Age an issue or an excuse?

Francl27 · July 2016

Of course it's a factor. You can call it an excuse as you want, but if you go to any TDEE calculator and enter the same number of calories for a 25yo than a 40yo... you'll see that the 40yo will gain weight... And I don't know about you, but my appetite hasn't changed one bit since I was 25. I mean, OF COURSE there are other factors, but down the line, metabolism does slow down with age. Even if it's just 50 calories a day, that could make you gain 10 pounds in 2 years, not changing anything... don't change anything for 10 years, and you have 50 pounds to lose...

So yea, sure, it's an 'excuse' I suppose because people still decided not to do anything about it (I was one of those people, not judging). But that doesn't mean it's not a factor.

pondee629 · July 2016

Born January 1955.
On July 4 2015 (at 60) I weighed 220 pounds. I started MFP with the intention to get to 190, a weight 5 pounds over what I weighed when I left Uncle Sam's Misguided Children in the 70's.

Now (aged 61) I weigh 185, lost 6 inches off my waist, can complete exercise routines that previously left me gasping half way through, and have a reasonable expectation of completing a Half Marathon in September of this year. I have completed three sub 30 minute 5Ks this year, and my training 10 mile runs are under two hours.

Age is a factor, genetics is a factor, environment is a factor, everything is a factor. Anything can be an excuse. The only determinate is YOU and whether YOU want something different. If YOU want something different the only thing stopping YOU is YOU. The only thing that makes the change possible is YOU.

Sued0nim · July 2016

As I age people around me, particularly those I gave birth to, seem to get more irritating

:bigsmile:

But it has not affected my weight loss or maintenance in any way ..unlike being lazy, having a car, having disposable income and a social life does

kshama2001 · July 2016

thequeena47 wrote: »

Age is just a fact, we age. However, i do think it contributes to how easily we bounce back from things, which i believe is also just a fact. Most of us can confirm that at 20 you were likely able to drink and party 'til dawn and still get to class or work the next day... but now in your 40'sor 50's, you need a little longer to recover from that sort of thing. For me, same thing applies with exercising - i can still walk 10 km, but i won't feel like i want to do it again tomorrow, or garden all day moving soil and rocks but the aches and strains seem to hang about a bit longer now at 49 than they did at 29. And that is natural.... at 29 i was up all day working, up much of the nights with one or the other of my babies, no time to be seriously ill or otherwise out of commission and we are made to be more resilient when we are younger as we are biologically wired to have offspring that need watching, chasing and protecting. Not so as we near and surpass middle age.... So,if i say i am tired or sore the day after a big workout, it isn't an excuse not to work out again, but it is just a fact that i don't recover as easily as i used to, things get a little worn with time, a little crooked with overuse, and need a little extra care to function as they used to. does my age keep me from losing weight? Not all by itself... but the fact that i can only handle one or two glasses of wine now, when several double cocktails wouldn't slow me much 25 years ago is evidence that my whole system is moving slower - i take longer to metabolize alcohol out of my system, i don't burn as many calories as quickly as i used to, i take longer to recover from intense efforts.... Aging is just aging. We age up and things change in our bodies, from infant through to the end of our days, and we don't just keep getting better and stronger all the way through. If that were the case, we would all be super fit at 90!

I'm your age and have noticed all these slower bounce back issues myself.

StealthHealth · July 2016

Age is just an excuse. And a pretty poor one at that.

StealthHealth · July 2016

geneticsteacher wrote: »

I think metabolism decrease with age is not that big of a deal. Sure, it happens, but not nearly to the extent most think. I will be 60 this year, post menopausal, and have lost 33 lbs.

Agree that it is not as significant as some would have you believe but also add that metabolic slow down as we age is a correlation but not the cause of the slowdown - it is that as we get older, we typically lead more sedentary lives. So, those that buck that trend (by leading more active lives) maintain their metabolic rate.

LaceyBirds · July 2016

I am 60.7 years old. I have gone from a high of 238 pounds about five years ago to 147.8 this morning. So, yes, it is possible to lose weight at any age, as seen consistently on these forums.

