Weight Loss and Age

mhlew

I have always heard the older you get the more challenging it is to lose weight. Is this true or just a myth. I have always stuggled throughout my 20's to lose weight although I admit I drank a lot in my 20's and didnt pay much attention to my diet.

At the age of 31 am I still relatively young to be able to lose weight at an "easier" pace then if I were in my 40s, 50,s and beyond?

So far I have been able to do about 2 pounds loss a week. My first month I lost 12 pounds, and would love that number again in September, however I am sure the food choices and all the beer I consumed labor day weekend may hinder that number.

jemhh

I think this is hard to answer because it's all relative. I lost weight in my 20s fairly easily. When I started losing weight at age 37, it came off very quickly in the beginning but now has slowed. However, I had a lot less to lose back then plus my starting weight at age 25 (~148) is less than what I currently have as my goal weight.

Your weight loss will slow at some point, though, no matter your age. In the beginning you can lose that 12 pounds, a lot of which was likely water weight. But then it slows down. There's no telling how long it will take you to get to that point though. It took me a few months.

And don't worry about Labor Day. That was the first day of a 30 day month. I'm sure you'll be fine.

Sabine_Stroehm

Well, "hard" is subjective. All other things being equal, your metabolism slows with age. If you used to maintain on 2000, you may find you maintain on 1800... so there's that. If you don't have a lot to lose, the window between maintaining and losing gets smaller as you lose weight.... so those things can make it seem "hard".

If you are consistently engage in strength training, you may be able to maintain on higher calories as you age than if you don't. And, of course, if you're active, you burn more calories than if you're sedentary.

That's all things being equal. Your own body, hormonal state, proportion of LBM and fat, etc. etc. all come in to play as well.

For me? I'm almost 50. Maintaining is harder than it used to be. I have to be more active in order to maintain my "caloric lifestyle".

Keep in mind (based on the above) that as you lose more weight, the weight loss WILL slow down. When you're near goal you may find that you're only losing 1/2 a pound a week. And that's okay!

Good luck!
ETA: As someone who's now about 50 I wholeheartedly recommend figuring it all out now as you're doing. Don't just count calories to lose weight. Figure out how to eat to maintain at your preferred weight. And stay active.
:-)

seltzermint555

At the age of 31 am I still relatively young to be able to lose weight at an "easier" pace then if I were in my 40s, 50,s and beyond?

I really think you are, yes. From all I've read and observed, WOMEN have a lot harder time losing weight in their 50's and beyond and for some that starts in their 40's as well. But I know a lot of that seems to be hormone related and I haven't heard much either way about men.

As for me personally...I started trying in earnest to lose weight when I was 32, then joined MFP at 36. I am now approaching my 38th birthday in a few months and have lost 134 lb since age 32. It has not been difficult at all honestly. During my 20's I did lose weight a couple of times but I did not have a great understanding of nutrition and really didn't put much effort into that so I tended to stay around the same weight for most of that decade.

I think for many of us (myself definitely included) in our 30's we're in a great place for weight loss because our lives have become more stable and better routines are in place...at least more so than in the college & partying years of typical 20's...but our bodies are still fairly young. While you might think "man I'm getting older, I should have done this in my 20's" you are still somewhat at an advantage starting at 31! A lot of times, people don't start to show signs of health problems related to weight until they reach middle age and at that point the problems have become more intense usually and it's better to nip it in the bud. Good luck!!!

jwats8

I'm 44 now, and I do find it much harder to lose than ever before. I have to exercise a lot more and be very careful what I eat.. Sorry.....

Verdenal

I'm a woman over 50. I've never been overweight, but when I was young I was thin and maintained my weight without any thought. Now, I'm thin/normal and have to eat very carefully. It's the result of a combination of metabolic and hormonal changes, injuries, and more sedentary activity. I simply don't need as much food.

Lose the weight now when you're young and start developing the habits you need to keep it off. You'll thank yourself.