49, female, tried everything

A friend introduced me to Body for Life and it's overwhelming. Most of it is EAS marketing. Best advice? Eat less, exercise more. Eating your body weight in grams of protein helps eliminate the cravings.

This and MFP are all you need. I'm 56, sit behind a desk all day, and recently quit smoking after 30 years of intense smoking pleasure (2-3 packs per day).

I went through the weight gain and then joined MFP. I'm down 60 pounds and out of all the verbage in ads and websites, the above quote is all you need and track calories on MFP.

I feel great again!

Here's something to chew on. If you input the same height and weight but different ages (lets say 20 and 45) into one of those calculators, the 45 yr old burns 300 less calories daily. Over one year, this means 30 extra lbs for the 45 yr old. See how it creeps up?

I don't think the same attention and knowledge is paid losing weight at a younger age verses an older age. I've seen over and over people write about how easy it was to lose when younger but I doubt they realized there was a big weight loss due to less salt intake. This is only one example.

I'm 49 and have lost roughly 20 lbs in the last 2 yrs. It's not that easy but permanent changes in one's life never are.

A friend introduced me to Body for Life and it's overwhelming. Most of it is EAS marketing. Best advice? Eat less, exercise more. Eating your body weight in grams of protein helps eliminate the cravings.

This and MFP are all you need. I'm 56, sit behind a desk all day, and recently quit smoking after 30 years of intense smoking pleasure (2-3 packs per day).

I went through the weight gain and then joined MFP. I'm down 60 pounds and out of all the verbage in ads and websites, the above quote is all you need and track calories on MFP.

I feel great again!

Congrats for quitting smoking! That's a major accomplishment!

Here's something to chew on. If you input the same height and weight but different ages (lets say 20 and 45) into one of those calculators, the 45 yr old burns 300 less calories daily. Over one year, this means 30 extra lbs for the 45 yr old. See how it creeps up?

I don't think the same attention and knowledge is paid losing weight at a younger age verses an older age. I've seen over and over people write about how easy it was to lose when younger but I doubt they realized there was a big weight loss due to less salt intake. This is only one example.

I'm 49 and have lost roughly 20 lbs in the last 2 yrs. It's not that easy but permanent changes in one's life never are.

Yup. Here's some stats from google: Sedentary women generally burn 1,600 to 2,000 calories per day, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Page 14), and should consume the same number of calories for healthy weight maintenance. Specifically, sedentary women ages 19 to 30 burn 1,800 to 2,000 calories; sedentary females between 31 and 50 years old burn about 1,800 calories; and sedentary women older than age 50 burn about 1,600 calories each day.
and
Sedentary men burn more calories than sedentary women because they are generally bigger and have more lean body mass. The USDA reports that sedentary men burn — and therefore should consume -- 2,000 to 2,600 calories each day to maintain a healthy body weight. Specifically, sedentary men ages 19 to 30 burn 2,400 to 2,600 calories daily; sedentary males between the ages of 31 and 50 burn 2,200 to 2,400 calories; and sedentary men older than 50 burn about 2,000 to 2,200 calories each day.

I too am 49. I have spent my years taking care of everyone else and I simply let my self go. I own horses and need to lose about 90lbs so I can ride again. I purchased a weanling filly last year(2012) , so I am now on a mission to get my life back so I can ride her when she is ready in two years.

Hello
I just read your mail. It is not ranting. I understand you completely. it is demoralizing always losing and gaining. I have been trying to start for a year now and just decided to get serious. I am planning on loosing 2lb per week. I got a threadmill. Will be walking 60min everyday, six dys a week. The biggest challenge for me is food intake. I find that impulse absolutely difficult to control.

So here is my plan if you are interested.

60min walk everyday. (3km)
Bfast will be fruit and lemon water. The rest meal i will keep normal. No meals after 6 and no meals between meals. I hope to loose 10 pounds by jan 30. I hope this encourages you that you are not the only one struggling and that we can not give up.

