When I was younger...

Haha, same here. Up until about 32 I could get away with eating ANYTHING, and this was on top of a totally sedentary lifestyle. As in, I would eat a breakfast of a couple mcdonalds sausage and egg biscuits with soda, a large Whataburger with fries, again with soda, for lunch, and a whole dominos pizza for dinner, along with hot wings and a ginormous soda, whilst playing World of Warcraft for almost 12 hours straight. Never went above 135lbs and I'm 5 foot 9. My husband remembers those days fondly and pokes fun at the piles of empty pizza boxes he'd encounter in my apartment.
Now I gain weight from even looking at a pizza. Luckily I've cleaned up my eating almost completely since having my daughter and I don't have time to play videogames anymore. :-)

You're one of those people that I'm jealous of. I'm so short that I have always watched my weight because it would go up if I indulge a little bit T_T

I feel the same about lack of energy caused weight gain. More energy = more active therefore burn more calories.

Lol. My magic number was 25 as well.

Look up insulin resistance, it might explain things a little..

Up until I was about 25, I would eat like a maniac! I would eat a double quarter pounder meal, supersized, for lunch, and then for dinner I would eat an entire large pizza from Dominos, for example. Doing this though, for many, many years, I never got above 185 lbs, and since I am 6 ft. tall, that seemed like a good weight. Then like someone flipped a switch, I started gaining, and have been having to watch what I eat.

Of course I also don't have the energy I used to. People say that the weight I put on caused the lack of energy, but I felt like the lack of energy caused the weight gain.

You're right. Yes, our metabolisms slow down as we age but it's not as much as some seem to think. Get yourself active and moving again and you will see a difference. My wife is much smaller than me and is able to maintain on a calorie count that many men would be envious of, which amazes me, but it's because she seems to never stop moving.

Of course I also don't have the energy I used to. People say that the weight I put on caused the lack of energy, but I felt like the lack of energy caused the weight gain.

I started packing on the pounds at 40 partially because of a 6 month exercise restriction. I always ate as much as I wanted so the thought never occurred to me to eat less. Without doubt the lack of exercise sapped my energy. By the time my restriction was lifted I didn't have the energy to do walk up a steep hill after having been an avid hiker.


It can be a vicious circle but you can break it. Start walking more, maybe a half hour to hour after dinner every night.

If we don't resistance train and get a proper daily allotment of protein, we lose muscle as we age,. That will bring your daily calorie burn down along with being less active.

I used to be able to eat 6,000 calories a day 20 years ago. But I've eaten closer to 2,000 for the most of the last 7 months. Physique is basically the same as it was back when I was 21 though. You need to start getting smarter with diet and exercise the older you get. Most people don't and turn into couch potatoes. That's the secret to being fit regardless of your age. The most ripped guy I know is 61 years old and looks better than me! It's all about being smart about both your food and training and working your *kitten* off.

well yeah thats how age works. When i was 26 I ate and drank whatever, and only worked out 3 days a week- but was ripped. Now at 40, I had to cut out sugar and fast food and cut way way down on the alcohol. I work out 6 days a week as hard as I can and i still look good but not as good as i did at 26. Also i cant drink caffeine past noon if i want to sleep at night and hangovers last 3 days now.

Staying healthy while aging means you will continuously be adjusting your diet and exercise patterns.

Yup, agree with all that except the caffeine part. lol Love me some coffee all the time.

That seems to happen to a lot of men and women. I was the opposite, obese since my teens, but many of my friends were always eating 2-3 times what I did, and stayed thin. Then they hit their mid 20's or 30's and are now slightly to VERY overweight. It is common.

I find it kind of interesting though because on these forums a lot of people will argue that they had to dramatically increase calorie intake and/or decrease activity, and I am fairly certain that wasn't the case for a lot of these people. Most of the 'evidence' is purely anecdotal but I believe it...I've watched friends & coworkers eat mass amounts of food all day long and sit on their bums and stay thin, but balloon to very high weights after hitting a certain age.

A younger guy I work with is like that. We calculated his calories once and stopped counting after 10K. This guy literally eats all day and eats everything both good and bad foods. He's not super thin but he's in slightly above average shape. It's only a matter of time before it hits him though.

I saw a distinct change at about 25. And my activity level was still pretty consistent through my 20's but It wasn't as easy to keep the weight off anymore. I had such a high metabolism growing up. I shake my head now, but my typical McDonalds run in my teens and early 20's included a big mac, two regular hamburgers, fries and a soda. Lot's of pizza, burgers, fries, etc in those days. And this was on a frame that was 5'9" 155 lbs.

I have been trying to eat a lower carb diet, but it is hard, as I absolutely love biscuits, rolls, and breadsticks. If I let myself, I can down 10 breadsticks at Olive Garden. It surprises me how hard it seems to be to eat low carb at fast food places. Simply cutting out french fries has helped me a lot, and I don't really miss them.

Speaking of fries, why can't these places you beef tallow for their fries? It was sooooo much better than the crap they use now.

Then don't go to fast food places. If you eat out all the time you're going to have a much harder time than if you prepare your food yourself. It's less of a pain in the *kitten* than it sounds and you'll save money.

I've been overweight pretty much my whole life. I had a year or two when I was around 18 where I was actually on the thinner side (5'2", 120 lbs) but once I started drinking alcohol (and eating fast food after that) I gained quickly. And I've never gotten back down :laugh:

I like to tell myself that it's helping me in the long run, because I've had to focus on healthy habits sooner than a lot of other people. My brother has a fast metabolism, but he eats A LOT of fast food and pop, and never eats fruits or vegetables. It's going to come back to haunt him one day, and he will struggle because he's never bothered to learn to eat well.