Over 40 - easier to put on and harder to shift!

WineGirlMagic

I turned 40 earlier this year and the weight seems to be going on easier than ever before...not sure if my imagination or reality!
Anyone else in a similar situation?

My jeans finally bursting at the seems gave me the kick I needed to get back into this...I've used the app for a while but not linked up with anyone..so wondered if some more support would make me stay on track/target this time?

If you are 40+ in a similar position I'd love to hear your thoughts and please feel free to add me and we can help each other through!

MyTurn2BHappy

Yes! I try not to overeat, but I notice if I have junk food once, that I feel like a can of biscuits bursting out of the seams! It's so weird. I hate getting old and having a slower metabolism. When I was younger and gained 40 lbs with my pregnancy, it was gone in less than a month! You really shouldn't have to work harder when you get older :-(((

Feel free to add me! I'm right there with ya!

WhatMeRunning

For me, 40 started a more rapid downward trend that has only reversed with steady diet and exercise. My doctor basically told me that was part of the age, we begin deteriorating more rapidly every decade from 40 onwards, so if we do not take care of ourselves it is a steep slope downward to bad health.

On the upside, being in my early 40's, it is still not too hard to lose the weight, but I am definitely noticing that muscle build is slower than in my youth. I have had some people in their 50's and 60's comment about how if I think it is rough, they have it even rougher.

My take is, I'm getting as fit as I can in my 40's and staying there (please don't let me burn out), keeping in the best shape I can. I don't want a harder struggle later on to "recover". If I can...sadly, I have seen people close to me simply hit a point where they are no longer physically able to recover themselves due to a combination of health + age.

So stay ahead while you can.

Clothwright

I'll be 44 next month. I don't think it's all imagination. What I've experienced is that as I get older, I have much less wiggle room for treats and overeating. Unless I keep exercising and watch what I eat, the weight just piles on. For example, we had a terrible winter this year; we were snowed in for months. My normal 5-6 days a week of exercise were sometimes only 1-3 even with extreme efforts to get out and to the gym and with home weight workouts. That combined with less mobility in general (couldn't ride my bike to work) and winter comfort foods (potatoes, bread, spice cookies, mmmm) resulted in me being the heaviest I've ever been. Unpleasant surprise when I got out my spring clothes and everything was tight. It's kind of a double whammy because if I understand correctly, calories needed for maintenance drop as we age and many people don't have unlimited time in the day to exercise. Although there are various ways to increase calorie burn, realistically for a lot of us there's effectively a daily cap due to personal capability and time available. It seems inevitable that one will over time have to eat less and less, which is sad!

So yes, I understand what you are talking about and I definitely sympathize. The positive side is that weight gain is not inevitable! There are ways to reverse the trend and the fact that you can reach your goal is shown by your presence here and new resolution. Good luck on your journey, I'm sure you can do it!!

Dozer91

I am 38 and had my 3rd child almost 2 years ago and know exactly how you feel. My other children are 20 and 12 so this baby sure did a number on my body. I am only a size up from where I was before I had the baby but its the hardest I ever had to work for to get any smaller. Did you ever read the book "The Hormone Cure" by Sara Gottfried? It has a great information about supplemental treatment to reverse the metabolic issues of aging. Its helped immensely. This month I am also sending away for a hormone saliva test which will not only give a comprehensive result to all 5 possible hormone imbalances but also recommendations to reverse them. Bit by bit. Eat clean, train dirty friends.

cwolfman13

I'm 40 and leaner than I've been since my mid twenties. It is true that we require fewer calories as we age...and to boot, the body naturally wants to hold onto more fat as we age...just look at a BF% chart and you will note that as you age, higher levels of BF are acceptable and healthy...this is because this is totally natural (unfortunately) so being really lean as we age becomes harder and harder. This however doesn't mean you can't lose weight of that it's harder...it's harder to be really lean, but it's not harder to be at a healthy level of BF and to maintain a healthy weight in my experience. It's all still math ultimately.

jrline

I am in better shape at 40 than when I was 20. Good Luck

sijomial

"Over 40 - easier to put on and harder to shift."

True to a degree but used as an excuse far too often. Completely agree with @cwolfman13 - "it's not harder to be at a healthy level of BF and to maintain a healthy weight in my experience. It's all still math ultimately."

I know at age 54 progress is slower but direction is far more important than speed!

