Harder to Lose in my 30's!

I'm 41 (almost 42), I've always stayed fit. When I decided to drop a weight class after knee surgery, the weight fell off.
I reduced my intake, I ate my exercise calories. I modified my exercises and added a few extra sessions per week.

I used my youw8 scales to make sure I didn't lose any mass as I reduced my weight.

I aimed to lose 1lb a week, I was dropping 1kg+ a week. Within 8 weeks I was there. I'd dropped 10kgs (22lbs).
I'd kept my mass with a small increase in muscle & a reduction in fat.

You have to ramp up your body, convince it there is food, reduce carbs, reduce processed food, eat clean, work "hard" when exercising. Get your 7-9hrs sleep. It's no good doing gentle slow cardio if you want quick results!

But....slow and gentle is best for most people. Especially if you are building your fitness. You need to ramp everything up in good time, set mini plans for your overall plan. If you want to drop 20lbs, make 5lb increments your immediate target. The first 5 should be easy, but each additional 5 will be harder. You'll need to keep your body in chaos. Don't do the same things, keep moving the exercises around, keep changing what you do, keep your intensity as high as you can when doing cardio linked with resistance training. Do sprints, not jogs. Don't just isolate single event lifting for muscles, introduce multiple event lifting, odd object lifting.... whatever it takes!

Good luck on your journey. You'll get there. It's up to you how fast you want to go!

I can relate. Plus add the fact I had my thyroid removed at the age of 32 and it makes weightloss an even BIGGER challenge. Just stick with it and it will slowly come off (even though that's not as fast as we would like)!

Actually, it isn't losing weight that's harder for me, it's being active.

I'm 100% certain that the difficulty with weight loss as we age is directly related to that fact that our lives become more and more sedentary the older we get. It isn't our age, per se, that is the problem, it's that we underestimate how huge an impact our sitting around more actually has.

Sure, we feel tired because there's all this BUSYNESS, but all that worry and stress and anxiety is done while sitting around (sitting at a desk at work, sitting in the car while we drive here and there, sitting while we help our kids with homework). In an industrialized nation, responsible adults do more sitting than they do anything else. For those of you with children or those of you young enough to remember your 20's, how much more active (and I mean actually active, not just tired because you worked all day) were you then than you are now?

In fact, the average woman shouldn't gain more than 5 pounds over an entire lifetime due directly to aging. Anything beyond that is caused by other factors (LIFESTYLE LIFESTYLE LIFESTYLE).

I personally believe it's due to our muscles atrophying as we age. I think if you can lift weights at least 2x a week in addition to cardio you'll see the weight come off a lot easier than if you were to do just diet and cardio. I'm 35 and had the same problem occur when I hit 30. So I added weights in my work out routine ( I also run) and it's helped. Plus if you do run or do any repetitive motion sport like running it weightlifting helps prevent injury. The Firm DVDs work really well. So does getting a personal trainer if you can part with the money.

You make an interesting point. I think this is entirely possible because our lives get increasingly sedentary as we become older (and more responsible). All that sitting could certainly result in some degree of muscle atrophy.

Edit: really wish I spell

Comments such as you lead a more sedetary lifestyle as you get older are just way out there- and not true. I teach, (not take- teach) 8-10 Zumba classes a week. I work harder physically now than I ever have in my life, I also add in weight training. My diet is much more strict and there are foods that affect my weight now that never did before. Certain foods I could eat before, can't touch them, the only thing that has changed in my life is my age, and my fitness is thru the roof!

Based on all of this, besides scientific backup that aging affects so many things, we slow down, everything slows down, no matter how hard we work, and many of us double/triple how hard we have to work, just to maintain weight. I am dreading later 40's and 50's just based on feedback from my family/friends and what challenges hit them physically in those years.

I have always gained and lost really easily, and always worried that someday this would end, which is why the most I've had to lose so far is 30lb, rather than a lot more. I am 36 now and the weight still drops off me as it always did, but now I don't want to lose fast any more, because I understand that I am more likely to be burning muscle than fat at my body composition. The weight distributes differently now, so I have a belly, but of that was the price I had to pay for my lovely son, 'fair dos' :laugh:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/405849-weight-training-at-over-50-years-old/

it says it best.

I just turned 50 last week. Started my diet the day after my birthday. I thought it was going to be allot harder to get started, but this week has been a breeze and lost 9 pounds without any suffering. Just find what works for you and stick with it

I agree. I have noticed the same thing. As long as we're losing though, slow & steady will win this race.

I'm right there with ya! I've had the hardest time trying to lose weight! 30's are cursed, i guess. Just have to keep trying!