Advice Needed

Burtonwife wrote: »

Just hoping it’s not my age. I have heard it’s harder to lose weight as you get older. I can say it was much easier to lose weight in my 30’s than it now is in my 40’s but I am just going to keep going.

40s? Hah! That's not "age". But age is no big deal. Most of us burn fewer calories as we age because we move less in daily life, and our muscle mass gradually starts to decline.

The good news is that we can change both of those things.

Exercise is just one way to move more. It's a good one, but some of us can burn more extra calories by amping up daily life than we burn via intentional exercise. Got some home improvement projects you've been putting off? Do them. Do the errands that involve walking the whole length of the mall. Park at the far end of the parking lot. Take the stairs. Don't sit when you can stand, don't stand when you can move around. Dance in place while you chop the dinner veggies. Fidget. Make these things a habit.

It will take time for the results to become obvious, but they'll show up. Now, don't let this extra calorie burn turn into too-fast weight loss. Eat so you lose no more than 1% of your body weight per week, and preferably less. Losing too fast just risks losing more muscle mass alongside fat, and that's counterproductive.

We're just trying to get you back to burning like you did in your 30s, when you were probably doing life at warp speed, building a household, hard-charging a career, wrangling kids, trying to keep up on weekend activities with your childless friends to prove you were still cool, etc.

On the gradual muscle loss front: Use those muscles more, on a regular basis. Challenge them. Make them a little sore.

Weight training is a wonderful, focused way to do this with minimum time investment. Quickest is to follow a good, structured, progressive program, and really challenge yourself (while still avoiding injury of course!).

But weight training is not the only way, it's just the fastest. Bicycle on routes with hills. Dig garden beds. Anything that creates a bit of routine muscle challenge will help. (Note: The major soreness and stiffness you get at first, delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS, doesn't last, as long as you keep going.. It turns into a pleasant taut feeling in the muscles, and longer term into friends saying "girl, I'd kill for those arms at our age!")

Alongside this, get enough protein. Another thing aging people often dysfunctionally do is get too little. We actually need a bit more than the kids do, because our bodies process it less efficiently. At least hit your default MFP protein goal. Better yet, get 0.6-0.8g per pound of healthy goal weight daily. And eat some fat, too - nuts, avocados, seeds, oily fish, olive oil are especially good. Cutting it all out is a bad plan.

Weight loss and physical improvement are possible at any age. Me? I lost 50+ pounds in just less than a year at age 59-60, and have stayed at a healthy weight since (I'm 62). The payoffs are enormous: Less (almost no) joint pain or stiffness, ability to do more, better mood, low cholesterol/blood pressure, and more.

Age is no barrier. You can do this: Stay the course, go gradually, but do it. You'll be glad you did.