getting harder as i get older

smilesalot1969

well 10 years ago i weighed in at a whopping 284lbs and even at 5ft 10 i was definitely way into the obese category. With help from slimming world i lost 8st in 18months and dropped down to 168lb and a very happy size 12. The trouble is it seems the older i get the less and less i can eat, i've already dropped my calories to 1200 a day after letting just over a stone creep back on. My BMR is 1582 (apparently) and i walk a fair bit every week at a pretty fast pace but weight loss is minimal to nothing. I tried upping my calories to 1500 and piled on 6lbs in a week to my total horror. Have i totally screwed my metabolism with years of yoyo dieting or should i just accept that its harder to lose weight the older you get?? :noway:

cara4fit

1200 calories sounds low for your height and weight. For you, I actually add more exercise so you can eat more and lose. Just walking isn't going to do it all for exercise although it's definitely better than sitting around all day. Get onto a solid weight-training program 3x a week, and cardio for 45 minutes 4-5x a week and try around 1500-1600 calories. I'll bet you'll start losing once again and firm up besides. But one thing to be mindful of as we get older, especially women approaching or after menopause, is that we do have to eat very cleanly and not overdo the starchy carbs. Spread the carb love around amongst beans, veggies and fruits and you'll be fine as well as getting enough protein to maintain or even build muscle mass. That's very important, along with the weight training, because if we do nothing in that department, then age-related muscle loss is very real, and it's replaced by fat tissue, which is less metabolically active than muscle. Hence the reason for you to get on that exercise program. Exercise, unless one is really engaging in long bouts of strenuous work, doesn't burn as many calories as we often think so diet is still really important for weight loss. However, the effects of exercise DO go to work on one's metabolism and general health, so don't skip it, at all. Sure, there are a lot of people who say they lost a bunch of weight with little to no exercise at all, but often the same people will wonder why they are smaller, but still flabby versions of themselves. Along with a sensible diet, solid training really does help reshape your body into its best form, according your structure and genetics. Best of luck!:)