Is it harder to lose weight as you get older

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halimaiqbal00
halimaiqbal00 Posts: 288 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Fact or fiction?
«1345678

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  • FatFreeFrolicking
    FatFreeFrolicking Posts: 4,252 Member
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    http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003998.htm
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    People tend to be less active as they get older, but other than that, no, age doesn't matter.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    For me personally, I've been trying to lose weight for about 15 years and this time has been the easiest even though I am now 40.
    I'd say it depends. Some people can develop different challenges and more demands on their time as they get older that they might not have had as younger people.
  • saraphim41
    saraphim41 Posts: 205 Member
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    Everything seems harder as you get older. LOL But the earlier you start, the easier it is to keep going. It's a case of "use it or lose it."
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    No, IME I think it's an excuse

    Find the right programme, stick to it and weight comes off

    Older people are possibly more jaded and have more inbuilt excuses though IME ...I spent years thinking why does it matter any more, I'm happy as I am, I'm too old to care, my body is supposed to have changed

    But no ...I was making excuses for myself, I was just better at it


  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    It depends, being older you may be more sedentary, more stressed, have less muscle and generally be less active. Lifestyle of a teenager is different, but you can address those changes and you shouldnt use it as a woe is me excuse, just get on with it.
  • altogirl2
    altogirl2 Posts: 105 Member
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    I'm in my 60's and my metabolism has definitely slowed way down, but conversely, its been easier this time around to lose the weight. MFP just makes it so easy to track what I eat. Wish I'd had this website 20 years ago.
  • Sandcastles61
    Sandcastles61 Posts: 506 Member
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    I can't speak for the men, but for those women (i.e.rabbitjb) who think aging is just an excuse for gaining weight ..... go through menopause and then make a blanket statement we're just using age as an excuse :s Is it impossible to lose weight.... NO, but it certainly isn't as easy when I was in my 20's, 30' or heaven forbid my 40's. Funny thing is, I just put on most of this weight I'm currently shedding after I hit 50..... Excuses aside, it's coming off and I'm dedicated to keep it off for my long-term health and well being. My family has a mantra you can either wear out or rust out and I intend to do my best to wear out
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Sandcastles61 wrote: »
    I can't speak for the men, but for those women (i.e.rabbitjb) who think aging is just an excuse for gaining weight ..... go through menopause and then make a blanket statement we're just using age as an excuse :s Is it impossible to lose weight.... NO, but it certainly isn't as easy when I was in my 20's, 30' or heaven forbid my 40's. Funny thing is, I just put on most of this weight I'm currently shedding after I hit 50..... Excuses aside, it's coming off and I'm dedicated to keep it off for my long-term health and well being. My family has a mantra you can either wear out or rust out and I intend to do my best to wear out

    I'm 47
  • Lrdoflamancha
    Lrdoflamancha Posts: 1,280 Member
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    Yes definitely....
  • Sandcastles61
    Sandcastles61 Posts: 506 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Sandcastles61 wrote: »
    I can't speak for the men, but for those women (i.e.rabbitjb) who think aging is just an excuse for gaining weight ..... go through menopause and then make a blanket statement we're just using age as an excuse :s Is it impossible to lose weight.... NO, but it certainly isn't as easy when I was in my 20's, 30' or heaven forbid my 40's. Funny thing is, I just put on most of this weight I'm currently shedding after I hit 50..... Excuses aside, it's coming off and I'm dedicated to keep it off for my long-term health and well being. My family has a mantra you can either wear out or rust out and I intend to do my best to wear out

    I'm 47

    I'm 54 :) I truly hope you don't let your guard down for a moment because when you come out the other side of 50, essentially do nothing different, and one day look in the mirror or down at the scales you can tell me again how easy it is and just an excuse o:) Best wishes
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Your caloric needs get lower are you get older, so yes, it is normal to tend to gain some weight and to find it harder to lose this weight, as it meand gradually learning to eat a but less.
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    Sandcastles61 wrote: »
    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Sandcastles61 wrote: »
    I can't speak for the men, but for those women (i.e.rabbitjb) who think aging is just an excuse for gaining weight ..... go through menopause and then make a blanket statement we're just using age as an excuse :s Is it impossible to lose weight.... NO, but it certainly isn't as easy when I was in my 20's, 30' or heaven forbid my 40's. Funny thing is, I just put on most of this weight I'm currently shedding after I hit 50..... Excuses aside, it's coming off and I'm dedicated to keep it off for my long-term health and well being. My family has a mantra you can either wear out or rust out and I intend to do my best to wear out

