Is age really a factor or an excuse?

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  • ktsmom430
    ktsmom430 Posts: 1,100 Member
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    Seeing these answers I guess it just depends on the person.
    March 12, 2012 I was 60 years old, 290#. This morning 2/26/14, I am 62 years old 134#.
    For me, it was definitely an excuse, as I bought in to the being harder to lose after 40, and thought to myself, "why even try?"
    It is not easy at any age, but barring any health issues, doable for most of us.
  • bluebird321
    bluebird321 Posts: 733 Member
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    Age is a factor and it is an excuse. You just learn to work and stick with it.
  • MRSpivey
    MRSpivey Posts: 270 Member
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    IMO it's an excuse! If you want something bad enough you will do what it takes to achieve it!

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  • Deipneus
    Deipneus Posts: 1,862 Member
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    So my question is, is this common as you get older or is there something wrong with me?
    Probably varies by every individual. In my mid twenties I ate constantly and was athletic. By 59, it took months of monitoring food intake and exercise to get to the same weight. Of course, no matter how hard I work you can't make a 60 year old body into a 25 year old body. :wink:
  • RushBabe_214
    RushBabe_214 Posts: 115
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    Age is a factor, but definitely not an excuse.

    Our metabolism slows as we age and we tend to move less or get less exercise.

    I'm 51 and I work at it every day. It can be done. Just depends on how badly you want it.
  • _AwesomeSauce_
    _AwesomeSauce_ Posts: 96
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    This thread is classic!

    Let's see, 20-30 year old's mostly agree that it's an excuse, while 30-40 year old's agree it's both age AND an excuse, and those 40+ agree it's age-related, and NOT an excuse.

    It shouldn't take a software engineer to see 'the' pattern here :glasses:
  • Blacklance36
    Blacklance36 Posts: 755 Member
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    I'm over 50.

    Yes it is a factor.

    Yes, it is an excuse.
  • obrientp
    obrientp Posts: 546 Member
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    When I turned 40 I noticed my metabolism slowed down quite a bit. i have to be more disciplined in watching what I eat, now, and exercise more. I can still manage my weight, though, and I am in better shape than I was in my 20s.
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    If you believe in science, it's a factor, not an excuse. Our metabolisms slow as we age, which means if we do exactly the same thing we always did, we'd still weigh more, the older we get (to put it, unscientifically).

    I agree. When I was younger, I also smoked. If I wanted to drop a little weight, I'd just cut back a little and the weight would come right off. Now I don't smoke and I log all of my food and exercise at least 5 times a week, running three of those days, and the weight is very slow to come off. My Bodymedia Fit and my TDEE both had me at over 2000 calories a day at a 20% deficit. Supposedly I should lose weight eating that much. I don't. I have to stay within 1300-1400 net calories to lose weight.

    I do agree it's calories in vs calories out. It's just that some of us require less calories at our height and weight than others of the exact same height and weight require. Nobody has the exact same metabolism and to tell people they are using that as an excuse when they aren't losing weight is ridiculous.
  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
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    I don't believe in science, so can I use it as an excuse?

    Sorry, no. If you don't believe in science you must blame your inability to lose on a deity of yoiur choice.

    :bigsmile:
  • fast_eddie_72
    fast_eddie_72 Posts: 719 Member
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    It's an excuse.

    If you eat at a caloric deficit, you lose weight. It's no different at 20 or 50. It's the same math equation.

    Fiddle with your age setting on MFP and see what it does to your numbers. Anything that makes it more difficult to maintain a calorie deficit, by definition makes it more difficult to lose weight. And, at least according to MFP, it is different at 20 than 50. If I change my birth date to make myself appear to be 20, it gives me 150 more calories per day - more than 1,000 calories per week. It takes me about a seven mile run to burn that many calories. When I was 20, I did it watching TV.

    I'm not saying it's a factor that can't be overcome. I'm overcoming it as are many others here. But it is a factor. Is that factor an excuse? That's up to the individual.
  • stellastar2014
    stellastar2014 Posts: 1
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    hi i'm stella and i'm 47 years old, i weigh 169 llbs at 5'3. i've been on a diet on mfp for several weeks and i'm doing 1300 calories aday and i've lost NO WEIGHT, so not sure what i'm doing wrong, am i under eating or eating too much. i weigh 99% of my food. i'm a vegetarian, but i eat eggs. i try and do a 30-40 mins walk every day, and i do aqa fit class on monday evenings. today i felt low and so i've had a mars bar, i bought a pack of 7 and could probably eat the lot. please can someone advice me on why i'm not loosing weight? is it the age?

