Anybody in their 40s and trying to get back in shape??

It was so much easier when I was younger!!! Is it possible to still lose weight (I'm aiming for 30 lbs) at 48?? Feeling a little discouraged here.
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Replies

  • JenChance76
    JenChance76 Posts: 5 Member
    I'm 42 and trying to get fit. I tend to gain the same 15 lbs over and over again, but it used to come off a lot more quickly. Now it has taken months to drop 5 lbs! I am still working on it though! I do like the circuit training workouts that burn a lot of calories. We can do it Pamela!

    That sounds like me. I'm 40 (41 soon in August) and have been gaining a losing the same weight for years. However, this time its more gain and less loss. Heaviest I've been since being pregnant 17 years ago!!
  • bsobolik11
    bsobolik11 Posts: 23 Member
    Yes! Same here. I'm 42 and struggling with those last 10 lbs. Feel free to add me
  • bigmuneymfp
    bigmuneymfp Posts: 2,235 Member
    I'm with her^ the last 10 lbs won't go away
  • musclesandmusic866
    musclesandmusic866 Posts: 1,396 Member
    41 here... I have found that your diet needs to be spot on. I weigh everything out.
  • bones40k
    bones40k Posts: 1 Member
    I'm 44. It's not an easy thing to do. I've been working at it for awhile now. Biggest piece of advice I can is use the tracker on My Fitness Pal to track what you eat. When I'm tracking, I think about what I'm eating, and it helps me eat healthier.
  • long_for_me
    long_for_me Posts: 184 Member
    I am 41! Add me! Yes, it is so much harder...
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    JerSchmare wrote: »
    It's the exact same at any age. Don't get into that forty-something mindset. It isn't true. It doesn't exist. And you aren't a victim of time. Get your head in the game. Eat, exercise, live actively. It's not just about weight and has very little, to almost nothing, to do with age.

    I was forty-something. I lost. Was it easy? No. Was it harder than when I was twenty? No. It's hard at all ages.

    What is hard is your mental state. It's harder to stop your habits and rituals that you have hard-baked into your brain. Release them. Find new ones that are better for you.

    Absolutely this. Make excuses and you start to believe them.
  • GettingFit5551
    GettingFit5551 Posts: 110 Member
    Nobody is arguing here that it is not possible. But from our experiences, the weight comes off more slowly. Maybe because we are less active? Maybe other reasons? We are here working on it. That's the important thing!
  • newlark01
    newlark01 Posts: 474 Member
    Yes! 45 and weight has been climbing at a few lbs per year since having children - I occasionally have a burst of energy and lose a few lbs then put them back on plus a couple more. The snacking habits are deeply ingrained and hard to break particularly under stress/busyness. Am hoping that the easyness of tracking here will be a motivator.
  • bigmuneymfp
    bigmuneymfp Posts: 2,235 Member
    CipherZero wrote: »
    Started at 45. Lost 73 lbs. Had two invasive surgeries, open heart and a double hernia repair. Turned fifty recently. A few days ago I pulled a 315lb deadlift.

    It's not only possible, it's vital to remaining as functional as you can in your older years.

    Well said
  • bigmuneymfp
    bigmuneymfp Posts: 2,235 Member
    At 44 I can't run fast and I'm not that strong but I still run and lift 4 to 5 days a week

    I will not be stopped
  • Theresa6712
    Theresa6712 Posts: 3 Member
    Add me! Soon to be 50 and would love to get back to my "normal" weight - I stopped smoking and gained 25lbs in s blink of an eye!!
  • lippygidg
    lippygidg Posts: 68 Member
    I'm 44 and am in the same boat. Add me if you would like :)
  • alejan1975
    alejan1975 Posts: 16 Member
    41. Need to get back under 200 lbs.... its been a few years since i was under
  • crispaholicshaz
    crispaholicshaz Posts: 79 Member
    I will be 46 in just 14days..... Over last 12months ive lost 2stone 6lb. From walking & logging on here... We now have an allotment & growing our own veg. & getting married next yr too..
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    edited June 2017
    I am 48, I started here at age 45. I am nearly at my goal weight which is the lowest since being an adult. I think I weight about the same as when I was 15 or 16 but I look a lot better. Since I started this journey I have moved from just lightly active at times to really very active. From out of shape to in great shape.
    I am really in the best shape of my life. I lift weights, I cycle, I hike, I run and loving every second of being so fit and seeing my clothesline full of sports outfits (mine and my husbands')
  • merovingian2069
    merovingian2069 Posts: 4 Member
    I'm almost 44 and it's a nightmare on the fitness front. My wife and I are doing the low carb thing which does help but there is a 15 pound fluctuation that drives me crazy. I definitely think it's a metabolism thing. I have hypothyroidism which really kicked in during my early 30s and that is when the weight gains went through the roof. Went from 140 to 250 over about 5 years. That's like carrying a teenager pin your back! In recent years I herniated my L5 disc so that put the brakes on much of my fitness. We already knew that getting older would present physical setbacks but I also think that we don't think we're as old as our bodies are telling us. Anyway. This are my thoughts. Sorry for the ramble.
  • MyFreakingNameIsScott
    MyFreakingNameIsScott Posts: 199 Member
    I would strongly encourage folks to do some due diligence about metabolism rather than take what's being presented here as opinion, as truth. Unfortunately, metabolism does indeed slow down (don't take my word for it, research it). Yes, it does take more work the older we get. And so what if it does? One can make the conscious decision to throw hands in the air and give up, or make the conscious effort to change a few things. Diet, exercise, discipline...