    I'm 47

    I'm 54 :) I truly hope you don't let your guard down for a moment because when you come out the other side of 50, essentially do nothing different, and one day look in the mirror or down at the scales you can tell me again how easy it is and just an excuse o:) Best wishes

    I let my guard down for years and years due to other factors .. now that I'm, finally, successful at this and looking back over the last 25 years or so, every single completely valid reason was an excuse ... the equation was always there: eat less, move more=weight balance.

    Yes the hormones suck - tell me about it - and yes they also affect your mental stability at times so your ability to commit or to care about committing.

    It's always hard - there's always reasons why it's hard that are logical and valid but they are all excuses for not doing what has to be done

    And I may well slip .. who knows? It's only been 9 months .. it's my biggest fear that I'll fall off this wagon because I've finally, after decades, done it.

    So Best Wishes to you too :)
  • flatlndr
    flatlndr Posts: 713 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    No, IME I think it's an excuse

    Find the right programme, stick to it and weight comes off

    Older people are possibly more jaded and have more inbuilt excuses though IME ...I spent years thinking why does it matter any more, I'm happy as I am, I'm too old to care, my body is supposed to have changed

    But no ...I was making excuses for myself, I was just better at it


    ^^^ This

    I lost 100 lbs in my early 50s, after spending my 40s making excuses for my weight gains.
    It's all down to food intake and activity level.

    A friend once said to me "you don't get less active because of your age; you age because you get less active"
    My extension to that is "you don't get heavier as you get older, you get heavier as you eat more and exercise less over the years"
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,427 Member
    edited March 2015
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    Not sure as I never tried to lose weight when I was younger. I had no problem losing 15kg. Having some health problems helped I suppose, but generally it was very easy for me. Oh, I'm 41 as of today :smiley:
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    Not sure as I never tried to lose weight when I was younger. I had no problem losing 15kg. Having some health problems helped I suppose, but generally it was very easy for me. Oh, I'm 41 as of today :smiley:

    Happy Birthday :bigsmile:
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    edited March 2015
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    What answer are you looking for? It doesn't matter, either way - you can only start from where you are.

    That said, when I was in my early 20s, it took no time to drop 10 lbs, just by taking kickboxing classes. Everything just went 'bloop!' back into place, like nothing happened, like someone balled up some droopy Silly Putty and made a brand new form out of it (way more toned, as well). The older you are, the less likely this can happen, and the more your history shows.

    But - again, doesn't matter! You can still look and feel better than you do now. You can still look great.
  • Sweepypie
    Sweepypie Posts: 161 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    Not sure as I never tried to lose weight when I was younger. I had no problem losing 15kg. Having some health problems helped I suppose, but generally it was very easy for me. Oh, I'm 41 as of today :smiley:

    Happy Birthday :bigsmile:

    I am 67 in June and I have managed to shed 1st 12lbs so far. Happy birthday
  • sharon9597
    sharon9597 Posts: 33 Member
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    Hi I'm a qualified ex personal trainer and and I can tell you fact - yes it is slightly harder once your past 50. The resin being is that you naturally progressively loose muscle as you get older and muscle uses calories just to exist so less muscle = less calorie needs ie lower metabolism. (Which is why huge body builder can consume vast amounts of calories). Also women after menopause also have a lower metabolism. So most people carry on eating as they always have and wonder why they are slowly putting on weight! Have to say though that the decrease is only small not as big as people like to think so a few weight bearing exercises each week will help you keep the muscle you have and counter balance the ageing effect.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,427 Member
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    rabbitjb wrote: »
    Happy Birthday :bigsmile:

    Thanks :smiley:

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