But it is a simple fact of life that our metabolisms slow down with age. Other things that happen, through no fault of our own, without using excuses, are numerous, including changing/failing eyesight, degeneration of joint tissues, bone loss in both men and women, hormonal changes, cognitive decline, and many others.

Using the USDA TDEE tracker (I've used others with the same basic results, regardless if calories were higher or lower), here are the daily maintenance calories for a 5'6", 145 pound, sedentary female by decade:

20: 2024
30: 1955
40: 1886
50: 1817
60: 1748
70: 1679
80: 1610
90: 1541

So my 60 year-old self must eat 276 calories less a day than my 20 year-old self did to maintain the same weight.*

I doubt that any person I know in real life knows this. They may have some generalized idea that their metabolism slows down at some point, but they don't have this knowledge about needing to actually eat less calories than they did when they were a lot younger. Over years, or decades, they gain an extra 10 or 20 pounds even though they're eating a healthy diet and exercising, albeit eating the same amount of calories as they always have, and wonder why. The only thing that seems different is that they've gotten older, and so they figure that's what's wrong. And they're right! So, in this scenario, no, it's not an excuse.

I think most of the people that have taken the time and initiative to actually find sites like MFP simply don't have the knowledge (yet) of how this all works, just like many of the people posting in this thread didn't have the knowledge until they started learning about weight loss, nutrition and exercise. Their belief that age is keeping them from losing weight can be modified by learning and by asking questions and by reading the success stories of people their age or older who have successfully lost weight. I've seen this happen a lot, and I've seen what may be termed as "excuses" change into knowledge that leads to success over and over.

*I actually weighed 118 at 20 years old.

leajas1 · July 2016

I don't know the answer, but I'm 40 and am in the best shape of my life.

RoxieDawn · July 2016

I am 48 in a month, I have never ever been in better shape. Sure it took getting my kids out the house before I started, but at least I started.

A short testimony for me is that I drove 3 hours to Atlanta last night to see a concert (Guns and Roses) and I did feel a little old there, but not for long. I realized while I was there that I looked and felt much better than most younger people that were there. This is really the first time I ever thought that about that, as I do just sort of hang with people my age or older (husband 9 years older).

MY take after all of this and two years into my new found youth, age is a state of mind!

FitOldMomma · July 2016

Age does affect metabolism, but it's not set in stone. Being and staying active helps tremendously.

I seemed to gain weight much easier the several years after menopause, but once I started tracking my food and eating at a deficit the pounds came off. Once I became more active, I developed good muscle mass the weight came off even quicker and seems easier as well. I'm nearly 60 now, but with better muscle tone than when I was 30.

Nuke_64 · July 2016

LaceyBirds wrote: »

So my 60 year-old self must eat 276 calories less a day than my 20 year-old self did to maintain the same weight.*

If you have the same amount of lean body mass at 20 and 60, you need the same amount of calories. The chart you list is based on the statistical average that we all lose lean body mass as we age, not that our metabolism slows down.

frankiesgirlie · July 2016

thequeena47 wrote: »

Age is just a fact, we age. However, i do think it contributes to how easily we bounce back from things, which i believe is also just a fact. Most of us can confirm that at 20 you were likely able to drink and party 'til dawn and still get to class or work the next day... but now in your 40'sor 50's, you need a little longer to recover from that sort of thing. For me, same thing applies with exercising - i can still walk 10 km, but i won't feel like i want to do it again tomorrow, or garden all day moving soil and rocks but the aches and strains seem to hang about a bit longer now at 49 than they did at 29. And that is natural.... at 29 i was up all day working, up much of the nights with one or the other of my babies, no time to be seriously ill or otherwise out of commission and we are made to be more resilient when we are younger as we are biologically wired to have offspring that need watching, chasing and protecting. Not so as we near and surpass middle age.... So,if i say i am tired or sore the day after a big workout, it isn't an excuse not to work out again, but it is just a fact that i don't recover as easily as i used to, things get a little worn with time, a little crooked with overuse, and need a little extra care to function as they used to. does my age keep me from losing weight? Not all by itself... but the fact that i can only handle one or two glasses of wine now, when several double cocktails wouldn't slow me much 25 years ago is evidence that my whole system is moving slower - i take longer to metabolize alcohol out of my system, i don't burn as many calories as quickly as i used to, i take longer to recover from intense efforts.... Aging is just aging. We age up and things change in our bodies, from infant through to the end of our days, and we don't just keep getting better and stronger all the way through. If that were the case, we would all be super fit at 90!