WineGirlMagic

Thanks everyone! Great to see I'm not alone...and I do agree that 40 isn't the end and that a little extra work is needed.
sijomial - I think you're right that it can be an excuse for some....I guess the difference is seeing it happen and setting about changing it asap!

My work has taken me away a lot over the last 3yrs and my exercise classes etc have dropped and food change...I knew I was 'at risk' but it seems to have piled on more in the last 3-4 months!

I don't like the idea of fewer calories as I get older and more BF but will try and stay as healthy as possible as that is more important...and you're right about it getting harder so far now and maintain into 50!

Have a great weekend!

WineGirlMagic

Sounds interesting...I'll look into that..thanks!

lisaanne1369

45 - feeling great and getting faster! 3 miles in 27:00!

98bikinisuitedlbs

I am in better shape at 40 than when I was 20. Good Luck

Better shape at 42 than when I was 20 so true!!! After my microfracture surgery on 7/7 I was able to maintained and lose weight due my sedentary life and on crutches. Started workout 3 weeks ago and I am fighting with those 5 pesky lbs. I typically try to reduce my carbs during weight loss otherwise it is harder. Good luck everyone!

jim180155

40s? Try 60s. Anything you're feeling now will just be that much more so 20 years from now. Still, we only get one body no matter what age we are, and most of us have it within our power to improve our lives by watching what we eat and exercising regularly.

FWIW, I can honestly say that I'm in much better shape at 60 than I was at 59.

MicheleJM3

You aren't kidding. 45, female, 138 pounds, lotsa chunk in my middle. I am trying my best to get my diet under control before I begin exercising. Mind you, I don't eat all that poorly, however, I do need to may more attention to nutrient dense foods. Have been using MFP without much success. I mean, I do think that charting my food makes me pay more attention to what I'm eating, which is grand. However, I'm not losing. Hopefully that will change once I add exercise back into the routine. Sigh.

opalsqueak007

I'm 50, and it is so, so much harder to shift weight than it was at 40.

WineGirlMagic

Morning, OK - so I'm a week into my 'healthy eating' this time around (been here so many times before!) using myfitnesspal and I am pleased to share that it has been a good start! I know I am only at the beginning of my journey and I may loose at the same rate over the coming weeks but what I've done differently this time is set my daily calorie goal lower (just 1100) but by walking the dog I end up with about (1300 - 1400) allowance ... I've made some good decisions which made me feel better because had enough calories left for a glass or two of wine to enjoy over the weekend - that has made me feel that it's worth it and although it went 'on' a lot easier after 40....with focus I am pleased to say that it has started to shift....I just need to keep this up and that is going to be a challenge!

wyrdsister

I agree its easier to gain weight , but I put it down to my body aching so much after physical activity, It takes so long to recover. I find that if i do serious excercise I spend the next 3 days recovering.

thegreatcanook

Yes, you do need to be more careful. On the other hand, it's easier to get in shape at 40 than it will be at 50!!!

wyrdsister

Yes, you do need to be more careful. On the other hand, it's easier to get in shape at 40 than it will be at 50!!!

I dont want to think about 50 forty something is challenging enough.:sad:

cityjaneLondon

I am 65 in two week's time and I am fitter and with more muscle definition than I was at 40. You do have to watch what you eat fairly rigorously and I do a good workout every day, burning around 570 calories. I eat all of them back. The last few pounds were the hardest, but I made it. I have a bmi of 23.31 which is ok for my age. Recently I went on holiday and gained back three pounds through uncontrolled eating and drinking. I have lost one of those and I am working hard on the other two.
I am afraid that it is a life sentence - no slacking - but the results are worth it, no question.
Two years ago I was unfit, obese and a shuffling wreck. Today I am fit and slim. I have bad joints on my feet and legs, so walking is limited to under two hours and that amount is painful. I use a rower, an elliptical and a recumbent bike. I also use quite heavy dumbbells for biceps and triceps and lighter ones for other things. Strength training is vital as we get older to conserve muscle mass. I encourage everyone to start with weights.
Also balance and core exercises.
I am lucky in that I am retired, but any activity is better than nothing. It takes less than ten minutes to do some dumbbells, the cardio can be done by fast walking. Track all your activity and eat accordingly.
I have been fat and thin all my life. It was always hard to lose and easy to gain. I feel great at the moment. Over 40? ? ? ? ? You can feel great in your mid 60s.:laugh:

ValleySimTech

Yep. The same thing happened to me. I was slim my entire life until I hit about 45 and then I put on 70 lbs in 5 or 6 years. It started to effect my health so I knew I had to do something. Welcome to MFP and feel free to add me as a friend.

helen195

Hi I'm Helen mid 40's working mum of 2 from UK.

