Slow Metabolism After 30 ? What Science Really Says?

rudyzenreviews

People often say your metabolism drops once you hit 30, but research shows it actually stays pretty stable until around age 60. What usually changes is lifestyle and less movement, muscle loss, stress, or sleep issues , not a sudden crash in calorie burn.

The good news is strength training, staying active, and eating enough protein can keep metabolism strong at any age.

Have you noticed weight loss getting harder after 30, or has it felt about the same once habits are in check?

Alluvea

This was good to read! I actually thought I'd just got lucky, because losing weight seems to be the same for me now (at 35) as it did at 25. It's never been easy, but at least it isn't getting any harder. What's harder is, like you mentioned, my lifestyle. I work from home, go to college remotely, and have a teenage daughter to look after, so I don't have as much free time or energy to dedicate to losing weight as I did when I was younger. I'm not letting it stop me, though!

rudyzenreviews

yaa..lifestyle plays a major role..simply lifestyle matters!

AnnPT77

Truth in the OP for sure.

Another thing that may be a speed bump for some: Years and years of repeated yo-yo dieting, rounds of extreme calorie restriction plus over-exercise plus under-nutrition, followed by giving up (because it's just too hard); regaining the pounds/kilos with friends, but still maybe sub-par nutrition and low/no exercise; then another round starting next New Years Day (or similar).

Every extreme restriction, loss of fat and loss of lean mass. Every regain, mostly fat. Body composition at any given weight shifting more toward relatively more fat, relatively less muscle. Adaptive thermogenesis - reduced calorie needs can result from that body composition shift, plus the body's response to repeated extreme restrictions. Yes, that's a gradual process, over years.

Our bodies can't tell intentional restriction from famine, and our human ancestors evolved living through many famines - repeated famines or low-food-availability short of famine - often multiple times in the same individual's lifespan. Our bodies get good at surviving what we train them in our individual lifetimes to be good at - like intentional extreme restrictions. Our ancestors were the same, and the genes that helped them with that survival were passed along to us.

Fast weight loss is a trap. Cutting calories so low we can't get adequate nutrition is long-term counter-productive. The "eat salads and veggies" approach that's been common in my demographic is another contributor (inadequate nutrition, especially too little protein) and fears that strength training will make women "bulky" (nope).

OP is right, IMO: ". . . strength training, staying active, and eating enough protein can keep metabolism strong at any age." That's the right course. I'd add "avoiding extreme restriction this time around" for extra benefits. There's potential value in training our bodies to expect reasonable fuel and nourishment, even while losing fat.

Now 69 and still at a healthy weight, I finally got around to losing weight at 59-60, already menopausal, plus severely hypothyroid (medicated). Any of those are considered by some to be weight loss doom. IME, they aren't.

Retroguy2000

I haven't noticed any difference at all. It's the same as it always was. If your weight is going up, eat better and/or less, move more. I think too many people make excuses with vague handwavey comments about "age" or "metabolism".

This is a good little recent video from a daytime show about senior powerlifters. People in their 60's and 70's here lifting strong and doing well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q2kE01Fy4Q

tomcustombuilder

metabolism is a word that seems to have some mystical meaning. Like your body having to decide what to do with the calories that you give it.

It takes every calorie you give it, debates whether to spend it immediately on “urgent projects” like keeping your brain alive, hoards some away in the fat vault for “future emergencies that may never happen,” and then burns the rest in a bonfire of inefficiency called exercise. When you’re young, the accountant is caffeinated, generous, and quick. By the time you’re older, it’s basically semi-retired, suspicious of your intentions, and demands a five-day review before releasing a single calorie.

AnnPT77

FWIW, an example of the research:

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

cmriverside

LOL @tomcustombuilder

Alluvea

@AnnPT77 That's something I hadn't thought about! Before I started my weight loss journey, I would go 30+ hours without eating fairly frequently. My family has made comments like, "I don't know how you gained so much weight when you never eat!" I would just hyperfixate on cleaning, work, or college and not realize I was hungry until my stomach was aching and I was lightheaded. I told myself I was too busy to make meals, but I also didn't want to get fast food, so I pushed it off until I was starving and then ended up overeating (usually fast food) to compensate. Some days all I'd consume was soda. I have to wonder if all that starving myself made things worse.

I always tell people it's weird how I'm a lot less hungry a lot less often now that I've started losing weight. I mean, it makes perfect sense, because I'm mindful of mealtimes and the food I'm eating, but it's still funny to me. The only times I've felt hungry are days that I've really messed up—like eating too big of a lunch so I need a small supper or eating supper too early so that I'm peckish before bed—and even then the hunger is at the "I feel like I could eat" level and not "I'm dizzy and nauseous" level.