Well said!!!

bigme3505 · July 2016

I regularly ride with guys who are in their early seventies, and they are no joke on the bike. I hope to be in half the shape they are when I'm that age.

RainaProske · July 2016

My first day of considering dieting was my 60th birthday. I'd heard all my later life that weight loss was impossible without surgery or pills, or, at least, a diet club with a doctor. It seemed hopeless, but on that birthday, I wanted weight loss more than before.

By my 61st birthday, I'd lost 50 pounds, and by my 62nd, 50 more. After that, 23 more pounds just fell off. I now weigh 113-115, depending upon the day. I'm now 67. So much for "it can't be done."

I am going to try to put a photo below, but if it is large on the page, I'm erasing it.

Try again . . . .

chunky_pinup · July 2016

My grandmother is 94 years old...she looks like she's about 70 and goes to the gym and strength trains every day, followed by water aerobics. Her major weight fluctuations are when her prednisone prescription gets altered for her arthritis. She has had times in her life where she has not been super healthy, but I think she's living proof that you can change your life at any time...age is just a mentality. You have to put the work in, regardless of how many times you've been around the sun. It may be easier at certain ages, but it's never impossible.

Djproulx · July 2016

In 2010, at age 53, I weighed 235lbs w/ BF of 35%. I felt OLD, and was starting to look that way. Finally did something about it in 2011, losing 45lbs. BF dropped to just under 20%. It was like discovering the fountain of youth.

I became and remain active in endurance sports with no end in sight. My inspiration is the gentlemen I saw lined up at the swim start in a recent race, where competitors are marked by sex and age. This guy's calf was marked "M88", and let me tell you, he was fairly fast.

For anyone interested in learning a bit about performance factors as we age, Joel Friel's "Fast after 50" is a good read.

BillMcKay1 · July 2016

The original question is kinda vague, an excuse or issue for what?

Age is an issue in regards to metabolism and recovery time. That's just a fact of life. Even the fittest seniors are not in the same physical shape as the fittest 25 year old. We all age. Any TDEE calculator out there will show you either need to be more active or eat less calories as you age to maintain weight.

Now, using your age to not be active and watch what you eat or to say you can't lose weight because of your age, that's an excuse. Or a choice. I know plenty of retired folks that are pretty happy not worrying about it and just enjoying things.

StealthHealth · July 2016

BillMcKay1 wrote: »

The original question is kinda vague, an excuse or issue for what?

Age is an issue in regards to metabolism and recovery time. That's just a fact of life. Even the fittest seniors are not in the same physical shape as the fittest 25 year old. We all age. Any TDEE calculator out there will show you either need to be more active or eat less calories as you age to maintain weight.

Now, using your age to not be active and watch what you eat or to say you can't lose weight because of your age, that's an excuse. Or a choice. I know plenty of retired folks that are pretty happy not worrying about it and just enjoying things.

Agree with all this but..

BillMcKay1 wrote: »

Any TDEE calculator out there will show you either need to be more active or eat less calories as you age to maintain weight.

Is because TDEE calculators work by making some basic assumptions, for example that someone of a specific height and sex is comprised of a certain ratio of lean mass and fat*. Or that, a given time exercising will expend a certain amount of energy.

One of the assumptions that these calculators make is that your metabolic rate will drop as you age. That is a logical assumption, since this is what happens for the bulk of a population. But it is not aging that is causing the drop in metabolic rate but the increasingly sedentary lifestyle that most of the population take on as they age.

In short there is a correlation with decreased metabolic rate and age but aging is not the cause of that decrease.

*obviously TDEE cals that take %BF into account don't fall for this assumption.

gothchiq · July 2016

Age is definitely a factor but there are ways to work around it. It does require more patience, and more acceptance of loose skin IMHO.

SkinnyGirlCarrie · July 2016

Turned 40 last month and I'm in the best shape of my life!

Age an issue or an excuse?

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