When I was younger...

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keithw1975
keithw1975 Posts: 20 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Up until I was about 25, I would eat like a maniac! I would eat a double quarter pounder meal, supersized, for lunch, and then for dinner I would eat an entire large pizza from Dominos, for example. Doing this though, for many, many years, I never got above 185 lbs, and since I am 6 ft. tall, that seemed like a good weight. Then like someone flipped a switch, I started gaining, and have been having to watch what I eat.

Of course I also don't have the energy I used to. People say that the weight I put on caused the lack of energy, but I felt like the lack of energy caused the weight gain.
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  • thebluewyvern
    thebluewyvern Posts: 11
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    Haha, same here. Up until about 32 I could get away with eating ANYTHING, and this was on top of a totally sedentary lifestyle. As in, I would eat a breakfast of a couple mcdonalds sausage and egg biscuits with soda, a large Whataburger with fries, again with soda, for lunch, and a whole dominos pizza for dinner, along with hot wings and a ginormous soda, whilst playing World of Warcraft for almost 12 hours straight. Never went above 135lbs and I'm 5 foot 9. My husband remembers those days fondly and pokes fun at the piles of empty pizza boxes he'd encounter in my apartment. :/
    Now I gain weight from even looking at a pizza. Luckily I've cleaned up my eating almost completely since having my daughter and I don't have time to play videogames anymore. :-)
  • keithw1975
    keithw1975 Posts: 20 Member
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    I forgot to mention all the soda I would drink. During the summer I would get the 64 oz. mugs full of Dr. Pepper, and finish one off about mid-day.

    Back then I had to be eating 5000 calories a day.
  • TiffieLand
    TiffieLand Posts: 159
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    You're one of those people that I'm jealous of. I'm so short that I have always watched my weight because it would go up if I indulge a little bit T_T

    I feel the same about lack of energy caused weight gain. More energy = more active therefore burn more calories.
  • clairetomkinson84
    clairetomkinson84 Posts: 66 Member
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    I have always just looked at food and gained weight lol.
  • theycallyoumister
    theycallyoumister Posts: 222 Member
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    Lol. My magic number was 25 as well. :smile:
  • 3laine75
    3laine75 Posts: 3,070 Member
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    Same. I could eat like a horse till I was 25 then it all went downhill.
  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
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    Look up insulin resistance, it might explain things a little..
  • JG762
    JG762 Posts: 571 Member
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    I have always just looked at food and gained weight lol.

    Preach it Sister...
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
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    Up until I was about 25, I would eat like a maniac! I would eat a double quarter pounder meal, supersized, for lunch, and then for dinner I would eat an entire large pizza from Dominos, for example. Doing this though, for many, many years, I never got above 185 lbs, and since I am 6 ft. tall, that seemed like a good weight. Then like someone flipped a switch, I started gaining, and have been having to watch what I eat.

    Of course I also don't have the energy I used to. People say that the weight I put on caused the lack of energy, but I felt like the lack of energy caused the weight gain.

    You're right. Yes, our metabolisms slow down as we age but it's not as much as some seem to think. Get yourself active and moving again and you will see a difference. My wife is much smaller than me and is able to maintain on a calorie count that many men would be envious of, which amazes me, but it's because she seems to never stop moving.
  • cpanus
    cpanus Posts: 19,410 Member
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    My magic number was 21 and learning to drink beer!
  • GiGiBeans
    GiGiBeans Posts: 1,062 Member
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    Of course I also don't have the energy I used to. People say that the weight I put on caused the lack of energy, but I felt like the lack of energy caused the weight gain.

    I started packing on the pounds at 40 partially because of a 6 month exercise restriction. I always ate as much as I wanted so the thought never occurred to me to eat less. Without doubt the lack of exercise sapped my energy. By the time my restriction was lifted I didn't have the energy to do walk up a steep hill after having been an avid hiker.


    It can be a vicious circle but you can break it. Start walking more, maybe a half hour to hour after dinner every night.
  • TrenAbe
    TrenAbe Posts: 26
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    Metabolic damage is my guess from all that awful food. I don't think your metabolism just backs off that quickly....
  • MagnumBurrito
    MagnumBurrito Posts: 1,070 Member
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    If we don't resistance train and get a proper daily allotment of protein, we lose muscle as we age,. That will bring your daily calorie burn down along with being less active.
  • thebluewyvern
    thebluewyvern Posts: 11
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    Look up insulin resistance, it might explain things a little..

