Adults of MFP: When did your metabolism catch up to you?

climbing_trees

When I was about 12! Pretty unlucky >___<

KalieHudson

The day I was born unfortunately...

PinkNinjaLaura

I yo-yo dieted through my 20's and 30's and did my metabolism no favors. In my 40's I finally started seriously working out (strength training, running, etc.) and eating right (and by that I mean just making healthy food choices & using portion control vs. trying every crash diet out there) and about 6 months later my metabolism kicked in. Had to bump up my calorie intake by 200-300 calories a day. Adding my vote to the people who say it's less about age and more about activity.

porkster

I am also one who believes that an active lifestyle combined with healthy food choices are more of a plus than age is a minus.

At 16 I had the body to seriously consider a future as an elite sprinter but then I discovered Girls, Alcohol and an Unlimited Supply of KFC, Macca's and Pizza! Fast-Forward 10 years to age 26 and I was sitting on an excavator every day and about 30 or 40 pound overweight.

A further ten years later, I was working on the high seas on Fishing Boats at maximum possible physical output and had lost that extra weight. Constant physical activity combined with ZERO Processed or Junk Food changed my body so much that a relieving Doctor at my local surgery edited my medical record, saying to me "There was a mistake on your record, they had you down here as 36 years old, but you're 26, right?"

Since being at my physical peak at around age 40 I began to experience the effects of a lifetime's accumulation of small injuries, conspiring against any plan I had to somehow outdo all those other humans that had deteriorated with age.

I find the impediment that comes with age is the limitation it imposes through injury or 'wear and tear' on one's ability to exercise.

Now at 54 I am urgently trying to find somewhere to swim laps, as soft tissue wear and tear prevents me from most activities that I used to enjoy as a means of keeping fit.

DON'T LET AGE BE THE EXCUSE IT IS FOR MANY, OUTSMART IT.

UpEarly

I'm 41 and I don't think my metabolism has slowed down yet - at least not significantly. I can still eat 2200-2400 calories a day and maintain my weight of 135 (I'm 5'9").

pkw58

When I started sitting at a desk for living

Yep. Me, too. but I also had a fine southern upbringing where cake and fried food were God Given rights.

jenilla1

Pretty sure it wasn't my metabolism. I got married and my husband and I took turns cooking every night. There were only two of us but he cooked for 12. :laugh: It's ok now, because once the slow creep up in weight began shortly after, we reevaluated our cooking methods. He now cooks for 2. :drinker:

TonyStark30

Whether its a myth, a tiny amount, down to lean body mass or activity, there is an age where you start to put on pounds while doing the same thing you were doing just previously, ie what you thought was balanced, wasn't. It doesn't matter why, the OP just wants to know when it happened to YOU.

If you ran did weights calorie counted took supplements and slept in an oxygen tank they don't mean you as you did something about it to keep balanced.

anyway 26.

lithezebra

I was at my highest body weight in my teens. If my metabolism has diminished, it has been more than offset by my better eating habits and better handling of stress.

mmapags

It's a bit of a Myth your Metabolism slowing down as you get older. Yes it does but only around 100 calories every 10 years (so nothing significent in reality) what happens is people just get less active as they get older so less muscle so slower metabolism. So keep active is the key no matter your age

as a 61 yo woman who has gone through menopause, I can tell you that it's not completely a myth. That said, more exercise and portion control makes a big difference!

The reason people believe that metabolism slows down is due to LBM/muscle loss. However, several studies have clearly demonstrated that at equivalent levels of LBM there is very little difference in metabolism across ages.

Agreed! My 54 year old wife, who has also gone through menopause, maintains her 120 goal weight at 5'5" while eating a healthy diet and does 2 strength training sessions per week. No issues with metabolism slowing down. I am a 62 year old man who also utilizes strength training as part of my fitness program and am as active and have as good a metabolism as ever. The impact of sarcopenia (loss of lean muscle mass) is a major factor is what is perceived as metabolism slowdown.

DavPul

Age 21 -I can pinpoint the year. So sad.

Lolz

Sarauk2sf

Whether its a myth, a tiny amount, down to lean body mass or activity, there is an age where you start to put on pounds while doing the same thing you were doing just previously, ie what you thought was balanced, wasn't. It doesn't matter why, the OP just wants to know when it happened to YOU.

If you ran did weights calorie counted took supplements and slept in an oxygen tank they don't mean you as you did something about it to keep balanced.

anyway 26.

Okie dokie....I am 46 and not yet.