    Thanks Stella
  • wilsoje74
    wilsoje74 Posts: 1,720 Member
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    Yes it is a factor.

    You need less calories as you get older, and you also tend to move less than you did when you were younger. It's not an excuse and it can be done, but it takes me longer to lose now than it did five years
  • 1princesswarrior
    1princesswarrior Posts: 1,242 Member
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    Age is an excuse.

    It's a factor, but a very small factor. Metabolism slow down with age is mostly attributed to muscle loss. Another reason why strength training is so important.

    I took some time reading studies on this stuff at one point, and the conclusion was, as this poster pointed out, that metabolism is correlated with muscle, not age. Seems harder to gain muscle now, so we get round to the same thing in a way.

    I just did a quick Google scholar search and read through some abstracts. It appears that protein synthesis slows down by about 3.5% per decade so age is a factor but not insurmountable. How much of a factor is still a debate in the scientific community after reading through five or six abstracts (I don't have access to the full text articles).
  • alizamanuk
    alizamanuk Posts: 31
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    BIG EXCUSE - YOUR JUST BEING LAZY 1
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    This thread is classic!

    Let's see, 20-30 year old's mostly agree that it's an excuse, while 30-40 year old's agree it's both age AND an excuse, and those 40+ agree it's age-related, and NOT an excuse.

    It shouldn't take a software engineer to see 'the' pattern here :glasses:

    Well...I am 61...I think a little differently maybe...

    Since I didn't start an exercise routine until I was 60...yea...that part was harder than if I had of started it when I was 20-30.

    However...the diet part...eating at a deficit...might be a little easier.

    IMO...when someone is young their social life often centers around meeting up with friends at restaurants...cafes...bars. They have to figure out ways of dealing with those social outings. I don't have to as much at 61.

    So while physically it might be harder at my age...socially I believe it is easier now.

    It is difficult at any age to make these types of changes...the obstacles are just maybe a little different.

    I don't know...other than some aches and pains I think that it has been easier for me this time than ever before...maybe because I realize that at my age...I don't have that many more years to accomplish this...no putting it off...
  • lunapetu0311
    lunapetu0311 Posts: 96
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    I absolutely believe age is a factor!! For me atleast. I am 35 years old (and have two kids) and I am about 15lbs heavier than I was in college. I have been working out way harder and eating way better than I did in colllege and I just CANNOT get back to that weight!! I used to be able to eat anything and not gain weight but now I easily gain weight. So age is definitely a factor in losing/maintaing weight. I am sure for many it's an excuse too :)
  • Annie_01
    Annie_01 Posts: 3,096 Member
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    hi i'm stella and i'm 47 years old, i weigh 169 llbs at 5'3. i've been on a diet on mfp for several weeks and i'm doing 1300 calories aday and i've lost NO WEIGHT, so not sure what i'm doing wrong, am i under eating or eating too much. i weigh 99% of my food. i'm a vegetarian, but i eat eggs. i try and do a 30-40 mins walk every day, and i do aqa fit class on monday evenings. today i felt low and so i've had a mars bar, i bought a pack of 7 and could probably eat the lot. please can someone advice me on why i'm not loosing weight? is it the age?

    Thanks Stella

    Nope...not age...I am 61 and average losing 2lbs a week...I eat these caramel nut protein bars...have one every day. I eat more calories than you do but it sounds as if I workout more than you.

    So...can't say why you are not losing...but IMO...age has nothing to do with it.
  • amm8589
    amm8589 Posts: 55 Member
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    I don't know if it's age as much as it is lifestyle. When I was in my 20's, I was very active. I would run 4 miles before I would go to work, walked two miles on my lunch break, and would walk again in the evening. Weekends were spent taking long bike rides, spending a couple hours in the gym, etc. At 5'4", I was 110 pounds, wore a size 2, and felt great. In my 30's I had 3 kids and my constant movement became chasing toddlers rather than aerobics and jogging. When I reached my 40's, my kids were older and in school but I just wasn't motivated to exercise as much. Last year, weighing 130 pounds, I decided I wasn't going to be a middle age cliché and blame my age for my weight gain. I began logging into MFP faithfully, started exercising an hour every morning, and made smart food choices. I don't have hours on end to exercise anymore but I do make the most of my workouts, enjoying intense cardio such as Turbo Fire and in-line skating, as well as light weight training. Now, at age 46, I'm back to 110 pounds and wearing a size 2. I feel better than ever!

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