    I'm 47 and look back at portfolio shots of me in my 20's. My goal is to look better now, than I did then. Not that I looked like The Rock back then but I was definitely in much better physical condition than I was in my latter 30's and early 40's. Back then I was eating whole pizzas and downing Coca Cola like I drink water, now. I was physically active on weekends and that was about it. I could eat everything and anything and see very little effects of a fairly awful diet. Not so in my 40's. I avoid processed foods as much as I can, 90% of the fluid I drink is water. I'll have maybe 2 liters of soda in a year.

    It wasn't easy getting away from processed food for more natural items. It's easy eating a meal from a box or a can. It takes time and planning putting it all together oneself. It also makes a world of difference and it makes progress that much more satisfying. I'm not a "clean" eater by any stretch. I still love my occasional hostess treat or ice cream or snickers bar, but I certainly do what I can, when possible, to eat healthy.

    I've found a good balance with my food and it is different with everyone. We all have our cravings and weaknesses but we can all learn to manage them. I took a hold of my appetite, first, and then tackled working out. At my heaviest I was around 220. I'm hovering between 195 and 198 these days and I know 190 is probably my ideal weight to see a full six pack again. This last stretch isn't easy but I'm good with not easy.
  • ramskermfc
    ramskermfc Posts: 41 Member
    It better be possible at 48 . . . I just turned 49.

    I've never had a fast metabolism, but it went into snail gear after 40 for sure. Still, with me it's more just doing what I know I need to do and the results do come--it's not that it can't or doesn't happen. Problem is that I lapse on that and have cycles where I put on a few more pounds that I promised to never put on again . . . and am there again right now. Working on it again, though and it'll happen.

    Just keep at it and you'll be fine. Plenty of people get into (and keep in) good shape well past 40.
  • RunsWithBees
    RunsWithBees Posts: 1,508 Member
    We are still young in our 40's!!! (and 50's and 60's, etc) I went from BMI 30 to BMI 23 even with some metabolically challenging conditions: hypothyroidism, pcos, anemia. I just had to get real and be completely honest with myself and stop listening to that little voice in my head that makes very convincing excuses for me.
  • markinoki92
    markinoki92 Posts: 31 Member
    I'm 46 and dropped 30 pounds in 7 months by eating clean, exercise of course, and keep a disciplined routine. I don't think losing weight has anything to do with my age, rather if I have an injury it just takes a little more tender loving care to recover.
  • markinoki92
    markinoki92 Posts: 31 Member
    CipherZero wrote: »
    Started at 45. Lost 73 lbs. Had two invasive surgeries, open heart and a double hernia repair. Turned fifty recently. A few days ago I pulled a 315lb deadlift.

    It's not only possible, it's vital to remaining as functional as you can in your older years.

    That's what I'm talking about !!
  • Leahrf313
    Leahrf313 Posts: 10 Member
    Hi I'm 42, full time work, going to school and have family at home in addition to being overweight and having health issues! It's a lot to juggle so I'm trying to make a balance for all! Looking for motivating and accountability friends!
  • 40 and in better shape than i was at 30...but still a long way to go...and it ain't easy
  • KristieJC
    KristieJC Posts: 243 Member
    I'm 46 and looking to lose at least 50. If you're looking for MFP friends, add me.
  • fuzz_bunny
    fuzz_bunny Posts: 5 Member
    I'm 45 and I have found that my metabolism is slower too, but I have lost 53 pounds so far. I started last year at the end of August, and I track my food on My Fitness Pal. Exercise is my downfall, as I have gotten my diet under control. It's a journey and I won't give up. I need to lose about another 50 or 60 pounds. I'll get there next year!
  • fuzz_bunny
    fuzz_bunny Posts: 5 Member
    Also, I read that when you reach your forties, you start losing muscle mass and that's why we get the middle age spread. Adding strength training, and eating more protein to build muscle will help us lose the fat.