    Oh absolutely. I am now prediabetic plus I've developed several autoimmune diseases. I know my crappy diet contributed to both which is why I am so careful with my daughter's diet now...she is gluten intolerant and when we found out it really made us take a hard look at our diet and its link to disease and health. We now follow mostly a primal diet, with some rice and potatoes thrown in. She gets sugary foods like a handful of candy or ice cream maybe once a week, mostly thanks to her grandparents lol.
  • sculli123
    sculli123 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    I used to be able to eat 6,000 calories a day 20 years ago. But I've eaten closer to 2,000 for the most of the last 7 months. Physique is basically the same as it was back when I was 21 though. You need to start getting smarter with diet and exercise the older you get. Most people don't and turn into couch potatoes. That's the secret to being fit regardless of your age. The most ripped guy I know is 61 years old and looks better than me! It's all about being smart about both your food and training and working your *kitten* off.
  • carrieous
    carrieous Posts: 1,024 Member
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    well yeah thats how age works. When i was 26 I ate and drank whatever, and only worked out 3 days a week- but was ripped. Now at 40, I had to cut out sugar and fast food and cut way way down on the alcohol. I work out 6 days a week as hard as I can and i still look good but not as good as i did at 26. Also i cant drink caffeine past noon if i want to sleep at night and hangovers last 3 days now.

    Staying healthy while aging means you will continuously be adjusting your diet and exercise patterns.
  • sculli123
    sculli123 Posts: 1,221 Member
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    well yeah thats how age works. When i was 26 I ate and drank whatever, and only worked out 3 days a week- but was ripped. Now at 40, I had to cut out sugar and fast food and cut way way down on the alcohol. I work out 6 days a week as hard as I can and i still look good but not as good as i did at 26. Also i cant drink caffeine past noon if i want to sleep at night and hangovers last 3 days now.

    Staying healthy while aging means you will continuously be adjusting your diet and exercise patterns.
    Yup, agree with all that except the caffeine part. lol Love me some coffee all the time.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    That seems to happen to a lot of men and women. I was the opposite, obese since my teens, but many of my friends were always eating 2-3 times what I did, and stayed thin. Then they hit their mid 20's or 30's and are now slightly to VERY overweight. It is common.

    I find it kind of interesting though because on these forums a lot of people will argue that they had to dramatically increase calorie intake and/or decrease activity, and I am fairly certain that wasn't the case for a lot of these people. Most of the 'evidence' is purely anecdotal but I believe it...I've watched friends & coworkers eat mass amounts of food all day long and sit on their bums and stay thin, but balloon to very high weights after hitting a certain age.
  • sculli123
    sculli123 Posts: 1,221 Member
    Options
    That seems to happen to a lot of men and women. I was the opposite, obese since my teens, but many of my friends were always eating 2-3 times what I did, and stayed thin. Then they hit their mid 20's or 30's and are now slightly to VERY overweight. It is common.

    I find it kind of interesting though because on these forums a lot of people will argue that they had to dramatically increase calorie intake and/or decrease activity, and I am fairly certain that wasn't the case for a lot of these people. Most of the 'evidence' is purely anecdotal but I believe it...I've watched friends & coworkers eat mass amounts of food all day long and sit on their bums and stay thin, but balloon to very high weights after hitting a certain age.
    A younger guy I work with is like that. We calculated his calories once and stopped counting after 10K. This guy literally eats all day and eats everything both good and bad foods. He's not super thin but he's in slightly above average shape. It's only a matter of time before it hits him though.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
    Options
    That seems to happen to a lot of men and women. I was the opposite, obese since my teens, but many of my friends were always eating 2-3 times what I did, and stayed thin. Then they hit their mid 20's or 30's and are now slightly to VERY overweight. It is common.

    I find it kind of interesting though because on these forums a lot of people will argue that they had to dramatically increase calorie intake and/or decrease activity, and I am fairly certain that wasn't the case for a lot of these people. Most of the 'evidence' is purely anecdotal but I believe it...I've watched friends & coworkers eat mass amounts of food all day long and sit on their bums and stay thin, but balloon to very high weights after hitting a certain age.
    A younger guy I work with is like that. We calculated his calories once and stopped counting after 10K. This guy literally eats all day and eats everything both good and bad foods. He's not super thin but he's in slightly above average shape. It's only a matter of time before it hits him though.

    Yeah, usually it seems to sooner or later. A friend of mine, her mom was always tiny, like 5'0 and 90 lb. She was quite active, but she ate pizza, ribs, cake, etc, every single day. She stayed tiny into her 40's -- then hit 50's & with menopause she's now around 200 lb, no joke. In her 50's now she is still super active, works all day painting houses, building decks, very active lifestyle but she eats Southern cooking 3X day still, too.

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