level and muscle mass associated with the lifestyle I've settled into. When I get those back on track, I tend to do just fine even though I'm older now.

Retroguy2000

Metabolism doesn't slow significantly until your 60's.

If you're younger than that, you don't have a "slow metabolism". Exercise more, move more, walk more, etc.

AnnPT77

Even after 60, slowing metabolism tends to be a pretty gradual thing.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8370708/

Neanderthin has a point, some of that slowing is related to lost muscle mass (potentially starting well before 60 depending on personal lifestyle choices). The counter to that is good nutrition (including ample protein) plus strength-challenging exercise. For extra benefits, work on increasing movement, not just exercise but daily life stuff. Ideas about the latter here:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

One thing that can be a factor - in terms of those possible negative past lifestyle choices - is repeated rounds of yo-yo weight loss and regain. That's especially true if using extreme measures for fast loss (inadequate nutrition because of low calories, insufficient protein/fats, plus overdoing punitively intense cardiovascular-only exercise). Regain is often little/no exercise, food choices still deficient in nutrition (especially protein). Muscle mass is lost, and mostly fat regained, with every repeat cycle: Small amounts, but they add up.

I'm 68. I lost weight at 59-60, menopausal and severely hypothyroid (medicated), going from class 1 obese to a healthy weight, by calorie counting with MFP. I'm still at a healthy weight, r around 3 previous decades overweight/obese.

If you think your metabolism has significantly slowed . . . well, that's not mostly a real thing, especially absent some devastating disease. As we age, we tend to develop more sedentary habits, lose muscle mass, and burn fewer calories because we move less and have less muscle tissue. This can down-spiral: Inactivity and muscle loss make moving less easy and fun, so we do less movement, burning fewer calories, getting fatter, losing more muscle and fitness . . . .

Diet and exercise (cardiovascular and strength) is still going to work. Patience is a hug part of the formula. Fast loss is only going to worsen the situation anyway. (Less energy, more muscle loss.)

Unfortunately, it's still about lifestyle choices and commitment to change. It's not easy every second, but the mechanics are simple.

Best wishes!

tomcustombuilder

Move, move, move….

spiriteagle99

One suggestion: have you had your thyroid checked? An underactive thyroid can mean less movement, which will slow down your metabolism. I had a problem losing weight when I was in my 40s. When I got on thyroid meds, I was able to lose weight. Certain meds can also make it hard to lose weight. Check with your doctor to see if that could be a factor.

neanderthin

More to my point on sarcopenia. The obesity rate in India is low and around 10-11 % but, it's a good example of skinny fat (sarcopenia), yeah, it's a thing. Central obesity, which is the accumulated visceral fat around our organs which effects waist circumferences is a big problem especially for women in India where according to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Union Health Ministry effects around 40% of men and 50% of women and where protein quality and in combination with a diet that is also high in carbohydrates and fat which has contributed to this "skinny fat phenotype" and not surprising all the comorbidities to go along with that, like diabetes that is actually higher in India that the USA and that's saying something and of course heart disease is double when someone has diabetes. Protein quality is important as well as in the right proportions also taking into consideration India's overall protein intake is low as well which probably has to do with other cultural factors like religion for example.

ahoy_m8

pridesabtch wrote: »

I hear you, but my metabolism didn't go down due to age. Its more my lowered activity level and muscle mass associated with the lifestyle I've settled into. When I get those back on track, I tend to do just fine even though I'm older now.

Me, too. I had a mid-40's career change and when my weight crept up 5lb (not uncommon), my usual way of losing 5lb didn't work. I wondered if it was age related metabolism change. Ha! It wasn't. As soon as I realized my new less active job gave me a smaller calorie budget and adjusted for that, the math worked as expected. Fewer calories was totally worth an easier lifestyle! Strength training takes effort (mental effort, too) for me, though. There's no other option for maintaining muscle mass, so the effort it worth it (says to self).

kshama2001

Yeah, my metabolism starting slowing down around age 39.

Oh, wait, that's when I started a series of desk jobs - prior to that I was a full time yoga teacher, also worked out regularly, walked a lot during the course of my volunteer job, and did not eat a lot of calorie-dense foods.

Here's my favorite article about metabolism: https://www.aworkoutroutine.com/how-to-increase-metabolism/

springlering62

You can flip it on its head. I finally got off my fanny and started exercising. My “metabolism” or whatever you care to call it, has rebounded in the opposite direction.

You’re not doomed, you know. You’ve just got to make the decision whether to keep slowing, or push back.