Women over 40

One other thing to consider is muscle mass loss. I've read we women lose a percentage (small) every year past age 30 (honmones--less testosterone). If you're not actively building lean body mass, you're losing it. Less LBM means fewer calories needed to sustain you. That could be one of the reasons women 40+ can find it harder to lose weight.

Psychgrrl wrote: »

One other thing to consider is muscle mass loss. I've read we women lose a percentage (small) every year past age 30 (honmones--less testosterone). If you're not actively building lean body mass, you're losing it. Less LBM means fewer calories needed to sustain you. That could be one of the reasons women 40+ can find it harder to lose weight.

Ya, muscle mass loss is small per year, but adds up.

Aging Well Through Exercise

Is physical frailty inevitable as we grow older? That question preoccupies scientists and the middle-aged, particularly when they become the same people. Until recently, the evidence was disheartening. A large number of studies in the past few years showed that after age 40, people typically lose 8 percent or more of their muscle mass each decade, a process that accelerates significantly after age 70. Less muscle mass generally means less strength, mobility and among the elderly, independence. It also has been linked with premature mortality.

But a growing body of newer science suggests that such decline may not be inexorable. Exercise, the thinking goes, and you might be able to rewrite the future for your muscles.

Read more: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/aging-well-through-exercise/

44 here. I eat about 18,000 calories per week to maintain. 5'4" and 142 pounds. But I am very active and I began lifting weights in my 20's. I'm very glad I never worried about bulking or gaining too much muscle like some women do.

I am,47 and I have battled with weight my whole life. My whole career I've worked long hours and no,physical activity. I love food and I love to cook the "bad for you food". I have tried the,crash diets they have worked but I would always gain it all,back plus some. I went to a weight doctor and,that has really helped she gave me pills which speed up,my metabolism and help with the cravings. So far I'm twenty three pounds down but still have twenty five more to go. Since I have turned forty I've noticed my body has really changed and I have a difficult time losing weight. The doctor told me my weight loss was great but now I need to start incorporating strength training and cardio into my journey so I would not lose anymore lean,muscle mass. I have started my exercise routine I hope this works. I like logging my food it helps me so much. Sometimes I have good days and sometimes bad. I don't eat as often as I should then when I do I eat to much even though it's healthy food. So happy to have my fitness pal and,happy and feeling much better since I've gotten the weight off that I have. It got to the point where it hurt being over weight. I had no energy. Glad to be here.

queenliz99 wrote: »

I'm 56 and am now at goal weight. I had no trouble losing but I got accurate with calorie counting. Eyeballing was my nemesis.

+1

My serving sizes were at least half again if not double what a normal serving size is meant to be. Using the food scale that has been sitting on my counter for years was eye-opening.

geneticsteacher wrote: »

karenrn2005 wrote: »

I am 47 and have the same problems ! I get told all the time that the only way to lose is to eat all protein if I wanna lose but I can't eat that way. I try and can't last long with out a balanced diet. I am stuck at my weight and wish I could lose !

I have not cut any foods from my diet and am usually over in carbs. As long as I am logging accurately and am under my calories goal, I lose weight.

Losing weight in my 40s was harder than in my 20s and early 30s, metabolism slows down every decade but we can boost our metabolism by being active.
I got active during my weight loss journey, still am and maintain on 2200 cals, not bad for 5ft 2" / 46 yrs old.
It took me longer to lose my weight in my 40s but I stuck with it, didn't aim for a huge deficit and I didn't want to half starve myself and the weight came off at 1/2lb a week pretty consistently.

Be as accurate as you can in logging/measuring your foods and the weight will come off. For everyone the calories they can eat at to lose varies quite a bit. (e.g I can eat 1800 cals gross a day and lose 1/2lb - as I said, I'm active, if I wasn't active it would be more like 1400 cals to lose.)

leslievp wrote: »

aduck, I am the same height, and in my 20s was 120s... in my 30s, 130s... started 40 around 140... then mid 40s boom! gained 20 lbs "overnight." I suspect for me it was part hormonal, I started perimenopause and am slightly hypothryoid. I started meds a year ago and thought the weight would "auto correct" lol but nope, here I am on mfp. I think exercise is more important as we age, especially strength training, so I am starting that back up. I am a size 12 now and would love to get back to an 8 (~140 lbs for me) because most of my clothes are that size, but as I am close to 50 yrs, I may just accept it and settle into a 10, because while I need to generally reduce calories from what I consume now, I don't want to "diet" and calorie count for the rest of my life, I have to find my "new normal." I get mad sometimes when I notice that women in their 40s are now accepted on tv/media, but only if they are as thin as a 20 year old, which doesn't really look natural (on everyone).

OK but it's not natural to gain 50 pounds between 20 & 50, either. I agree on not wanting to diet endlessly, and that exercise is essential, also that whatever your size is with moderate eating and good exercise is right; but weight gain with age is a lifestyle thing, not a natural inevitability. I work in sports industry, and see lots of age group athletes, and just generally fit, not obsessive, older people and they don't put on that weight.

I am 53. I would/could never eat 1200 calories a day and be remotely at peace.

I lost steadily on 1700 (and added exercise calories), now maintaining on anywhere between 1900-2400. I logged consistently when losing. I've found that weight loss in my 50's has been the most successful. And I didn't do anything faddish like avoiding carbs.

I'm 40, lost 25 pounds in 6 months and another 3 pounds after... been maintaining that 28 pound loss for 6 months now, so... short answer is "no".

biggsterjackster wrote: »

SezxyStef wrote: »

biggsterjackster wrote: »

I am 46, eat about 1300 cal (net cal. about 700) and lose 2-3 lbs per week. Walk about 23.000 steps a day and do lots of cardio. I lose best with a 1000 cal. deficit a day.

are you trying to lose muscle and have osteoporosis later? seriously...smh

Lol, nope, I also do a lot of weightlifting. Not worried about losing muscle.

you can do all the weight lifting you want but with the deficit you have losing 2-3lbs a week some of that is muscle...probably more than you want to know.

For us older women we really need to aim to keep as much muscle mass as possible, in our weight loss efforts as much as we might want to see weight drop quickly slow is better. It's also very hard to build muscle when so much of it has already been lost.

And as @SezxyStef says, osteoporosis is a very possible reality if we don't look after our bone health too, hence the need to strength train. I wish this was a widely known fact but for some reason it's not.

booksandchocolate12 wrote: »

I'll be 51 next month. If I am 100% honest and diligent with my logging, I lose. If I'm not, I don't.

But that has nothing to do with my age.

Yup

51 - losing steadily.

I eat about 1050 calories a day - up to my recommended 1280, with my activity level as the guide. It feels right now, but I didn't start out this low. Calorie reduction was a gradual progression as I moved from 218 down to my CW of 162, with a first goal weight of 145 approaching. I don't go below 1000, and I wouldn't unless my doc said it was ok.

What I cannot tell you is if I lost weight faster when I was younger because my diet was more radical, but unhealthy and unsustainable, or if my slower weight loss is a result of age!

I do know I pay a lot more attention to nutrition than I ever did before. And trying to build habits for long term maintenance and good health.

arniedog74 wrote: »

I need a kick start. Been doing this for over 2 months. Nothing. Waiting for the fresh veggies in our garden. But, that's not soon enough.

If you haven't lost weight in two months it's because you are eating more than you think you are and/or burning less calories from exercise than you think. Are you weighing your food on a digital food scale? How are you calculating exercise burns?