I have about 60lb to lose, been gradually putting it on over the last 9 years. Spent my teenage years and 20's around 130lb and never need to worry about my weight, finding it had to stay on track.

My fitness aim is to be able to run 5k none stop and build up from there.

Feel free to add me.

fitcrt

I'm 39 & recently had my body fat % tested, they gave me a chart & on it are age groups & recommended body fat %. I was surprised to see the % goes up at 40 & I am going to try to prevent that - I am working on strength training & my goal is to protect my bones from osteoporosis (runs in my family) & build muscle to ward off unwanted fat. I have seen numerous examples of weight training keeping people lean & "young" and I want that to be me. I am trying to get ready for 40 now by losing weight before I hit 40 & I am planning a big physical challenge for my 40th birthday.

georgiaTRIs

I'm in. I does get harder to get it off for women over 40. Sucks but true. I'm a trainer and I deal with many women with the same issue. I poped up 73 pounds after 50 and then I had to work towards geting rid of the weight. It can be done. Your friends at MFP are here to encourage you through the process.

lorib642

Yes, I didn't have a weight problem until my late 30s. And, now my goal weight is to get back to what I weighed when I first thought I was overweight then. I had other things besides age: children, medications that contributed too. But, I had no real plan on how to lose weight before and I thought counting calories was so difficult. I find this app makes it really easy.

Calliope610

I don't believe "over 40" means automatic and easier weight gain. Nor do I believe "over 40" makes weight loss more difficult.

What I do believe is that priorities shift. In my earlier years, because my priorities were different, it was easier to stay active and be healthier. Then my priorities changed. Away from health, fitness and having fun to marriage, family, career and other "group up" matters. Fitness, exercise, diet and "taking care of myself" got pushed to the back burner, and I reaped the consequences.

At age 50, I decided to change my priorities. I made a conscience decision make my health, fitness and well-being a priority once again. This shift in priorities does mean every thing else takes a back burner. It just means that I have made some simple changes, like taking an evening walk instead of watching TV, bringing my lunch from home instead of grabbing fast food during the lunch hour, getting up a little bit earlier for a morning workout instead of staying up late on the computer (ok, I still have trouble with that one - thanks MFP).

But once I adjusted my priorities, the weight started coming off and I started to feel better about myself - much better.

The only thing about "over 40" that may make things difficult is being "set in my ways" and being reluctant to make the necessary changes and putting in the necessary effort. But that really has nothing to do with age and everything to do with attitude.

Don't use your age (or anything) else as an excuse or reason why can't do something, especially get healthier.

Sued0nim

I'm 47 - yes I put on weight over the last 20 years, since having kids my motivation to lose it wasn't there and I think I accepted myself as middle-aged and that this was what happened .. I bought into the whole it's harder why bother.

But in the last 4 months I have made a change - I am significantly fitter, have more obvious muscles and am finding it easier to stick to a calorie defecit than I ever have to any of the 'fad' diets... the result is so far I've lost 30lbs.

I am trying to keep in my head that it's about being fit .. it's about moving into the next decades as a fit person

and I hope that will be difference for me.

Alisontheice

I'm 41 and realized recently my 30s were a total write off when I decided to not care about fitness, etc. as I had all my life. I shifted the weight last year after I turned 40 and it wasn't that hard really. Yes it's easy to put it on, I gain 9 lb over the summer but I don't think it was just as easy as in my 30s.

the only difference is that I have different priorities that take up my time such as a child I had to entertain over the summer. Now he's back in school I'm back on the healthy train.

When I decided to make this change I figured it would be easier to do it now that in 10 years. As the above poster wrote don't use your age as an excuse. It's easy to gain and hard to lose at any age. Just keep at it and it will happen

CipherZero

I started getting my **** together at age 45. Losing was easy. Gaining is easy. It's all about focus and effort.

kingjethro

I'm 60 and have been exercising vigorously almost every day for years.

The sad thing is that if I slack off on carefully watching my diet, I'll gain weight. And, when I go back to counting calories and sticking to my goal, my body fights the weight loss.

Back in my 40's when I stuck to a calorie counting and exercise regiment, it seemed that the weight flew off.

No more.

Mindfreak1999

Wish I was in my 40s, never mind, good luck on your journey to a healthier you:))