U ate way over your bmi & became a fat ars! Now it's time to eat under your bmi & burn more fat! Girl, make a gym your friend, continue logging & work out to make time go by faster so you aren't fat anymore....

Girl-welcome to our place.....:)

First, it's not an age thing. I get so pissed off when people are like, " I'm 50, it's so hard at my age." No it's not. It's hard at any age. It's the same thing at age 5 or age 95. It's about creating a calorie deficit. That's all. It's not harder at any age. Just eat less than you burn and you'll lose fat. It helps a ton if you strength train. But, even if you don't, it's simple math. It's not harder at 49 than at 29. The equation is exactly the same.

What I think people mean is at age 20, you burn calories faster, so it's easier to create a deficit. But, the equation is still the same equation. It's not harder. It's the same amount if effort at either age.

I get what you're saying, but disagree. It IS harder. It's all about creating a deficit, yes, and as you said it's EASIER to do that when you're younger. That makes it easier. Add hormonal changes that come with per-menopause and that *can* make it even more challenging. When I'm "sedentary" (rest days mostly) the difference between BMR and TDEE is much smaller than it used to be. The margin of error is smaller. Of course, these numbers are all hypothetical, since I don't know my actually BMR or TDEE, I only know what the formulas tell me.
And, yes, my hormonal levels are fluctuating daily, my sleep changes daily... all of which affects cortisol too, and that, then affects everything else. So, yeah, I'd say it *can* get harder with age. Semantics, perhaps. But I think it's harder, for me to shift weight, than it was at, say 22. It takes longer. It takes more perseverance, and the margin of error is smaller. I'd say that's harder. But, it's totally possible, as evidenced by all the fabulous ladies and men here.

I'm age 59 and have lost over 50 pounds in 10 months (probably closer to 60 pounds -- I lost some before I joined MFP). I try to stay away from age related discussions because they make me cringe -- so many people saying it is so hard to lose when you are older. In my case, it just wasn't true. I ate less, cut out food that gave me cravings, and started walking to work instead of taking my car.

I don't want to judge other people. Some people really do have medical issues, especially older people. But in many cases the age thing is just an excuse. Most overweight people eat too much and don't exercise enough. The way out is to stop kidding yourself. Log everything, eat fewer calories, and get off the couch. Find an exercise you like to do and start moving. The weight will come off.

I agree that some people use it as an excuse, and for some it my genuinely be harder than it is for others. Everyone's metabolism differs slightly.


OP:
Weight loss does get harder as you get older, but not impossible, and some of the differences in calorie burn come from muscle decreases, that is something you can take some control over through strength training.

Bottom line, it IS harder when you are older, or when you have an injury, or a hormonal imbalance, etc. But it is still not impossible. you need to log everything you eat, eat at a moderate deficit and see what happens. If you faithfully do that you should lose weight, if you don't, then chances are you aren't burning as much as you think, you may need to adjust your calorie levels or activity levels... but if you log EVERYTHING and keep track of it, you will probably see that when you eat at a deficit, over time, you lose what you "should". It may not drop off at a steady rate, the same amount every week, but over 6 months or a year, you will probably see that you lost pretty much what you should have based on your defict.

First, it's not an age thing. I get so pissed off when people are like, " I'm 50, it's so hard at my age." No it's not. It's hard at any age. It's the same thing at age 5 or age 95. It's about creating a calorie deficit. That's all. It's not harder at any age. Just eat less than you burn and you'll lose fat. It helps a ton if you strength train. But, even if you don't, it's simple math. It's not harder at 49 than at 29. The equation is exactly the same.

What I think people mean is at age 20, you burn calories faster, so it's easier to create a deficit. But, the equation is still the same equation. It's not harder. It's the same amount if effort at either age.

That's been my experience as well. This time around it was easy for me to lose the 32 pounds I'd gained back because i learned some great tools to track food and exercise. This is the FiRST holiday season I have not binged on all the sweets and gained weight. I'm so proud of myself.